All posts by Kim Whiting, Editor-in-Chief

Arts and Entertainment

Peace Poetry Winner

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The seventh annual Peace Poetry contest came to a close on Friday night with a reading and award ceremony in the Hartleb Technology Center to honor the participants.

The event began at 6 p.m. with a welcome speech from Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. William Heineman, followed by a keynote address from local performing artist and poet Letriah Masters.
Host and coordinator Paul Saint-Amand then invited each of the participants to the front of the auditorium to read their poem for the audience.

The 300 seat auditorium was nearly full, but even the youngest participants managed to deliver their own individual message of peace with poise and conviction.

After reading their entry, winners were given a certificate by professor Liz Espinoza and received a stem of daisys from NECC student Justin Merced.

This year, the project began in the fall with a contest among Lance Hidy’s Introduction to Digital Photography students to provide the photograph for the poster and cover design. Students and faculty were asked to vote on their favorite entry.

The picture of the hands cupped around the peace sign, submitted by NECC student Nicole Chetsas, won the vote by a landslide. Inspired by her success in this contest, Chetsas is now considering a career in photography.

“I’m going to be switching my major over to it. I’m trying to get into the New England School of Photography,” she said, “I’m taking a year off to save up and build my portfolio.”

The poetry and drawing portion of the contest was open to people of all ages throughout the greater Merrimack Valley area. It began in the fall with the advertising posters at NECC encouraging participation and an invitation to other local schools to submit entries as well.

According to Saint-Amand, about 600 entries were received. The entries were read by student and faculty volunteers who narrowed it down to the final 73 poems and 11 drawings printed in the chap book.

“If we try to put too many pages in, it won’t even close.” Saint-Amand said of the winnowing process.
Among the poems included in the book is, “Imagine“ by local poet laureate Gayle Heney. Formerly the keynote speaker for this same event, Heney now hosts a local television show called “Write Now” in which she interviews successful writers.

“It’s been a great opportunity to ask writers questions that I want to know the answers to,” Heney said. The show airs in Haverhill, Andover, North Andover and Methuen.

Four students from the Islamic Academy for Peace were also included among the accepted entries. This was given to them as a class assignment and it is the first year that they have participated. Selma Dakiri, seventh grader, got the inspiration for her poem by thinking about “How people are treated by their skin color, and how they don’t treat people equally.”

Eighth grader Kelthoum Fathi said that she was thinking about “Simple acts of peace that we do everyday.”

“I wanted to talk about peace in general, all over the world,” said Mahmoud Qesmi, also an eighth grader.

“My poem had a bunch of different languages,” said seventh grader Adiba Ubaidu, “because peace is needed everywhere in the world, so I thought it should be included.”

Their parents said that they are very proud.

Arts and Entertainment

Children’s Present Stuart Little

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Stuart Little by the NECC children’s theater class opened Friday, May 1 at 10:30 a.m. to a small audience.

Stuart Little is the story of a walking, talking, car driving mouse who is adopted by the Little family. The older brother, George, is not happy to welcome Stuart into the family, creating a very unusual sibling rivalry. The only character more reluctant to accept him is the family cat, Snowbell.

The story is based on a classic children’s novel written in 1945 by E.B. White and was released in 1999 as an American family comedy film with an all-star cast, including such greats as Michael J. Fox, Geena Davis and Hugh Laurie.

Though the budget was considerably smaller for NECC’s performance, this small cast did a great job creating a very entertaining show.

Arts and Entertainment

Students’ comics on exhibit

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The Haverhill Public Library is currently hosting an art exhibit featuring original graphic novels created by NECC students. The work was produced during the spring 2014 semester class entitled “Art and Literature of the Graphic Novel,” a learning community course co-taught by professors Ginger Hurajt and Marc Mannheimer.
In this project, students wrote and illustrated short graphic stories, which were then compiled into the first volume of “Tales From the Valley.” This 44 page book is a collection of 21 of these stories and was produced and published on the Haverhill campus.
“The hardest part was learning to transfer what you’ve written into a picture that still tells the same story,” said Benjamin Pintor. He has been doodling illustrations for as long as he can remember, though he previously had little experience with writing his own story for which to provide the illustration.
Pintor is currently majoring in general studies with a focus on art and industrial design. He enjoyed the project and plans to pursue a career that allows him to use his artistic talent.
Also featured is Dylan McDougall, an art major who was inspired at a very young age by a brother who was always drawing. As well as a love for drawing, McDougall found poetry to be an invaluable outlet when experiencing difficult times throughout his life.
McDougall is currently preparing to launch his own original clothing line called “Smile Just Because,” which will feature designs transferred to t-shirts and hats, for starters. While he is not clear about exactly what his long term career plans are, he said “my biggest goal is to change the world.”
Currently a liberal arts major, Yosmarlin Infante didn’t realize she could draw until she took a high school art class at the age of 14. As she improved, she began to look for ways to incorporate her love of drawing and her love of film.
Her favorite part of the class is that she finally learned how drawing can be connected to her career plans. “As an aspiring film producer, I can use my own storyboards to pitch my own ideas.” she said. Infante plans to transfer to the film program at Fitchburg State College after graduation.
A reception was held on Sept. 11, 5 to 7 p.m. in the library’s Johnson Auditorium, allowing visitors to purchase the book and meet the artists and view the storyboards they created. Artwork will remain on display along the second floor gallery at the Haverhill Public Library until Sept. 30.
To purchase a book for $5, or for more information, contact Marc Mannheimer at mmannheimer@necc.mass.edu.

