Located at a deep bend of the Cocheco River in the beating heart of burgeoning Dover, New Hampshire, is where you’ll find the historic Washington Street Mills complex. Over the past few years, something special has happened within this former textile mill, as the Seacoast Region city it calls home — the oldest permanent settlement in New Hampshire — has transformed into one of the fastest-growing communities in the state.

This circa-1880s mill complex has sprung to new life through the efforts of a vigorous and varied blend of talented entrepreneurs. At the core of it all is a thriving artists’ colony anchored by a multifunctional creation, exhibition and performance space named The Art Center which is well-served by the boundless and infectious energy of its passionate owner, Rebecca Proctor.

In the damp gray of early-April, as the New England spring struggled to find its foothold, Artscope Magazine’s Eric J Taubert visited with Rebecca Proctor to learn more about all of the colorful goings-on already blossoming in 2022 at The ArtCenter.

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