NH Institute of Art Awarded $367,000

The NH Institute of Art in Manchester has received $367,250 in tax credits toward the rehabilitation of an abandoned church. The Institute was given the historic building on Union Street by Brady Sullivan Properties of Manchester in 2009, with the intention of housing the Art Lab School, an afterschool program benefitting underserved and immigrant and refugee children while providing learning opportunities for undergraduates. The credits are part of nearly $6 million awarded through the Community Development Finance Authority’s Tax Credit Program to 14 New Hampshire  projects that help communities thrive.

The Institute will renovate St. Anne’s church to permanently house its SEPIA (Student Enrichment Program in the Arts) program in the Art Lab School. The school will be located in the heart of the Beech Street neighborhood, which presents a unique set of community development opportunities in downtown Manchester.

The Art Lab School will be on the ground floor of the church. Once open, the school will provide a long-sought home for the SEPIA program. As SEPIA participants, the Institute’s art education students meet practice requirements by teaching visual arts skills to low-income, primarily refugee and immigrant children and youth in an afterschool setting at no cost to participating families. The program develops job skills for aspiring art educators while increasing creativity, academic performance and community involvement in underserved and at-risk children.

“St. Anne’s has served as a center for cultural integration since the 1850s. This renovation will bring the historic structure back to life,” said Rick Strawbridge, executive vice president and acting president of the Institute. “Bringing college students, children and their families to a dynamic atmosphere will bring vitality back to this diverse and valuable neighborhood through public cultural and artistic activities and programs. The Institute is excited to play a role in the revitalization of the area we call home.”

The Institute will renovate St. Anne’s using capital campaign funds that have already been raised in addition to the newly awarded CDFA tax credits. Future SEPIA program funding has been secured with a three-year Lincoln Financial grant and Institute operational funding.