Event Types: Arts & Culture

Photo Submissions Grades 6-12

ASAP! is pleased to announce that submissions are open for CYP! Students in grades 6-12 are invited to submit two photographs based on this year’s theme: Curiosity. Join us for an in-person exhibit on Sunday, November 12th, 2023 where the top 60 selected photos will be recognized, and the top four honorees will be revealed. The top two photographers from middle and high school will receive the 2023 Dylan’s Wings Photography Award. This award is presented by Ian Hockley, Executive Director of Dylan’s Wings for Change, to the photographer whose piece most thoroughly embodies the criteria.

Due Date for submissions is Monday, October 2nd, 2023.

Stephanie Lear Henderson’s paintings are about simplicity of form rendered in bold color combinations. Rather than a comples composition, the use of the simple forms allows the viewer to tap into the positive energy of bold colors. Disciplined shapes coexist with playful color combinations. As we know, color can influence human psychology, behavior and even health. Color affects how humans think and feel: red can signify passion whereas blue can suggest a more peaceful response. Science has shown the color can influence physical qualities such as appetite and energy. With each sequence, the colors take on different qualities: stronger vs. weaker, louder vs. softer, advancing vs. receding, depending on the relationship with the adjacent color. This work ultimately feels completely modern and yet has a distinct connection with the essence of abstract art: the principles of Josef Albers come to mind.

Stephanie Lear Henderson describes her work, “I try to let the colors do the talking. I love seeing how the colors communicate without putting too much of myself into the paintings.”

“I am thrilled to welcome Stephanie’s joyous, powerful work again to KMR Arts,” says Kathy McCarver.

A native of Thomasville, Georgia, Stephanie Lear Henderson earned a B.A. from the University of Virginia and an M.A. from the University of Georgia. Her work has been exhibited in the United States and Canada. This is Lear Henderson’s second solo exhibit at KMR Arts.

Gallery Hours: Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays 11am-5pm, and by appointment

For more information or to make an appointment please email [email protected] or call 917-856-9050

Wednesday, September 27, 7:00pm 

Looking to expand your reading list and discuss a variety of issues and topics important to Native people? Please join our virtual book club, As They Speak: Native Voices in Today’s Literature. Based on a variety of topics and featuring a range of genres, all of the books we will be reading have been written by contemporary authors.

This month, in advance of the much anticipated release of Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, we will be reading and discussing A Pipe For February by Charles H. Red Corn (Osage). Red Corn sets this novel against a turbulent, yet exhilarating background for this tribal community.At the turn of the twentieth century, the Osage Indians owned Oklahoma’s most valuable oil reserves and became members of the world’s first wealthy oil population. Osage children and grandchildren continued to respect the old customs and ways, but now they also had lives of leisure. In the 1920s, they also found themselves immersed in a series of murders.  Red Corn focuses on the character of the Osage people, drawing on his own experiences and insights as a member of the Osage Nation. Join the conversation hosted by IAIS Staff on Zoom.

In order to have a more intimate conversation, space is limited. Please visit our website to register and receive a Zoom link. Questions? Please email [email protected] or call (860) 868 -0518. This is a FREE event, but donations are appreciated. This event will NOT be recorded.

Register here

This month the Gunn Library Book Club will read and discuss Lisa Wingate’s 2017 popular novel, Before We Were Yours. Copies of the book are available at the front desk of the library. Instead of meeting at the library, this month’s gathering will take place at GW Tavern in Washington, CT.

Book summary:

Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly realize the dark truth. At the mercy of the facility’s cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together in a world of danger and uncertainty.

Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fiancé, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family’s long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.

Based on one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals—in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country—Lisa Wingate’s riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong.

KMR Arts presents Beth Rundquist, Fauna, an exhibition at the Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens. Join us for the opening on Saturday, September 30, from 3-6 pm with an artist talk at 4pm. Fauna will be on exhibit from September 29 – October 8, 2023.

Rundquist created this group of paintings with a desire for magic and fantasy. In these paintings, we see animals at play, as the artist combines the animals together in unexpected ways, and in whimsical scenarios. Behaviors and characteristics within the animal kingdom are reimagined, as the artist explores the connections within nature: the anatomy of the squirrel and the brown hare are similar, the pig skull feels bovine, the tortoise head snakelike. As the viewer experiences these works, the notion of interconnectedness resurfaces again and again. This interconnectedness can be as simple as two beings sharing a similar shape or form, or as complex as symbiosis or competition.

Rundquist says, “My intention is to pay tribute to some of the animals in nature that we tend to overlook, and sometimes even dishonor. I am lucky to live and paint in peaceful environments where nature abounds. I am constantly considering the symbolism: including elegance, patience, and wisdom.”