Arts and Entertainment

NECC’s Top Notch Players Hold Auditions

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Auditions are being held in the Chester W. Hawrylciw Theater, also known as the Top Notch Theater, in the Spurk building on Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. for the upcoming production of “Front” by Robert Caisley. 

Anyone interested in supporting this production behind the scenes should stop by the office in C317C to introduce themselves.  

Help is welcome with lighting and sound, props and costumes, and other areas.  No experience or preparation is necessary to participate.  

The first production of the season, “Real Women Have Curves” by Josephina Lopez, will be held at the Lawrence campus on Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. and in the TNT on Sept. 20.  Admission is free and open to the public. 

For more information, contact Susan Sanders 978-556-3374, ssanders@necc.mass.edu or Jim Murphy 978-556-3377, jmurphy@necc.mass.edu

Arts and Entertainment

New shoe comes to Haverhill campus

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Marc Mannheimer and two NECC art students stand behind a white paster shoe that they will paint and place on campus.
Mannheimer, Dorgan, and Marr first met on July 17 to begin planning the shoe’s design Photo courtesy of the NECC Newsroom

Over the summer, NECC Professor of Art and Design Marc Mannheimer led two students in designing and painting a bench for our campus.  This was no ordinary bench, though.  This bench is part of a huge fundraising project led by Team Haverhill, an independent volunteer action group dedicated to improving living and working conditions throughout the city.

Aptly named “Soles of Haverhill,” this project was launched in 2009 with the introduction of 14 huge fiberglass shoes.  According to the website, after being designed and painted by local artists, 

“The sculptures were sold at auction in Oct. 2009, raising more than $40,000 for local non-profits nominated by the shoe sculpture sponsors.”

The theme for this years shoes is “Fashion Forward.”  As part of the upcoming events throughout the city, Team Haverhill hopes to create a brochure map that would lead visitors on a “fashion trail” allowing them to enjoy many of the shoes and other related attractions.

The shoes are a celebration of Haverhill’s rich history as the worlds largest supplier of women’s shoes until the late 60s.  

This years sculpture design has been somewhat re-fashioned to include seating for two, allowing the community to truly interact with the artwork.  The original model was a low-heeled shoe which featured both a buckle and a bow.  It was entered for display at the Chicago World Fair in 1893 and now resides in the Buttonwoods Museum. 

Funding for the project was provided by the Office for Institutional Advancement and according to Mannheimer, the college being a non-profit organization, “got a good deal on it.”  

Once the decision was made in mid-June that a sculpture would be painted by NECC students and placed on campus, Mannheimer sent a school wide e-mail asking for volunteers.  Only six students responded to his e-mail and on July 17 only two students arrived at the Artspace in the Bentley Library to begin work.

One of those students was Jaclyn Marr from Salisbury.  She is an illustration major and said that she really enjoyed coming up with the concept.

 “We tried to base it on education but put our own twist so it isn’t just things you see here every day,” said Marr.  

The other was visual arts major Adam Dorgan from Peabody.

“We all threw in our ideas.  Some parts were a collaboration and some were based more on individual ideas,” said Dorgan.

Mannheimer eagerly accepted the challenge of leading students in creating a design appropriate for NECC campus. 

 “Everything is related to subjects that we study here at Northern Essex, but we took some creative license,” said Mannheimer.  

The shoe is scheduled to be picked up on August 14 by a company that will apply a protective coating, making it weather proof. 

 All of the shoes will then be presented to the public in late September in downtown Haverhill at the Essex County Trails and Sails Festival.  After the unveiling, each of the shoes will be distributed to its permanent home.  

The NECC shoe will eventually be placed under a shady tree outside the Hartleb Technology Center on the Haverhill campus, to the right of the bus kiosk.