 The Bristol Art Museum invites members of the surrounding community to learn how they can become more involved in the region’s vibrant arts scene at a Volunteer Information Session on Monday, March 23, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Museum, 10 Wardwell St.
The brief presentation will highlight a wide range of volunteer opportunities designed to match diverse interests and talents. Areas of service include hospitality, facilities support, gallery preparation, exhibition installation assistance, event and education planning, photography of Museum programs, content editing, fundraising, and general exhibition support. “Volunteers are at the heart of everything we do,” said Board Member Lynn Moran. “From welcoming visitors and preparing galleries to supporting exhibitions, educational programs, and special events, our volunteers help create a warm, vibrant, and inspiring environment for everyone who walks through our doors. Their dedication not only supports the Museum’s operations, but also strengthens our mission to connect people through art.” Founded in 1964, the Bristol Art Museum has long served as a cultural anchor for Bristol and the surrounding East Bay community. Located in the historic Linden Place Carriage House, the Museum is dedicated to presenting innovative exhibitions, fostering artistic excellence, and creating meaningful educational experiences for audiences of all ages. In recent years, the Museum has expanded its reach through dynamic juried exhibitions and community-centered programming. Notable recent exhibits have included Prescribing Creativity, celebrating the artistic talents of medical professionals and Knock on Wood, a juried exhibition exploring themes of the eerie and uncanny. The March 23 session will offer attendees an opportunity to meet current volunteers and leadership, learn about upcoming exhibitions and programs, and explore how their skills and interests can contribute to the Museum’s continued growth. Those interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP by contacting the Museum at [email protected].
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 BRISTOL, RI — The Bristol Art Museum announces, “When in the Course of Human Events…”, a national juried exhibition featuring works that reflect on the personal, political, and cultural moments that shape our collective story. The exhibition will be on view Sun., Feb. 22 to Fri., Apr. 10, with an Artist Reception on Sun., Feb. 22 from 2 to 4 p.m.
Working across drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, collage, mixed media, and experimental forms, 65 selected artists explore paper as both material and metaphor. From intimate personal milestones to sweeping societal shifts, this exhibit examines how artists witness, document, and commemorate human events in the contemporary world. “Paper is fragile, but ideas are not,” said Mary Dondero, exhibit curator and Museum board member. “Through When in the Course of Human Events…, artists use paper to document injustice, express dissent, and affirm humanity while demonstrating how creative expression can respond powerfully to political and cultural upheaval.” The exhibition was juried by Meredith Stern, an artist and printmaker whose multifaceted practice includes printmaking, zine publishing, and social action. Stern holds a BFA in Ceramics from Tulane University and is a member of the Just Seeds Artists’ Cooperative. Her work is included in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress, RISD Museum, the Museum of Modern Art (Book Arts Collection), and the Obama Presidential Museum Collection. Artists from across the United States are represented, featuring twenty artists from Rhode Island, whose work brings regional perspectives to broader questions of freedom and community. Together, all the participating artists present interpretations that are reflective and deeply personal. In addition to the juried artists, the exhibition will feature 2026 Rhode Island Featured Artist Susan Hardy, whose work will be on view in the Abbot Low Gallery. Hardy’s installation includes selections from her Middle Passage series (intaglio prints created on used tea bags) that reflect on the imprint of history on everyday materials. Also on display is her work Lost and Found, a black rag doll (c. 1880–1920) discovered in an abandoned home destroyed by fire in Wardtown, Virginia, an artifact that speaks to survival, erasure, and remembrance. The Artist Reception will provide an opportunity to meet the featured artists and view their works up close. For more information about “When in the Course of Human Events …” or the Bristol Art Museum, please visit the Museum’s website: www.bristolartmuseum.org.  Exhibition, Film Screening, and Conversation to
