The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum

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Important Update

Public Programs

Participate in a broad range of programs designed to deepen understanding and engagement with the works of art on view, focused on interactive experiences around contemporary culture.

These programs include tours and talks with curators, artists, and scholars; performances in adjacent media such as music, dance, theater, and experimental forms; artist-led community events; and classes to build skills in creating and understanding art while engaging with artists and peers.

Hindsight is Podcast Series

Person in white dress holds a flag with stars on it

We are thrilled to present Hindsight is, a three-episode podcast series in the radio play genre to be released weekly starting on Monday, October 19. The series will focus on vignette scenes with a range of local and regional historical figures in Connecticut including women’s Suffragist Alice Paul and former NAACP Connecticut Chapter President William Webb. Actors will portray these historical figures, dramatizing social and political issues intensified this year such as voting rights, racism, and fascism through their unique perspectives as citizens from the past.

Listen to Hindsight is here.

Ander Mikalson: Scores for the Stars, Part I

Painting of a golden sun surrounded by moons in varying phases of waxing and waning.

Ander Mikalson Score for the Stars, 2020 Watercolor and pencil on paper 12 x 18 inches Courtesy of the artist

Scores for the Stars, 2020-21, is a two-part series by artist Ander Mikalson commissioned by The Aldrich and dedicated to Frank Stella’s Stars. The first part, Scores for the Stars, Part I, was a two-channel sound installation on view in the Museum’s Sculpture Garden from December 21, 2020 to January 3, 2021. Signage with QR codes to access Mikalson’s score while viewing Stella’s sculptures was placed in the Sculpture Garden. Visitors were encouraged to explore the outdoor works by Stella and experience Mikalson’s installation together in real time.

Listen to Scores for the Stars, Part I here.

ILSSA Ballot for Twenty Twenty

The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is thrilled to present a participatory mail art project, “The ILSSA Ballot for Twenty Twenty,” created by artists Bridget Elmer and Emily Larned in concurrence with the upcoming Twenty Twenty exhibition.

Learn more here.

Funders

Generous support for Education and Public Programs is provided by Bank of America; Connecticut Humanities; Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation; The Cowles Charitable Trust; David T. Langrock Foundation; Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts; Fairfield County Bank; Gage Fund; Goldstone Family Foundation; The Leir Foundation; Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation; Pamela F. and Robert J. Morganti Charitable Foundation; Ridgefield Rotary Club; Ridgefield Thrift Shop; The Ruth Krauss Foundation; Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation; and Wadsworth Russell Lewis Trust Fund.


Generous support for Hindsight is podcast series is provided by the New England Foundation for the Arts and Connecticut Humanities. Funded in part by the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies.

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Related Events

September 23, 2023 at 6:30 pm

Music Performance | Laura Ortman: Transonic Homes

The second live performance installment of the Aldrich Box, a year-long traveling exhibition, is Transonic Homes, a solo musical performance by musician, composer, and collaborator Laura Ortman (White Mountain Apache). The performance will take place outdoors in the Museum’s Sculpture Garden weather permitting.

October 9, 2023 at 12:00 pm | Workshops

Family Workshop and Tours: Indigenous Peoples’ Day - Creating Coil Pots

How can we create art and celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day? Come for a special day of tours and art-making inspired by the colossal sculptures of Raven Halfmoon.

October 10, 2023 at 5:30 pm

“Getting” Contemporary Art: Raven Halfmoon

Through this three-session course, participants will engage deeply with The Aldrich’s Fall exhibitions while having access to our galleries and the Museum’s Studio learning space in private evening sessions. Designed to provoke open and dynamic dialogue, these small classes will help participants learn to analyze, interpret, and discuss the contemporary artwork on view.

October 10, 2023 | Workshops

"Getting" Contemporary Art: Fall 2023 Series

Through this three-session course, participants will engage deeply with The Aldrich’s Fall exhibitions while having access to our galleries and the Museum’s Studio learning space in private evening sessions. Designed to provoke open and dynamic dialogue, these small classes will help participants learn to analyze, interpret, and discuss the contemporary artwork on view.

October 17, 2023 at 5:30 pm

“Getting” Contemporary Art: Yvette Mayorga

Through this three-session course, participants will engage deeply with The Aldrich’s Fall exhibitions while having access to our galleries and the Museum’s Studio learning space in private evening sessions. Designed to provoke open and dynamic dialogue, these small classes will help participants learn to analyze, interpret, and discuss the contemporary artwork on view.

October 24, 2023 at 5:30 pm

“Getting” Contemporary Art: Chiffon Thomas

Through this three-session course, participants will engage deeply with The Aldrich’s Fall exhibitions while having access to our galleries and the Museum’s Studio learning space in private evening sessions. Designed to provoke open and dynamic dialogue, these small classes will help participants learn to analyze, interpret, and discuss the contemporary artwork on view.

October 28, 2023 at 7:00 pm | Performances

RSO Quartet in Concert Inspired by Raven Halfmoon: Flags of Our Mothers

We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra to present the RSO Quartet for a performance inspired by current exhibition, Raven Halfmoon: Flags of Our Mothers. The quartet features violinists Jorge Avilia and Mialtin Zhezha, violist Suzanne Corey-Sahlin, and cellist Nick Hardie.

November 4, 2023 at 2:00 pm | Workshops

Cookie Decorating Workshop Inspired by Yvette Mayorga - SOLD OUT

Join The Aldrich’s Curatorial and Publications Manager and owner of CM Cookies, Caitlin Monachino, for a fun afternoon of decorating specialty cutout cookies inspired by the work of Chicago-based artist Yvette Mayorga.

November 9, 2023 at 6:00 pm | Talks

Exhibition Talk: J. Kēhaulani Kauanui on Raven Halfmoon

Please join us for “Scales of Sovereignty, Scales of Stature: Lineal Traditions and Indigenous Endurance” a talk by activist, scholar, and radio producer J. Kēhaulani Kauanui (Kanaka Maoli/Native Hawaiian) who specializes in Native American and Native Pacific sovereignty and decolonization.

November 18, 2023 at 5:00 pm | Workshops

Ceramic Workshop: Inspired by Raven Halfmoon with Bracken Fern Handmade Ceramics

Join us for a special workshop with ceramic artist Bracken Feldman, the founder of Bracken Fern Handmade Ceramics. Feldman will guide participants through a two-hour hand-on workshop on the long-standing tradition of coil building, a hand-molded clay technique used by artist Raven Halfmoon to create her monumental sculptures.