After receiving her BA in art from Smith College, Rundquist studied drawing and painting at the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts in Connecticut and L’École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts in Paris. Sculpture courses at The Sculpture Center and Sculpture Studio in NYC led the artist to enroll at the Repin Institute of Russia. Rundquist is the recipient of the Richard and Mary Schroeder Portrait Award, the Bryan Family Foundation Award from the Copley Society in Boston, Massachusetts, among others. Beth Rundquist teaches painting at The New York Academy of Art in New York City and her paintings are in international public and private collections.

Bring the whole family and meet up with your friends for a free concert on the Washington Green. On September 29, hear Jazz duo Perfect Manhattan performing a blend of classic jazz standards & R&B hits . Since the days are getting shorter, we’ll be starting early so see you all at 5:30!

Follow @washington_green_events for the latest updates!

In an immersive forest setting with no locks, keys or clocks, Wigwam Escape’s thematic puzzles challenge game players to hunt, find water and prepare food similar to how Native people did for thousands of years prior to European contact. The Institute for American Indian Studies, proudly presents a new way to interact with history, a themed escape room, Wigwam Escape.

Our museum’s mission is to “preserve and educate through discovery and creativity the diverse traditions, vitality and knowledge of Native American cultures”. We chose an escape room setting as an interactive and captivating way to educate the public about how pre-contact Native peoples lived within their environment over 500 years ago. This hand-on experience of history is demonstrated through a series of custom puzzles and hand crafted set, complete with a full sized traditionally sourced wigwam.

The full experience is 90 minutes in the museum’s Research Center. This includes a pre-game orientation, the one hour escape room centerpiece, and post-game popcorn snack and discussion when your team returns to the 21st Century. The game is set for 3 to 7 players and the cost is $25 per person, or $20 for our museum members or students.

More than just a game, Wigwam Escape is built to teach through experience and foster dialogue in a game that’s dynamic, challenging and entertaining. Visit Wigwam Escape for this must-do team building experience for friends, families and co-workers.

For more information or to book your escape room, go to: wigwamescape.org.

WAA is passionate about arts education. Whether you are an experienced artist or a novice, WAA offers a range of opportunities for creative exploration. We provide a nurturing place for people of all ages to develop their skills and explore new artistic directions with classes in painting, ceramics, sculpture, drawing, and more.

View current class offerings

Our charming town of Washington is filled with beautiful views and scenic vistas, and this special exhibit celebrates the beauty of each season in Washington through the lenses of local and visiting photographers. The exhibit will be on display from Saturday, September 30th – Friday, October 13th at Bryan Memorial Town Hall. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, September 30th from 12pm-3pm.

Celebrate WAA’s 70th Anniversary with the “70 Years of Art” Exhibit with opening receptions on Saturday, August 5th from 3pm-6pm at two venues – Washington Art Association & Gallery and Spring Hill Vineyard. The exhibit will feature the largest collection of paintings, works on paper, ceramics, photography and sculpture by WAA member artists throughout the years. The exhibition will be on display from August 5th, 2023  to October 1st, 2023 .

The Washington Art Association is open Wednesday – Saturday from 10:00am to 4:00pm and Sunday from 12:00pm to 4:00pm. For more information, visit our website at www.washingtonartassociation.org.

Some gardens speak to us, others don’t. What do they say, and how do we learn to listen?

Learn how to create a richer experience by building on what already exists in our gardens by pushing the five senses in unexpected ways.

Horticulturist and professional gardener James McGrath will share the lessons he has learned from visiting and working in a number of different gardens around the world and how we can interpret those into our own gardens.

This talk approaches gardens from a novel perspective, exploring how our senses shape our relationship to the land. You will discover ideas that can shape your garden and enrich its spirit and develop a new appreciation of what a garden is or can be.

James studied Fine Arts in NYC and horticulture at Longwood Gardens, PA., where he learned the art and science of horticulture. He has studied at Great Dixter in England, the Jerusalem Botanical Garden, and has been the kitchen gardener at DeWiersse in the Netherlands, a private estate. He has been an urban gardener in New York City, Madrid and London, where he was also the head horticulturist for the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony, and afterwards James helped to restore the gardens at Gravetye Manor. Currently he is the head gardener at Robin Hill, a private estate in NW Connecticut designed by Dan Pearson.

Learn more

HHG Members $25 | Non-members $35

Our charming town of Washington is filled with beautiful views and scenic vistas, and this special exhibit celebrates the beauty of each season in Washington through the lenses of local and visiting photographers. The exhibit will be on display from Saturday, September 30th – Friday, October 13th at Bryan Memorial Town Hall. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, September 30th from 12pm-3pm.

