Starry Night Community Fundraiser

5-7:30 PM | Saturday, November 16, 2024 | 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH

We are excited to welcome you to this lively event, whether you are familiar with Star Island or simply looking forward to good conversation and entertainment. This year, our featured speaker will be Alex De Steiguer, the island’s winter caretaker. Following her talk, you will have the opportunity to participate in a raffle with prizes such as local experiences, gift cards, art, and food and beverages provided by local breweries and restaurants.

Our silent auction will be an online auction coming in December 2024. Stay tuned for more information!

Speaker- Alex De Steiguer

Alexandra de Steiguer is the winter caretaker of Star Island and the sole full-time resident of the Isles of Shoals during the deserted months of winter. This November marks the start of her twenty-eighth year as Star’s winter caretaker.

Alex is also a photographer. She creates her black-and-white images using medium-format film and personally prints each one in her traditional darkroom. Her images of the pared-down and timeless essence of the Isles of Shoals in winter quietly exalt the wild elements that shape and define these islands, underscoring the fundamental connections within the natural world and the transitory and humbling nature of our residence in it.

Her work is in the permanent collections of the deCordova Museum, the North Carolina Museum of Art and the Ogunquit Museum of American Art, and is represented by Pucker Gallery in Boston. Her insightful musings on solitude, connection and the creative process are published in her book “Small Island, Big Picture” and in original music written and arranged on the Isles of Shoals. Alex’s story has been the subject of two internationally distributed short-form documentary films, and she is a two-time artist fellow of the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts.

www.alexdesteiguer.com

Music- David Shapiro

David Shapiro is a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist from New Haven, Connecticut. At age five, he started taking lessons from classical guitarist Myron Radawiec at the Neighborhood Music School. He continued learning various styles of music from Andrew Leonard and George Raccio. At Choate Rosemary Hall, he was awarded the Hicks-Lawrence Prize for Overall Excellence in Music. He performed solo with the Choate Rosemary Hall Chamber Orchestra during their 2008 tour of Italy and Greece. At Oberlin College, he studied classical guitar under Stephen Aron. In addition to his extensive repertoire of classical guitar music, he has written over seventy pieces of original guitar music. Since 2006, David has been touring extensively across the United States and abroad. He performs solo in the band’s Headroom and Center with underground folk legend Kath Bloom.

David is a lifelong Shoaler. He grew up attending the LOAS 1 conference and then worked as a Pelican in various roles. In 2023 and 2024, he was the Music Director at Star Island.

DON’T MISS OUT. REGISTER HERE!

Location

Starry Night occurs at the Discover Portsmouth Center at 10 Middle Street in Portsmouth, NH. Limited parking is available behind the building. More parking locations, including the Foundry Garage, can be found at various public lots and garages a short walk away, ranging from 1 to 10 minutes. A ramp into the Discover Portsmouth Center can be found at the rear entrance. The Discover Portsmouth Center is located within Portsmouth’s historic downtown. Numerous restaurants, cafes, and bars are a short walk away. You might consider continuing your Starry Night conversations over a meal after the event.

Price

Tickets are $50 per person.

Questions?

Please get in touch with Communications Manager Chelsea Haskell .