A 40,000SF SPACE FOR MAKING
AVA is a 40,000 sf. creative campus brimming with galleries, classrooms, artist studios, and halls to get lost in. Our Sculptural Studies Building includes workshops for wood, metal, and ceramics.
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The Carter Kelsey Building
The Carter-Kelsey Building—named for two family benefactors— was once an overall and garment factory. Today it is home to three floors of creative wonderland. The first floor provides access to five named galleries, the Schleicher Family Children's Art Studio, the Bank Street Gallery retail shop, and administrative offices. The second floor hosts the North and South Studio classrooms, our Digital Arts Lab, the Johnson Sisters Lounge and Resource Room (our coworking space), artist Studios and offices. On the Third Floor you'll find artist studios, hallways packed with art, a tucked away cafe space, and Gallery Three, our studio artists' gallery. Access the Carter Kelsey Building with any level of membership.
Kira's Garden
The Kira Fournier Sculpture Garden, created in memory of Kira Fournier Schore (1950-2002), was inaugurated in 2008 and is open for viewing—the public is encouraged to enjoy and explore.
Fournier, who began her career as a ceramic artist, was noted for her work in cast glass and bronze. On permanent display in Kira’s Garden is one of Fournier’s bronze sculptures from 2001, "Split Lady," a reclining female figure on a black granite plinth, situated adjacent to a bench of the same material.
The garden, a gift from Fournier’s husband Benjamin Schore, honors the memory of Fournier and her significant contributions to the artistic culture of the Upper Connecticut River Valley over more than three decades.
The garden design is by Jeffrey Good of Canterbury, NH; the plinth for Split Lady is by Dimitri Gerakaris; and the landscaping, including the stone wall, is by Dana Fox of Enfield, NH. The garden is located on the east side of AVA Gallery and Art Center.
Sculptural Studies Building
Tucked behind the Carter Kelsey Building, the Bente Torjusen West Sculptural Studies Building (SSB) is a fully equipped maker space unlike anything else in the region.
A LEED certified, Net Zero building, the SSB houses a Ceramics Studio with a hand building room, wheel throwing room, and glazing and firing stations. The wood shop features generous workbenches and a full run of tools including jointer, planer, table saw, band saw, chop saw, and router table. Our metal shop is equipped with forges, four TIG welding bays, a plasma cutter, and numerous cold tools. Access the SSB with with a Maker/Mentor membership.
Green Roof
Hidden atop the Scuptural Studies Building is a seasonal oasis—a sun-drenched pollinator garden buzzing with as much activity as happens throughout the adjacent buildings.
Filled with succulents, hearty grasses, and shallow-rooted flowering plants that bees thrive on, the rooftop garden is open to the public during hours of operation, Monday through Saturday, 10AM to 5PM.
The garden is part of a larger water catchment system installed with the construction of the Sculptural Studies Building. Designed to both hold and direct rainwater, the roof drains excess runoff into a water catchment basin adjacent to AVA's lower parking lot.
Visit AVA Gallery
Located at 11 Bank Street, in beautiful downtown Lebanon, NH
Open Monday — Saturday, 10:00 AM — 5:00 PM