Saturday, September 30, 1:00pm

Orange Shirt Day is observed on September 30 in Indigenous communities throughout North America. This annual event commemorates the residential school experience in Indigenous communities, and serves as a reminder to commit to the ongoing process of reconciliation. This year, join IAIS staff for a screening and discussion of Unspoken: America’s Native American Boarding Schools. Participants are encouraged to wear an orange shirt. We are also seeking donations of shoes that can be used for an empty shoe display, as a reminder of the thousands of children who were lost to the residential school system. Shoes can be of any style, but children’s shoes are preferred. We appreciate shoe donations in advance, but you can also bring them along to the screening.
Please note: Due to the challenging legacy of the Native American residential school system, the topics discussed during this event might trigger strong emotions for some participants.
Space is limited in the screening and pre-registrations are appreciated. Please visit our website to register. This is a FREE event, but donations are always appreciated. Information on relevant organizations and initiatives to support will also be available at the museum.

Register here

Rundquist is a fine artist and portrait painter currently living and painting in Pottersville, NJ. Her paintings embody both Realism and Impressionism and the foundations of traditional technical training. She draws her inspiration on the illustrious Russian painters of the late 19th and early 20th centuries embracing both their classical techniques and flair for color and bold expression.

In the group of paintings curated for this show, Rundquist created with a desire for magic and fantasy. We see animals at play, as the artist combines the animals together in unexpected ways, and in whimsical scenarios.

This show will run through October 8th.

Photo Submissions Grades 6-12

ASAP! is pleased to announce that submissions are open for CYP! Students in grades 6-12 are invited to submit two photographs based on this year’s theme: Curiosity. Join us for an in-person exhibit on Sunday, November 12th, 2023 where the top 60 selected photos will be recognized, and the top four honorees will be revealed. The top two photographers from middle and high school will receive the 2023 Dylan’s Wings Photography Award. This award is presented by Ian Hockley, Executive Director of Dylan’s Wings for Change, to the photographer whose piece most thoroughly embodies the criteria.

Due Date for submissions is Monday, October 2nd, 2023.

Stephanie Lear Henderson’s paintings are about simplicity of form rendered in bold color combinations. Rather than a comples composition, the use of the simple forms allows the viewer to tap into the positive energy of bold colors. Disciplined shapes coexist with playful color combinations. As we know, color can influence human psychology, behavior and even health. Color affects how humans think and feel: red can signify passion whereas blue can suggest a more peaceful response. Science has shown the color can influence physical qualities such as appetite and energy. With each sequence, the colors take on different qualities: stronger vs. weaker, louder vs. softer, advancing vs. receding, depending on the relationship with the adjacent color. This work ultimately feels completely modern and yet has a distinct connection with the essence of abstract art: the principles of Josef Albers come to mind.

Stephanie Lear Henderson describes her work, “I try to let the colors do the talking. I love seeing how the colors communicate without putting too much of myself into the paintings.”

“I am thrilled to welcome Stephanie’s joyous, powerful work again to KMR Arts,” says Kathy McCarver.

A native of Thomasville, Georgia, Stephanie Lear Henderson earned a B.A. from the University of Virginia and an M.A. from the University of Georgia. Her work has been exhibited in the United States and Canada. This is Lear Henderson’s second solo exhibit at KMR Arts.

Gallery Hours: Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays 11am-5pm, and by appointment

For more information or to make an appointment please email [email protected] or call 917-856-9050

KMR Arts presents Beth Rundquist, Fauna, an exhibition at the Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens. Join us for the opening on Saturday, September 30, from 3-6 pm with an artist talk at 4pm. Fauna will be on exhibit from September 29 – October 8, 2023.

Rundquist created this group of paintings with a desire for magic and fantasy. In these paintings, we see animals at play, as the artist combines the animals together in unexpected ways, and in whimsical scenarios. Behaviors and characteristics within the animal kingdom are reimagined, as the artist explores the connections within nature: the anatomy of the squirrel and the brown hare are similar, the pig skull feels bovine, the tortoise head snakelike. As the viewer experiences these works, the notion of interconnectedness resurfaces again and again. This interconnectedness can be as simple as two beings sharing a similar shape or form, or as complex as symbiosis or competition.

Rundquist says, “My intention is to pay tribute to some of the animals in nature that we tend to overlook, and sometimes even dishonor. I am lucky to live and paint in peaceful environments where nature abounds. I am constantly considering the symbolism: including elegance, patience, and wisdom.”

After receiving her BA in art from Smith College, Rundquist studied drawing and painting at the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts in Connecticut and L’École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts in Paris. Sculpture courses at The Sculpture Center and Sculpture Studio in NYC led the artist to enroll at the Repin Institute of Russia. Rundquist is the recipient of the Richard and Mary Schroeder Portrait Award, the Bryan Family Foundation Award from the Copley Society in Boston, Massachusetts, among others. Beth Rundquist teaches painting at The New York Academy of Art in New York City and her paintings are in international public and private collections.

Our charming town of Washington is filled with beautiful views and scenic vistas, and this special exhibit celebrates the beauty of each season in Washington through the lenses of local and visiting photographers. The exhibit will be on display from Saturday, September 30th – Friday, October 13th at Bryan Memorial Town Hall. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, September 30th from 12pm-3pm.

