The NH Institute of Art (NHIA) in Manchester has been educating artists for 117 years. In recent years, it has expanded to offer both undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs that enroll 427 BFA students, and encompasses 11 buildings throughout Manchester’s downtown. It also acquired the Sharon Arts Center and its programs in Sharon and Peterborough, and is one of the biggest property owners in downtown Manchester.
If you just had a, “Huh, I had no idea,” moment, you’re not alone.
Kent Devereaux, who took over as president in January, spent much of his career in higher education’s art community and had never heard of the Institute before coming on board.
He says that raised a red flag, but he then researched the institution and understood why. “It had only been offering accredited degrees for the past 18 years. It grew quickly from 36 to 500 [students],” he says. Established in 1898 as the Manchester Institute of Arts and Sciences, the NH Institute of Art now offers Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Arts in Art Education and Master of Fine Arts degrees as well as certificate and community education programs.
The school garnered attention last year when news of a possible merger with Southern NH University leaked out. Those talks failed, but the school is now regrouping and under Devereaux’s leadership, focusing on branding itself. “We are the oldest and largest arts institution in New Hampshire. Why doesn’t anyone know us?” Devereaux asks. He feels his past experience makes him a match for tackling the Institute’s biggest challenges: building its reputation and brand recognition, growing enrollment and unifying its buildings into an urban campus. “I had dealt with all of that before. It was a perfect fit,” Devereaux says.
A Fulbright Scholar, Devereaux’s experience includes teaching at the Art Institute of Chicago and the California Institute of the Arts, and leading Encyclopedia Britannica’s transition to an online model.
Already under Devereaux, NHIA hired SilverTech in Manchester to launch a new website, formed a partnership with University of NH-Manchester; established the Manchester Cultural District Coalition to work on safety and aesthetic issues in the Institute’s neighborhood, and announced the pending renovation of the long-dormant St. Anne’s Church into a youth arts education lab providing free afterschool arts programs to K-12 children.
In April, NHIA and UNH-Manchester signed an agreement that will provide UNH-Manchester students with housing in NHIA’s residence halls this fall and allow them to enroll in NHIA’s graphic design courses.
Down the road, NHIA students will be able take courses at UNH-Manchester. He says the arrangement will help the Institute recruit students outside NH—its fastest growing student segment—as it will be able to offer marketing and business minors through UNH. He also sees potential growth in the graduate program, which recently graduated its first class.
Much of Devereaux’s focus will be on developing the Institute’s collection of 11 buildings downtown into a cohesive urban campus. “When I got here, I asked our students what they like and don’t like. The number one concern of students is safety,” he says. So Devereaux formed the Manchester Cultural District Coalition, a collection of church, school, business and nonprofit leaders in the district that meet monthly to discuss elevating the area.
NHIA is now examining how to brand its buildings, including mounted directional signs between buildings and banners on the street, Devereaux says. To learn more, visit nhia.edu.
Current Issue - April 2024