PORTSMOUTH Marianne Janik knows better than most people the need to adapt to a changing environment.
In a previous professional life as a National Institutes of Health scientist, she worked to save endangered species from extinction. In her current professional life, it was adaptation that pulled her through the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I studied adaptation and what animals do to survive. Only the strong succeed and the strong are the ones that adapt,” said Janik, a jewelry artist who recently opened her Calli b. brick and mortar store at 21 Daniel St. in downtown Portsmouth after years of traveling with what she calls her “boutique on the road” to arts and craft shows and fairs throughout the Northeast.
Arts in reach relieves teen social isolation
Portsmouth Herald
PORTSMOUTH When Jess asked the Arts In Reach staff if she could keep her camera off during the first day of a week-long virtual acting program, she was quiet and unsure of herself. As the week progressed, so did Jess. She shared her talents in a show-and-tell and played the lead role in a reader’s theater show. At the end of the week, she volunteered to direct her peers in a final cheer.
Over the February vacation week, Arts In Reach offered two arts-based programs for teenage girls and gender expansive youth. Artventures included 6th and 7th graders, and Performance Intensive engaged 8th-12th graders. Both virtual programs took place Monday through Friday for 90 minutes, involved mentoring with local professional artists, and culminated in an end-of-week celebration of participants’ creative work.
Katelyn Kwoka: Seacoast Repertory Theatre
I would like to support the Seacoast Rep. I am on the Board of Trustees because I believe the arts are an integral part of any community. In addition to the main stage programs, the Rep supports the next generation of theater professionals with PAPA and the new Sol Series has been a real leader in lifting up BIPOC (Black, indigenous and people of color) voices and stories.
Allison Dudas: Cross Roads House
I chose Cross Roads House because of their devotion to people and families on the Seacoast. They offer a significant amount of resources to the people they serve, helping them enter back into stable housing. The Seacoast is lucky to have Cross Roads House!