Celebrate the Legacy of Edward Mitchell Bannister Bristol, RI — The Bristol Art Museum announces In Bannister’s Footsteps, a special exhibition and program in recognition of Black History Month honoring the life, work, and enduring influence of Edward Mitchell Bannister, a Canadian-American oil painter who resided in New England in the late 1800’s, on Sat., Feb. 7, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. The event features an exhibition and screening of a nine-minute documentary highlighting the Bannister Community Art Project and Bannister’s significant yet often underrecognized contributions to American art, followed by guest speakers and an engaging audience conversation. This program is sponsored by Annie Castelnovo McMullen in memory of her mother, Providence Art Club artist Mary Castelnovo. “In Bannister’s Footsteps invites our community to engage more deeply with the legacy of Edward Mitchell Bannister, an artist whose work and influence deserve broader recognition,” said Mary Dondero, Museum Curator and Board Member. “This program honors not only his artistic achievements, but the continued dialogue his life inspires around creativity, community, and representation.” The program will feature guest speakers Theresa Guzmán Stokes, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society, and Gage M. Prentiss, sculptor. The conversation will be facilitated by Dr. Victoria Gao, Director of the Bannister Gallery and Adjunct Professor at Rhode Island College. Participating artists include Darrel Perkins, ponnapa prakkamakul, and Michael Talbot. Theresa Guzmán Stokes is a writer, historian, U.S. Navy veteran, and cultural preservation leader whose work centers on African Heritage, Latin American, and diasporic histories. She is president and founder of 1696 Heritage Group and founder of Historical Writers of America, and she leads statewide efforts to preserve and elevate African and Indigenous histories through her role at the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society. Gage M. Prentiss is a Rhode Island–based visual artist whose loosely representational sculptures and evocative oil paintings explore presence, place, and light. Working in materials ranging from welded steel and bronze to resin and concrete, Prentiss’ work spans private commissions and an expanding public art practice. He has a BFA in Sculpture from Boston University. Dr. Victoria Gao has served as Director of the Bannister Gallery and Exhibitions at Rhode Island College since 2018. She received her PhD and MA in Visual and Cultural Studies from the University of Rochester and her BA in Physics and in Art History from Cornell University. Victoria has had a longstanding interest in curating and in art exhibition spaces and previously interned at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Admission is $10 for Bristol Art Museum members and $15 for general admission. Tickets and additional information are available via Eventbrite.  The Bristol Art Museum, in partnership with Rogers Free Library and Bristol BookFest, is pleased to announce an open call for art for its upcoming exhibition, A Day in a Life, inspired by the themes of the 2026 BookFest selection, Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. The exhibit will be on view in the Rogers Free Library Herreshoff Room from Feb. 18 through Apr. 15, 2026. All entries are due by Mon., Jan. 26 at 11:59 p.m. An entry form is available on the Museum’s website. Woolf’s groundbreaking novel, written in stream-of-consciousness form, explores the depth of the human experience through memory, perception, and emotion over the course of a single day. Artists are invited to interpret these themes and create works that reflect what a day in their lives means to them. “Virginia Woolf reminds us that even the most ordinary day can reveal extraordinary inner worlds,” said Trish Sylvester, BAM@RFL Committee Member. “We look forward to seeing how artists translate the beauty, complexity, and rhythm of daily life into visual form. This collaboration with BookFest and Rogers Free Library is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate literature and art together in Bristol.” Submission Requirements All artists must be at least 18 years old, and work must be original, installation-ready, and fall within 18" x 24" maximum dimensions. Eligible media include drawing, painting, printmaking, collage, fiber arts, and photography. (No 3-D works.) Artwork may be offered for sale. Sales are negotiated directly between artist and buyer; no commissions are taken by the Museum. Submission fees for Bristol Art Museum members are $20 for one submission or $30 for two; non-members, $25 for one submission or $40 for two.
 The Bristol Art Museum will host Art For Your Mind: Social Realism in American Painting with local art historian Jill Sanford on Tues., Nov.,18, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 10 Wardwell Street, Bristol. The interactive program, open to the public, will explore how early 20th-century artists captured the struggles and spirit of urban America through the bold and compassionate lens of the Social Realism movement.
Art For Your Mind offers a welcoming, educational experience that encourages participants of all backgrounds, artists and non-artists alike, to observe and interpret art in new ways. “Programs like Art For Your Mind reflect the Museum’s mission to make art accessible, thought-provoking, and connected to our shared human experience,” said Mary Dondero, Bristol Art Museum Board Member and Curator. “Social Realism remains as relevant today as when it first emerged, challenging us to see truth and beauty in the lives around us.” To register for this lecture, please contact [email protected].  This fall, the Bristol Art Museum invites audiences to experience CONFLUENCE: Creative Connections and Contrasts, a conceptually rich exhibition that brings together five contemporary artists united by a single challenge: to explore the expressive potential of black. The exhibit will be on view from Sat., Nov. 1 to Sat. Dec. 20. An Artist's Reception is scheduled for Sun., Nov. 2, from 2 to 4 p.m.
