Community Calendar

Hieroglyphs to Hype: The Modern Afterlife of Ancient Egypt will explore the enduring fascination with ancient Egyptian art and culture (dubbed “Egyptomania” by 19th-century Europeans) through a selection of paintings, prints, photographs, and decorative art ranging from the early 19th century through the present day. These objects, from the humble to the refined, from the shamelessly commercial to the Afrofuturist, represent the range of artistic responses to – and misconceptions about – ancient Egyptian visual culture.
Paradoxically, this enthusiasm for Egyptian symbols and motifs contributed to the erasure of the ancient Egyptian people themselves, as their beliefs and customs became exoticized in popular memory. The exhibition will examine how these objects reflect the phenomenon of “Egyptomania” over the last two centuries and will position their oversimplified or stereotypical narratives in conversation with current archaeological understandings of ancient Egyptian culture.
Hieroglyphs to Hype: The Modern Afterlife of Ancient Egypt is curated by Megan Paqua (adjunct instructor of ancient Egyptian archaeology and art history and Fairfield University Art Museum Registrar) and will be on view from September 18 - December 12, 2026 in the Bellarmine Hall Galleries.

Charles-Théodore Frère, Along the Nile, ca. 1870, oil on panel. Fairfield University Art Museum, Gift of Michael T. Vigario’08, 2023, 2023.11.01

This exhibition focuses on more than 60 recent works by photographer James Welling (American, born 1951). From the artist’s Cento and Personae series, these photographs of ancient sites in Italy and Greece, as well as antiquities in museums around the world, underwent digital and painterly alteration to achieve transformative effects. The photographs will be exhibited alongside a selection from the Museum’s extensive collection of historic plaster casts of Greek and Roman sculpture.
As Welling explains, he is interested in “reanimating” the men and women of the ancient past through these works and connecting them to our own time in a fresh way through his innovative combination of photography and painting. Visitors to the exhibition will feel their curiosity piqued by his elusive and often haunting evocations of the ancient Mediterranean world.

James Welling, Fragment of a gold leaf wreath, 2020, oil pigment, oil pastel, and wax over electrostatic print on polypropylene substrate. Courtesy of the artist and Regen Projects. © James Welling

Chicago, 1927. Tensions and temperatures rise during a blistering recording session as the legendary “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey, and her ambitious trumpeter, Levee, clash over control of her music, exposing the emotional and economic exploitation Black artists faced in America. An exploration of dreams deferred, cultural identity, and the power of the blues, August Wilson’s electrifying masterpiece, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, returns in a brand-new production more than 40 years after it first raised the roof of the American theater in its world premiere at Yale Rep.

Open Studios New Haven returns to the city with a bang! This year, more than two dozen locations across New Haven, Westville, and West Haven will open their doors (and studios) in a month-long extravaganza of events! Open Studios New Haven (OSNHV) runs October 1 to November 1, with an exciting line-up of weekend events including: Opening Weekend (Oct 1- 4), Downtown Weekend (Oct 10 - 11), Erector Square/Marlin Works Weekend (Oct 17 -18), Westville Weekend (Oct 24 - 25), and a Giant Puppet Parade in Westville’s Edgewood Park on November 1 (11am). With support from the City of New Haven, the Town Green District, the Arts Council of Greater New Haven, you can meet local artists, visit their studios, learn about the creative process, and to purchase unique artwork, jewelry, and handicrafts ahead of the holiday season! Free and open to everyone. Get a sneak peek at OSNHV with “Glorious Index: Small Works by Open Studios Artists,” at The Gallery Upstairs at the Institute Library (Opening Reception, Thursday, October 1, 5-7pm). Discover all of the locations, addresses, and events on printed maps available throughout the city, and at OpenStudiosNHV.org.

The Tremaine Gallery at Hotchkiss presents Field Notes, an exhibition of works by contemporary artist Eve Biddle, curated by Terri Moore.

Drawing on the symbolism of snakes as signs of life and fertility and referencing archaeological artifacts across time, Biddle's work explores the ways memory, perception, and presence transform our understanding of the natural world. Her images follow a meandering path, reminding us that neither history nor our own lives move in straight lines. Nature appears ambiguously alive or dead, abstracted and literal at once.

