The Springfield Museums is seeking portraits by local artists across western Massachusetts and Hartford County to feature in a new exhibit titled “This Is Us: Regional Portraiture Today,” running Oct. 23 through April 4, 2021 at the D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts.
Heather Haskell, director of the art museums and vice president of the Springfield Museums, said the decision to extend an invitation to artists across the region was based on the wealth of artistic work in the local area.
“There’s so much outstanding talent in this area, and we wanted to encourage beginning and emerging artists, as well as those who are established, to think about identity and to submit portraits to the museum that we are going to be showing on monitors in the galleries,” Haskell said, adding that some of the submissions will be displayed physically in the gallery.
The exhibit will be in conjunction with “The Outwin: American Portraiture Today,” which features oil paintings, photographs and sculptures, Haskell said.
The Outwin exhibit includes themes of identity, human connection and responses to the current political and social environment, according to the museum’s website.
Artists hoping to submit work are invited to use their own materials or to pick up a free, 16-by-20-inch canvas at the museums’ Welcome Center during regular open hours.
Haskell said she hopes the exhibit will inspire exploration of different artistic mediums and help uncover hidden talent in the community.
“Knowing how much outstanding talent was out there, we wanted to showcase our own region and really introduce all of us to each other through this exhibition and to celebrate not only great art but all of the amazing stories of people in our community,” she said.
Chris Goudreau can be reached at cgoudreau@gazettenet.com. To submit art for the exhibit, visit springfieldmuseums.org/portraits/submission-form-english/. More information about Springfield Museums can be found at springfieldmuseums.org.