AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon, N.H., named a new executive director this month, and it’s someone Vermonters may be familiar with. Lars Hasselblad Torres started his new position on June 3.
Hasselblad Torres, 54, has been a prominent figure in Vermont’s creative sector for more than a decade. In 2013, he was named director of the state’s short-lived Office of the Creative Economy in Montpelier. The following year, he left the office to become director of the Generator makerspace in Burlington, a position he held for nearly three years. More recently, he served as executive director at HatchSpace, a community woodworking workshop in Brattleboro, from 2022 to February of last year.
He first applied for the leadership position at AVA in 2021 but didn’t get the job. He said persistence, familiarity with the center from consistently attending events there with family and friends, and his interest in supporting creative, affordable spaces for artists landed him the role the second time around.
“Their campus really embodies the pieces that I really look to bring into my specialty as a sort of arts champion promoter,” Hasselblad Torres said.
While running an art gallery may seem like a pivot from the innovation hubs on Hasselblad Torres’ résumé, he clarified that exhibition spaces are only one of AVA’s broader functions. The center features education programs, as well as studios where artist members can affordably hone their craft. The Sculptural Studies Building houses wood, metal, clay and stone shops that provide access to tools artists would otherwise have to purchase themselves — something both Generator and HatchSpace offer.
“We use this space as a platform to nurture and support creativity across all ages,” Hasselblad Torres said.
The curation team at AVA, led by exhibition manager Sam Eckert, secures the exhibitions in the 3,000-square-foot main-floor galleries a year in advance. But other spaces around the 40,000-square-foot center are more pliable, aligning with Hasselblad Torres’ background in active development. The gallery on AVA’s highest floor, which is open to anyone who chooses to wander that far, is a space for artists to receive feedback on in-progress work. Meanwhile, the Bank Street Gallery showcases fine art and crafts by members that visitors can view and also purchase.
“I wouldn’t call it a curatorial process as much as a self-selection process,” Hasselblad Torres said of the Bank Street Gallery.
Members are likely to see their work displayed in these areas on a shorter time scale — around two to six months — than they would in the main gallery exhibitions.
“We can provide that space for emerging artists as well as hobbyists and others,” Hasselblad Torres said. “Perhaps they’ll work their way up to a level of excellence where they’re in the main gallery.”
Former AVA executive director Bente Torjusen West retired in 2016 after 30 years in the position. Since then, three executive directors have come and gone, retiring or departing for other opportunities, according to AVA board chair Jeremy Greeley. On the heels of that turnover, Hasselblad Torres is looking to establish a sense of security and permanence before making any significant changes. He has heard of a few ideas from his colleagues that have piqued his interest — a residency program, for example, and expanding the storage capacity of the Sculptural Studies Building.
He also hopes to reach new audiences during rapidly changing times.
“We have a 50-year history in the Upper Valley, and it’s the perfect time — as a new post-COVID “normal” settles in and the arts face cuts at the federal and state level — to reach new audiences in new ways,” Hasselblad Torres wrote to Seven Days in an email following a phone interview. “The team here has a lot of energy to infuse the organization with fresh energy, connections, and ideas that contribute to the regional arts ecosystem.”
AVA Center and Art Gallery hosts a welcome reception for Hasselblad Torres this Friday, June 20, from 5 to 7 p.m.
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