Search Results

In 1918, Egon Schiele began an oil painting entitled The Family, featuring himself, his wife, and his unborn child. Before he could complete it, his wife, six months pregnant, died of the Spanish Flu. His own life was taken just three days after, by the same disease. Though the Spanish Flu is often overridden in contemporary thought and collective memory by World War I, the pandemic did not go unnoticed by artists. The disease ravaging the globe in 1918 exacerbated feelings of chaos, upheaval, and meaninglessness, and these feelings were reflected in the art of the time. Some of the most well-known pieces regarding the Spanish Flu were portraits. Egon Schiele painted a portrait of his mentor, Gustav Klimt, from a morgue in Vienna after he died of complications related to the flu. Edvard Munch made two self portraits, Self-Portrait With the Spanish Flu and Self-Portrait After the Spanish Flu, depicting the artist’s experience surviving the disease. However, the influence of the disease was felt on a much broader scale. For example, prominent Dadaists endeavored to combine art and design to create simultaneously artistic and useful objects. Notably, architect Walter Gropius designed several pieces of furniture that -- unlike the heavy upholstery common at the time -- were minimalistic, and made of wood and steel. Historians believe those choices were heavily influenced by the flu, as their lightweight and moveable design met the new standards required for cleaning and sanitization. During the Spanish Flu, collage also became a popular medium. The strategies of cutting, reassembling and remixing were appealing to artists coping with the hopelessness and absurdity that characterized the epoch. It was a time in which the Spanish Flu, World War I, the rise of communism, and many other globally significant events were combining to create an atmosphere of chaos and upheaval. The Spanish Flu killed at least 50 million people. A pandemic that is more deeply entrenched in art history is of course the Black Death. Much of the imagery that is so firmly entwined with the ideas of death and disease stem from outbreaks of this disease. Michael Wolgemut’s Danse Macabre was a product of this plague. The iconic visage of a plague doctor, wearing a long beaked mask and heavy robes, also stems from this era. And in fact, it was popularized by artistic imagination, rather than by widespread use. Paintings of mass burials were common, like the piece by Pierart dou Tielt depicting the people of Tournai burying victims of the Black Death in 1349. An interesting aspect of artwork of the Black Death is that there are no depictions of actual people suffering from the disease; likely because the sick were quarantined and artists were wary to get too close. However, this is largely unique in pandemic history. The art from this era dealt strongly with the inescapable pervasiveness of death. The Black Death killed between 75 and 200 million people. This last painting on the left is a depiction of Dr. Edward Jenner performing his first smallpox vaccination in 1796. Smallpox was the first viral epidemic that was ended by vaccine. On the right, we have a photograph of Margaret Kennan, the first person in the world to receive the vaccine for Covid-19. When we are faced with a worldwide death toll of over 2 million, it is easy to look at the imagery of the Spanish Flu and the Black Death and feel that sense of helplessness, to relate to the depictions of quarantines and social isolation, hospitalisations, deaths, and loved ones affected by disease. These images stand out as a glimmer of hope. Historically, the art created during these historic pandemics are what we see when we think of these periods. However, often the instances were not widely recorded by artists. Throughout Covid-19, many artists all over the world have worked on their creative pursuits to create a lasting image of what our lives were in this time, when we were feeling hopeless and meaningless and nihilistic, when our lives were full of turmoil and uncertainty, and so many have worked to create a message of hope. Everyone has been adapting to this new normal, and the tireless work of artists demonstrating the capacity of art to bring hope and joy in a time where these are so sparse, the unmistakable role of art in social movements and the passion it can inspire, has been a shining light in these challenging times. That is what makes the art of this pandemic different from the art of past plagues. While we have unprecedented understanding of the physical symptoms of this disease, rather than focusing on the turmoil and death surrounding the issue, artists have been working to create a message of hope, unity, and strength in the face of fear and adversity.

