The Currier Museum of Art reopens to the public on March 30 after a 21 month, $21.4 million expansion. Leading up to the grand reopening the Currier Art Center is offering special events for adults and children. Events include workshops on pottery, portraiture, and painting with glass.  Art produced by students and teachers of the Currier Art Center will also be showcased. The grand reopening week, March 30-April 5, will feature free admission, a lively schedule of programs and docents stationed throughout the newly reinstalled galleries to engage visitors, answer questions, and enjoy the museum with the public.

The museum's entrance is now located at 150 Ash Street and parking is available in the new parking lot. Museum hours are Sunday, Monday, Wednesday - Friday 11a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., open the first Thursday of each month 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and closed Tuesday.

The Currier Art Center offers art classes, workshops and camps for all ages. During reopening week, visitors can take a first come, first served free Highlights Tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Zimmerman House. The ticketed Zimmerman House tours will resume on Monday, April 7.

The full schedule of events in March follows:

Adult Clay Workshop
Saturday, March 1, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Currier Art Center, 180 Pearl Street
Teens and adults will use plaster molds to create beautiful yet functional pottery in this fun workshop! Use underglazing, decorating, and additional hand-building techniques to enhance the basic forms. Cost is $100. Currier members receive a 10% discount on Art Center classes and workshops. To learn more about classes and workshops at the Currier Art Center, check out the online class brochure at http://www.currier.org, or call 603-669-6144, ext. 122 for more information.

Art Center Children and Parent Workshop: Family Portraits
Saturday, March 8, 1 - 3 p.m. at Currier Art Center, 180 Pearl Street
Children ages 4 and up and their parents will explore the art of portraiture in this fun workshop! Work on a large canvas and with the aid of the instructor, Rebecca Fredrickson, create your own family portrait! $45 for 1 parent/child, $60 for 2 children. Currier members receive a 10% discount on Art Center classes and workshops. To learn more about classes and workshops at the Currier Art Center, check out the online class brochure at http://www.currier.org, or call 603-669-6144, ext. 122 for more information.

Art Center Workshop: Painting with Glass!
Saturday, March 15, 9 a.m. – noon at Currier Art Center, 180 Pearl Street
Fritography is the process of using crushed glass (frit) and colored glass powders, combined with liquid medium, to create fused glass artwork. Teens and adults will learn the process of fused glass and the techniques for creating and assembling these painterly designs with artist Verne Orlosk.  Cost is $60. Currier members receive a 10% discount on Art Center classes and workshops. To learn more about classes and workshops at the Currier Art Center, check out the online class brochure at http://www.currier.org, or call 603-669-6144, ext. 122 for more information.

Family Wednesday – "Down on the Farm"
Wednesday, March 19, 3 – 5 p.m. Now in the Currier Art Center Gallery, 180 Pearl Street
With Currier Downtown now closed, Family Wednesday will be held at the Currier Art Center located at 180 Pearl street every third Wednesday. This week adults and children can drop in to explore some of the Currier's works of art related to farms, and then make a work of their own using a variety of materials. Visit http://www.currier.org for a complete list of programs. This program is FREE! Sponsored by Bellwether Community Credit Union.

Winter Art Center Student Exhibition: Opening Reception
Thursday, March 27, 5 – 8 p.m., at Currier Art Center, 180 Pearl Street
Join our talented students and teachers as they celebrate their work during the winter semester at the Currier Art Center. Refreshments will be served and artwork from every class will be hung throughout the Art Center during this opening reception. If you can't make it tonight, be sure to come to the Open House on Saturday, March 29 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. To learn more about classes and workshops at the Currier Art Center, check out the online class brochure at http://www.currier.org, or call 603-669-6144, ext. 122 for more information. Currier members receive a 10% discount on Art Center classes and workshops.

Winter Art Center Student Exhibition: Open House
Saturday, March 29, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., at Currier Art Center, 180 Pearl Street
Curious about the Currier Art Center? Always wanted to take a class, but not sure what to expect? Come to our Student Exhibition Open House to see the work of our students from every age and skill level, tour the Art Center, and talk to teachers. To learn more about classes and workshops at the Currier Art Center, check out the online class brochure at http://www.currier.org, or call 603-669-6144, ext. 122 for more information. Currier members receive a 10% discount on Art Center classes and workshops.

Art Center Workshop:  Pottery Wheel Throwing
Saturday, March 29 & April 5, 1 – 4 p.m. at Currier Art Center, 180 Pearl Street
Interested in learning about wheel thrown pottery, but don't have time for a full class? This two-day workshop for teens and adults taught by Shannon Dodge is for you! The first session will focus on wedging, centering, and throwing, while the second session will touch on trimming and decorating thrown pots. Cost is $100. Currier members receive a 10% discount on Art Center classes and workshops. To learn more about classes and workshops at the Currier Art Center, check out the online class brochure at http://www.currier.org, or call 603-669-6144, ext. 122 for more information.

Currier Museum of Art Grand Reopening Week
Sunday, March 30 – Saturday, April 5
This entire week visitors can explore the newly expanded Currier Museum of Art for free! Check http://www.currier.org for a listing of Reopening events and details.

Zimmerman House Tours Reopen
Sunday, March 30
Visit the newly expanded Currier Museum of Art and take a tour of the only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building in New England open to the public! For the first week the museum is open (March 30 – April 5), docents will escort visitors to the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Zimmerman House for first-come, first-serve "highlights" tours at 11:30am and 1:30pm daily. Starting Sunday, April 6th, timed and ticketed public tours of the Zimmerman House will resume, with more tour options as outlined below. Assistive listening systems are available for all public and private tours.

Special Public Tour – Director's Choice: Intriguing Works of Art at the Currier
Monday, March 31, 1 p.m.
Join Museum Director Susan Strickler for this special public tour, offered only during the museum's free reopening week.

Special Public Tour – A Curator's Look at Reinstalling a Museum's Collections
Monday, March 31, 3:30 p.m.
Join Chief Curator Andrew Spahr for this special public tour, offered only during the museum's free reopening week.

About the Currier
The Currier Museum of Art (http://www.currier.org) in Manchester, NH is home to an internationally respected collection of European and American paintings, decorative arts, photographs and sculpture. New galleries showcase the collection of over 11,000 objects, including works by Picasso, Matisse, Monet, O'Keeffe, and Warhol. Visitors of all ages will enjoy the engaging traveling exhibitions, a series of dynamic programs ranging from music to lectures to hands-on art-making, an expanded gift shop and an airy new café filled with light and equipped with wifi.

The associated Art Center offers studio classes, art camps and intensive workshops for all ages. The museum also owns the Zimmerman House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, complete with the original furnishings and the owners' fine art collection.  The Zimmerman House is the only Wright-designed house in New England open for public tours, which are offered March – December. For more information, visit http://www.currier.org or call 603-669-6144, ext. 108.