Celebrate WAA’s 70th Anniversary with the “70 Years of Art” Exhibit with opening receptions on Saturday, August 5th from 3pm-6pm at two venues – Washington Art Association & Gallery and Spring Hill Vineyard. The exhibit will feature the largest collection of paintings, works on paper, ceramics, photography and sculpture by WAA member artists throughout the years. The exhibition will be on display from August 5th, 2023  to October 1st, 2023 .

The Washington Art Association is open Wednesday – Saturday from 10:00am to 4:00pm and Sunday from 12:00pm to 4:00pm. For more information, visit our website at www.washingtonartassociation.org.

The Frederick Gunn School presents “Waterfronts and Woodcuts,” a special exhibit featuring work by Don Gorvett, a Boston-born artist acclaimed for his hand-pulled color reduction woodcuts recording maritime subjects. The exhibit will run from October 2nd through November 10th in the Perakos Family Cares Art Gallery of the Thomas S. Perakos Arts and Community Center. An Artist Reception will be held on October 19th from 5pm-6:30pm.

Gallery hours (for the public) are Monday through Friday, 10am-4pm. Parking is available in the Upper Parking Lot off Kirby Road, with a limited number of accessible parking spaces outside the Thomas S. Perakos Arts and Community Center.

Eckert Fine Art Gallery + Consulting is pleased to announce our move back to Litchfield County at 10 Titus Road in the beautiful village of Washington Depot, CT. We will continue to feature 19th and 20th Century art along with the finest in Post War and Contemporary artists.

Our first two shows include: Connecticut Art Yesterday and Today with artwork by Alexander Calder, Robert Cottingham, Jim Dine, Paul Cadmus, Eric Forstmann, Cleve Gray, Don Gummer, Alexander Liberman and Jack Rosenberg; and Artists from Eckert Fine Art Inventory: featuring Robert Rauschenberg, Marc Chagall, Sally Michel Avery, Romare Bearden, Chizuru Mori Kaplan, Carolyn Plochmann and others.

Learn more: eckertfineart.com

Gallery Hours: Thursday – Sunday, 11 – 4 pm & by appointment

In recent years, seeds have been celebrated for the beauty they add to the garden. For centuries seeds have meant one thing to gardeners more than anything else — the possibility of having more plants for oneself and to share with others. This practicum, a brief talk on the art of collecting seed, followed by a walk around Hollister House to identify and collect seed that has matured in the garden, will introduce participants into the art and practice of seed saving. In this class, participants will learn how to identify, collect, clean and store seed of a number of perennials and annuals in the garden and will leave the class with a variety of seeds in hand to introduce into their own gardens.

Instructor Lee Buttala is the co-author of The Seed Garden and was the director of Seed Saver’s Exchange, the only non-governmental organization to store seeds at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault 500 km south of the North Pole. He writes a garden column for the Berkshire Edge, is the consulting garden producer for Martha Stewart television, and is a board member of Hollister House Garden.

Reservations are required for this event. Strictly limited to 18 participants.

Learn more

HHG Members $35 | Non-members $50

Enjoy food and drinks surrounded by great art at Eckert Fine Art Gallery + Consulting on Saturday October 7th, 2023 from 3 – 6 pm.

Eckert Fine Art Gallery + Consulting is pleased to announce our move back to Litchfield County at 10 Titus Road in the beautiful village of Washington Depot, CT. We will continue to feature 19th and 20th Century art along with the finest in Post War and Contemporary artists. Our Grand Opening will feature 2 shows: Connecticut Art Yesterday and Today with artwork by Alexander Calder, Robert Cottingham, Jim Dine, Paul Cadmus, Eric Forstmann, Cleve Gray, Don Gummer, Alexander Liberman and Jack Rosenberg; and Artists from Eckert Fine Art Inventory: featuring Robert Rauschenberg, Marc Chagall, Sally Michel Avery, Romare Bearden, Chizuru Mori Kaplan, Carolyn Plochmann and others.

Learn more: eckertfineart.com

Gallery Hours: Thursday – Sunday, 11 – 4 pm & by appointment

The Hickory Stick Bookshop is delighted to welcome Connecticut artist Gary Komarin who will be here signing copies of his art book “The Cake” on Saturday, October 7th at 3 pm. This event is free and open to the public. If you are unable to attend this event, you may reserve signed copies of “The Cake” by calling The Hickory Stick Bookshop at (860) 868 0525, or shop our website 24/7 at www.hickorystickbookshop.com.