July 1, 2021 – Shoreline Arts Alliance has received grants from Branford Community Fund, Community Foundation of Middlesex County, Guilford Foundation, Guilford Savings Bank and The Madison Foundation in support of its newest program, Expressions in Art. Created in collaboration with Art and Soul Art Therapy and Innovative Counseling, this virtual, collaborative arts workshop and support group for high school students will aim to help alleviate feelings of isolation through artistic expression, interpersonal connection and community building. Students will have the opportunity to create digital artwork collaboratively with a facilitator present during two 4-week sessions. Workshops will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings from 7-8:30 PM. All meetings will take place remotely via Zoom and Magmastudio. Opportunities for artwork to be displayed will be offered thanks to our community partners, Cilantros Specialty Foods in Guilford and The Marketplace at Guilford Food Center. This program is open to all students who reside in Shoreline Arts Alliance’s 24-town region (Branford, Chester, Clinton, Cromwell, Deep River, Durham, East Haddam, East Hampton, East Haven, East Lyme, Essex, Guilford, Haddam, Killingworth, Lyme, Madison, Middlefield, Middletown, North Branford, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Portland, Salem & Westbrook) The registration fee is $115. Scholarships are available for students from Branford, Guilford, Madison and Middlesex County thanks to the generosity of the grantors supporting this program. Session 1 will run from August 17-September 15 and session 2 will run from September 28-October 27. Registration is limited for this program. Interested high school students can register and apply for the available scholarships through the Shoreline Arts Alliance website: www.shorelinearts.org/expressions-in-art For more information or to become a community partner, please email communications@shorelinearts.org

Shoreline Arts Alliance is happy to announce the Winners and Honorees of their 2021 Scholarships in the Arts Competition. June 8, 2021 – Shoreline Arts Alliance is happy to announce the seven Scholarship Winners, seven Special Recognition Winners and nine Honorable Mention recipients in its 2021 Scholarships in the Arts Competition. Students from our 24 town region applied, auditioned, and interviewed for $1,000 scholarships to help fund their education in the arts. Each category had a group of dedicated and professional judges interviewing each applicant and reviewing each application. Shoreline Arts Alliance is pleased to congratulate the following students: Instrumental Music Rosalie Coleman, Winner, Guilford High School Malin Nystrom, Special Recognition, Haddam-Killingworth High School Jeffrey Dobbs Scholarship for Excellence in Painting Joyce Huang, Winner, Middletown High School Flourishing Gentleman by Joyce Huang Visual Arts Emmy Skiles, Winner, Old Saybrook High School Samuel Stein, Special Recognition, Daniel Hand High School Heaven Hakai, Special Recognition, Middletown High School Marina Melluzzo, Honorable Mention, Lyme-Old Lyme High School Olivia Schaedler, Honorable Mention, Old Saybrook Artemisia Trowbridge-Wheeler, Honorable Mention, Middletown Matthew Johnson, Honorable Mention, Old Saybrook High School Theatre Spencer Stanley, Winner, East Lyme High School Gaby Onorati, Special Recognition, Daniel Hand High School Alex Bunis, Honorable Mention, The Grove School Vocal Music Noah Sonenstein, Winner, Daniel Hand High School Brooke DellaRocco, Special Recognition, Valley Regional High School Caleb Harris, Honorable Mention, Guilford High School Maddie Keithan, Honorable Mention, Haddam Killingworth High School Dance Faith Anderson, Winner, Guilford High School Grace Pendleton, Special Recognition, The Morgan School Brooke DellaRocco, Honorable Mention, Valley Regional High School Creative Writing Sina Takyar, Winner, Daniel Hand High School Brian Girardi, Special Recognition, Daniel Hand High School Carlin Steere, Honorable Mention, Daniel Hand High School Both the Scholarship winners and the Special Recognition winners will receive a mentorship with a professional artist in their respective fields. Learn more about Scholarships in the Arts and the many other programs that Shoreline Arts Alliance has to offer by visiting www.shorelinearts.org.

