December 12, 7pm

Weird Music Night DECEMBER is here!
curated/created by John O’Donnell

Featuring the sounds of: Anthony Sellitto-Budney | Jayden Barber | Kit Young | Wilson Potter

Refreshements generously provided by Ungrafted Selection

Please join us for the opening reception of new exhibitions:
To The Touch
Curated by Deborah Hesse

Regan Avery, Marsha Borden, Melanie Carr, Grayson Cox, Leila Daw, Gangwisch, Gregory Patrick Garvey, Beth Klingher, Yin Mei, Dana Prieto, Ben Quesnel, Cate Solari

Reflection
Curated by Moshopefoluwa Olagunju

Merik Goma, Remy Sosa

Be Longing

Shanti Grumbine, Frank De Leon Jones

Dude Portraits

Leigh Busby

Self Taught: Bula, Serge D,Bill Healy, Karen Karen, Richard Knowels
Curated by Michael Shortell & Emily Weiskopf

FlatFile Exhibition

Ronnie Rysz

Join us for the latest Weird Music Night!
curated by John O’Donell

Free and Open to All!

Featuring the sounds of: SADNOISE, Ric Royer, Sivan Lavie, Pervert Savant & Special Guest Black-Metal-Pac_man

Refreshments provided by Ungrafted Selections

It was so much fun last year we are bringing it back!
Join us again for a Sunday Funday with costume designer Soule Golden!

Use trash to make your very own mask for Halloween Fun!

Have some cool bits and pieces you have been saving for just the right project? Bring it and pair it with the materials we have on hand!
Already have a costume started but it needs a finishing touch? We may have just the thing!

Sunday, October 20th 1-3pm
Free and Open for all ages
This is a drop in event

Weird Music Night Returns!

Thursday, October 17 at 7pm.

Featuring: Michael Slyne, Russell Linder, James Burke, Daisy Cross, Pervert Savant

with special guest Black-Metal-Pac-Man

Refreshments provided by Ungrafted Selections.

AND MARK YOUR CALENDARS for more WMN events!
November 7, December 12, January 9, February 13, March 6, April 10, and May 8

Join us for the opening reception of our off-site exhibition Shifting Senses at the Perspectives Gallery @ Whitney Center, 200 Leeder Hill Drive, South Entrance, Hamden, CT 06517. Curated by Debbie Hesse. Learn more here.

Featured Artists: Marsha Borden, Melanie Carr, Leila Daw, Gregory P. Garvey, Beth Klingher

Artist Talk with Marsha Borden & Melanie Carr at 2:30pm, reception to follow at 3pm.

Join us for a full day of programming including a Photobook Mini fair, artist talks, book signings, and workshops, all FREE and open to the public. Save the Date! Sunday September 22nd, 11am-7pm, at 51 Trumbull Street.

Featured Books: Marianne Bernstein: Theatre of the Everyday, Adger Cowans: Adger, Benjamin Donaldson, Ottilie Leete, and Lisa Kereszi: IN, Daniel Eugene: Metro North Secrets, Laura Wexler and Peter van Agtmael: Magnum America, William Earle Williams: Their Kindred Earth, Ruth Lauer Manenti: I Imagined It Empty

(use the link on each book title to pre-order your copy)

Schedule for the Day

• 11 -11:50am, Amartya De will be in conversation with Art Historian/ECOCA Board Member Prof. Kishwar Rizvi.

• 12:00-12:50pm. IN, Benjamin Donaldson, Ottilie Leete, and Lisa Keresziin conversation with writer Cindy House

• 1-1:50pm. Magnum America, Prof. Laura Wexler, Susan Meiselas and Peter van Agtmael in conversation

• 2-2:50pm I imagined It Empty, Ruth Lauer Manenti with Atefe Moeini, Yale Photo MFA First Year

• 3-3:50pm Their Kindred Earth, Prof. William Earle Williams in discussion with book contributor/historian Frank Mitchell

• 4-4:50pm Adger, Adger Cowans in dialogue with Independent Curator/Artist Shaunda Holloway

• 5-5:50pm Theatre of the Everyday, Marianne Bernstein in dialogue with Art Historian Anne Higonnet

• 6-6:50pm Metro North Secrets, Daniel Eugene—stay for beer & wine
  
  12-1pm, 3-5pm: Zine Making with Amartya De

  
  
  Please note this schedule is subject to change.

