Every person has a unique strength to offer the world, and the greatest gift is sharing that power with the next generation. Over the course of four months, student artists learned important lessons from everyday heroes who impact Bridgeport’s communities and beyond. They run small businesses and grassroots organizations, advocate for equal rights, and raise the next generation. This exhibition is an homage to these secret superheroes who make the world better. Based on the lessons that they learned from these dynamic individuals, the student artists created photographs and paintings for the exhibition with the mentorship of Tyese Williams, Robert Stone, and Alicia Cobb.

The exhibition features original works of art by Alexandra Pascoal, Jasmine Acevedo, Santiago Mota, Alex Echeverria, Jermel Allen and Jaylynd Leon.

The exhibition is presented in partnership with the Housatonic Museum of Art and Catalyst CT.

Special thanks to Noel Sepulveda at Preventive Health Solutions; Kelvin Ayala at Karaoke on Main; Louis Zayas at Bijou Theater; Vanessa Liles at PT Partners; Isaac Redd Vann at YMCA and Daddy Backwards Entertainment, Matilda Rodrigues at Educational Advocate; Don Wilson at Bridgeport Youth Lacrosse Inc.; Christopher Hayes Jr.; Fary Palacios at Diamond District Barber Shop; Raquel Rivera at A Pinch of Salt, LLC; Melissa Perez Constantine at Catalyst CT The HUB; Joe and Carol Goss of Gifted Hands Boxing Academy; Chris Velez at Future Painting LLC; Evelyn Medina PT Partners; Brandon Clark at Park City Music Hall; Alicia Cobb at Art Simplicated; Adrian Albelo at Printhouse Custom Apparel; Quason Robinson and Christopher Ramirez at Gifted Hands Boxing; and John Lett at Hip Hop 1001.

Fourth Fridays
Each month, the Happy Hour Piano Series offers an eclectic mix of musical genres, showcasing the region’s wealth of talented pianists. Held on the fourth Fridays, from 5 to 7 pm, the piano series extends AMP’s exhibit hours. A cash/credit bar offers wine, craft and domestic beer, and assorted beverages.

Jennifer Hill is a singer-songwriter and pianist whose music blends the soulful influences of Carole King, Aretha Franklin, and Janis Joplin with the modern edge of artists like Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga. Jennifer’s latest solo album, Love Bomb, is a vibrant mix of retro soul and pop produced by the legendary Vic Steffens. Beyond her solo work, Jennifer is the creative force behind the electro-pop act Murderous Chanteuse and the indie rock band Jennifer Hill and Co., both available on streaming platforms. In addition, Jennifer is the founder of SWAN Day CT, the annual Support Women Artists Now (SWAN) event that showcases women in the arts, and has shared the stage with June Millington of the legendary 1970s band Fanny.

Admission: $8 at the door
The piano series is supported in part by the Greenberg family.

American Mural Project (AMP) is proud to participate in CT Open House Day on Saturday, June 14. CT Open House Day is a state-wide celebration of everything Connecticut offers. Admission to AMP will be free, and visitors will enjoy mural exhibit tours and special activities for kids. All activities are free and open to the public. The day’s highlights include:

Free Admission

Art Making

Kids Activities

Mural Exhibit Tours

Art show by AMP’s Teen Art Studio

Join us for the opening reception of the CT State Housatonic Student Art Exhibition. The annual Student Art Exhibition features artwork by students who have enrolled in art and graphic design classes at CT State Housatonic. Meet the artists over refreshments and enjoy live music. Free and open to the public.

Curator Frauke Kreutler joins us from Vienna to introduce the first-ever monographic exhibition of Trude Fleischmann’s work in the United States. Kreutler curated the major 2011 Fleischmann retrospective at the Wien Museum. Join us on Thursday, May 1 at 5 p.m. in the New Dolan School of Business, Event Hall for this extraordinary event.

About the Exhibition: Austrian-born Trude Fleischmann (1895-1990) was one of the most accomplished female photographers of the 20th century. After great success in Vienna in the 20s photographing artists, models, and performers, she fled the Anschluss in 1938, first to Paris and then New York. She opened a studio on Fifth Avenue in 1940 and photographed many of the artists and intellectuals of the day, including Eleanor Roosevelt and Albert Einstein. This exhibition will include loans from the Wien Museum in Vienna, Austria, the New York Public Library, private collections, and as well as never-before-exhibited works from family collections.

This event forms part of the Edwin L. Weisl, Jr. Lectureships in Art History, funded by the Robert Lehman Foundation. The event will also be livestreamed , click here to register for a reminder, and if you would like to attend the reception following the lecture, click here to register.

