Times Arts Briefs

On Holiday: The Artist Travels and A Contemporary Look

Two new themed exhibitions on view together at the Lyme Art Association will feature travel and vacation scenes by member artists, as well as contemporary landscape, portrait and still life paintings by invited artists. An opening reception will be held 5 to 7 p.m. Friday and the exhibitions remain on view through April 25.

Lyme Art Association, located at 90 Lyme Street in Old Lyme, can be reached at (860) 434-7802. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5 donation.

Mystic's downtown galleries host the monthly collaborative gallery stroll, Mystic Art in the Evening, from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 4.

Join seven downtown galleries, all within blocks of each other, for a free opening to view new artwork. Galleries are easily identified by large balloons and maps located at each location.

Featured galleries are Finer Line Gallery at 48 West Main Street; Mystic Arts Center, 9 Water Street; Emporium Gallery at 15 Water Street; The Courtyard Gallery, 12 Water Street; Trade Winds Gallery, 42 West Main Street; Courtyard Gallery on Main, 9 West Main Street; and The Hollow Art and Antique Gallery at 12 Water Street.

For more information, call
(860) 536-7601 ext. 203 or visit www.artsinmystic.com.

On a continuous exploration of great American music, the Small Town Concert Series continues its exploration of American music on Friday, with a "Tribute to the Grand Ole Opry," featuring the songs of Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, Sr., Kitty Wells, and many other musical greats.

The show, held at 8 p.m. at Old Saybrook's Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, will include some of the area's best singers and musicians: Lauren Agnelli, Rodney Maxwell, Clayton Allen, Joell Jacob, Rose Bengston, and Brian Wolfe. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at www.KatharineHepburnTheater.org or calling (877) 503-1286.

This weekend at Connecticut College's arts and technology
symposium, visitors will be greeted by avatars that track and record their movements and robots made from recycled materials.

The exhibits are part of the 12th Biennial Arts and Technology Symposium, "Revolution: Technology as Change," held Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The symposium gathers world renowned avant-garde artists, performers and media specialists to explore the intersection of arts, sciences, media and technology.

Bringing a wide variety of artists, media specialists and performers to the college gives students the unique opportunity to work side by side with professionals, deepening their understanding of the relationship between technology and art.

Symposium highlights include a keynote address by Pattie Maes, associate professor of media technology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She will discuss how her research group is redefining the human-machine interactive experience. Maes is the founder and director of the Fluid Interface Group at MIT's Media Lab, a technology research group that designs immersive, intelligent and interactive interfaces to change the human-machine relationship and creates systems that are more responsive to people's needs and actions.

Other symposium highlights include a performance by the Naumburg Award-winning Da Capo Chamber Players, dance performances featuring Connecticut College students, interactive installations and computer animations.

The keynote address, evening concerts and exhibits are free and open to the public. The schedule for public events can be found at http://cat.conncoll.edu/sym2010.

Mystic Arts Center will host the opening reception for its annual children's exhibition, "Young At Art," from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday in the studios and galleries.

Young At Art showcases the creative work of nearly 600 young people, ages 2 to 18, from New London County and Westerly, R.I. The exhibit features sculpture, painting, drawing and mixed media, and includes artwork from local classrooms across the region, as well as individual entries.

Prizes are awarded in several age groups at 2 p.m., at the opening reception and winners receive scholarships to summer art programs at MAC.

This year's juror is photographer and retired art teacher Susan Parish, who is a member of the Connecticut Academy of Fine Art, an elected artist at MAC, and currently serves as president of the Norwich Arts Council.

Young at Art is on exhibit through April 3 and the galleries are open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

For more information, call (860) 536-7601 or visit www.mysticarts.org. The MAA is located at 9 Water Street in downtown Mystic.

The Essex Art Association and the Left Bank Gallery will hold their second annual joint spring art show "Emerging Colors" from March 6 through March 31. An opening reception will be held 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday. The Left Bank Gallery is located at 10 Main Street in downtown Essex.

Connecticut College Theater Department presents "The Rocky Horror Show" Thursday through Sunday in the college's Tansill Theater.

With all the glam and drama of the original play, Connecticut College students perform the cult classic about the two young lovers who meet a mad scientist, Dr. Frank N. Furter, and become immersed in his world of gender-bending science fiction.

Audience members are encouraged to explore their own gender identity by dressing up in "Rocky Horror Show" costumes. Non-messy props are also welcome. Confetti and liquid props are not permitted.

Performances are 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. and 2 p.m. Sat. and Sun.

Tickets are $12 and $8 for students. To purchase tickets, call the Connecticut College box office at (860) 439-ARTS.