On February 10, 1987, Portsmouth’s Theatre by the Sea shut down. A month and a day later, the Music Hall closed its doors. The word in Portsmouth was that the city’s theater, and by extension, art, was dead. 

The two theaters insisted that their closure was due to lack of funds and support from the city of Portsmouth, in the report of The Boston Globe’s June 7th 1987 newspaper publication.

Fast forward 37 years later and the arts in Portsmouth is thriving. Tourism in New Hampshire continuously breaks records. Shows at places like the Music Hall (which has reopened due to local efforts after a small nonprofit group bought the Music Hall back in 1988), Seacoast Repertory Theatre, and 3S Artspace consistently do well, and even sell out. Events such as the Seacoast Repertory Theatre’s opening nights, the Music Hall’s hosted events such as TEDxPortsmouth, and 3S Artspace’s intimate concerts all contribute to Portsmouth’s bustling art scene. 

It took a lot of work to get there.

According to Laura Pope from a  Seacoastonline article, after the negative business impact created by the shut downs of Theatre by the Sea and the Music Hall had on Portsmouth, the city government created the first arts focused Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC). However, their efforts and recommendations were never quite instituted. 

The Blue Ribbon Committee of 1999 recognized that without means to enact ideas had very little impact. The BRC worked for three years to get a cultural plan finalized and approved by the city council. In 2002, Portsmouth’s first arts and culture plan was approved, and in 2005 it was instated into the city’s master plan.

Portsmouth’s 2002 cultural plan was a massive success. Portsmouth’s Music and Arts Center attributes its opening to being inspired by the 2002 cultural plan. 

After the Covid-19 pandemic, a newly formed Arts and Culture committee found that Portsmouth’s arts needed more strict funding, and that the economy needed revitalization. The new cultural plan, approved in 2023 and set to be a part of Portsmouth’s 2025 master plan, details an updated priority list of how to support the arts in a way that benefits all.

When it comes to fostering Portsmouth’s art community, city councilor and contributor to the cultural plan Kate Cook sees herself as “more of an enabler.” Cook considers arts and culture to be a part of the city’s cultural and economic backbone.

Cook’s work involves implementing a permanent arts committee. The committee is a new welcomed addition to Portsmouth’s government, and its focus is on which parts of the new cultural plan to be prioritized and how they should be implemented. 

Cook describes her most proud accomplishment as a city councilor being “providing a legacy for the arts in Portsmouth,” and giving something for the city to rely on and turn to. It is no secret that the arts have been a huge driving economic factor to Portsmouth since the 70s and 80s. Last year, the arts brought in roughly 72 million dollars to the city’s economy, and more than 1200 jobs in Portsmouth are nonprofit related. 

Sarah Masci, 3S Artspace house manager and volunteer coordinator, is a Portsmouth native and heavily involved in the local arts community throughout both her work and free time. Masci has been a community participant her whole life, and knows recent Portsmouth history well.

“I spend most of my time with performance art, but the visual art in our main gallery and lobby is a huge perk – getting to be surrounded by different art works daily, is a privilege,” Masci said while speaking about the artistic community of Portsmouth with great fondness. People like her have fostered new admiration and appreciation for the arts on the Seacoast, which has created regional recognition and wide appreciation. 

Accessibility is key to 3S Artspace and the city of Portsmouth’s goals. Masci states that “Through the support of donors, members, and community partnerships, we strive to maintain low ticket prices for events…” Masci states that 3S Artspace strives “to maintain our mission that art is essential,” and 3S Artspace runs off the support given by the city and its residents, and through that, the non profit can give back. 

“… As humans, we tend to get very caught up in the day to day – feeling so busy, not having time to catch your breath, etc.,” Masci expresses. “I think the city of Portsmouth has a special sense of calmness. In my opinion, the more art we add to public spaces, the better. This gives us time to slow down and really look at the beauty around us.”

Portsmouth’s charming culture brings returning tourists and keeps lifelong residents, and the community surrounding the arts are a significant factor supporting that.

Another inspirational figure in the Portsmouth arts community is Eric Moore, mainly known for his work as an arts teacher at Portsmouth High School. He has done a recognizably large amount of work in order to get teens interested and involved in Portsmouth’s culture. Moore, along with Sarah Mundy and Tamara Carrigan, have led goal orientated and progress based (rather than final product based) art classes in a variety of mediums. 

Moore’s goal at PHS has been to “turn the art department into something more than just art classes – more than the required art credit, more than an easy A.”

By creating events like Fine Arts Night, an event that has run for the past two years and hosted at 3S Artspace, Moore has found that “more kids have been putting in effort as they see their peers work out in the community and they want to be part of that – something bigger.” 

Moore’s expedition on including teens into Portsmouth’s culture started in 2017, with the PHS art Instagram account, which since expanded into fun things like the artist of the month series (which started in 2018) and the aforementioned Fine Arts Night. 

Moore found further success in engaging the PHS arts community with current ventures such as supporting local writer and PHS alumni Ben Doyle on PHS’ art Instagram account, showing current students how to continue passions, and nurture connections post high school.

“Fine arts night is the art department’s pride and joy. It’s like our Super Bowl,” stated Moore, explaining how he finds excitement in what he does for the art department. 

It appears that the wider community is paying attention to student art. Mayor Deaglan McEachern reached out to Eric Moore at two Portsmouth High School initiated events potentially to work on an exciting upcoming project, which would cement PHS’s role in creating community art and supporting the wider culture of Portsmouth.

“People should get involved in volunteering for the arts,” states Kate Cook, enthusiastic about bringing in new, local consumers.

If you are a Portsmouth student looking to get involved and make history with Portsmouth’s arts community, 3S Artspace and PHS’s art department are two great places to start. Ways of supporting the arts include donating, volunteering, becoming members, going to shows, and sharing news and information. Places like 3S Artspace, the Music Hall, Strawberry Banke, Prescott Park and many more not only rely on but greatly appreciate your support. 

As Sarah Masci said: “there are so many lovely people in our small city that care so much about the arts, and it is really powerful to share the love of art with ‘your people.’”