ELENA UNGER: THE ARTS PAPER
Zines Conjure Camaraderie At The Ely Center | Sept 24, 2024

Weird Music Night. Sept 12, 7pm. Curated by John O’Donell. With Fluffy Kitten, Chris Ruggiero, 2005 co, and Journal of Philosophy and Art with Yulian Jules.

 Our monthly evening of experimental performances.  Come say Hellooo! Wine tasting provided by Ungrafted Selections.  Suggested donation at the door.

“Weird, Wacky and Wildly Entertaining”.—New Haven Independent. 

Join us for the Opening Reception of Forest Bathing, Mesoma Onyeagba, and Flatifle: Stump In Situ. Free and open to all, light refreshments will be served.

Forest Bathing is curated by Alex Santana and features artists: Austin Bryant, Lauren Cardenas, Adrian Martinez Chavez, Kim Kyne Cohen, Carolina Cuevas, Melissa Dadourian, Jen DeLuna, Sebastián Cole Galván, Alondra M. Garza, Donté K. Hayes, Kristen Heritage, Sunnie Liu, Jo Lobdell, Marie-Josè, Sebastián Meltz-Collazo, Robert Mirek, Julia Oldham, Vick Quezada, Jacoub Reyes, Samnang Riebe, Raphaela Riepl, Linda Sok, Loretta Violante, Aura Xuanyi Wang, Ying Ye and an entrance by Nadine Nelson. Learn more.

Mesoma Onyeagba is the first solo exhibition by new MFA graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago Mesoma Onyeagba. Learn more.

Flatfile: Stump In Situ features prints by Logan Bishop, Nathan Lewis, Enrique Figured, Jesse Peck and Maria Posada. Learn more.

Join us for another Weird Music Night curated by John O’Donnell!

This edition of Weird Music Night features Spyrodon (psychedelic garage goth pop), Stone Jaw (dark ambient drone field recordings), Skull Tower 4E (circuit bent experimental noise), Tommy Riles (Irish dance to Metallica), and The Chomins (folk punk for protests and pubs). Refreshments will be provided by Ungrafted Selections.

Join us for the closing reception of our summer exhibitions on Sunday, August 4 from 1-4pm. Free and open to all, light refreshments provided.

Featured exhibitions include: Horacio Marquínez: America Unfiltered, Lawrence Morelli: Remembrance, Can Yağiz: Not today either, Keyhole Artists: Ramón Bonilla, Esthea Kim, Adrian Panaitisor, Línda Perla-Giron, Emily Weiskopf, and Stump-in-Situ: Logan Bishop, Enrique Figuerado, Nathan Lewis, Jesse Peck, Maria Porada.

Long Water Land is a free community education and art-making series along the Quinnipiac River hosted by the Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven Sketchers, and other partners.

SITE NO. 6: MARITIME COMMUNITY
Saturday July 27
11am–1pm
Quinnipiac River Park at Pierpont and Front St in New Haven
Street parking 

Aaron Goode of the New Haven Bioregional Group will discuss the Quinnipiac River Historic District, and the rise, fall, and restoration of the River's oyster fishery. Contemporary artist Nadine Nelson will discuss the social meaning and symbolism of oysters, and lead an additional art activity! Join as we learn and draw together.

After a brief talk we will explore each site and sketch, then share our drawings together as a group. No drawing experience necessary! We use sketching as a tool for observing, capturing, and reflecting on our surroundings. Some art supplies will be provided, but feel free to bring your own. Bring water and sun/weather/bug protection. We will be next to a river, after all!

Heavy rain will reschedule events; check back for info.

Join us for the unveiling of a mural created by our Summer Apprentices!

At the Ely Center, July 26, 5-7pm.

This summer, 11 New Haven public high school students learned the art of mural making, working with New Haven native, Boston-based painter/educator Destiny Palmer.

For three intensive weeks, the students worked together to build out their vision for a mural that reflects their own perspective of the city. Palmers’ murals have been commissioned for numerous sites around Boston.

The students hail from: Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School, Hamden High School, Educational Center for the Arts, Hillhouse High School, Highville Change Academy, Metropolitan Business Academy, O.H. Platt High School, New Haven Academy, Wilbur Cross High School, and Shelton High School. This year’s participants are from Coop: Soleil Nelson; from Hillhouse: David Coardes; from Highville: Alivia Patterson; from MBA: Adrian Gonzalez, Dezirae Pollard, Manny Pollard, and Elliana Hunte; from Platt: Solace Khuc; from NHA: Joey Esposito; from Wilbur Cross: River Ferrucci; and from Shelton: Merlin Shallow.

They were also mentored by recent School of the Museum of Fine Art alum painter Perla Mabel Ledesma.

