Clarinetist Chadwick Thomas and pianist Yujin Lee present a concert inspired by the Friends and Enemies of Modern Music, a society founded by celebrated Wadsworth Director Arthur Everett “Chick” Austin, Jr. (1900–1957) that sponsored performances by pioneering modern composers in Hartford in the 1930s. Before the performance, drop by the galleries to view Staging Modernism: How the Wadsworth Made America Modern.

Free with museum admission.

Supported by the Saunders Foundation Endowment for Music and the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation Fund at The Wadsworth.

Since launching The RealReal in 2011, Julie Wainwright has transformed how we buy and sell fashion, jewelry, and art, all while promoting sustainability and circularity. Join us for an inspiring conversation and thoughtfully curated dining experience as Wainwright shares the story behind her groundbreaking success as Founder of The RealReal.

Tickets include a signed copy of Wainwright’s Time to Get Real: How I Built a Billion-Dollar Business that Rocked the Fashion Industry.

ACTIVITIES 10AM–2PM | FREE ADMISSION ALL DAY

Roll up your sleeves for art-making activities inspired by National Craft Month. Join a docentled tour of the collection and learn how makers drew inspiration from nature and local materials; then be inspired by the works on view and create a one-of-a-kind wooden artwork. Watch artists from Hartford Stitch contribute to the America’s Tapestry project, a community project celebrating untold stories of the original 13 colonies during the American Revolution. Grab a complimentary bag of popcorn and stay for a free screening of The Inventor at 2pm.

Free. Registration encouraged.

Second Saturdays for Families is supported by the Art Bridges Foundation, Connecticut Health and Education Facilities Authority (CHEFA), the Andrew J. and Joyce D. Mandell Family Foundation, the Ensworth Charitable Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee, the George A. & Grace L. Long Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Co-Trustee, the J. Walton Bissell Foundation, Inc., the David T. Langrock Foundation, the Charles Nelson Robinson Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee, and the Greater Hartford Arts Council. Program supplies are generously donated by S&S Worldwide.

The 2026 Design for Freedom Summit convenes leaders of the architecture, construction, technology, manufacturing, finance, government, academic, and real estate sectors to advance the global movement toward a more ethical built environment.

Through the guidance of the Design for Freedom Principles, participants will explore solutions to identify and address forced labor, advance ethical decarbonization, and prioritize circularity through a human rights lens.

This year’s Summit is a culmination of the past 5 years of partnership, innovation and dedication to creating a more humane future. Attendees will leave inspired and equipped with the technology, tools, and vision needed to take immediate action toward more responsible supply chains.

We look forward to another sold-out audience in 2026! Your ticket includes the full day of programming, tours, exhibits, jazz breakfast, lunch, a cocktail reception, and complimentary shuttles from our partner hotels and local train stations.

Join Grace Farms Assistant Director of Education and Artist Mary Janacek for a creative workshop where you’ll learn how to craft your own nature journal. Spend an afternoon making a unique hand-bound nature journal to record inspiration from the River building and surrounding 80 acres of meadows, woodlands, and other thriving habitats. This workshop will utilize basic bookbinding tools and techniques to create one-of-a-kind journals. Then, follow a guided tour of the landscape to pause to collect observations in your customized book.

Adults of all levels are welcome. Materials will be provided, but participants are encouraged to bring anything, such as papers or mark-making materials, they would like to incorporate into their project.

The Art in Nature workshop series is led by visiting artists and Grace Farms staff, inspired by the Grace Farms landscape and the Foundation’s five initiatives, with instruction, hands-on opportunities to practice new skills, and a takeaway made by each participant.

Drawing Party: Still Life on Thursday, April 18th, 7-9 p.m., Bellarmine Hall, Museum Classroom
Join Museum Educator Kate Wellen in our Bellarmine Hall Galleries and Classroom for relaxing drawing tutorials, inspired by the still life paintings on view in “Suzanne Chamlin: Studies in Color”! Art supplies will be provided.
Learn more about the exhibition here.
Suzanne Chamlin, Rose of Sharon, Oil on wood panel. © Suzanne Chamlin.

Join us for Family Day: Mixing It Up with Color on Saturday, April 27, 12:30-2 p.m., 2:30-4 p.m. in Bellarmine Hall, Museum Classroom. Each session will begin promptly at 12:30 p.m. and again at 2:30 p.m.
This event is inspired by the exhibition Suzanne Chamlin: Studies in Color (Bellarmine Hall Galleries, April 5-July 27)!
Kids ages 4-10 will dive into a rainbow of color-based activities, from ‘painting” with Skittles, to making sensory foam paintings, to creating layered collage out of dampened tissue paper – all led by our Museum Educator.
Don’t miss the exhibition down the hall! Artist Suzanne Chamlin (Associate Professor of Studio Art, Fairfield University), explores ideas about color theory and light through a series of landscape and interior stills. Learn more here.

Suzanne Chamlin, paint tube colors, 2012, oil on paper. © Suzanne Chamlin.

Family Day: Crafting Sweet Treats
Join us on Saturday, June 1st in the Quick Center for the Arts, Walsh Gallery for a Family Day inspired by the exhibition Peter Anton: Just Desserts!
Sculptor Peter Anton creates over-sized, hyper-realistic sculptures of candies, donuts, ice cream bars, and other mouth-watering treats. In this Family Day, kids ages 4-10 get to let their imaginations run wild as they build their own unique desserts out of clay, and decorate special dessert boxes to hold them!
Each session will begin promptly at 12:30 p.m. and again at 2:30 p.m.

Peter Anton, Dark Bar Chaos, 2021, mixed media. ©2023 Peter Anton

Artist Suzanne Chamlin will be in the Bellarmine Hall Galleries at 11am on Thursday, April 18 to talk about the paintings on view in the exhibition Suzanne Chamlin: Studies in Color . Join us for an intimate conversation with the painter and Studio Art professor, as she discusses her studio practice and how she became interested in the Munsell color theory system.
Learn more about the exhibition here.
About the Artist
Suzanne Chamlin is Associate Professor of Studio Art in the Department of Visual & Performing Arts at Fairfield University. Her drawings are in the collections of the National Gallery of Art, Yale University Art Gallery, and the Nelson Atkins Museum. Chamlin has attended residencies at the Albers Foundation, Yaddo, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Ragdale, Fundación Valparaiso, and Edna St. Vincent Millay Colony. Chamlin received her B.A. from Barnard College and M.F.A. from Yale University.
Suzanne Chamlin, House Study, 2023, oil and chalk on linen. © Suzanne Chamlin.

The sun is lingering a little longer each day, the days are getting warmer, and the beautiful gardens at the Connecticut Art Trail’s historic sites are coming into bloom. What better time to get out and explore all there is to see at our 24 member museums and cultural sites? Many members of the Connecticut Art Trail are taking advantage of the pleasant late spring conditions with extended hours, exhibition openings, festivals, and other terrific events to make your evenings and weekends better. Check out our full list of upcoming exhibitions and events to see what’s happening near you, including registration information for upcoming summer camps. Don’t forget to pick up your Passport-Journal for free admission to every site!

In the May 2024 newsletter, we take a look at the upcoming exhibitions and events on the Connecticut Art Trail as well as some of the summer art camps available at member museums. We also take an in-depth look at the history and collections of two members: the Lyman Allyn Art Museum and the Weir Farm National Historic Park.