Rather than documenting a specific place, Biddle reshapes the landscape genre through layering, translation, and physical intervention. The resulting works invite viewers to consider the connections between nature, memory, time, and transformation.

Upcoming Events

Artist Talk
Thursday, September 17 | 7:00–7:45 p.m.
Join Eve Biddle for a conversation about her work and the ideas behind Field Notes.

Artist Reception
Saturday, September 19 | 4:00–6:00 p.m.
Celebrate the exhibition and meet artist Eve Biddle at the Tremaine Gallery.

The exhibition and events are free and open to the public.

Field Notes remains on view through October 18.

The Tremaine Art Gallery is located at 11 Interlaken Road, Lakeville, CT, and is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. The Gallery is closed on Mondays.

This exhibition explores the enduring fascination with ancient Egyptian art and culture (dubbed “Egyptomania” by 19th-century Europeans) through a selection of paintings, prints, photographs, and decorative art from the early 19th century to the present day.

These objects, from the humble to the refined, from the shamelessly commercial to the Afrofuturist, represent the range of artistic responses to – and misconceptions about – ancient Egyptian visual culture.

Paradoxically, this enthusiasm for Egyptian symbols and motifs contributed to the erasure of the ancient Egyptian people themselves, as popular memory exoticized their beliefs and customs. The exhibition will examine how these objects reflect the phenomenon of “Egyptomania” over the last two centuries and will position their oversimplified or stereotypical narratives in conversation with current archaeological understandings of ancient Egyptian culture.

Hieroglyphs to Hype: The Modern Afterlife of Ancient Egypt will explore the enduring fascination with ancient Egyptian art and culture (dubbed “Egyptomania” by 19th-century Europeans) through a selection of paintings, prints, photographs, and decorative art ranging from the early 19th century through the present day. These objects, from the humble to the refined, from the shamelessly commercial to the Afrofuturist, represent the range of artistic responses to – and misconceptions about – ancient Egyptian visual culture.
Paradoxically, this enthusiasm for Egyptian symbols and motifs contributed to the erasure of the ancient Egyptian people themselves, as their beliefs and customs became exoticized in popular memory. The exhibition will examine how these objects reflect the phenomenon of “Egyptomania” over the last two centuries and will position their oversimplified or stereotypical narratives in conversation with current archaeological understandings of ancient Egyptian culture.
Hieroglyphs to Hype: The Modern Afterlife of Ancient Egypt is curated by Megan Paqua (adjunct instructor of ancient Egyptian archaeology and art history and Fairfield University Art Museum Registrar) and will be on view from September 18 - December 12, 2026 in the Bellarmine Hall Galleries.

Charles-Théodore Frère, Along the Nile, ca. 1870, oil on panel. Fairfield University Art Museum, Gift of Michael T. Vigario’08, 2023, 2023.11.01

This exhibition focuses on more than 60 recent works by photographer James Welling (American, born 1951). From the artist’s Cento and Personae series, these photographs of ancient sites in Italy and Greece, as well as antiquities in museums around the world, underwent digital and painterly alteration to achieve transformative effects. The photographs will be exhibited alongside a selection from the Museum’s extensive collection of historic plaster casts of Greek and Roman sculpture.
As Welling explains, he is interested in “reanimating” the men and women of the ancient past through these works and connecting them to our own time in a fresh way through his innovative combination of photography and painting. Visitors to the exhibition will feel their curiosity piqued by his elusive and often haunting evocations of the ancient Mediterranean world.

James Welling, Fragment of a gold leaf wreath, 2020, oil pigment, oil pastel, and wax over electrostatic print on polypropylene substrate. Courtesy of the artist and Regen Projects. © James Welling

Inaugurated in 1867, Street Hall—today part of the Yale University Art Gallery—housed the first collegiate school of art in the country. Its curriculum permitted students from a variety of disciplines to sketch from live models and original works of art. Take part in this centuries-old practice by joining Tuere Nicole Lawton, M.F.A. candidate in Painting/Printmaking, Yale School of Art, for an evening of guided drawing in the exhibition "Nguni: Migrant Nations of Southeast Africa." Generously sponsored by the Martin A. Ryerson Lectureship Fund.

Open to all ages and levels of drawing experience. Materials are provided.

Join us for the Livestream Keynote Lecture with Katherine A. Schwab, PhD (Professor emerita, Art History & Visual Culture)!