Thursday, November 7

Go to: Friday • Saturday • Sunday

Art Trail Kick-Off Party Thurs. 5:30-9pm  at Reads Ground Floor Gallery

8:30 am to 7 pm
Housatonic CC Art Department
Site #7 Housatonic CC Art Collection is found throughout the school campus; the Bert Chernow gallery presents “Close to the Line” Exhibit: The work of Mari Rantanen and Kirsten Reynolds, provoke the viewer to consider geometric abstraction and materials in the context of 20th and 21st century art. Curated by Barbara O’Brien, large-scale works, with eye-popping color tread lightly between painting, sculpture, architecture.

Housatonic Museum of Art
Corridor outside Bert Chernow Gallery; Reimagining Little Liberia: Restoration & Reunion exhibit including commissioned paintings, artifacts, historic preservation.

11:30 am to 6 pm
City Lights Gallery
Exhibit: Artists Teach

12 pm to 7 pm
City Lights Vintage
A new eclectic shopping venue downtown that helps earn revenue for community art programs. Items on consignment include antiques, collectibles, nostalgic art, household items, vintage clothes, radios, cameras, and toys. Inventory always changes.

5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Gallery @999
Unique Perspective reception at the Margaret Morton Center for Government.

The Party Not to Miss

5:30 – 9:30 pm
Bridgeport Art Trail Kick – Off and Artists’ Party, Art, Music, Food & Drink – FREE
1042 Broad Street in Downtown Bridgeport
Don’t miss this festive occasion to mingle with the creative community. View the annual Bridgeport Art Trail exhibit, “Artists Choose Artists.” Enjoy light bites and drink and music by the Park City ART TRAIL All-Stars, a lineup of popular Bridgeport musicians organized by John Torres of Color Fields especially for the Bridgeport Art Trail Artists’ Party.

Read’s ArtSpace Ground Floor Gallery

The Exhibit: Artists Choose Artists opening reception features new artwork from the Read’s community, as well as work chosen by Read’s artists.

The Music: is a musical mash-up arranged specifically for the Bpt At Trail kick-off party. Singer/songwriters will showcase a taste of their original music along with popular covers.

The line-up includes:

Chris Cavaliere – Clinging to the Hollow Hand

Fuzz – Raise the Dead by Caravan of Thieves

Color Fields – Animal

Jen Durkin – Come Back

Rick Reyes – https://rickreyesmusic.com/

Oh, Cassius! – Carpenter

Marcos Torres on percussion and other guest musicians perform as well.

Friday, November 8

Go to: Thursday • Saturday • Sunday

8:30 am to 5 pm
Harborview Market
View the work of Artists Teach II exhibit featuring Daniele Julius and Marc Alvarez, while grabbing coffee and a fabulous nosh, or stop by for lunch.

8:30 am to 5 pm
Framemakers Art Gallery
Exhibit: The Texture of Life As I Know It, photography by Takeshi.

8:30 am to 5 pm
Housatonic Museum of Art
Art exhibits throughout the school campus, including the Reimagining Little Liberia: Restoration & Reunion exhibit.

9 am to 5pm
Gallery @999
View the paintings by the participants of the Kennedy Center and the Maggie Daly Center at the Margaret Morton Center for Government.

10 am to 5 pm
Discovery Museum
Exhibit: Cris Dam on view in the mezzanine.
Admission to the museum $11 Adults, $9 Children.

Freeman Center
On view during the BAT at the Freeman Center are the works of Richard T. Patton IV, fine artist and graphic designer. Other works are mounted at the Housatonic Community College near the Bert Chernow Art Gallery.

11 am to 3 pm
Barnum Museum at People’s United Bank
Enjoy a guided tour of the museum and the Pop Up Exhibit: Her Dragons Fly, by Shanna Melton.

11 am to 4 pm
Schelfhaudt Gallery
University of Bridgeport.

11:30 am to 6:30 pm
City Lights Gallery
Exhibit: Artists Teach, features the work by schoolteachers who are artists opens with a reception from 4-6:30pm.

11am-7pm
Cris Dam Arcade Mall, 1001 Main Street, Suite 23, Bridgeport, CT 06604 718.431.4567 / cristobal.dam@gmail.com / crisdam.com Artist Cris Dam was born in Alaska, raised in Spain, educated in New York City, and is currently raising a family in Connecticut. In his paintings and murals he combines diverse landscapes and universal patterns found everywhere in nature to connect all cultures. Cris Dan co-founded Dam Stuhltrager in Berlin in 1998, and was an early gallerist who helped propel Williamsburg, Brooklyn into an international art mecca. Dam’s bright paintings and large persona made him a recognizable character synonymous with Brooklyn’s lively art scene. Event: Open Studio, Suite 23

12 pm to 5 pm
City Lights Vintage
A new eclectic shopping venue downtown that helps earn revenue for community art programs. Items on consignment include antiques, collectibles, nostalgic art, household items, vintage clothes, radios, cameras and toys. Inventory always changes.