ABOUT THE BOOK
This monograph is the first full edition of the iconic Cake images that Gary Komarin has been painting since the early 90s. The Cakes have been exhibited in galleries from New York to Tokyo, and are in the permanent collections of contemporary art museums worldwide. Komarin views the Cake as a marriage between the Architectural and the Domestic – Komarin’s father was an Architect who trained in Europe, and his mother a self-taught baker who hailed from Vienna. Komarin shares stories of the lopsided and misshapen cakes produced by his mother, often dripping off the plate, but always delicious and full of love. These domestic scenes became formative iconography in Komarin’s contemporary work.

The book, designed with Payton Heller, shows not only the cakes but various oblique photos of objects in the studio and things and places that Komarin looks at or has touched in some manner. The book also has short essays and quotes about his work to further inform the audience.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
New York born artist Gary Komarin, the son of a Czech architect and Viennese writer, brings influence from both into his iconic work. Komarin has been hailed as a “painter’s painter” for his uncanny ability to continuously produce works that are fresh and alive. Noted for his use of the brush to open new visual doors and ways of seeing, Komarin has been applauded as a risk taker and a modern master in post painterly abstraction.

Komarin says of his work “I simply start somewhere and each mark affects the next. After a while the painting takes on a life of its own and speaks back to me. This is a good thing. My work speaks to all people. For me, the artist’s role is to create beauty and make works that feed the soul. A good painting must also challenge the viewer in a dialogue.”

Gary Komarin lives and works in a house and studio in the wooded hills of Western Connecticut.

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK
“Komarin gets paintings that vibrate with historical memory, echoing such things as Matisse’s driest most empty pictures, Robert Motherwell’s spare abstractions of the 1970’s, or the early New Mexico and Berkeley paintings of Richard Diebenkorn.” – Kenneth Baker, San Francisco

Artist photo credit – Katerina Levoy

Join us for the 6th Annual Washington Harvest Festival on Sunday, October 8th from 12pm-5pm. We can’t wait to celebrate the community with live music, great food, talented artists, impressive scarecrows, countless vendors, train rides, fire truck tours, and more family-friendly fun. Admission is FREE to all!

As in past years, the Washington Harvest Festival will feature:
🎶 Live music
🍔 Food
🍻 Mobile pub for adults
🎃 Pumpkin carving
🚂 Train rides
🌾 Hay maze
🚒 Fire truck tours
🧶 Local craft, business, and nonprofit vendors

We also invite you to join in on our annual Scarecrow Competition! 🏆

This event is organized by Washington Business Association and Washington Parks & Recreation.

The Hickory Stick Bookshop is delighted to welcome poet Afaa M. Weaver who will be here to do a reading and sign copies of his latest book of poetry called “A Fire in The Hills” on Sunday, October 8th at 2:00pm. This event is free and open to the public. If you are unable to attend this event, you may reserve signed copies of “A Fire In The Hills” by calling The Hickory Stick Bookshop at (860) 868 0525, or shop our website 24/7 at www.hickorystickbookshop.com.

ABOUT THE BOOK
In “A Fire in the Hills”, Afaa focuses on one of the central threads in his body of work. His ongoing project of an articulation of self in relation to the external landscape of the community and the world and the writing of spirit through those revelations of sublimation of self gives way here to a material focus. The racial references are explicit as are the complexities of life lived as a Black man born in America in the mid-twentieth century. These are poems emanating from an attempt to follow Daoist philosophy for most of his life. Knowledge of other is in relation to knowledge of self, and self is an illusory continuum, a perspective wherein the poet embodies the transcendent arc of Malcolm X’s life as credo.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Weaver, a poet, playwright, and translator, is the author of numerous poetry collections, including “A Fire in the Hills” (Red Hen Press, 2023). He is the recipient of the May Sarton Award, a Pew Fellowship, a Fulbright scholarship, and the Gold Friendship Medal from the Beijing Writers’ Association; was the first African American poet to serve as Poet-in-Residence at Bucknell University’s Stadler Center for Poetry & Literary Arts; and held an endowed chair at Simmons College for twenty years. He has been on the faculty at Cave Canem since its inception, becoming its first elder in 1998.

Academy Chancellor Kwame Dawes observes of Weaver: “For over three decades, Afaa Michael Weaver has quietly and without fanfare put together a tremendous body of work that has allowed us to see the America of the last half century in all its upheavals and transformations as it contends with the meaning of freedom and justice. He combines his rootedness in the African American poetic with a fierce commitment to the idea of belonging despite America’s long history of willfully deferring the dream of liberty, to, in effect, compel the nation to expand its understanding of itself and to embrace a more capacious sense of its constitution. And in so doing, Weaver has achieved something that only a few poets, most notably Joseph Millard and Philip Levine, have in the last few decades, which is to engage the idea of a working-class sensibility, not as a limitation, but as an opportunity to create art of depth, sophistication, and spiritual power. Afaa Michael Weaver is a major and necessary American voice.”

