Board of Aldermen — 9/12/17 Page 5
There’s a wonderful national organization called “the Americans for the Arts”. They will test the economic
impact of cultural and performing art centers as well as new visual arts initiatives. They've responded to
commissions for Concord and for Portsmouth as they have for dozens of other cities across America. On
average they’ve been able to measure 15 to 20 percent growth in the first 4 to 5 years of a creation of a new
center. A new source of interest in the arts and culture. So that’s a statistical | think support for you to
consider in this sort of initiative.
We are interested more specifically in some kind of partnership around this performing arts center. From the
Currier Museum, we are not primarily a performing arts organization as you know. We're an art museum. We
have a collection. We have good connections with artists with curators in the region and around the world. A
space in this performing arts center lends what | think a kind of critical mass to an interesting culture so that
when people attend a convention, or performance, or some kind of event there’s also a visual arts component.
A special gallery. | think this is a model that’s worked in many places around the country. It’s something that
you might consider as well.
Now what's in it for us as the Currier Museum you might ask? We see ourselves as the State museum of art
and we’re quite clear that our mission is to serve not Manchester and not even the area around Manchester
but all of the State of New Hampshire. So when an initiative as imaginative and as impactful as the one that
you’re considering comes up, we think that we need to be involved. That involvement has to be worked out.
The details are not set in stone. It’s not fully funded but we imagine or at least we can dream that a small
gallery based on commissions, creating works of art and displays that are relevant to the City of Nashua that
will draw upon schools and the other charities in town, and would really build on the work that we already do in
this region. At the moment, every 4" grader in the Nashua Public School system visits the Currier Museum.
How wonderful would it be for them to visit also an exhibition in the new performing arts center here?
So regardless of our involvement which we are quite keen on, we think this is a great idea and we applaud it.
Raising the culture and artistic profile of a city like Nashua can only benefit the entire State and the entire
region. So we wish you luck in your deliberations. Bear in mind that we at the Currier Museum are very keen
to be closely involved in a true partnership with the City of Nashua in this particular endeavor. Thank you.
Alderman Cookson
Could you give us your name and address?
Alan Chong
I’m Alan Chong. I’m at the Currier Museum, 150 Ash Street, Manchester, NH 03104.
Cheryl Linder, 9 Stoneybrook Road
I’m President of Great American Downtown Board of Directors and I’m also the Assistant General Manager of
the Nashua Silver Knights. I’m asking the Board to be proactive in this decision. Every year Nashua is losing
out to other towns and cities in New Hampshire that have an art center like this. We’re only hurting ourselves
as a city to continually stand by and watch from afar as other cities reap the benefits of what we could have
and should have been doing for a long, long time.
This center can be a place that promotes a cooperative spirit. It is a common ground for so many of us. It can
be a place that grows community and encourages volunteerism. A place that creates opportunities in Nashua
and for Nashua. Breathing new energy into downtown will encourage a wave of positivity both financially and
culturally. It will be a source of pride in our city. Once you are here, you'll want to return. | said this at the
previous meeting a couple of weeks ago but | would like to reiterate it tonight. Whether you are a fan of the
arts or not, an art support or not, the center is not just about arts. This project represents the future of Nashua.
Which way will you take us? Down the path of the same old same old? Why that may not be the comfortable
thing to do right now, this will not be the catalyst that we need to improve quality of life in Nashua. Be brave,
be bold, take the bold path, the unknown path, the let’s see what happens path. It is an adventure that so
