Greetings! from New Hampshire

Kimball Jenkins will host a free, public reception from 5:00 -7:30 p.m. May 12, 2022 for the exhibition, Greetings from New Hampshire: Historic Postcards, located at 266 N. Main Street, Concord, NH. A public talk will follow the reception at 7:00 p.m. presented by Byron Champlin of the Concord Historical Society. 

The exhibit is populated by nostalgic postcards loaned from community members and historical societies in the region. Greetings from New Hampshire: Historic Postcards was conceived by Mark Hopkins, architectural historian and fine furniture maker. The towns of Concord, Penacook, Hopkinton, Contoocook, Canterbury, Chichester, Henniker, and Goffstown are represented. The postcards were photographed and enlarged for the exhibition by Gary Samson, 7th Artist Laureate of New Hampshire and Vice President of New Hampshire Society of Photographic Artists. Samson also provided a stereoscope for guests to view Hopkins’ collection of nineteenth-century stereoview photographs.

The show invites guests to take a walk into the past as they experience Kimball Jenkins’ mission to ‘honor historic preservation,’ while upholding its promise to foster creativity and maintain an inclusive artistic space. Programming Director Yasamin Safarzadeh has been leading workshops inviting guests to create their own postcards imagining the community they would like to live in. 

“We’ve taken steps to include submissions from New Hampshire Black Heritage Trail and have created workshops in order to reappropriate postcards into a more inclusive and diverse narrative. We have brought our community partners into Kimball Jenkins, not only to reminisce and share their stories within the framework of the architecture of Concord and the surrounding areas, but also to reimagine their New Hampshire and how the lived experiences of our communities can be embraced and normalized,” reports Safarzadeh.

The exhibit explores images taken over the past 100 years and provides perspective on the value of historical preservation and how it can distinguish a place from anywhere else.

“If you took away all buildings over 50 years old there would be no sense of place, without historical references you lose the depth of the history of all people who came before.” Mark Hopkins.

The exhibit will be on display until May 31, 2022.

The Galleries at Kimball Jenkins are open to the public Mondays–Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Community meetings may be held in the galleries, so visit the website for accurate gallery visiting hours. For more information about Kimball Jenkins as well as a listing of events and programs, visit www.kimballjenkins.com or follow @KimballJenkins on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Kimball Jenkins’ Mission is to Cultivate Creativity, Make Arts Education Accessible, and Honor Historic Preservation. Celebrating 40 years of creating strong relationships within the community, the organization centers under-represented voices and works to remove barriers for traditionally marginalized communities. Kimball Jenkins creates a wide circle and collaborates with other organizations for shared impact. They are proud to serve as an important cultural and economic hub for artists and events within the region.