CONFLUENCE features the work of Dwo Wen Chen, Sandra Kunhardt Basile, Mimo Gordon Riley, Nancy Gaucher-Thomas, and Eileen McCarney Muldoon. This group of artists’ work spans painting, photography, mixed media, and sculpture. Each artist responded to the shared prompt with a spirit of experimentation, curiosity, and dialogue. Viewed together, these works reveal how diverse creative voices can both resonate and diverge, creating an exhibition that celebrates individuality while exploring shared undercurrents of process, perception, and emotional intent. “This exhibition is a testament to how a simple formal prompt can open endless avenues of creative exploration,” said Mary Dondero, Bristol Art Museum curator and board member. “By focusing on black as both subject and medium, the artists invite viewers to look beyond color and into emotion, space, and light. CONFLUENCE challenges us to see how art can bridge differences and reveal shared human experience.” Through this shared focus, the artists found both connection and contrast, a fitting reflection of the exhibition's title. The exhibit becomes, in effect, a conversation in form, texture, and tone: a confluence of distinct perspectives navigating a common thread. “Black can be foreboding or neutral; it can suggest negative space or act as a curtain of black; it can be lustrous or smoky, a sharp silhouette or the soft edge of shadow,” says participating artist Sandra Kunhardt Basile. “Imbued with meaning and mood, black often carries an aura of mystery, stillness, and introspection.” During the Artists’ Reception, visitors will have the opportunity to meet the featured artists and view their works up close. Later in the exhibition’s run, the Museum will host an Artist Talk titled “Cross Currents: How Artists Inspire One Another” on Sun., Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. During this special event, the exhibiting artists will reflect on their collaborative process, the creative surprises that emerged from their shared prompt, and the ways influence flows between artists.  BRISTOL, RI — The Bristol Art Museum invites photography enthusiasts to take part in Photography: An Introduction with professional photographer Shane Gutierrez, a four-session course designed for beginners who seek to learn how to use their cameras more effectively and confidently.
Those who would like to register for the class can do so here. The class, scheduled for Thursday evenings from October 23 through November 13, from 6:30 to 9 p.m., offers a hands-on approach to understanding the fundamentals of photography, including ISO, resolution, aperture, shutter speed, and shooting modes. Participants will learn through lectures, demonstrations, and weekly assignments, building the skills needed to move beyond automatic settings and capture intentional, well-composed photographs. Gutierrez’s teaching philosophy emphasizes both technical understanding and creative exploration. A seasoned commercial and fine art photographer, Gutierrez brings more than four decades of professional experience to the classroom. “I started photography probably more than 40 years ago when as a sophomore in college I received a camera and read everything about it,” Gutierrez shares. “I never thought of photography as an art form before I got the camera and started reading about people like Edward Weston and Ansel Adams.” Since founding his photography business in 1988, Gutierrez has worked in corporate, product, and event photography, while maintaining a personal portfolio of landscape and portrait work exhibited in galleries and libraries throughout the region. His passion for teaching began with free community classes at local libraries, which eventually led to positions in adult education and now at the Bristol Art Museum. Bristol Art Museum Announces National Call for Art: “When in the Course of Human Events…”10/6/2025  The Bristol Art Museum invites artists to declare, reflect, and respond: What does it mean to witness, participate in, or remember the course of human events? BRISTOL, RI — In honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States, the Bristol Art Museum invites artists from across the country to submit works on paper or of paper for its annual national juried exhibition, ‘When in the Course of Human Events…’ on view from Feb. 22 to Apr. 10, 2026. An Opening Reception is scheduled for Feb. 22 at the Museum. Artist Meredith Stern will judge all works. As part of the Town of Bristol’s commemorative celebrations, this exhibition invites reflection on the enduring words of the Declaration of Independence and their relevance in our contemporary world. Artists are encouraged to consider the evolving landscape of freedom, identity, and community, exploring how moments of upheaval, celebration, and transformation shape our shared human story. “When in the course of human events… how do we respond?” asks the Museum’s call. “Whose voices are heard, and whose stories remain untold? What declarations do we make today—individually or collectively?” All works on paper (drawing, painting, printmaking, collage, photography, or mixed media) are welcome. Paper, as both material and metaphor, offers a powerful platform for expression, documentation, and imagination. Artists may submit works for consideration here. “Paper has carried humanity’s greatest declarations, from freedom to faith to protest, and continues to be a surface for both personal and public reflection,” said Museum Curator and Board Member, Mary Donodero. “This exhibit invites artists to use that same surface to explore what it means to live, create, and participate in the course of human events today.” The exhibition will be juried by artist Meredith Stern, a member of the Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative whose work is represented in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress, the RISD Museum, the Obama Presidential Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art. Important Dates:
Cash awards will be announced. Full submission guidelines and entry details are available through OnlineJuriedShows.com |
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