Call for Artists
Preview Party Gala | Purchase Tickets
Juried Art Exhibition
Related Programs
Jurors
Committee
Sponsors

Pequot Library is delighted to announce the 23rd Juried Art Show, a celebration of art and artists from the Fairfield County region and beyond. The juried exhibition will be on view for the public from October 13 to October 24, 2023 in Pequot Library’s historic auditorium which provides an outstanding backdrop for the show. A Preview Party Gala will allow first access to the works on Thursday, October 12 as a ticketed fundraiser event.

Your support of Pequot Library’s 23rd Juried Art Show helps us raise essential fund for educational and inspirational programs and services for patrons of all ages. With circulating books, author talks, concerts, tours, school field trips, Special Collections exhibitions, and more, Pequot Library is a multi-faceted cultural hub of our community.

This fundraiser has been made possible in part with support from the Jennifer Crosby Cargill “Lipstick and Pearls” Art Fund.

A Fundraiser for Pequot Library

Preview Party Gala

Thursday, October 12, 2023 at 6:00 p.m.

Gain early access and a preview of the exhibition, and view works by local and regional artists on sale in support of the library. The party includes a silent auction, full bar and heavy hors d’oeuvres, a “bubbly wall,” and an interactive art experience. Come celebrate the return of this local favorite special event, and mix and mingle with contemporaries in the art world.

Juried Art Exhibition

October 13-24, 2023
On view during library hours or by appointment.

Enjoy art on display for viewing and for sale in Pequot Library’s iconic auditorium. All works on view are for sale; half of the proceeds will be donated to the library, and the other half will support the works of the artists. The library is proud to continue this 20-plus-year tradition, which helps support the library’s books, programs, and exhibitions and celebrates artists today.  

Related Programs

Blocks and Beads – Wire Sculptures
October 13-24 during library hours | For children
Children create a sculpture inspired by Alexander Calder

Jonas Wood-Inspired Still Life Drawing
Wednesday, October 18 at 4:30 p.m. | For children in grades 3-6
Children create a still life inspired by the artist Jonas Wood

From En Plein Air to Avant Garde: Connecticut Artists & Art Colonies
Thursday, October 19 at 6:00 p.m.
Jennifer Stettler Parsons, Ph.D.

How to Start an Art Collection: Panel Discussion*
Monday, October 23 @ 5:30 p.m.
Cristina Salmastrelli, Ruth Mannes & Lisa Cooper

*Every panel discussion attendee will receive a free entry to MoCA|Museum of Contemporary Art as well as free entry to the Affordable Art Fair in Manhattan next Spring!

Artists and Collectors Closing Party
Tuesday, October 24 @ 4:00 p.m.
Mix and mingle with the artists

Call for Artists

Submissions are open. Deadline is Friday, September 22.

Painting, photography, mixed media, works on paper, drawing, multi-media, and sculpture will be accepted.

Maximum of three submissions per artist. Limited to works that have not been shown in a previous Pequot Library Art Show and that have been executed in the last 2 years. A maximum of one piece per artist may be selected by the jurors.

The entry fee is $25 per piece. Pequot Library and the artist will split the proceeds of sold art 50/50.

Jurors

Dr. Philip I. Eliasoph is an American art historian, critic and curator. Eliasoph began his teaching career in 1975 at Fairfield University where he is currently Professor of Art History in the Department of Visual & Performing Arts. In May 2023, he was appointed as Special Assistant to the President for Arts and Culture.  In 1996, Eliasoph founded, and remains director and moderator, of the “Open VISIONS Forum,” a public affairs series held at Fairfield University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. He is critically credited with the revival of many midcentury American artists of the Magic Realist school publishing monographic books, journal reviews about Paul Cadmus, Colleen Browning, and Robert Vickrey and others. His articles have been published in Art in America, The American Arts Quarterly, The Smithsonian American Art Journal, and Antiques & Fine Art. Since 2016, Eliasoph has also been a faculty curator for The New York Times digital inEducation platform creating weekly blog posts focusing on international museum exhibitions, art world ethical issues, and global diversity in the visual arts. He is an elected member of UNESCO’s Association Internationale des Critiques d’Art.

Ruth Mannes has been the Executive Director at MoCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) Westport, a nonprofit devoted to inspiring intellectual and creative curiosity through the arts, since February 2020.

Mannes, a 12-year resident of Westport, has an extensive background in publishing, leadership, community outreach, and fundraising for local causes. In addition, she has been collecting art for over two decades and has been recognized by ARTnews as one of the top 30 young contemporary art collectors in America.

Duvian Montoya is an Artist, Muralist, Studio Manager, Curator, and Community organizer. His paintings, murals, and installations can be seen throughout Connecticut and are collected by SONO Collection, Housatonic Community College, The Mattatuck Museum, Disney, and Gulfstream Worldwide. He co-founded 2 Fairfield County Arts organizations, “The Saint Philip Artist Guild” (Norwalk) in 2009 and “The Artists Collective of Westport” in 2014.

His current community project is Executive Director at The Norwalk Art Space, where free art education is given to underserved students and where regional under-represented artists have a premier art space for exhibitions and programs.

Committee

Lucy Biggers Rahe, Co-Chair
Madeline Rahe Peck, Co-Chair

Miggs Burroughs
Lisa Cooper
Meg Gruppo
Jennifer Bradford Kennedy
Margaret Rieck
Sarah Rinaldi
Kelley Schutte
Jarvis Wilcox