3S Artspace

319 Vaughan Street Portsmouth, NH 03801

3S Artspace photo by Aliah Cortes 2016

Aliah Cortes

Block Six photo by Aliah Cortes 2016

3s Artspace
www.3sarts.org
Mon-Fri: 10am-5pm
Sat: 3pm-close
Contact: 603-766-3330

Tiny art vending machine, logo, outside of the building

and selected art pieces.

Mission: The ultimate mission for 3S is

constant creating in lots of areas. They want to
figure out what the community wants and to be
a vibrant art center. They want all four
sections to play with each other in a consistent
way. It is all about the community and that it
will always be emerging yet approachable. 3S
is very dedicated to supporting art that is
emerging and to cultivate it in an informal
space where ideas and creativity can be
exchanged.

History: 3S is a nonprofit
alternative arts organization that
combines a performance space, a
large non-commercial gallery and
a restaurant called Block Six.
Founded in 2009 and it was five
years in the making until they
knew it was time to get the doors
open. They knew it was time when
they had the right people, systems,
the concept was right and that
there was vibrancy! It is still fairly
new but has been in the works for
years with collaboration and
careful community planning.

Key People:

Founder: Chris Grenier

Interim Executive Director (who I
interviewed): Karil Reibold
Director of Operations: Martin
Holbrook
Senior Developing and Marketing
Manager: Celeste Ladd

Logo in the performance area

Logo: The logo is the geometry of the

building. The shape and color are ever
changing.

 Cultural Connections: 3S is all about community, the

second you step foot into the building you can feel the
vibe. As an organization they are always making
connections and or influences with the global and local
culture because they are accepting of all different kinds
of creativity and their goal is to foster that. They are very
strong in the fact that they dont want to nor need to do it
all themselves but collaboration is key. They collaborate
with arts and reach, PMAC, The University of New
Hampshire, and it will grow more globally over time.
They are all about cultivating inbound requests and
having the organization be culturally diverse. As Karil
said, "they are the Switzerland of the art community".

Big Picture: Mural Exhibition

Artwork done by Karil Reibold's stepfather.

Notable Moments or Events: I think the

biggest notable moment is the success of the
business itself, and that the doors are open and
have stayed open. Figuring out what the
community wants and is drawn to and being
able to sustain that is notable. 3S is able to
change the gallery every six weeks, and it gets
better and better over time. The performance
space is an animal all on its own, and it allows
the community to dance and see all types of
shows. There has also been a couple "series"
events that they want to keep going so people
can look forward to something weekly, or
monthly such as "Drink and Draw"and "Dorks
and Dungeons".

 Current Offerings: The neat thing about 3S is there is

always something current. There are constant events
and creative avenues. There is anything from
community yoga, short film night, mural artist shows,
dance classes, 80's dance parties, plays, kids events,
roller coaster dance party, art classes, concerts and so
much more. So basically there is always something
creative to experience and it will only grow over time.
There is a big revenue for volunteers and community
help. They look for artists but also get asked by artists
to rent space or participate

Challenges: The biggest challenge was to keep the doors

open and to figure out what is going to attract the community.
Also balancing the fees foe cover charges, what night is the
best night, and what's going to do well is a challenge. At the
beginning they experienced some significant loses, which
brought the small team of three to thinking, does the
community want 3S? There is a struggle of sometimes
prioritizing and keeping focused without getting distracted
because there are so many ideas, but the team has realized if
they keep it 3-5 things to focus on at a times they will be just
fine!
The Future: The future plans are to keep
reaching the community and growing in
what they enjoy. In early 2017 3S will
have 12 studios in the upper floor that
will include a learning center, small
gallery spaces, and flex space. It needs to
always be a place for art and a constant
place for creating in every part of the
building.

Mission on the wall

Block Six

 References:
3S Artspace. (n.d). Retrieved April 1 2016 from,
www.3sarts.org
Interview with Karil Reibold on Monday March 25th

Big Picture Mural Exhibition

Big Picture: Mural Exhibition

A special thank you to Karil

Reibold who took time to
meet with me and share
the wonderful community
creativity that Portsmouth
has grown and developed. I
also am eager to keep in
touch and volunteer in the
near future as we
discussed!