Join us on Saturday November 2nd for the South of Main Art Festival from 2-6pm at 500 Main Street, Deep River. During the event grab a snack or warm drink from Deep River local business, The Nest, while listening to the live band. Get a head start on holiday shopping at one of our vendors; Bars and Bubbles, Murray’s Puzzles, Gilbert Grey Crochet, or RiverFire Glass. River Valley Dance Project will be open and for any gift certificate needs or learn more about their movement & dance programs for children and adults. Tri Town Youth Services will be here celebrating their 40th year with information & upcoming events. Create your own pins with Shell & Bee Studio’s button making workshop. As always our art supply and goods store will be open for any holiday or personal shopping needs.

Gather inside for our newest gallery exhibit, ‘The Power Of Protest’ which is a collective show of new work from eight established Connecticut-based women artists: Bev Fisher, Julie Frydenborg, Mary Lesser, Susan McCaslin, Tina McCurdy, Tatyana Nadgor, Suzan Scott and Susan Tabachnick. These artists have spent the last nine months considering the power of art to raise awareness, spark conversation and encourage engagement with issues including climate change, global consumerism, women’s rights and reproductive freedom; exploring their ideas through a variety of media including traditional painting, collage, assemblage, sculpture and text. This exciting show marks the first time these artists have exhibited together as a group. The Power Of Protest is curated by international, SoMa-based artist, Katia Porter. The timing of the show is intentional; with the Opening Reception on Saturday, November 2, the weekend before the 2024 Presidential election and the closing on January 5, 2025.

Katia Porter says “I designed the Power Of Protest exhibit to be on view throughout the tumultuous and stressful election season; beginning with encouraging people to use their vote and ending with an acknowledgement of the consequences when we take the ‘peaceful transfer of power’ for granted.”

There will be music, food, art, + more! Be sure to join us at SoMA Deep River on 11/2 from 2-6pm.

Katia Porter is an international artist with works in private collections in the UK as well as the USA. Katia moved to Connecticut in 2011 from Manchester in the United Kingdom where she studied fine art at the University of Bolton and Manchester College of Arts and Technology. 

UK born artist, Katia Porter maintains an active multidisciplinary practice in visual art and writing.  Her work is truly multi-mixed media incorporating found imagery and her own photography, painting, drawing, collage and text to explore themes of misinformation, injustice, violence, human rights, generational family secrecy, fable, folklore, metaphysics and the occult.

Porter’s most recent body of work which will be on display at SoMA 9/6-10/27, explores displacement and the idea of home. Our opening reception will be hosted on Friday September 6th from 5:30-8:00pm with light refreshments.

Please join us to celebrate our newest gallery exhibit, titled, ‘Spreading Joy’. Our reception takes places on Sunday November 5th from 12:00-2:00pm. We will serve light refreshments and meet the local artists in this show.

Please join us on Sunday November 5th from 10-3pm for our 3rd annual holiday art fair

This year, we will have 14 local vendors selling all their handmade goodies for all your gift giving needs.

Featuring vendors;
Lady Bones
Clayfully Jules
Bars and Bubbles
Gibert Grey Crochet
Murray's Puzzles
Another Round Candle
Author Jill Aurigem
Knollwood Pottery
Katia Porter
SoMA
RiverFire Glass
River Valley Dance Project
Upsie Daisy
Handmade by Jane

Dance class gift certificates, art supplies, crocheted goodies, candles, books, ceramics, soap, jewelry, puzzles, blankets & more!

We will also be celebrating our gallery reception, Spreading Joy. This exhibit will feature artists and maker's artwork of all mediums, which make the perfect gift for those in your life.

There will be a bake sale fundraiser to raise funds for Shell & Bee Studio's scholarship fund, which helps make art classes affordable for community members.

Food Vendor: TBD

This is a free event! Parking is available in back of the industrial park.

We can't wait to kickoff the holiday season with you!

Light In The Dark

Connecticut Middle & High Schoolers (aged 11-18) are invited to submit artwork of any medium, that speaks to importance for the youth of CT.

Exhibit//

The exhibit will run Saturday September 9th - Wednesday November 1st. The gallery will be open

M: 9:00-2:00, T: 9:00-5:00, W: 9:00-6:00, Th: 3:30-6:00, F: 9:00-5:00 S: 10-2 & select Sundays 10-2

Reception//

Our gallery reception will take place on Friday September 22nd from 5:00-7:00pm. Light refreshments will be served.

Katia Porter - “Imagining Worlds” 

Katia Porter is a UK born artist, who currently resides in Connecticut. She maintains an active multidisciplinary practice in visual art and writing.  Her work uses photography, painting, drawing and text to explore themes of injustice, family secrecy, misinformation, fable, folklore, metaphysics and the occult.

Porter’s newest body of work starts an important discussion about the state of the world and how she sees it through her lens. We invite you to join us and gather in this conversation about the state of the world. 

