The excitement is building for the New Hampshire Telephone Museum’s (NHTM) 2016 exhibit entitled “The ART of Conversation.” The exhibit, which runs from May 1 through October 31, will open with a reception on Friday, April 29. Museum members will be treated to a sneak preview at 6 PM, and the public will be welcomed at 7 PM.

The exhibit curator and designer, Graham Gifford, has been hard at work contacting potential artists, reviewing artwork, and designing the display space. The idea of the exhibit came from their online Pinterest board of the same name. “There is so much fascinating artwork around the communications theme that we wanted to showcase it at the museum,” says Gifford.

The main gallery of the museum features over 1,000 artifacts related to the evolution of the telephone and the telephone industry. “Our collection is static, so after people visit the museum once, they think they have seen all there is to see,” says Executive Director Laura French. “We are constantly updating and adding to the displays as well as adding interactive features such as our Telephone Trivia, Vote with a Coin, and scavenger hunts for the adults and children, but you wouldn’t know it without a return visit. Having an exhibit that changes every year is a great way to keep people coming back.”

NHTM’s first annual exhibit in 2014 was done as a collaborative effort with other area museums. In 2015 the museum ventured out on its own and produced an exhibit called, “Oracles and Dragons and Apples! Oh, My!” which looked at early desktop computing and the impact on society.

“The staff normally works together to produce the annual exhibit, but art is a passion of Graham’s, so I have let her run with it,” says French. “She has such a gift for creating a vision and seeing it to fruition.”

The exhibition will feature the artwork of local, national, and even some international artists working in a variety of media. The Opening Reception will provide the opportunity for guests to meet the artists and preview their artwork, some of which will be offered for sale in an online auction to benefit the museum.