KENT, Conn.—Memorial Day weekend brings the Kent Art & Design Show, which is held twice annually in the Community House. This third juried exhibition brings together a curated group of local artists and designers, displaying works that range from ceramics and fine art to woodworking, textiles and jewelry.
“We’re really trying to elevate the quality of the show each time,” said organizer Elizabeth Place of Berkshire Tables, a Litchfield County woodworker and member of the Berkshire Woodworkers Guild.
Place said the show is organized by a committee of four longtime Kent residents and Chamber of Commerce members—herself, ceramicist Alison Palmer, musician Steve Katz, and Ellen Corsell. Successful applicants are chosen from artists and craftsmen within a 60-mile radius, according to Place, with the vast majority coming from Kent and adjacent towns. Twenty applicants are selected for each show and those exhibiting changes dramatically, show to show.
This spring’s exhibition will be held Saturday, May 23, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, May 24, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Community House, 93 N Main Street.
“We’ve been so proud of our previous shows,” Place said, “But this one is really exceptional because of its functional art. Cindy Brown makes amazing lamps, and we have Shaari Horowitz, who, with Alistair Jones, carves new wooden bowls and revives older bowls, adorning them with layer of hand-painted original design and gilding. And ceramicists—their works are functional, too.”