Earlier in September Weaver received the Wallace Stevens Award, which is given annually to recognize outstanding and proven mastery in the art of poetry. The award carries a stipend of $100,000. Recipients are nominated and elected by the Academy’s Board of Chancellors.

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK
The splendid “A Fire in the Hills” holds lyrical inventories, telepathic persona poems, “southern chants for spells,” “spinning top hairdos,” and invented forms. Afaa Weaver can write any kind of poem you can imagine. He is our black nonconforming formalist breaking free of form to shape a spirit of witness. He is both our sage bear-poet of wisdom and our wily fox-poet of mischief. He’s been writing long enough to resist all classifications except that of Master Poet.
–Terrance Hayes, winner of the 2019 Hurston/Wright Award for American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin

Artist photo credit – Catherine Laine

KMR Arts presents Beth Rundquist, Fauna, an exhibition at the Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens on display through October 8, 2023.

Rundquist created this group of paintings with a desire for magic and fantasy. In these paintings, we see animals at play, as the artist combines the animals together in unexpected ways, and in whimsical scenarios. Behaviors and characteristics within the animal kingdom are reimagined, as the artist explores the connections within nature: the anatomy of the squirrel and the brown hare are similar, the pig skull feels bovine, the tortoise head snakelike. As the viewer experiences these works, the notion of interconnectedness resurfaces again and again. This interconnectedness can be as simple as two beings sharing a similar shape or form, or as complex as symbiosis or competition.

Rundquist says, “My intention is to pay tribute to some of the animals in nature that we tend to overlook, and sometimes even dishonor. I am lucky to live and paint in peaceful environments where nature abounds. I am constantly considering the symbolism: including elegance, patience, and wisdom.”

After receiving her BA in art from Smith College, Rundquist studied drawing and painting at the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts in Connecticut and L’École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts in Paris. Sculpture courses at The Sculpture Center and Sculpture Studio in NYC led the artist to enroll at the Repin Institute of Russia. Rundquist is the recipient of the Richard and Mary Schroeder Portrait Award, the Bryan Family Foundation Award from the Copley Society in Boston, Massachusetts, among others. Beth Rundquist teaches painting at The New York Academy of Art in New York City and her paintings are in international public and private collections.

Where: The Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens, 1 Green Hill Rd, Washington Depot, CT 06794

Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 11:00a-3:00p; Saturday 9:30a-12:30p; and Sunday by appointment

Our charming town of Washington is filled with beautiful views and scenic vistas, and this special exhibit celebrates the beauty of each season in Washington through the lenses of local and visiting photographers. The exhibit will be on display from Saturday, September 30th – Friday, October 13th at Bryan Memorial Town Hall.

Join us in welcoming Karen LeSage and her exhibit, Encounters at an opening reception on Saturday, October 14th from 3 to 5 pm.

LeSage is a minimalist abstract landscape painter based in Lakeville, CT. This show highlights the states of stillness, expansion, and awe the artist experiences in her encounters with the natural world.

“I am consistently pulled toward full abstraction,” LeSage says of her painting style. “I am intrigued by walking the line between worlds. It mirrors the human experience: we are conceptual creatures living in a physical world.” She often draws inspiration from the bucolic Berkshire Mountains. “They provide color displays that change by the season, the day, the hour,” she says.

This exhibit is on view through Sunday, November 4th.

Pruning is an essential skill for all gardeners. Pruning correctly and making it appear as though you had no pruned at allis a true art form.

Participants will learn when and where to prune, the proper use of tools, and how correct pruning can enhance the growth and blooming of your plants.

Lee will discuss and demonstrate how plants respond to different types of pruning cuts. This guided presentation will further your knowledge of all aspects of pruning!

Lee Reich, PhD, is an avid farmdener (more than a gardener, less than a farmer) with graduate degrees in soil science and horticulture. After working in plant and soil research with the USDA and Cornell University, he shifted gears and turned to writing, lecturing, and consulting. His books include A Northeast Gardener’s Year, The Pruning Book, Weedless Gardening, Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden, Landscaping With Fruit, Grow Fruit Naturally, and Growing Figs in Cold Climates. He writes regularly for a number of gardening magazines and his syndicated gardening column for Associated Press appeared biweekly from coast to coast.His farmden has been featured in such publications as the New York Times and Martha Stewart Living, has won awards from National Gardening and Organic Gardening magazines, and has been included in “Open Days” tours of the Garden Conservancy.

Learn more

HHG Members $25 | Non Members $35

Save the date for the Spring Hill Vineyards Harvest Festival on October 14th & 15th from 12pm-5pm!

Enjoy hay wagon rides, face painting, food trucks, local cider & donuts, popcorn, fall sangria, wine tastings, live music and more.

Join us in welcoming Karen LeSage and her exhibit, Encounters at an opening reception on Saturday, October 14th from 3 to 5 pm.

LeSage is a minimalist abstract landscape painter based in Lakeville, CT. This show highlights the states of stillness, expansion, and awe the artist experiences in her encounters with the natural world.

