Lane House Arts Center opens in Hampton
The Lane House Arts Center (380 Lafayette St.) held its soft opening in June and currently has an open-call community exhibit on display for the month of July. Visitors are welcome Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. (the use of masks is requested). Visit lanehousearts.com or facebook.com/LaneHouseArts for upcoming events and updates, or email at lanehouseartscenter@gmail.com. Arts center founder Karen Desrosiers shares more about the new space.
Tell me a little bit about yourself and why you opened the Lane House Arts Center.
I have been involved with the arts community in the Seacoast area for about 20 years. ... I have a passion for community-focused arts and saw a need for more opportunities for artists of all levels and media throughout the Seacoast. I wanted to create a place that would support a community of working artists, provide affordable opportunities for artists, and provide more arts experiences for the greater community. The Lane House Arts Center has studios for working artists, a gallery and space for teaching classes.
You have your first exhibit up now for the month of July. What can people expect to see if they come to the arts center?
One wall of the gallery at Lane House Arts is designated as a “community exhibit wall.” For July we are hosting our first open-call community exhibit. We invited any artist who wished to participate to exhibit on a first come basis, as space is limited. The space was booked within 24 hours. The exhibit includes 32 works from 18 artists, in a wide range of media and styles. The diversity of the exhibit is one of the most exciting aspects of the show.
Do you have any of your own work in the exhibit? Any works in the exhibit from other artists that you are especially drawn to?
The rest of the gallery space has work from almost 30 area artists, including work from each of the resident studio artists and myself. There is a wide range of 2D and 3D art work and fine crafts in the gallery, including wood work, fiber, jewelry, pottery, encaustic paintings, mixed media collages and photographs, as well as paintings in oil, acrylic, watercolor, and alcohol ink. ... As with the community exhibit, the diversity of work is one of the most exciting aspects of the overall gallery.
How do local artists go about getting their work displayed?
Any artist interested in participating should visit our website (lanehousearts.com) and/or email us (lanehouseartscenter@gmail.com). There are several ways to become involved and exhibit work. Once on the email list, artists will automatically receive notice of any exhibits and events that are coming up. We also occasionally may have an opening artist to display in the more permanent/ongoing gallery exhibit or may have a studio opportunity open up.
Can people buy any of the work that’s on display?
All work on display in the gallery, with the exception of some pieces shown by the studio artists, is for sale.
What do you have planned for the next couple of months?
We are anxious to get to a point where we can start having receptions and other events, but that is probably still a few months out. For the summer we will remain open to the public with limited hours. We are currently in the process of putting together a program of art classes for the fall. And, hopefully, we will be able to start scheduling other arts events and programs for the fall.
What do you hope the Lane House Arts Center will add to the Hampton community?
I hope that the Lane House Arts Center will become a community space, where people from Hampton and the greater seacoast can gather, enjoy different arts events, such as book readings and music nights, take art classes and just enjoy the artwork. I am also hoping to build the Lane House Arts Center to become a support center for area artists and those who want to further their art careers, with workshops and mentoring programs. I want Lane House Arts to be a vortex of positive energy for the Seacoast area.
Anything else you’d like people to know?
The classroom space and the “community exhibit wall” at Lane House Arts are also available to any artist and/or group that might be looking for a place to meet, to create and/or to exhibit work.
— Meghan Siegler