On an unseasonably hazy evening in early November, Bridgeport welcomed curious cultural enthusiasts from all corners of Connecticut to experience the soul of the city, through the lens of creative visionaries past and present. 

As part of the 18th Annual Bridgeport Art Trail, which features over 200 artists and spans more than 30 sites across the city, multiple studios, stores and galleries opened their doors to what is anticipated to be more than 5,000 visitors in search of community, connection and inspiration between Nov. 5 and 8.

“That it’s sustained 18 years is pretty amazing,” said Suzanne Kachmar, director of City Lights Gallery and a founder and organizer of the Art Trail. “People — the artists and the community — embrace it. I think it bridges art and community, which for me is very important.”

Kachmar said she has always seen the arts as a sign of civic vitality, and she seeks to use the Art Trail as a way to amplify the work artists are doing to improve and knit together the city. Growing up in Stratford, she savored the American Shakespeare Theatre, which went up in flames in 2019. Her mom was a founding member of Stratford’s Polka Dot Playhouse.  

“It’s the ‘Horton Hears A Who’ theory,” she said. “We need to collectively let people realize we’re here. I’m still shocked, honestly, that people want to be a part of [the Art Trail]. It’s like an artist’s homecoming. It’s like an artists’ holiday. It’s all in Bridgeport, and it’s all wonderful.”

As part of the Art Trail launch Thursday night, the Housatonic Museum of Art welcomed visitors to its Burt Chernow Galleries for a celebration of the city’s vibrant arts community. That included guided tours of “Making His Mark in Connecticut: The Creative Process of F. Luis Mora,”  an exhibition of selected artworks by Uruguayan-born artist F. Luis Mora. 

The featured exhibition explores the main themes of “America 250” through the lens and creative process of Mora, the first Hispanic member of the National Academy of Design, who lived in Gaylordsville, Conn. between 1912 and 1913. Visitors can see his preparatory sketches alongside the finished works, offering insight into the evolution of his practice. 

As part of the celebration, attendees went on guided tours of the work by guest curator, Dr. Cynthia Roznoy, who spent time educating guests on the exhibition.

Museum guest and Bridgeport resident Andreyah Black said she’s an “an art aficionado,” and was eager to jump into the Art Trail’s festivities.

When asked what her favorite painting was at the exhibit, she motioned to Mora’s painting “Jeanne Cartier.”

“I love the colors” she said, pointing to how her outfit and makeup seemed exactly right for the occasion.

Outside the galleries, museum Director Jennifer Reynolds-Kaye and CT State Housatonic Campus Director Andrew Pelletier welcomed museum guests from the hazy drizzle outside.

When asked about the importance of the Bridgeport Art Trail, Reynolds-Kaye called it a tremendous and meaningful event for both the museum and the city.”

“It’s such an honor to be part of it,” she said. “It really brings much-needed attention to the incredibly vibrant arts community that’s in Bridgeport, both the artists, the galleries and the Housatonic Museum of Art.”

Nearby, attendee and local sculptor and painter John Bright, owner of Brightworks Gallery in Bridgeport, stops in to support and enjoy the launch festivities at the Housatonic Museum of Art.

“I’m following the Art Trail since I’m in it, my gallery is going to be open on Sunday,” he said. He said his work is also on display at Schelfhaudt Gallery, which will be open Saturday.

Five minutes down the road at the City Lights Gallery, the nonprofit run by Kachmar, guests and artists enjoyed a more intimate experience centered around a theme. The spirit of the evening, in the words of participating artist Ellen Tresselt, was “We’ve all had enough … of everything!”

When asked why she founded the Art Trail and continues to run it today, Kachmar said that “I believe that art should serve the community, and that also the arts can connect people. I’m a natural dot connector.”

“We’ve got Norwalk, Westport and New York and Boston and New Haven, and we had to make our noise together so we could have a presence,” she said.

And the community came out, for a wonderfully noisy presence that kicked off a weekend jam-packed with artist panels, museum visits, and hundreds of open studios across the city.

One such artist, Francis Pressley, said this will be his 18th year participating. In that time, he has become a close artistic colleague of Kachmar’s.

“I’ve always admired Hillary,” he said when asked about his jubilant portrait of Hillary Clinton on wood. “I always thought she was a little bit brighter than her husband …  much more ambitious, so I painted her! I also was working on just wood, seeing the texture of the wood and what I could do with it, and then you know, it was Hillary!”

While the artist Iyaba Ibo Mandingo was himself away, his partner Jacinth Stevenson attended the gallery event in support and representation of Mandingo’s acrylic work “American’t Contemplation”.

A multimedia artist, storyteller and puppeteer, Mandingo was born in Antigua and he left when he was 11. He said he feels Antigua played a major role in the artist that he is today, Stevenson said. This year, that meant that he was at Antigua’s art week, which happens to take place at the same time as Bridgeport’s.

“I’m here to represent!” said Stevenson. When asked about the subject of the work, she said that “it’s about the struggles of men in this particular diaspora, with “vibrant colors to represent the island culture of Antigua.”

The 18th annual Bridgeport Art Trail runs from Nov. 5-8 across the city of Bridgeport. To learn more, including a map and full schedule of events, click here.

CT Mirror Arts and Culture Editor Lucy Gellman contributed to this story.