Image: Trude Fleischmann, Sandra and Barbara with Golden Heart Necklaces, 1951, gelatin silver print. Courtesy of Barbara Rosenberg Loss. © Trude Fleischmann

Livestream Opening Lecture: Join William Abbott, associate professor of History, as he discusses the historical origins of the Great Hunger/Irish Famine on Thursday, April 10 at 5:30 p.m. in the Quick Center for the Arts, Kelley Theatre, streaming here!
Presented in conjunction with An Gorta Mór: Selections from Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum, organized by Quinnipiac University and the Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield Exhibition (Walsh Gallery, April 11-August 16).

About the Exhibition: This exhibition presents highlights from the collection of Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum, which explores the impact of the Irish Famine of 1845-1852 through artwork produced by eminent Irish and Irish-American artists of the past 170 years. The works on view in the exhibition will include paintings by late 19th- and early 20th‐century artists like James Brenan, Daniel Macdonald, James Arthur O’Connor and Jack B. Yeats, as well as sculptures, paintings, and works on paper by contemporary artists including John Behan, Rowan Gillespie, Brian Maguire, and Hughie O’Donoghue. The exhibition is presented by Quinnipiac University and the Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield Exhibition.

Image: James Arthur O’Connor, Scene in Connemara, 1828, oil on canvas. Courtesy of Quinnipiac University and the Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield Exhibition.

Rick Spencer and Dawn Indermuehle will perform songs that are thought of and labeled as “Irish” – though many of our most well-known Irish songs are, in fact, of American origin. Some were composed by Irish immigrants, some by descendants of those immigrants, and some by enthusiastic fans of Irish music. This program presents examples of all three, along with historical information on music we think of as “Irish.”

About the Exhibition: This exhibition presents highlights from the collection of Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum, which explores the impact of the Irish Famine of 1845-1852 through artwork produced by eminent Irish and Irish-American artists of the past 170 years. The works on view in the exhibition will include paintings by late 19th- and early 20th‐century artists like James Brenan, Daniel Macdonald, James Arthur O’Connor and Jack B. Yeats, as well as sculptures, paintings, and works on paper by contemporary artists including John Behan, Rowan Gillespie, Brian Maguire, and Hughie O’Donoghue. The exhibition is presented by Quinnipiac University and the Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield Exhibition.

On Thursday, June 12 at 5 p.m., Elizabeth Cronin, author of Heimat Photography in Austria (2015), explores Trude Fleischmann in relation to this aspect of 1930s visual culture. “In Austria, what is generally referred to as Heimat (home or homeland) photography featured local sights: peasants, churchgoers, skiers and rural alpine landscapes. As these traditional, romanticized images came to be identified with the idea of a nation, they were used by the Standestaat of 1930s Austria to promote a national identity that grew into fascism.”

About the Exhibition: Austrian-born Trude Fleischmann (1895-1990) was one of the most accomplished female photographers of the 20th century. After great success in Vienna in the 20s photographing artists, models, and performers, she fled the Anschluss in 1938, first to Paris and then New York. She opened a studio on Fifth Avenue in 1940 and photographed many of the artists and intellectuals of the day, including Eleanor Roosevelt and Albert Einstein. This exhibition will include loans from the Wien Museum in Vienna, Austria, private collections, and the New York Public Library, as well as never-before-exhibited works from family collections.

The event will also be livestreamed on here. Click here to register for a reminder.
Image: Trude Fleischmann, Upper Salzburg, At the Festival, ca. 1930, gelatin silver print. Lent by Peter Modley. © Trude Fleischmann

Art in Focus: Unknown French Artist, Diptych: Scenes from the Life of Christ and the Virgin, ca. 1350-1400, ivory
Discover the intricacies carved in this delicate devotional object, on long-term loan from the Metropolitan Museum of art! Join Curator of Education Michelle DiMarzo for an informal conversation in the galleries.

Image: Unknown French Artist, Diptych: Scenes from the Life of Christ and the Virgin, ca. 1350-1400, ivory. Lent by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917 (17.190.214)

Opening Lecture: Join William Abbott, associate professor of History, as he discusses the historical origins of the Great Hunger/Irish Famine on Thursday, April 10 at 5:30 p.m. in the Quick Center for the Arts, Kelley Theatre.
Presented in conjunction with An Gorta Mór: Selections from Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum, organized by Quinnipiac University and the Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield Exhibition (Walsh Gallery, April 11-August 16).

About the Exhibition: This exhibition presents highlights from the collection of Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum, which explores the impact of the Irish Famine of 1845-1852 through artwork produced by eminent Irish and Irish-American artists of the past 170 years. The works on view in the exhibition will include paintings by late 19th- and early 20th‐century artists like James Brenan, Daniel Macdonald, James Arthur O’Connor and Jack B. Yeats, as well as sculptures, paintings, and works on paper by contemporary artists including John Behan, Rowan Gillespie, Brian Maguire, and Hughie O’Donoghue. The exhibition is presented by Quinnipiac University and the Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield Exhibition.
The event will also be livestreamed, click here to register for a reminder.
Image: James Arthur O’Connor, Scene in Connemara, 1828, oil on canvas. Courtesy of Quinnipiac University and the Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield Exhibition.