Since 1981, Shoreline Arts Alliance has been proud to grant numerous scholarships in a wide variety of artistic disciplines to high school juniors and seniors in the Scholarship in the Arts program. This juried scholarship competition offers winners $1,000 scholarships to winners in categories like creative writing, dance, instrumental music, musical theater, theater, visual arts, and vocal music, as well as professional mentorships and a performance and exhibition for all the winners and special recognition awardees. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners and special recognition awardees! In instrumental music, Rosalie Coleman (winner) and Malin Nystrom (special recognition). In vocal music, Noah Sonenstein (winner), Brooke DellaRocco (special recognition), and Caleb Harris and Maddie Keithan (honorable mentions). In dance, Faith Anderson (winner), Grace Pendleton (special recognition), and Brooke DellaRocco (honorable mention). In theater, Spencer Stanley (winner), Gaby Onorati (special recognition), and Alex Bunis (honorable mention). In creative writing, Sina Takyar (winner), Brian Girardi (special recognition), and Carlin Steere (honorable mention). In visual arts, Emmy Skiles (winner), Samuel Stein and Heaven Hakai (special recognitions), and Marina Melluzzo, Olivia Schaedler, Artemisia Trowbridge-Wheeler, and Matthew Johnson, (honorable mentions), as well as Joyce Huang, winner of the Jeffrey Dobbs Scholarship for Excellence in Painting. In the coming weeks, the Shoreline Bulletin will be publishing highlights on many of these artists, as well as the jurors of the competition. Scholarship in the Arts 2021 closed applications on May 6th with many incredible submissions. We at Shoreline Arts would like to extend our sincerest congratulations to all applicants; this year saw a great number of challenges, and all of the participants overcame those additional obstacles and still created great art. Thank you for sharing your art with us, everyone who applied should be proud of what they have accomplished.

April 29, 2021– Shoreline Arts Alliance is pleased to announce that it has received an ARTE-accesible Grant from the Connecticut Office of the Arts to create a website that is accessible to all. Shoreline Arts Alliance believes the arts are for everyone and has a long history of making its programs as accessible as possible. It has worked hard to try to accommodate everyone, providing braille and large print programs, assisted listening devices, ASL interpreters, sensory friendly options and mobility assistance. This grant has allowed SAA to go even further and update its website to ensure it will also be accessible to all. In compliance with the guidelines set forth by the World Wide Web Consortium, the website now utilizes various technologies to allow persons with accessibility needs to adjust the user interface to meet their personal needs. The website provides accommodations for those with epilepsy by eliminating the seizure risk that may occur with blinking animations, those with ADHD or neurodevelopmental disorders by reducing distractions and noise, and those with cognitive disabilities by drawing focus to essential elements more easily. Those with visual impairments may adjust the font size, or color combinations displayed on the screen or choose to use a screen-reader, and those with motor impairments can use special keyboard navigation tools. All of these accessibility features can be accessed by clicking on the accessibility icon of a blue circle containing a person on the website. Shoreline Arts Alliance is proud to have received this grant from the Connecticut Office of the Arts and is excited to be able to offer these services, following its mission to transform ALL lives through art.

Life on Hold, Earl Killeen Shoreline Arts Alliance hosted Future Voices, the brainchild of Clinton artist, Earl Grenville Killeen, in December. The program, a visual, performing and literary arts exhibition for artists, performers and creatives of all ages was extremely successful. The program featured works in creative writing, dance, film, music, poetry and visual art. The program encouraged artists of all ages to express themselves and their pandemic experiences. Killeen has ensured that this valuable program will continue through a generous donation of his painting, Life on Hold, which was auctioned concurrently with the online exhibition. The painting was purchased by Dolores Reilly, and all of the proceeds donated to Shoreline Arts Alliance’s Future Voices program. Killeen’s endless support of Shoreline Arts Alliance and its programs helps ensure the support of arts programs and future artists. Donations to help Shoreline Arts Alliance continue to provide arts programming like Future Voices can be made through the SAA website: shorelinearts.org.

Kanika Khurana is an award-winning illustrator, and surface designer. Khurana is an artist whose work focuses on themes of natural history, nostalgia, and intimacy with one another. After graduating from Western Connecticut State University in 2017, Kanika began exhibiting her work as well as designing and selling her own merchandise in her online shop. With laughing brown eyes artist Khurana is a ray of sunshine coming through the grays of ordinary. The source of her colorful illustrations as seen in her illustrated products is immediately apparent. In a world with a drab reality will get most people down she indulges in flight of fancy through her art for example her painting titled Celebration. "There has always been a magic of art in my life" she says. " I have been drawing and painting since my childhood. Through my school years, I was an instrumental part of the design team of my school’s magazine and continued in this veneer by designing props." Khurana grew up around constant creativity. " My mother ran a Montessori school. She used to design learning aids for kids. Now she runs a bridal boutique, my talents seemed natural", she says. " When I was a kid I would watch my mother draw beautiful drawings that were whimsical and had beautiful faces." Her work reflects her desire to create joy and enchantment in the viewer and it can be felt when looking at her pieces such as Celebration pictured below. This features a charming scene of birthday celebration in a forest, complete with loads of foliage, whimsical animal creatures, in Khurana’s characteristic style of illustration that are adorable. Wonderful for new parents, lovely for child’s bedroom or nursery, or wherever you choose to hang it! She designs decals for kid's bedroom, nursery, home and office. The pair of poppies and a monarch butterfly explore the theme of friendship. Khurana elaborates " my painting style is inspired by Indian Miniatures paintings. I start with watercolors and then put final details with colored pencils." This incredible Christmas Decal features a magical Christmas Village. Perfect for decorating windows on chilly winter days, this reusable and removable decal is sure to become a beloved Christmas decor staple year after year! Khurana also has greeting cards and calendars available in her online shop. All of the products are painted, printed, and packaged locally in the USA. You can see more of Kanika Khurana’s work at https://visheshstudio.com/

