CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire has a new artist laureate. Genevieve Aichele is a theater artist who has performed, directed, and taught in New Hampshire and beyond for over 40 years.
She’s taking over the post this month from Theophilus Nii Martey who held the role from 2022 through 2024. The Executive Council approved Aichele’s appointment earlier in June.
The two-year honorary position was created in 1997, as a way of recognizing and uplifting achievements in the arts.
“I’ve always believed that theater, and indeed all of the arts, are a lot more than just entertainment,” she said. “They’re important pieces of our lives and feed our souls.”
During the decades she’s been making art in New Hampshire, she’s used theater to tackle some of the pressing social issues facing the state.
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She interviewed refugees and immigrants around the state to create a play based on their stories called “Dreaming Again” that toured four times around the state. And she’s working on another project called “The Elephant in the Room” to help people talk about topics they might otherwise shy away from, including addiction and suicide.
“Theater in particular is an incredibly powerful art form, which has the ability to really build connections with people and promote conversation and to help us understand stories of people we might not necessarily know about,” she said.
Aichele described working from interviews she conducts with people and then weaving their words together to be performed.
“I like to create tapestries of people’s words and also find the poetry in everyday stories,” she said.
She found the title for “Dreaming Again” in the story from a woman who had been a doctor in her home country, but could no longer practice when she came to New Hampshire because of the language barrier and her credentials weren’t accepted here. “She said, ‘I’m having to learn to dream again,’” said Aichele.
Her advice to young or aspiring artists: “Don’t let people tell you it’s not a worthwhile endeavor,” she said. But, she added, artists should also strive to be good business people, and you don’t need to be a starving artist to be a good artist.
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“It’s about following your passion, but also keeping your feet on the ground and learning what techniques and crafts you need to make it a good business,” she said.
There are no specified duties for the artist laureate, although they have typically served as an ambassador for artists and the arts, promoting their visibility and value in the state.
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Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.