 “Art making gives me the means to witness the seemingly relentless barrage of hatred, injustice and cruelty in the world while still remaining open, staying attuned to the suffering of others. With this show I’m laying out the stages of my journey from shock, disbelief and anger to empathy. Imagining worlds through play and experiment and with hope that the future can and will be different.

ART>war.”

 You can find images of her most recent work on Instagram: @imagining_worlds or her website www.katiaporter.com

 Porter’s most recent body of work, “Imagining Worlds”, can be found at South of Main Art Collective at 500 Main Street Suite 1-3 in Deep River from June 10th through September 5th. Opening reception happens on Saturday June 10th from 5:00-8:00pm 

Acoustic music by Frank Natter Jr of Face Arts Music, Deep River Ice will be here slinging ice cream and italian ice for purchase, community gallery art project with Shell & Bee Studio, Capoeira Demo from 6:30-7:00 with River Valley Dance Project, RiverFire Glass will be giving away free glass puddles thumbtacks (while supplies last) and will be conducting demonstrations, cheese board by Edd’s Place of Westbrook & refreshments will be served!

Gallery Hours 

Tuesday 12-5

Wednesday 12-5

Thursday CLOSED

Friday 12-5

Saturday 10-2

Sunday & Monday CLOSED

In collaboration with River Valley Artists, the gallery at SoMA will be filled with artists from our lower river valley.
Artwork featured will be of various mediums such as watercolors, mixed media, oil & more! All inspired by nature.
Our gallery reception will celebrate these amazing artists on Sunday April 23rd from 12:00-2:00pm. There will be mimosa & mini muffins served.

An interpretation of select pieces from Nature Exposed Exhibit by River Valley Artists through dance by River Valley Dance Project dancers. Interpretation of Art through Dance starting at 1:00pm.

Our gallery & store hours are
Thursday 3:00-6:00
Friday 12:00-4:00
Saturday 12:00-4:00
Sunday 10:00-3:00

SoMA is an art collective, made up of 3 separate creative businesses, focused on making art accessible to all. We are connecting arts to community & education.

We are located at 500 Main Street Deep River. Next to Ashleigh's Garden and across from Fred & George's Garage

In collaboration with River Valley Artists, the gallery at SoMA will be filled with artists from our lower river valley.

Artwork featured will be of various mediums such as watercolors, mixed media, oil & more! All inspired by nature.

Our gallery reception will celebrate these amazing artists on Friday March 10th from 5:30-7:30. There will be light refreshments served.

Our gallery & store hours are
Thursday 3:00-6:00
Friday 12:00-4:00
Saturday 12:00-4:00
Sunday 10:00-3:00

SoMA is an art collective, made up of 3 separate creative businesses, focused on making art accessible to all. We are connecting arts to community & education.

We are located at 500 Main Street Deep River. Next to Ashleigh's Garden and across from Fred & George's Garage

Please join us in celebration of SoMA's 1st year. It has been a great year of growing, learning, and creating

Brickside Pizza from Ivoryton, will be here slinging slices and pies (cash or card) They will have gluten free options available.

Complimentary SoMA sangria + refreshments will be served.

Frank Natter Jr. of Face Arts Music, will be here for an acoustic set from 5:30-7:30.

Shell & Bee Studio, RiverFire Glass, and River Valley Dance Project will be inviting those into their spaces for open studio

Our gallery walls will be covered in works from local collage artist, Molly Lund.

Molly Waite Lund is a self-taught analog collage artist living in Essex, Connecticut. Her artistic journey began in 2020, mostly through happenstance, after retiring the previous year. Where once time was in short supply, now there was the blank canvas stretching out into the future, more time with family and more time with self. Collage has provided an unbounded avenue of expression and filled her days with new purpose. Drawing on a diversity of life experiences, including an education in science, professional work in radiation therapy and teaching, and extensive time spent either at her family’s remote cabin in Maine or boating on Long Island Sound, Molly has a unique perspective on the world and has found her voice in collage.

A commitment to lifelong learning has spilled over into Molly’s fascination with the collage process. Her growth in this field has been influenced by many collage artists, past and present, including Eileen Agar, Kurt Schwitters, Froyle Davies, and Jessa Dupuis. Building on the fundamentals learned from these artists, Molly uses her observation skills to identify novel relationships between seemingly disparate objects. The physical movement of collage pieces permits her to conceive a new order and vision of the world. The completed collage challenges the viewer to consider this new reality.

A new group art exhibition, titled “Balance”, will be up at SoMA (south of main art collective) from April 7th through May 29th. The reception will take place on Friday April 29th from 6:00-8:00pm at 500 Main Street Deep River.