“Every Piece is Part of the Whole” is a 40-foot banner that transforms the façade of the historic Ely Center of Contemporary Art with references to some of New Haven’s most iconic features.

The Banner will remain on view at the Ely Center through fall 2024.

Long Water Land is a free community education and art-making series along the Quinnipiac River hosted by the Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven Sketchers, and other partners.

SITE NO. 5: RIVERSIDE HABITATS

Sunday July 21
1–3pm
Riverbound Farm Sanctuary
1881 Cheshire Street, Cheshire
Parking lot at Sanctuary

The woods and wetlands at Riverbound Farm are not to be missed! Eric Eichorn will talk about the preserve's history and wildlife, and his involvement with the Audubon Society.

After a brief talk we will explore each site and sketch, then share our drawings together as a group. No drawing experience necessary! We use sketching as a tool for observing, capturing, and reflecting on our surroundings. Some art supplies will be provided, but feel free to bring your own. Bring water and sun/weather/bug protection. We will be next to a river, after all!

Heavy rain will reschedule events; check back for info.

Long Water Land is a free community education and art-making series along the Quinnipiac River hosted by the Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven Sketchers, and other partners.

SITE NO. 4: INDIGENOUS HISTORIES

Sunday July 14
12–2pm
Quinnipiac Meadows Eugene B. Fargeorge Preserve
1040 Quinnipiac Ave, New Haven
Parking lot at Preserve

Jim Powers from The Quinnipiac Dawnland Museum will discuss Indigenous history on the river, with a focus on the Meadows Preserve's Grannis Island archaeological site.

After a brief talk we will explore each site and sketch, then share our drawings together as a group. No drawing experience necessary! We use sketching as a tool for observing, capturing, and reflecting on our surroundings. Some art supplies will be provided, but feel free to bring your own. Bring water and sun/weather/bug protection. We will be next to a river, after all!

Heavy rain will reschedule events; check back for info.

Long Water Land is a free community education and art-making series along the Quinnipiac River hosted by the Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven Sketchers, and other partners.

SITE NO. 3: WATER POWER

Sunday July 7
11am–1pm
Wallingford Dog Park
355 Quinnipiac St, Wallingford
Parking lots at dog park or in Silversmith Industrial Park

Water wheels once powered vast factories, including the Wallace complex, which we'll explore with Bob Beaumont from Wallingford Historical Society.

After a brief talk we will explore each site and sketch, then share our drawings together as a group. No drawing experience necessary! We use sketching as a tool for observing, capturing, and reflecting on our surroundings. Some art supplies will be provided, but feel free to bring your own. Bring water and sun/weather/bug protection. We will be next to a river, after all!

Heavy rain will reschedule events; check back for info.

Long Water Land is a free community education and art-making series along the Quinnipiac River hosted by the Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven Sketchers, and other partners.

SITE NO. 2: FORM & FUNCTION

Saturday June 29
11am–1pm
Trumbull Park Kiosk
Linsley Dr, Plainville
Parking lots on Linsley Drive

River restoration expert Paul Woodworth of Save the Sound will describe basic principles and patterns of river formation in this shallow section near the top of the Quinnipiac watershed. Wear your muckin' boots or water shoes (optional)!

After a brief talk we will explore each site and sketch, then share our drawings together as a group. No drawing experience necessary! We use sketching as a tool for observing, capturing, and reflecting on our surroundings. Some art supplies will be provided, but feel free to bring your own. Bring water and sun/weather/bug protection. We will be next to a river, after all!

Heavy rain will reschedule events; check back for info.

This tour is part of the International Festival of Arts & Ideas

Learn about the history of ECOCA (Ely Center of Contemporary Art) at 51 Trumbull Street in New Haven. Situated within an English Elizabethan style house built in 1902 by S. G. Taylor, ECOCA was home to John Slade Ely (1860-1906) and his wife, Grace Taylor Ely, who came to New Haven in 1897. Now it is one of New Haven’s premier contemporary art spaces, with a constant rotation of thought provoking and innovative art from local and national artists. This tour will explore both the home and the art center and view the exhibitions on display throughout its galleries.

