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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: January 12, 2007
Contact: Yvonne Stahr, Programs Information Officer
Phone:  (603) 271-0791; e-mail: Yvonne.m.stahr@dcr.state.nh.us

Karen Burgess Smith of Exeter Appointed Chairman of the NH State Council on the Arts

Karen Burgess Smith of Exeter has been appointed Chairman of the NH State Council on the Arts by Governor John Lynch. She began her tenure on the Council in 2003.

Professional photographer Karen Burgess Smith is the Director of the Lamont Gallery at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter where she also teaches art. She had previously been the vice president for academic affairs at the NH Institute of Art. Smith also taught studio art and art history for 11 years at St. Paul’s School, where she chaired the fine arts department and curated over 40 exhibitions in the school’s gallery. Smith says. “To me, the art gallery is just an extension of the classroom.”  Smith has also taught at St. Anselm College in Manchester. In Concord she taught at Concord High School and Rundlett Junior High School.

Karen Burgess Smith is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and holds an M.A. from Dartmouth College and a certificate in museum studies and administration from Tufts University. In addition to directing the Lamont Gallery at Phillips Exeter, she teaches art. Her term on the State Arts Council will expire in December of 2007.

The New Hampshire State Council on the Arts is the advisory Council for the Division of the Arts within the Department of Cultural Resources. It was established in 1965 as the official state arts agency with legislation (RSA 19-A) designed "to insure that the role of the arts in the life of our communities will continue to grow and play an ever more significant part in the welfare and educational experience of our citizens."

Funding comes from appropriations from the Governor and the New Hampshire State Legislature and from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency supported with appropriations from the President and the United States Congress. The State of New Hampshire also accepts private, tax-deductible donations and bequests that may be designated for the sole purpose of helping the Arts Council fulfill its enabling legislation.

Last updated: January 22, 2007