Amanda Kidd-Kestler, Executive Director

Amanda Kidd-Kestler is an artist, arts administrator, and community organizer. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the New Hampshire Art Association (NHAA), where she champions the visual arts and provides critical support for both emerging and established local artists. Amanda's inclusive and supportive leadership style has fostered a welcoming and thriving arts community across the Seacoast region of New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts, ensuring that artists of all backgrounds feel seen, heard, and valued.

A proven expert in fundraising, Amanda has played a key role in growing NHAA and strengthening its financial stability. Under her leadership, the organization has more than doubled its annual revenue, enabling expanded programs and increased opportunities for artists to exhibit, collaborate, and develop their careers. Amanda's focus on creating an intergenerational organization has positioned NHAA as a pillar of the regional arts scene, making it a more sustainable and dynamic institution for the future.

Amanda has developed several innovative programs during her tenure, such as Fledgling: Artists Under 30, a mentorship program that supports emerging artists early in their careers, and the Queer Youth Self-Portraiture Project, in collaboration with Seacoast Outright, which provides queer youth a platform for self-expression through art. She also created NHAA’s DEIAB Committee (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Belonging), which has launched the No Longer Brushed Aside project—an eight-week DEIAB workshop for artists that culminates in an art exhibition showcasing the power of art to foster empathy and affect positive change in our communities.

A Clark University alumna, Amanda has a diverse professional background that includes roles such as manager of Framed In Tatnuck and educator, sharing her expertise by teaching printmaking at her alma mater and giving workshops on professional practices for artists. She is a dedicated advocate for the arts, previously serving on the Worcester Arts Council from 2017 to 2019, and on the Cultural Plan Subcommittee for the City of Portsmouth from 2023 to 2024. 

Amanda’s own creative practice includes using a range of mediums, including ceramics, printmaking, fiber art, and drawing, with a focus on the theme of eco-feminism. Amanda remains deeply connected to the earth and contemporary issues—a sensibility that informs much of her artistic work. Her installations often reflect a reverence for nature and human connection, with thoughtful explorations of collective power and resilience.

Her artwork has been exhibited in institutions such as the Worcester Art Museum, Fitchburg Art Museum, and galleries throughout New England. Now based in New Hampshire, Amanda continues to actively create from her studio in York, ME, while supporting the artists and cultural vibrancy of the region.