“I am consistently pulled toward full abstraction,” LeSage says of her painting style. “I am intrigued by walking the line between worlds. It mirrors the human experience: we are conceptual creatures living in a physical world.” She often draws inspiration from the bucolic Berkshire Mountains. “They provide color displays that change by the season, the day, the hour,” she says.

This exhibit is on view through Sunday, November 4th.

Book Bans. Fantasy as history. School Board intimidation. Violence targeting LGBTQ+ people. These are the fronts in the spreading culture war that is engulfing America. And they’re the focus of Common Ground with Jane Whitney’s next conversation, “Culture War: America’s Blood Sport.”

The all-star panel will be discussing some of the most explosive issues in America and will examine how our democracy is threatened by the continuing effort to exploit our social and cultural differences to score partisan points – what amounts to nothing less than pouring gasoline onto our smoldering divisions.

MSNBC Anchor Ali Velshi is coming in person. Sociologist James Davison Hunter is beaming in. And we’ll be announcing more guests in the coming weeks.

Join them on Sunday, October 15, at 4pm with Common Ground with Jane Whitney.

Learn more

The Hen’s Nest Gallery has Open Mic every third Wednesday of the month. Over the years we have heard stories and poems both completed and under construction, watched someone paint to music, all played instruments handmade by the artist, listened to a mandolin from the 1800s, and many more moments of joy and wonder.

Some come to listen, some to participate. If the weather is inviting we sit outside, bring a chair and a jacket.

The Frederick Gunn School presents “Waterfronts and Woodcuts,” a special exhibit featuring work by Don Gorvett, a Boston-born artist acclaimed for his hand-pulled color reduction woodcuts recording maritime subjects. The exhibit will run from October 2nd through November 10th in the Perakos Family Cares Art Gallery of the Thomas S. Perakos Arts and Community Center. An Artist Reception will be held on October 19th from 5pm-6:30pm.

Gallery hours (for the public) are Monday through Friday, 10am-4pm. Parking is available in the Upper Parking Lot off Kirby Road, with a limited number of accessible parking spaces outside the Thomas S. Perakos Arts and Community Center.

Join us for the Gunn Memorial Library and Museum’s Annual Cemetery Tour Saturday October 21. Enjoy an evening of history as we celebrate our community’s past. Tours run from 5:15pm to 7:30pm.

More details to come.

Learn about the Court Cards (King, Queen, Knight and Page). These are often the most difficult cards to understand. This class will give you an in- depth look into these wonderful cards. Also learn the Celtic Cross. This spread gives you a deeper understanding to your questions. Bring your own deck for a fun filled evening.

Register at: amoremaria.com

Using the gardens and surrounding landscape as inspiration, we’ll be exploring the art of collage during this three hour workshop. Collage describes both the technique and the resulting work of art in which pieces of paper, photographs, fabric and other ephemera are arranged on a supporting surface. Participants will learn how to create a composition by putting different elements and textures together to create an original piece of artwork that can be realistic or abstract. In addition, they will be introduced to a variety of cutting and painting techniques and, most importantly, will learn how to experiment with materials until they find the composition they’re searching for.

Suggested Materials List: Scraps of papers, fabrics and ephemera. The use of items that have some meaning to you are encouraged. Examples include: playbills, cocktail napkins, letters, notes, newspapers, etc. There will be additional papers and fabrics available so this is not mandatory but it’s fun to provide some of your own. Bring a favorite pair of scissors if you have them.

Joanne Wasti has been an art educator for over twenty years and still loves teaching art to students of all ages. She studied illustration at RISD and went on to do post-graduate work in art history, art education and gifted education. She’s worked in museum education at the Queens Museum and the Guggenheim Museum.

Learn more

HHG Members $90 | Non-members $120

In this episode, Common Ground with Jane Whitney examines the consequences of the stark cleavage, the values that drive economic policy and the connections between our political and economic crises.

Learn more

Stephanie Lear Henderson’s paintings are about simplicity of form rendered in bold color combinations. Rather than a comples composition, the use of the simple forms allows the viewer to tap into the positive energy of bold colors. Disciplined shapes coexist with playful color combinations. As we know, color can influence human psychology, behavior and even health. Color affects how humans think and feel: red can signify passion whereas blue can suggest a more peaceful response. Science has shown the color can influence physical qualities such as appetite and energy. With each sequence, the colors take on different qualities: stronger vs. weaker, louder vs. softer, advancing vs. receding, depending on the relationship with the adjacent color. This work ultimately feels completely modern and yet has a distinct connection with the essence of abstract art: the principles of Josef Albers come to mind.

Stephanie Lear Henderson describes her work, “I try to let the colors do the talking. I love seeing how the colors communicate without putting too much of myself into the paintings.”