Guilford, CT – November 3, 2020 – Shoreline Arts Alliance is hosting its 37th Annual Future Choices program, a Visual Arts Competition and Exhibition for High School Students. This juried art show will take place virtually on the Shoreline Arts Alliance website and will feature work from high school students in our region. High school students within SAA’s 24 town region - all of Middlesex County, Lyme, Old Lyme, East Lyme, Salem, Madison, Guilford, North Branford, Branford, and East Haven - are encouraged to submit artwork by the March 19, 2021 deadline. Entries will be accepted in the following categories: Ceramics, Drawing, Mixed Media, Painting, Pastels, Photography, Prints, Sculpture, and Video. All entries must be submitted by either the artist or a teacher. To submit, and for more detailed guidelines, please visit the website at www.shorelinearts.org/future-choices. Accepted works will be exhibited online for a period of three months, beginning on April 6, 2021, and select award winners will have work featured on Shoreline Arts Alliance’s social media pages. Cash awards will be given in each category. Other awards include the Ruth Baxter-Tagliatela Award, the Judy Streeter Outstanding School Award, which recognizes a school’s art department, Best in Show, and the Earl Grenville Killeen Founders Award, which recognizes the teacher of the Best in Show award recipient. About Shoreline Arts Alliance: Shoreline Arts Alliance is a non-profit 501(c)3 arts council based in Guilford. Shoreline Arts Alliance’s mission is to Transform Lives through the Arts by encouraging, engaging, enriching, and educating the community. Learn more about our programs and events by visiting www.shorelinearts.org.

Connecticut – November 3, 2020 – Shoreline Arts Alliance is hosting its 1st Annual Future VOICES program, a Visual, Performing and Literary Arts Exhibition for artists, performers and creatives of all ages. This online art show will take place on the Shoreline Arts Alliance website, and will feature work that engages with current social issues. All Connecticut residents, regardless of age, are encouraged to submit artwork, essays, poetry, songs, dances, and short films to the exhibition by December 3, 2020. Entries will be accepted in the following categories: Creative Writing, Dance, Essay, Film, Instrumental Music, Poetry, Theatre, Visual Art and Vocal Music. All entries must be submitted online through the SAA website. To submit, and for more detailed submission guidelines, please visit the website at www.shorelinearts.org/future-voices. Accepted works will be displayed on our website for three months. About Shoreline Arts Alliance: Shoreline Arts Alliance is a non-profit 501(c)3 arts council based in Guilford. Shoreline Arts Alliance’s mission is to Transform Lives through the Arts by encouraging, engaging, enriching, and educating the community. Learn more about our programs and events by visiting www.shorelinearts.org.

