Thirteen Local Art Teachers Featured in New MxCC Art Exhibit

Feb 25, 2016 – In recognition of the crucial role art teachers play in the early lives of aspiring painters, illustrators, graphic designers, and other visual artists, Middlesex Community College is hosting its first ever “Primary and Secondary Art Teachers Showcase.”  This free exhibit, which features original art created by local teachers using different mediums including paint, pencil and chalk, runs now through March 12 at the College’s Pegasus Gallery.  A reception will take place Saturday, March 5 from 12-2 p.m.

Teachers from 13 area schools are participating in the exhibit.  They include: Liz Egan, Westbrook Middle School; Nicole V. Iovanne, Middletown High School; Betsy Carnes, Breakthrough II North Campus Magnet School, Hartford; Megan Martin, Haddam-Killingworth Middle School; Andrea Haas, Wethersfield High School; Suzanne Starr, Wheeler High School, North Stonington; Sarah Mahoney Voccola, Stratford High School; Eileen Schnyder, Rocky Hill High School; Emilia Triay, St John Paul II Regional School, Middletown; Sandra Gustafson, Nayaug Elementary, Glastonbury; E. Ann Baldwin, Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts; Jason Cannan, Haddam-Killingworth High School; Maryann Donagher, Valley Regional High School, Deep River.

“In the 17 years that I have been teaching art at MxCC I have always heard students speak of their secondary art teachers with great fondness,” Judith de Graffenried, MxCC’s professor of Fine and Graphic Arts and curator of the exhibit.  “Given the wealth of these firsthand accounts of the pivotal role art teachers played in the students’ young lives, we decided it was time to celebrate these mentors and role models. What better way than an exhibition of their original work that brings together the community of students, teachers and families.”

Founded in 1966, Middlesex Community College (www.mxcc.edu) is part of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities System. In all it does, Middlesex Community College strives to be the college of its community. By providing high quality, affordable, and accessible education to a diverse population, the college enhances the strengths of individuals through degree, certificate, and lifelong learning programs that lead to university transfer, employment, and an enriched awareness of our shared responsibilities as global citizens. MxCC, recently named a “Great College to Work For” by The Chronicle of Higher Education, offers more than 50 degree or certificate programs at the main 35-acre campus in Middletown, the downtown Meriden Center, and online.