May 12 – June 10, 2018
The Lyman Allyn Art Museum is proud to present a special exhibition by the students of the Nathan Hale Arts Magnet School in Glassenberg Gallery. Students, parents, teachers, families, and art enthusiasts of all ages are invited to explore artwork created by students, grades K-5. Two-and three-dimensional artworks, in a variety of media, are included in the exhibit. A visual delight, this exhibit showcases student talent, creativity, and critical thinking.
February 10 – April 15, 2018
The Coral Reef Project is a mixed media exhibition with a unique sculptural installation that demonstrates the fragility of coral and its ecosystem. This exhibition, curated by Tekla Zweir, Chair of the Art Department at the Williams School in New London, CT, includes research into various species of coral. Included in the exhibition are studies of coral in oil on canvas, 50 individual coral sculptures in an installation to demonstrate a living coral reef, and plaster relief sculptures to represent bleached coral. The juxtaposition of the different sculptures will show the fragility of the reef. Also included are experimental encaustic paintings that utilize Tekla’s underwater photographs of a coral reef that evoke a sense of looking through the water into various reefs. An actual aquarium with living coral from the Cradabel Coral Lab in New London will be showcased in the gallery as well.
The main objectives of this exhibition are to show the diversity of coral species; demonstrate the fragility of the coral reef; educate the public about coral and its habitat, show the connection of science to art; explain the importance of research in the artistic process; utilize art for environmental awareness; and inspire students to create art that fosters critical thinking.
Tekla has studied coral at the Mystic Aquarium, the Boston Museum of Science, and the Key West Aquarium, and has also visited three coral reefs at the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, Florida. Her research there included taking photographs, making notes, sketching, and learning about different coral species.
About the Artist
Tekla Zweir earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in sculpture in 1999 from Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts and a Master of Arts in Art Education in 2013 from Boston University. She is an artist and an educator who has taught studio art at The Williams School for sixteen years. She lives in Quaker Hill with her musician husband, Ben Kane, their children Cassius and Scarlet, and their two cats and a dog.
April 5 – May 25, 2018
In a tumultuous era spanning thirteen years, Americans could no longer manufacture, sell, or transport intoxicating beverages. Prohibition was now a part of the Constitution, holding the same status as freedom of speech and the abolition of slavery. Ratified in 1919, the 18th Amendment stirred up a passionate and sometimes volatile debate between “wets” and “drys” that will forever cement Prohibition’s place in history.
Spirited: Prohibition in America, a new traveling exhibition from NEH on the Road, brings visitors back to this period of flappers and suffragists, bootleggers and temperance lobbyists, and real-life legends, such as Al Capone and Carry Nation. Visitors will learn about the complex issues that led America to adopt Prohibition through the 18th Amendment to the Constitution in 1919 until its repeal through the 21st Amendment in 1933.
Through the exhibition, visitors will learn about the amendment process, the changing role of liquor in American culture, Prohibitions impact on the roaring 20’s, and the role of women, and how current liquor laws vary from state to state.
Spirited: Prohibition in America is organized by the National Constitution Center, Philadelphia, PA, in partnership with Mid-America Arts Alliance, Kansas City, MO.
