Artistic expression at the Currier Museum
Jordana Pomeroy, director and CEO of the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, talks art, community ties and Granite State creativity with NHBR editors

The New Hampshire construction industry closed out 2012 with an across-the-board monthly increase in the value of contracts for future construction, ending an up-and-down year on a high note. But the numbers still show signs of a struggle to revive completely, at least in some sectors.
The total value of future construction contracts in December 2012 was $90.5 million, an increase of 47 percent from the year before.
For the entire year, future construction contracts totaled $1.53 billion, up 6 percent from the $1.45 billion recorded in 2011.In December, all construction sectors showed a substantial monthly increase, led by the nonbuilding sector (bridges, roads, highways and similar infrastructure projects), where the $22.6 million in future contracts represented a 90 percent increase from December 2011.On a yearly basis, the increase in future nonbuilding activity was even greater – a nearly 117 percent increase to $631.7 million in 2012 from the $290.3 million recorded in 2011.Residential construction contracts for December totaled $39.4 million, 38 percent more than the $28.5 million recorded a year earlier.
For 2012 as a whole, future residential activity totaled $473.1 million, a 3 percent rise from the $458 million recorded in 2011.Activity picked up in the nonresidential sector in December, with a $28.5 million in future contracts reported – a 35 percent jump from the year before, when $21 million in contracts were reported.
But for the year, the nonresidential sector was sluggish if not downright slow. The total value of future contracts was $433.4 million for 2012, a drop of 38 percent from the $704.4 million recorded in 2011.