ART GALLERIES: 'Artist as Witness' exhibit to have closing reception

Nov. 3—MANCHESTER — The closing reception of the "Artist as Witness" art show will be held tonight at 6 p.m. at Manchester Community College.

The exhibit, which was inspired by "The Best We Could Do" by Thi Bui, continues in the Adolf and Virginia Dehn galleria until Wednesday.

At the closing reception, Jeffrey Greene will give a presentation and talk on the Prison Arts Program for Community Partners in Action, which took part in the exhibition.

"Artist as Witness" comprises art projects created by students from the institutions that partnered with Eastern Connecticut State University 2021's Big Read award: University of Connecticut, Central and Eastern Connecticut State universities, E.O. Smith High School in Storrs, and Manchester Community College.

Also, Maura O'Connor, MCC professor of graphic design, assigned "The Best We Could Do" to her class in fall 2021, and her students produced a selection of graphic novels in response to their own stories of immigration. These novels are on display at the gallery.

Bui's 336 pages of sequential art follow the history of 24 family members over five decades, chronicling a turbulent sail across the Pacific Ocean and their subsequent quest to make a new home in America — providing an abundance of ideas for visual responses that are on display at the gallery.

For more information, go to: manchestercc.edu/events

Neil Connell exhibit

ENFIELD — Neil Connell, a member of the Somers Cultural Commission, will have an exhibit of his acrylic paintings at the main Enfield Library, 104 Middle Road, through Nov. 12 during regular library hours (ask at the desk to have the exhibit room opened).

Connell has been with the annual Somers Piedmont Juried Art Show since its inception and is the chairman.

Art Exhibit by Blanche Serban Now on View at the East Hartford Public Library

Blanche Serban exhibit

EAST HARTFORD — The East Hartford Public Library is hosting an exhibit by artist Blanche Serban of Storrs.

Serban is an impressionist painter who was born in Bucharest, Romania. Her works are in collections throughout the world.

The exhibit runs through the end of December and may be viewed during the library's open hours: Monday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. There is no charge.

Follow Blanche Serban on Instagram and Facebook to see her newest paintings and find out about upcoming exhibitions.

Open studio

WINDSOR — Windsor Art Center, 40 Mechanic St., will host an open studio at the train station studios Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The former freight house is across the tracks and is the home of the Windsor Art Center. While travelers may still board trains for Springfield, Hartford, and New York from the exterior platform, the updated interior provides space for artists to work and the opportunity to bounce creative ideas off other artists.

The Windsor Art Center's current exhibit, " Sewn Stories, Shared Lives," runs through Dec. 3

The exhibition features the works of Linda Martin and Carol Vinick, who describe themselves as "sisters, one Black American, one Jewish American, bonded together from different backgrounds to share stories with common threads of struggle and survival."

Regular gallery hours are Thursday, 6 to 8 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information, visit: windsorartcenter.org

Baltimore artist Kumasi J. Barnett

SPRINGFIELD — The Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery at Springfield Technical Community College will present the exhibition "Murcan Tales" by Baltimore artist Kumasi J. Barnett through Nov. 10.

Influenced by the aesthetics and narratives of comic books, Barnett creates artwork that subverts and imbues the often-timeless genre with historical context and a present-day social consciousness. Beloved superheroes such as "The Hulk" and "The Amazing Spider-Man" are transformed into "The Media's Thug" and "The Amazing Black-Man."

Find the Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery on Facebook or follow on Twitter @STCCArtGallery.