Susan Strickler- Guardian of the Arts

Above: Photo courtesy of the Currier Museum

When the decision was made to expand Manchester’s Currier Museum by some 30,000 square feet, it meant a time of great change for the venerable institution. The museum had to be closed for 18 months to allow the $20 million construction to take place. Guided by Susan Strickler, the museum’s director, the Currier surmounted that challenge, found alternate and creative ways for the museum’s work to continue and, soon, to re-open, bigger and better. A woman of many interests and involvement, she’s been laying low of late, other than taking some good-natured ribbing from Union Leader columnist John Clayton about the 35-foot-tall steel sculpture by modern artist Mark di Suvero that will greet visitors to the Currier. “My work is my life right now,” she says. “But it’s fun. I can’t complain.”