by Greigh Cloward
NEWBURYPORT – Newburyport Art is a local art exhibit located in the heart of Newburyport, a town that promotes artistic cultural richness through its many theaters, dance groups, and art galleries. Coming Home is an art show that will be held at Newburyport Art curated by local artist and high school teacher Belle Carver Struck. It will showcase all forms of art including films, music, writings, paintings, and more. The uniqueness about this art show compared to other previous shows is that artists who grew up in Newburyport and are now successful in their fields will be returning home to show their support and appreciation for the town that shaped their careers.
A panel discussion will be held with eight of the artists, allowing the audience to ask them any questions about their artwork on display. Some of the artists coming home and are on the panel include journalist, author, and Yale lecturer Kate Bolick, filmmaker Nikole Beckwith, cartoonist Sam Szabo, and film director and editor Paul-Emile Cendron.
Belle Carver Struck showed her appreciation for the artists coming home by saying that it wasn’t a problem for any of them to travel back to Newburyport and they all voluntarily returned out of the importance of the town to them.
The overall goal of Coming Home is to honor the people who shaped Newburyport while growing up and moved away to make their impact somewhere else, and the people who still live in Newburyport and are continuously building the local art community. As stated by Belle Carver Struck, “At a time in the world when things are so uncertain and we’re looking to our local communities for support, connection, and community, it’s really important to highlight and celebrate the people who benefitted, helped create, and were nurtured by that community.”
One of Struck’s goals with curating this exhibit is to bring people together and have an opportunity for younger and older artists to be inspired by each other. She especially wants young aspiring artists to see successful artists who grew up in the same place as them and built a career around their experiences in Newburyport. Struck believes this will give them reassurance that any regular person can make an impact and a name for themselves.
Coming Home will officially open on Sunday, July 27th from 4-6pm with a free opening reception where you can see all the artwork and meet the artists.
On Monday, July 28th from 6-8 p.m., the ticketed panel discussion (ticket sales are closed) will take place where the artists on the panel will answer questions.
All proceeds from the tickets will be put into fundraising to improve Newburyport Art, host classes, workshops, artist residencies, and have more events like this in the future.
For people who can’t come on either of these days, Coming Home will be open most days and times for the following three weeks. Anyone will be able to stop by and browse the gallery of artwork during this time.
For more information visit: Coming Home — NewburyportArt.org ♦