“I am thrilled to welcome Stephanie’s joyous, powerful work again to KMR Arts,” says Kathy McCarver.

A native of Thomasville, Georgia, Stephanie Lear Henderson earned a B.A. from the University of Virginia and an M.A. from the University of Georgia. Her work has been exhibited in the United States and Canada. This is Lear Henderson’s second solo exhibit at KMR Arts.

Gallery Hours: Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays 11am-5pm, and by appointment

For more information or to make an appointment please email [email protected] or call 917-856-9050

WAA is passionate about arts education. Whether you are an experienced artist or a novice, WAA offers a range of opportunities for creative exploration. We provide a nurturing place for people of all ages to develop their skills and explore new artistic directions with classes in painting, ceramics, sculpture, drawing, and more.

View current class offerings

The Frederick Gunn School presents “Waterfronts and Woodcuts,” a special exhibit featuring work by Don Gorvett, a Boston-born artist acclaimed for his hand-pulled color reduction woodcuts recording maritime subjects. The exhibit will run from October 2nd through November 10th in the Perakos Family Cares Art Gallery of the Thomas S. Perakos Arts and Community Center. An Artist Reception will be held on October 19th from 5pm-6:30pm.

Gallery hours (for the public) are Monday through Friday, 10am-4pm. Parking is available in the Upper Parking Lot off Kirby Road, with a limited number of accessible parking spaces outside the Thomas S. Perakos Arts and Community Center.

Eckert Fine Art Gallery + Consulting is pleased to announce our move back to Litchfield County at 10 Titus Road in the beautiful village of Washington Depot, CT. We will continue to feature 19th and 20th Century art along with the finest in Post War and Contemporary artists.

Our first two shows include: Connecticut Art Yesterday and Today with artwork by Alexander Calder, Robert Cottingham, Jim Dine, Paul Cadmus, Eric Forstmann, Cleve Gray, Don Gummer, Alexander Liberman and Jack Rosenberg; and Artists from Eckert Fine Art Inventory: featuring Robert Rauschenberg, Marc Chagall, Sally Michel Avery, Romare Bearden, Chizuru Mori Kaplan, Carolyn Plochmann and others.

Learn more: eckertfineart.com

Gallery Hours: Thursday – Sunday, 11 – 4 pm & by appointment

Join us in welcoming Karen LeSage and her exhibit, Encounters at an opening reception on Saturday, October 14th from 3 to 5 pm.

LeSage is a minimalist abstract landscape painter based in Lakeville, CT. This show highlights the states of stillness, expansion, and awe the artist experiences in her encounters with the natural world.

“I am consistently pulled toward full abstraction,” LeSage says of her painting style. “I am intrigued by walking the line between worlds. It mirrors the human experience: we are conceptual creatures living in a physical world.” She often draws inspiration from the bucolic Berkshire Mountains. “They provide color displays that change by the season, the day, the hour,” she says.

This exhibit is on view through Sunday, November 4th.

Join watercolor artist Betsy Rogers-Knox for our last art workshop of the 2023 season and create a special gift for someone in your life.

In celebration of the season, create a watercolor painting of the stunning and much loved Amaryllis with its large, colorful trumpet-shaped flowers. A template will be provided along with step-by-step demonstrations and guidance.

Watercolor techniques include color mixing, wet washes, dry brush and glazing. All skill levels welcome.

Learn more

Theresa Bates will be on view at Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens from November 11th through December 3rd.

More details to come

Celebrate our Anniversary with us! Our party at The Washington Club Hall will feature hors d’oeuvres, drinks, and live entertainment featuring Pilobolus and others.
Tickets are limited and will be on sale in mid-October!

Eckert Fine Art Gallery + Consulting is pleased to announce our move back to Litchfield County at 10 Titus Road in the beautiful village of Washington Depot, CT. We will continue to feature 19th and 20th Century art along with the finest in Post War and Contemporary artists. Shows run through Sunday, November 12, 2023.

Our first two shows include: Connecticut Art Yesterday and Today with artwork by Alexander Calder, Robert Cottingham, Jim Dine, Paul Cadmus, Eric Forstmann, Cleve Gray, Don Gummer, Alexander Liberman and Jack Rosenberg; and Artists from Eckert Fine Art Inventory: featuring Robert Rauschenberg, Marc Chagall, Sally Michel Avery, Romare Bearden, Chizuru Mori Kaplan, Carolyn Plochmann and others.

Learn more: eckertfineart.com

Gallery Hours: Thursday – Sunday, 11 – 4 pm & by appointment

The Hen’s Nest Gallery has Open Mic every third Wednesday of the month. Over the years we have heard stories and poems both completed and under construction, watched someone paint to music, all played instruments handmade by the artist, listened to a mandolin from the 1800s, and many more moments of joy and wonder.

Some come to listen, some to participate. If the weather is inviting we sit outside, bring a chair and a jacket.