The tour will feature an artist talk by Horacio Marquinez and a Keyhole Workspace Artist in Residence. Marquinez’s exhibition, America Unfiltered, is a series of photographs that he took while at the height of the pandemic, two immigrant filmmakers – one from Panama, the other from Russia – journeyed across the United States uncovering an unfiltered, unflinching portrait of America. What if we could better relate to one another and heal our nation’s divides by seeing that we share so much beneath the surface? What if we found the courage to ask questions and just listen, overpowering our natural instinct to react? In the second floor galleries is work created by ECOCA’s Keyhole Workspace Artists in Residence. This cohort of 5 artists, Ramón Bonilla, Esthea Kim, Adrian Panaitisor, Línda Perla-Giron, Emily Weiskopf, spent 2.5 months working in the former servants quarters of the ECOCA building developing work that touches upon the many levels of climate change.

This tour is free but you must register here.

Join us as we celebrate the opening of our Summer 2024 exhibitions! 3-5 pm Free and open to all - Light refreshments provided.

Additional events that day:

• 12:30pm screening of film “America Unfiltered @ Yale Art Gallery

• Stump-in-Situ live printmaking on Trumbull Street (raindate Aug 4)

• 4pm performance by Línda Perla-Giron 

Featured Exhibitions:
Horacio Marquínez: America Unfiltered . In collaboration with the International Festival of Arts and Ideas, ECOCA is pleased to show Marquínez's photographs created during the pandemic’s peak. Marquínez and his fellow filmmaker traveled the U.S. to capture America’s essence. Their project, “America Unfiltered,” explores whether empathy and listening can bridge national divides. Through candid conversations on politics, race, love, and immigration, the film and photo exhibit aim to foster understanding and optimism for America’s future. This journey documents diverse American experiences, highlighting our common humanity in a time of division.

Lawrence Morelli: Remembrance. When Morelli needed to move out of a permanent studio he became creative in where and how to work. No longer using models for large scale paintings, Morelli has been sitting at G Café in New Haven, painting outside in small notebooks. He has been working from intense memories of places throughout his life

Keyhole Artists: Ramón Bonilla, Esthea Kim, Adrian Panaitisor, Línda Perla-Giron, Emily Weiskopf. ECOCA's Spring '24 Keyhole Workspace Residency culminates in the exhibitions of it's 5 local artists. Each artist will have solo exhibitions highlighting the work created and how they have been thinking about environment and climate.

Can Yağiz: Not today either. Not today either features Can Yağız’s document-sized collages and monotypes, capturing moments of self-reflection and the fragility of existence. Degradation of both materials and imagery is integral to how Can contemplates themes of belonging, selfhood, and decay. Objects imbued with memory, like a soaked tissue or a scuffed envelope, offer a sense of continuity amidst the loss, rendering much-needed progression in material.

Stump-in-Situ:  Logan Bishop, Enrique Figuerado, Nathan Lewis, Jesse Peck, Maria Porada. On June 23rd, 5 artists will activate 5 stumps on Trumbull Street (sycamores that had to be cut due to disease) via a public printmaking event. Some of the prints created from this event, along with other works by the artists will be on display in the flat file. This is a merging of performance, printmaking and public art to activate an awareness of ecological issues happening here and now. Curated by John O'Donnell.

Long Water Land is a free community education and art-making series along the Quinnipiac River hosted by the Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven Sketchers, and other partners.

SITE NO. 1: OASIS, ABANDONED

Saturday June 15
3–5pm
Quinnipiac River State Park
10 Banton St, North Haven
Street parking at park entrance

Check out an incredible floodplain forest and site of a former neighborhood, now evacuated due to increased flooding. River Advocates of South Central CT’s Mary Mushinsky will tell the story.

After a brief talk we will explore each site and sketch, then share our drawings together as a group. No drawing experience necessary! We use sketching as a tool for observing, capturing, and reflecting on our surroundings. Some art supplies will be provided, but feel free to bring your own. Bring water and sun/weather/bug protection. We will be next to a river, after all!

Heavy rain will reschedule events; check back for info.

Join us for another Weird Music Night. Featuring: 2005 co, Pervert Savant, Dollar Store Poems and Adam Niklewicz. Curated by John O’ Donnell.

Meet Lucy, our new trailer! We plan to convert Lucy to a mobile artist studio this summer (if anyone would like to help renovate please let us know.) Join us for pizza and get to know this new addition to the Ely Center.

Join us for the closing reception for our Spring Heat exhibitions:

Kevin Hernandez Rosa: Based Kevin, Lionel Cruet: Sunburnt , Hanlyn Davies: This Bad Apple, Nua Collective: BLACKOUT, Sariah Park: Embedded Memory , Think About Water: Exquisite River , Water Women: Flood 2.0, Yvonne Shortt & Rebecca West: Shedding My Toxic Core Part III, Seth Callander: Flatfile

Treats by Katalina’s Bakery.