Mayhew in the Making

Special exhibition in collaboration with the Mayhew Program, on view May 7, 2023 from 2-5pm.

The Mayhew Program helps and challenges NH at-risk boys to believe in themselves, work well with others, and find their best.

The Mayhew community is vibrant, enthusiastic, and creative! When program participants are introduced to the program they become immersed into a rugged residential summer camp experience placed on an island on Newfound lake. One of the most significant aspects of Mayhew, is it’s commitment to collectively elevating each other. Although the camp is on an Island, it’s really a community reaching back over 50 years and expanding across the state of New Hampshire.

The majority of these works were created during mentoring trips that occur during the school year and often alongside peers in the community. Participants in the program love a good challenge and when it comes to creating works of art they don’t shy away from content that is colorfully complicated, and naturally messy. Often the works are intended to be ironic and humorous, but upon deeper reflection one can witness a profound moment of expressive freedom visually recorded in paint and similar media.

Mayhew is more than a place, it’s more like a trail to get from one place to another. These works can transform into symbolic markers along their way, embedded with meaning and emotion. Collectively this work could bring a new perspective on campy expressionism.

-Jim O’Brien
Assistant Program Director