- Future Choices, Shoreline Arts Alliance’s high school visual arts competition, has become a bona fide staple of the Connecticut Shoreline arts community. Its 35 year run has not dulled the enthusiasm of the exhibit’s founder, Earl Grenville Killeen. Earl, an artist, who established the Earl Grenville Killeen Award which is awarded annually to a student exhibitor, is excited about the young talent he witnesses each year, “The art is just very, very impressive… I see art that I wouldn’t be able to produce even to this day. These kids are so talented, I don’t know if it’s the art teachers or what, but it’s just such a fabulous thing to take in.” Killeen laughed and added, “A lot of times they make me feel inadequate.” Killeen won first place and three honorable mentions at the Westchester County Art Show his freshman year of high school and was awarded a scholarship to a co-educational, experimental, summer program which sparked his love for learning. “It really turned my life around” he reflects, “and I’m a person who pays back debts. I recall my grandmother once saying to me, ‘Earl, whatever you take from life make sure you return it, and if you can, return a little bit more.’ I never forgot that. I’ve always lived by that. So that’s what gave me the spur to do this.” A renowned Connecticut-based artist, Killeen believes the students are why Future Choices has remained so important and relevant all these years. “Young people are always courageous. And you know, I’m 71… and nobody wants to hear anything I have to say. But young people do have something to say, as is being demonstrated in the current social uprising we’re seeing all over the world. And I think it’s very important that they have an avenue through art, to speak, to reflect on what society is about and what their own lives are about. I think they need to be paid attention to,” said Killeen. In addition to founding Future Choices, Killeen generously gifted Shoreline Arts Alliance $20,000 to continue funding the program. In consideration of this, Earl added “People need to support the arts, because it doesn’t get done without support. I’ve been producing, producing, producing every single day, and in three years I’ve gone through $20,000 in supplies. And that doesn’t happen unless somebody supports me by buying my art. So it’s very important to have a voice out there to support it.” Shoreline Arts Alliance could not agree more! For more information: office@shorelinearts.org

Shoreline Arts Alliance’s new initiative: REOPENING CT ARTS VENUES: SCIENCE-BASED SAFETY Preparedness, Consumer Confidence, Clarity for Constituents has become the guiding light for reopening arts venues in our state. The arts community wants to reopen, but, more importantly, artists want you and your family to be safe while attending art openings, exhibitions and performances. Early in the lockdown, Shoreline Arts Alliance recognized the statewide need for science-based knowledge and information for arts venues, organizations, artists and those creating regulatory protocols within the state of Connecticut. Shoreline Arts Alliance called upon the Yale School of Public Health and partnered with them to explore and deliver science-based information to inspire both artist and consumer confidence, and ensure economic success and long-term viability. Eric Dillner, Executive Director of Shoreline Arts Alliance, is the Founder and Chair of the Reopen CT’s Arts Venues Task Force which has created a series of webinars and presentations, “REOPENING CT ARTS VENUES: SCIENCE-BASED SAFETY, Preparedness, Consumer Confidence, Clarity for Constituents” that has drawn over 4000 participants and generated hundreds of questions to be answered by panelists. The arts community has a true hunger and strong desire to open its doors, looking through the lens of science. While this program was designed for Connecticut artists and arts venues, participants have joined from our neighboring New England states and from as far away as North Carolina. The second phase of this initiative has begun and Shoreline Arts Alliance staff and representatives from the Yale School of Public Health are busy traveling to venues throughout the state with a film crew to address the needs and changes that must made in each case to create safe environments for workers, performers and audience members or visitors. Recent visits have been made to Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, Real Art Ways and Mark Twain House in Hartford and Connecticut College Arboretum and waterfront stages and outdoor venues in New London. These video presentations will be shared to help others develop reopening plans and inspire consumer confidence, drawing audiences back to museums, indoor and outdoor performance venues, maker spaces, and studios. Additionally, as venues begin to open with prudence, Shoreline Arts Alliance will be hosting on-site media events to welcome audiences. Dillner, accompanied by local public health officials, will hold kick-off events to promote and inspire consumer confidence. Past webinars are available on the Shoreline Arts Alliance Facebook page and Youtube channel, and information about new webinars in the series can be found at www.shorelinearts.org. Shoreline Arts Alliance is excited to be providing this service to artists, arts organizations and consumers. Any arts venue or museum interested in scheduling a site visit is encouraged to email office@shorelinearts.org. ABOUT Shoreline Arts Alliance: Shoreline Arts Alliance, a Regional Service Organization of CT Department of Economic and Community Development-Office of the Arts, is a 501 (C) 3 organization founded in 1981 to serve individual artists, arts, cultural and heritage organizations, educational institutions, strategic partners and the community-at-large. Shoreline Arts Alliance’s mission is to Transform Lives through The Arts through our statewide arts offerings, scholarships, and work as your Arts Council. At the heart of our mission is the desire educate, encourage, enrich and engage and we follow these principles in all that we do. Learn more at www.shorelinearts.org For more information contact Diana Harris, Public Relations Associate, office@shorelinearts.org