Three Rivers’ newest gallery, the Diversity 365 Gallery, will host Exhibition #3 now through April 17, 2023. The show features two-dimensional work from five Connecticut artists. All work explores themes of diversity, equity and inclusion. This show is the third in the series of Diversity 365 exhibitions and is the result of an invitation to all artists who either live or work in Connecticut. The Diversity 365 exhibitions have provided the Donald E. Welter Library at Three Rivers with a mechanism through which to identify art relevant to our greater community that will be purchased for the gallery’s permanent collection.

Liefeld, Julie Ann, TOO MUCH, never enough, mixed media, 2022Exhibition #1 featured art from the faculty at CSCU institutions, while Exhibition #2 featured art from the non-faculty staff and students in the CSCU system. The goal is that the library’s permanent collection will include work in a variety of two-dimensional media from the faculty, staff, and students from Connecticut’s state college and university systems, as well as from the general public. Purchases for the gallery’s permanent collection are expected to begin during the Spring 2023 semester. All art chosen for the three Diversity 365 exhibitions was selected anonymously by a reviewing committee.

Kwadwo Adae, from New Haven, had his work Protester Portraits selected for the show. As Adae describes in his artist’s statement, Protester Portraits consists of five large canvases that document the group fellow protesters that he met while “exercising his first amendment right of peaceable assembly protesting against police violence throughout Connecticut.”

Adae, Kwadwo, Protester Portraits, oil on canvas, 2020Julie Ann Liefeld, from Old Lyme, created two mixed media pieces that were selected for the show. She explains in her artist’s statement that her two-piece series entitled “TOO MUCH, never enough” explores her experience living with hidden disability including ADHD and a learning disability. She writes, “The two pieces demonstrate at two points in time, what it feels like trying to achieve value, inclusion, and acceptance in an impatient world that values linearity.”

Other artists represented in the show are Noel Vernon Bernard from Bridgeport, Valerie Garlick from New Haven and Sarah Schneiderman from Glastonbury. Exhibition #3 is available to view virtually or in person. The Diversity 365 Gallery is open during regular library hours at Three Rivers, Monday-Thursday, 8:30 am-8 pm and Friday 8:30 am-3 pm. Hours can change for holidays and semester breaks, so please call before your visit to confirm that the library/gallery is open, 860-215-9051. For questions about the show, please contact Laura Vasselle, LVasselle@trcc.commnet.edu.