Photo Courtesy of James Prosek/The Hartford Courant
The Connecticut (CT) Art Trail, a partnership between museums and historical sites in Connecticut, launched the “Made in Connecticut” exhibition on October 15 at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum in Hartford in celebration of its 25th anniversary.
Open through February 21, the exhibition consists of 69 pieces from 22 institutions, museums, and historic sites across the state. “Made in Connecticut” not only pays homage to the state’s rich art history and heritage but also its robust manufacturing industry. “Everything has a CT connection — an artist must have resided in CT and a manufactured object must have been made in CT,” says James Prosek, the exhibit’s curator. “There are a lot of amazing artists who lived and worked in Connecticut like Alexander Calder and Helen Frankenthaler — just an endless list.” The exhibition includes educational programming and other anniversary events to celebrate the immense growth of CT Art Trail.
In an interview with The Hartford Courant, Ms. Cary Mack Weber, volunteer president of the CT Art Trail and director of Fairfield University Art Museum, said, “The Art Trail is about lifting up all of the museums in the state. When one museum is doing well, we are all doing well.” Her goal for the exhibition is to increase the publicity of the museums, stating that, “Sometimes I don’t think Connecticut residents know about the jewels in our own backyard.”
Especially in the midst of the pandemic, the number of patrons visiting museums has declined, so “Made in Connecticut” serves to both increase attendance at museums and offer a fun family outing.
Mr. Prosek — who is also an American artist, writer, naturalist, and a current Artist In Residence at the Yale University Art Gallery — was asked earlier this year by Ms. Weber and Mr. Thomas Loughman, Director of the Wadsworth, to curate the exhibition. Mr. Prosek has also included one of his personal works into the exhibit; Connecticut Composition No.1, an oil painting that he made this year, depicts the American Robin and two Mountain Laurels — the official state bird and flower of Connecticut — surrounded by hundreds of different types of wildlife native to Connecticut and the Long Island Sound.
Founded in 1842, the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum is the oldest public art museum in the nation. Some of the highlights from the museum that are also featured in this exhibit include a 1966 sports car made in Bridgeport by inventor and race car driver Mr. John Fitch; a case of brass buttons that represents the city of Waterbury’s brass industry; and a rubber desk made by Charles Goodyear whose invention of vulcanized rubber led to mass production of rubber products.
The exhibit coordinators also wanted to acknowledge the Native history of Connecticut by including Native artwork. “There were not a lot of pieces in the museums that represented the Native people the way they wanted to be represented, so I reached out to the cultural director of the Mohegan tribe,” said Mr. Prosek. As a result, a necklace made up of wampum by a member of the local Mohegan Tribe William (Smiling White Wolf) Doheny will be on display at the exhibit.
There are also several virtual events that are accessible to all. One option is “Connecticut Connections,” an event that will be hosted on November 14. It allows attendees to design artwork inspired by the exhibition, participate in a visual scavenger hunt, and watch art-making demonstrations.
To visit the CT Art Trail and the “Made in Connecticut” exhibition, guests can purchase the $25 Passport, which gives them year-long access to all of the 22 museums and art institutions on the trail.
