Photo by ALLEGRA BOVERMAN/CITY ARTS NASHUA Members of City Arts Nashua arrange artwork by Meri Goyette on an easel for display in Goyette's new exhibit in the front lobby of The Telegraph. From left are Marjorie Bollinger Hogan, Gail Moriarty and Bonnie Guercio.

NASHUA – Decades after she began carving out a few hours here and there from her already full-time, twin careers of assisting her husband in his medical practice and raising their children to do some volunteering with the city’s fledgling arts community, one could say Meri Goyette has now come “full circle.”

Goyette, after all those years lending a helping hand here, dispensing a bit of valuable advice there, and stepping up whenever called upon for the benefit of Nashua’s arts community – often in the form of sorely needed financial support – is making her first foray into the creative side of the arts world.

Goyette’s debut project, titled “Geometric Abstraction through Cut and Paste,” became an exhibit that is on display now through June 11 in the front lobby windows of The Telegraph offices, 110 Main St.

See information box for more details.

Goyette’s friends at City Arts Nashua collaborated with The Telegraph for the exhibit, which is “open” all the time because it is set up for viewing from outside the Telegraph lobby.

Photo by ALLEGRA BOVERMAN/CITY ARTS NASHUA City Arts Nashua member Bonnie Guercio affixes pricing stickers to artwork created by Meri Goyette, as she and others install Goyette's new exhibit in the front windows of The Telegraph.

Until now, according to City Arts Nashua, Goyette wasn’t an artist, “she was busy with, and committed to, helping artists to succeed.

“She didn’t make art. She made art happen.”

Rare is the artist, certainly, who makes his or her debut on the exhibit scene at age 95. But Goyette has never been one to let the calendar make her decisions for her.

Her “Cut and Paste” series was, in a way, inspired by the pandemic; still fairly active for her age, Goyette found herself spending more time at home, where one day she picked up some paper, fabric, a tube of glue and a pair of scissors and began creating.

Soon Goyette had found “her own mode of artmaking,” according to CAN, which became a series of “statement collages in various sizes,” some of which she turned into collectible greeting cards.

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“Meri is such an inspiration to all of us in the arts here in Nashua,” CAN president Lisa Bissonnette said. “We are so fortunate that she serves on our advisory board, and partners with us to support City Arts Nashuaís mission.”

For more information on City Arts Nashua and to purchase Goyette’s artwork and cards, go to www.cityartsnashua.org or contact the organization at info@cityartsnashua.org.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

Photo by ALLEGRA BOVERMAN/CITY ARTS NASHUA Members of City Arts Nashua work in the background installing Meri Goyette's new exhibit in The Telegraph's front lobby. In foreground are a portrait of Goyette and a brief biography.

Photo by ALLEGRA BOVERMAN/CITY ARTS NASHUA Gail Moriarty, left, president of City Arts Nashua, and member Lisa Bissonnette guide others inside The Telegraph lobby as they install Meri Goyette's new exhibit, which will be on display through June 11.

Photo by ALLEGRA BOVERMAN A portrait of Meri Goyette, longtime Nashua arts advocate and benefactor, whose new exhibit is on display in the front windows of The Telegraph.

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