NASHUA – The welcomes, thank-yous, looking-forward-to’s and tributes were delivered on a warm, springtime evening Thursday, signaling the official opening to the 15th Nashua International Sculpture Symposium.

Titled “Merriment” in honor of symposium co-founder Meri Goyette, who died last year at age 95 after decades of supporting and advocating for the arts in Nashua, the symposium runs through June 4, when a closing ceremony will take place at a location that will soon be finalized and announced.

Meanwhile, the public is encouraged to stop by the Picker Artists building, at 3 Pine St., to visit the sculptors and watch them create their works of art.

Visitors can come by Mondays through Saturdays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., beginning Monday.

They will be working in spaces set aside along the east side of the Picker Artists building.

(Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP) Mayor Jim Donchess and Anna Miller, one of the three sculptors taking part in this year's symposium, chat with visitors during the opening reception Thursday evening at the Picker Artists building.

Organizers are also looking for volunteers to provide meals for the sculptors. For details on how to do so, go to www.nashuasculpturesymposium.org, scroll down to the “Prepare a Meal” icon and click on it.

For addtional general information on the symposium, its history and other background, go to nashuasculpturesymposium.org/2022-symposium.

Biographies of the three sculptors can be found on that site as well.

•••

MEET THE ARTISTS

(Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP) Two of this year's symposium sculptors, Anna Miller of New Haven, Connecticut, and Brent Howard of Jersey City, New Jersey, share a laugh while chatting at Thursday's opening reception.

• Anna Miller, New Haven, Connecticut

Anna Alvina Miller was raised in Tucson, Arizona, and primarily makes kinetic and interactive sculpture.

She graduated with a BFA in 2017 from the University of Arizona and earned a MFA from Yale School of Art in 2020.

In addition to her sculptural practice, Anna has worked in ceramics, drawing, painting, and custom fabrication. She was an associate of the Boathouse Gallery in Tucson and has had shows in Arizona galleries, as well as exhibitions along the East Coast.

She currently lives with her partner on a sailboat in New Haven, where they are creating a traveling artist residency on a boat.

• Brent Howard, Jersey City, New Jersey

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Brent Howard received a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and a MFA from Hunter College, where he studied under the minimalist Robert Morris.

Upon arriving in New York City to study, Brent assisted and befriended Louise Bourgeois. He helped her produce many of her large-scale metal sculptures from 2000 until her passing in 2010.

Brent also owned and operated Soapstone Studios in Brooklyn from 2002-2007. In 2009, he was hired at Yale University School of Art in the sculpture department, and became director of the wood and metal shops. He joined the faculty full-time as a lecturer in 2012.

Brent now resides in Jersey City, where he is focusing full-time on his career as a sculptor.

• Corinna D’Schoto, Greater Boston

Based in Boston, Corinna DíSchoto works across painting, sculpture, installation and performance,exploring object-body relationships and the power dynamics and inter-subjective realities within constructed space.

Corinna’s exhibitions include Haul Gallery, Brooklyn; Mall Galleries, London; The Market Gallery, Bolton, UK; the Projektraum, Berlin; Galerie Bipolar, Leipzig; and The Glue Factory, The Pipe Factory, and the Trongate Gallery, all in Glasgow.

Corinna attended Glasgow School of Art, receiving an MFA in 2018, and Massachusetts College of Art and Design, earning a BFA in 2013.

She has been an artist-in-residence at Ellis-Beauregard Foundation, Rockland, Maine; Monson Arts, Monson, Maine; Prenzlauer Studio/Kunst-Kollektiv art gallery, Berlin, Germany; the Pilotenkueche art studio, Leipzig, Germany; along with fellowships at a neo gallery artist residency and the Vermont Studio Centre, Johnson, Vermont.

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