2019 Governor's Arts Awards

Individual Arts Champion
Award Recipient: Stephen Duprey, Concord

As a commercial real estate developer, Steve has spent much of his efforts over the last decade revitalizing downtown Concord while supporting the creative economy. He was an integral part of the Main Street redevelopment project, helping to secure a highly competitive grant which turned the project from a dream to reality. Steve has donated corporate space for alternative galleries that showcase artists and arts organizations like the League of NH Craftsmen and the New Hampshire Furniture Masters. He supports public art by commissioning local artists to showcase their work in and around Concord. Steve believes that “Concord has a lot of canvases.” One of those canvases was the deteriorating Concord Theater. Steve was able to acquire the building and worked closely with Capitol Center for the Arts (CCA) to develop plans for renovating it into a modern venue, now the Bank of NH Stage. Steve also lent his expertise in leveraging development tax credits and other sources of funding to make CCA’s purchase of the theatre a reality, realizing a longstanding goal of creating a second performance venue.

Last updated: October 29, 2019