3rd Annual Fairfield County Social Justice Youth Art Showcase
"Transformer" — sculpture (mixed media) by Fox Nishioka, West School 2nd grade
Dozens of Students, families and art appreciators from New Canaan and throughout Fairfield County visited the Carriage Barn Arts Center on Saturday for the opening reception of an exhibition focused on social justice.
L-R: Co-Chairs Blessings Misomali and Susan Borst of STAR. Credit: Michael Dinan
Presented by Stand Together Against Racism or “STAR,” in partnership with The Glass House, Carriage Barn and NewCanaanite.com, the Third Annual Fairfield County Social Justice Youth Art Showcase, titled “Through Your Looking Glass,” will run through Nov. 24 at the popular gallery in Waveny Park.
The number of students participating in the exhibition has tripled since its first year, according to Susan Borst, co-chair of the Showcase together with Blessings Misomali.
L-R: Glass House Communications Director Christa Carr and Carriage Barn Executive Director Hilary Wittmann. Credit: Michael Dinan
“It has grown, especially by age,” Borst told NewCanaanite.com as artists mingled with friends, family and art-lovers, taking in a wide range of media including paintings, sculpture, photography, drawings, mixed media and poetry. “We have kindergarten through college now and we have more schools than ever before, largely from New Canaan, Stamford, Greenwich and Darien.”
L-R: New Canaan resident Shekaiba Bennett, photography teacher at Greenwich High School, and GHS senior Morgan Kelley in front of Kelley’s photo, “Family Liberty.” Credit: Michael Dinan
The exhibition launched when STAR found out that The Glass House “was looking to do an initiative focusing on social justice and the intersection of art, design, architecture and social justice,” Borst said.
“When we heard about that, we approached them with the idea of a student art showcase, and that’s how it was born,” she said.
At the opening of the 3rd Annual Fairfield County Social Justice Youth Art Showcase. Carriage Barn, Nov. 16, 2024. Credit: Michael Dinan
The poem in the exhibition, “Monkey in a Cage” by New Canaan High School sophomore Amira Mitchell, is a plaintive and unflinching look back by a Black woman who’d had her hair yanked by classmates as a girl because it was different. The poem describes the knock-on effect of the hair-pulling, how as “just a black girl” without even a name in their eyes, she became branded, losing her identity to the point where she would later seek to become the non-entity she was in her classmates’ eyes:
“When I turned to the mirror and met my gaze
All I could see were my flaws, their hate ablaze
My hair, my skin, such cherished things
Were now gone and what was left was a monstrosity.”
Christa Carr, communications director at The Glass House, said she was “absolutely amazed” at how the showcase has come together, “with everyone putting in a lot of effort and a lot of time.”
Brooke and Max Jones, West School fourth-grade, with “Gordo the Giving Tree” (acrylic paint, cardboard and recycled Minecraft party decorations), inspired by the 1964 Shel Silverstein book “The Giving Tree.”
“From the kids themselves, the students, family, friends and parents, to the organizations— the Carriage Barn and STAR, who brought this together, this is a huge labor of love and it’s growing,” Carr said. “It shows the students’ impactful work all together in this beautiful setting.”
Hilary Wittmann, executive director of the Carriage Barn, said her organization got involved in the showcase last year “and I think through the Carriage Barn’s involvement, we’ve really been able to take this out to the wider community.”
She added that the local artists who work with the Carriage Barn have become “mentors to these students, to get them involved.” Two of those artists and mentors—Butch Quick and Jahmane West, whose work is included in the exhibition—are running a collaborative free art workshop from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. at the Carriage Barn (free registration here).
Participating student artists at the showcase, Nov. 16, 2024. Credit: Michael Dinan
Misomali called the opening reception “very successful,” noting that the Carriage Barn was nearly packed within 15 minutes.
“Just watching people come in and out, and seeing the students as they see their own art displayed, their faces—they’re excited, they’re proud, they’re showing it to their friends and family,” she said. “It’s been great.”