history of ava

A Board of Directors was elected, and the organization acquired the name AVA, or “Alliance for the Visual Arts” and began offering art classes.

AVA moved to the second floor of 5 Allen Street behind Dartmouth Bookstore. Elizabeth Austin became AVA’s director, a position she held until the end of 1986.

Bente Torjusen West begins her tenure at AVA as Executive Director.

AVA’s education program expanded to include artists and audiences of all ages.

AVA opened at its current location, 11 Bank Street in Lebanon, NH, the former H. W. Carter & Sons overall factory which had closed in 1985. AVA initially rented 1,750 sq ft on the first and second floors from an investment group named Northern Equities (later known as Bank Street Properties). Other businesses occupying the building were a land surveying office, The Upper Valley Carpet Center, a winter clothing company named Black Diamond, a videographer, and a graphic designer. Soon after, a few artists arrived to rent studio space. The new exhibition space had beautiful hardwood floors and high ceilings which contributed greatly to the ambiance of the gallery space. The new location also provided AVA with ample teaching space. AVA’s scholarship program and close collaboration with social services organizations helped make audiences not commonly associated with art galleries feel “at home” at AVA.

AVA purchases the 11 Bank Street building and launches its first capital campaign.

Building renovation was completed at 11 Bank Street, and the building was named the Carter-Kelsey Building. The number of available below-market-rate artist studios was increased to 20.

AVA’s renovation project received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold rating, with 47 points, just shy of the Platinum LEED rating. AVA’s renovation of its 140-year-old building in downtown Lebanon resulted in many transformations: an important piece of historic Lebanon was preserved; a previously inaccessible building now welcomed people of all ages and abilities; and a building riddled with safety violations and structural deficiencies was thoroughly upgraded to comply with 21st-century international building codes.

The Branching Out Deepening Roots campaign was launched, and the 4,000-square-foot sculptural studies building was built and opened with studios for welding, woodworking, ceramics, and stone carving.

Bente Torjusen West retires after 30-years as AVA’s Executive Director.

AVA opened its newly constructed Bente Torjusen West Sculptural Studies Building at 9 Bank Street, funded by the Branching Out-Deepening Roots Campaign.

The SSB was awarded LEED Certification at the Silver level, making AVA’s entire campus LEED certified, a unique achievement for a nonprofit arts organization.

AVA launched the From Seed to Bloom Comprehensive Campaign to raise $2.7 million.

AVA opened its Members Gallery, a dedicated space for artist members to show and sell their work, echoing its original mission of exhibiting the work of local artists.

AVA celebrates 50 years of supporting and nurturing the creative spirit through its exhibition, community, and educational programming in the Upper Valley.