The gallery will feature local artists; Jennifer Anne, Abigail Roccapriore, Aurora Smith, Megan McNivens, Pamela Hutchinson Brown, Kelsey Rodman, Chelbi Wade, Molly Lund & Nicole Horsman

This interdisciplinary show will feature vibrant works of various mediums & styles of art; ceramics, drawings, paintings, fiber arts, assemblage, watercolors, sculptures, & mixed media.

This show explores the works of artists balancing their individual art practice while teaching art. The true juggle of being a professional artist and an instructor, deems passion, creativity, & dedication. Join us for our Friday night reception from 6:00-8:00 with light refreshments & explore SoMA during our open studio with creators; Jeni of RiverFire Glass, Linalynn of River Valley Dance Project, & Chelbi of Shell + Bee Studios.

our towns gallery reception on Sunday March 27th from 12:30-2:30

join us for mid day mimosas & enjoy visual art celebrating The Tri Town community created by the artists of River Valley Artists

Linalynn Schmelzer of River Valley Dance Project will be performing a piece inspired by these paintings, photos, & sculptures starting at 1:00- it is an event & performance not to be missed!

Store & Gallery opens at 10:00
Party starts at 12:30
& performance piece starts at 1:00

Join us for a gallery opening to celebrate Nicole Stark’s watercolor paintings. High Nine Brewing will be here slinging drinks. Enjoy light snacks and refreshments as you enjoy the works of Nicole Stark. The artist studio spaces will be open for walking throughs and enjoy the items in the studio shop on Friday July 16th from 5:00-8:00 pm

Nicole is a painter and graphic designer from Essex, Connecticut. Nicole’s lifelong passion for drawing and painting developed into a career as a graphic designer. After finishing her undergraduate degree in graphic design at Southern Connecticut State University, she started working for her family’s business in Old Saybrook. In 2015, she and her cousin started their own apparel company, Stark Originals, where the creative was based on craft beer-inspired designs. For the past decade her primary creative outlet had been using a digital medium, and painting projects became less of a focus. In the early days of the pandemic, when everyone was adapting to life at home, she and a group of friends were inspired to start a weekly art challenge. Every week they would create work based on a different prompt and would share and provide feedback to one another. It was during that time she truly fell in love with watercolor and started to develop her style, finding a balance between her background as a designer and as an artist. She strives to create work with visually striking compositions with beautiful colors inspired by nature and things that bring her happiness.

Join us for Shell & Bee Studio’s end of the 20-21 year art show. This show will celebrate the works from our students from the past year. All students of any age are welcome to present their favorite pieces for this opening. Enjoy a snack and drink while you roam the halls looking at art while meeting the young artists.

Student artwork needs to be dropped off between 8/2-8/11 @ SoMA (500 Main Street Deep River) 1-3 pieces per student please with pieces labeled by artist name and piece title

High Nine Brewing will be pour beer & pizza slices from Brickside Pizza will be available for purchase. Vegetarian and Gluten Free options available

The studio store will be open for any shopping needs. Shell and Bee Studio classrooms will be open for free draw for children of all ages. All our resident artist; Linalynn Schmelzer of River Valley Dance Project, Erin Gordon of Wellness Room Deep River, and Jeni Gray-Roberts of RiverFire Glass studio spaces will be open for walk throughs and to shop in their shops.

At this time, masks are still required in the studio for all vaccinated and unvaccinated people. We ask that you please respect our request and help us keep our community safe

Join us for a gallery opening to celebrate Katie Russo’s photography. High Nine Brewing will be here slinging drinks. Brickside Pizza of Ivoryton will be here with a table selling pizza and refreshments. Gluten free & vegetarian options are available. The artist studio spaces will be open for walk through, shell and bee classrooms will be open for free draw, and the SoMA store will be open from 5:00-8:00.

Katie Russo is a photographer working in Vernon, CT

“As a young woman, I found myself face-to-face with the challenges that come with the self-doubt, pressures and insecurities that tend to plague many of us. So, when the opportunity to unveil an exquisite woman’s divinity to herself arose, I knew that my calling was to hold space for her while working to uncover her strengths. If I can inspire surety and confidence, I consider that a true success.

To say that this process is so much more than a photo being taken would be an understatement. This is truly a magical experience, one that is filled with nurture, truth and empowerment. There is so much gratification that comes with knowing that the moments we create and capture together will be looked at in fondness when hanging on the wall of your space. “

To see more of Russo’s work visit: https://www.krussophotography.com/

Join us for our grand opening. Enjoy a snack and drink while you roam the halls looking at art while meeting the new art residents at SOMA. The artists featured are Chelbi Wade, Erin Goodrich, Linalynn Schmelzer, Jeni Gray-Roberts, and Marissa Napolitano

Our ribbon cutting will happen at 4:30pm

The studio store will be open for any shopping needs along with the classrooms, that will be open for free draw for any children. Music provided by Chris Lamperelli and Ricky Gagnier

High Nine Brewery will be pouring drinks and Chow! will be slinging tacos and bbq