Wet Paint! Issue #008

Howdy art fans!

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the opening of [Re]Frame the Dark at Hunchback Gallery last week! As much fun as it is to write this newsletter while surrounded by the various ways artists interpreted the theme, it’s just as rewarding to watch viewers connect the dots and engage with the concept (without having to read a page of my ramblings first). 

Additional me-centric news - congrats to everyone who received a grant from the Worcester Arts Council this year - including me! My application for “Making Art Worc: Crash Courses on the Business Side of Creativity” received funding, so it’s time to get sorted. What’s most important to me in this moment is: what’s most important to you?? This initiative is based on further supporting the local creative community, if you’re interested in sharing your thoughts reply to this email and let’s chat.   

With just 1 day left before we’re all snowed in for 48+ hours, let’s get on with it. Here’s my Worcester-based visual arts radar January 24 - February 13, 2026, in 5 minutes or less.

Events

Selections for when art is a spectator sport.

With a closing reception from 4-7p this Saturday at the JMAC, the group exhibition Kaleidoscope examines the depths of memory and the vitality of motion. Multidisciplinary visual artist Flor Delgadillo curated this multilingual exhibit to highlight how language has unseen color that both facilitates and resists translation.

Sponsored by the Black Artist Collective of New England, the Worcester Center for Crafts presents I DECLARE, opening 4-6p 1/31. In 2026, the US marks 250 years since signing the Declaration of Independence - a major milestone in the narrative of freedom - and also the 100th anniversary of (what would become) Black History Month. Have freedom and/or the American Dream been fully realized for Black Americans, or does it remain a dream deferred (74 years after Langston Hughes asked this very question)? See how 12 local Black artists responded to this topic 10a-5p Tues-Sat through 2/28.

In conjunction with THT Rep’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the JMAC presents Radical Reverie // Raging Revolt. Reimagining the play’s enchanted forest as a punk queer nightclub, this group exhibit invites viewers to step into a dreamscape in which glitter meets grit, fairies wear leather, and moonlight glows neon. Should I see if my mom still has the hair crimper she used on me when I played Titania back at summer camp? (NO.) On view 1/28-2/14, with a reception 6-9p 1/31.

Since I already plugged it above I’ll keep this mention brief: [Re]Frame the Dark is on view at Hunchback Gallery 4-8p Fridays and 12-6p Saturdays through 2/21.

With Play!, the Mary Cosgrove Dolphin Gallery challenged artists submit works which evoke the unburdened joy and fun that are cornerstones of children’s play. Though I still protest the idea of play as exclusively for kids, I will celebrate that adults have more autonomy when it comes to purchases over $.25 and deciding when it’s time for recess (or a nap). If checking out local artwork feels like recess to you, take note of Dolphin gallery hours through 2/21: Wed-Fri 11a-5p, Sat 1-5p.

ValleyCAST welcomed the New England Sculptors Association back to the Whitin Mill Complex for the 5th annual Inside & Out Sculpture Exhibit. A total of 31 sculptors created 44 pieces which can be seen inside the Heritage Gallery and by touring the grounds outside the complex through 2/22. With viewing hours Mon-Fri 9a-4p, the public are encouraged to vote for their favorites by 2/13, with final awards given announced at the exhibit closing 2/22.

On view through 2/28, Blackstone Valley Art Association’s 14th Annual “Anything Goes” Photography Show features a diverse range of styles and subjects. The exhibit will be on view at the BVAA Open Sky Uxbridge Community Gallery 10a-3p Mon-Sat.

Two exhibits are on view at ArtsWorcester through 3/1. Taylor Apostol and Evan Morse’s Here and Gone features clay, plaster, marble, and stone works in the West Gallery, and the East Gallery will be broken into 4 Artist Shoeboxes, or mini solo shows, featuring Matthew Burgos, Ashley MacLure, Nina Menard, and Susan Swinand. Both shows will be on view 12-5p Wed-Sun. 

Opportunities

Do you think of art and creativity as full-contact endeavors? This section is for you!

Need something to keep you busy while trapped indoors during this weekend’s storm? C.C.Lowell is having a (pre)Snow Storm Sale, featuring 20% off tube paint, BOGO on decorative paper, and 30% off stretched canvases, brushes, and artist paper pads (drawing, mixed media, watercolor, etc.). Open Saturday 10a-5p.

The Maguire Art Museum in Philadelphia has an open call for Evolving Freedoms. Contemporary photography and print-based artists can submit works that reflect on the shifting landscape of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Apply by 1/30, $0 app fee, from what I can tell the compensation is exposure to Philly audiences and adding “my work was in a museum” to your resume. 

The Hopkinton Center for the Arts celebrates the Boston Marathon with Winged Feet displayed around its Town Common, which I assume is near the starting line. This call will select 26 artists to create original designs and assemblages on 2’ x 3’ cutout foot. Apply by 1/31, $0 app fee, $500 stipend.

On view at the Co+Creative Center in New Bedford, Curious Figures 3 will highlight figurative artists whose craft and storytelling mirrors the currents of our time, offering vivid reflections of the human experience in all its complexity. Apply by 1/31, $20 app fee, artist retains 60% of sales.

The Artists Association of Nantucket designed an immersive program for artists of all media whose practice engages with the subjects of the environment, climate issues, and the natural world. Artists selected for this Environmental Funded Artist Residency will live and work on the island 4/6-25, 2026, to create new work informed by the island’s environment, engage with community, and contribute to public dialogue around climate and environmental stewardship. Apply by 2/1, $0 app fee, artist receives 3 weeks of lodging and private studio space, $3k stipend, $500 to travel, and an exhibition in Nantucket. Good deal!

What does one do in the face of declining public trust, polarization, incivility, personal attacks, societal disengagement and disillusionment, rampant misinformation, lies, and alternative facts? For Artisans Asylum in Boston, “We Embrace the Absurd!” I agree with their sentiment that that art has the power to overcome complicity, apathy, and indifference; it is an antidote for slop and banal escapism. So, how do you embrace the absurd? Apply by 2/1, $25 app fee, artist retains 60% of sales.

PTown? In the off season?? In this economy?!? You bet! The Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA is offering 20 7-month fellowships to emerging visual and literary artists, October ‘26 - April ‘27. Each will receive a private apartment, a dedicated studio, and $1,250/month to support creative work in a collaborative community. There is a $65 app fee for this international program, apply by 2/6 for consideration. 

How about a solo retreat in the Berkshires? The Long Meadow Art Residency ranges from 6 weeks to 3 months, during which selected artists will receive use of a house, studio, and vehicle, plus $2,500 for materials, and a $3k/month stipend.  Don’t delay - get your app in by 2/18!

That’s it for this week. If you enjoyed this newsletter, your support can help me keep it going - send me a note to share your thoughts, or consider making a donation here!

Thanks for reading, stay creative Worcester!