4 pm to 11 pm
Downtown Arts Stroll
View the Pop Of Color art in the Downtown storefront artist installations on Main St and Fairfield Ave.
4-6:30pm
Stroll over to 265 Golden Hill St to City Lights Gallery you can take in the painted steps by artist Liz Squillace on your way. Mingle with the talented and dedicated schoolteacher-artists exhibiting at City Lights.
5:30-7pm
Enjoy a meal and talk art at Savor City.
https://www.facebook.com/events/441698116477032/
7-10:30pm
Bijou Theatre
Check out an eclectic mix of outstanding music videos by local musicians and participate in an open mic at the Bijou Theatre

12:30 pm to 5:30 pm
Academy Books and Records

6 pm to 8 pm
Black Rock Art Guild

Opening reception for over 30 members of the Black Rock Art
Guild will be exhibiting work in a variety of media at the
Burroughs Center, 2470 Fairfield Avenue

Doors open at 7:00 pm
Bijou Theatre

7:30pm -9:00pm  FREE Screening at the Bijou Theatre, a Music Video Mash-Up hosted by Rob Nelson and WPKN radio, featuring local performers playing original contemporary works to a symphonic composition by Vaughan Williams. Highlights include: “Downtown Breakdown” music by Chris Cavaliere, ‘psych puppets’ by Marcella Jean Cavaliere, whose ‘psych puppets’ steal the show… (the song/lyrics are great too); and “The Lark” featuring Greater Bridgeport Symphony performing in the shuttered Palace Theatre.

9:15pm-10:30pm Lyric Voices, spokenword open mic, a legendary night of poetry created and hosted by Shanna T. Melton of Poetic Soul Arts. The soundtrack is provided by DJ Buddha LuvJonz of LuvJonz Entertainment. Arrive at 9 pm to sign up for our open mic that will start promptly at 9:15 pm. Poets, story tellers and musicians are all welcome to perform! Tell your friends to tell their friends to come share poems at the Bijou Theatre#

Saturday, November 9

Go to: Thursday • Friday • Sunday

Starting at 8:45 am
Urban Bike Tour
Meet at City Lights Gallery at 8:45 am for registration, coffee and bagels, and other goodies. The Bike Tour departs at 9:15 am to explore Bridgeport’s hidden treasures and booming art culture.

9 am to 5 pm
Framemakers Art Gallery
Exhibit: The Texture of Life As I Know It, photography by Takeshi.

9 am to 3 pm
Housatonic Museum of Art
Tour the campus to view this premier arts collection, from ancient to contemporary works. Also on view is student and alumni work, as well as the Reimagining Little Liberia: Restoration & Reunion exhibit.

10 am to 5 pm
NEST Arts Factory
Meet te artists. Tour the open studios, listen to musicians, enjoy a gallery show, and see a variety of demonstrations. Art on view and for sale includes acrylic and oil painting, sculpture, drawings, collage, jewelry, ceramics, mixed-media, fiber, decorative painting, and much more.

10 am to 5 pm 
The Bridgeport History Center
Exhibit: We Are Artists Every One, photos, art work, photographs, artifacts, and oral histories exploring the Art Center, its influence on the city of Bridgeport, and the context of its role in the national Black Arts Movement.

10 am to 5 pm
American Fabric Arts and AmFab II
Open Studios: Studio sales, demos and opportunities to visit with the artists, mingle with the creative community and arts patrons.

10 am to 5 pm
American Fabric Arts
Ongoing video screening curated by Crystal Heiden, 2nd Floor stairwell.

10 am to 5 pm
Discovery Museum
Exhibit: Art of Cris Dam lights up the museum in the mezzanine. Check the newly installed Digistar planetarium. Admission to the museum $11 Adults, $9 Children. 11 am to 3 pm am to 5

10 am to 5 pm
City Lights Gallery

The Artists Teach exhibit features the work of Bridgeport public school teachers, Bridgeport artists working in the Bridgeport schools, students’ artwork and highlights of the Turnaround Arts program. This includes large format Polaroids taken by Turnaround Arts mentor and celebrated artist Chuck Close of the students at Roosevelt school, one of the first Turnaround Arts schools in the country. The Turnaround Arts program was an initiative of the President’s Committee on Arts and Humanity during the Obama administration.

11 am to 1 pm
Maggie Daly Arts Cooperative
Create and Connect printmaking workshop.

11 am to 2 pm
American Fabric Arts
Quilting Demonstration & Bee with Peace by Piece: The Norwalk Community Quilt Project, at Denyse Schmidt Quilts, hand quilting demonstration and participatory quilting bee. No experience necessary! Come and learn to stitch, and sew for a few minutes or all day

11 am to 3 pm
Maggie Daly Arts Cooperative
Exhibit: Once Upon a Dream. View the diverse works of MDAC artists whose creations build a powerfully unique experience that you won’t want to miss.

11am-3pm
Arnold Bernhard Center / Shintaro Akatsu School of Design  schelfhaudtgallery.com
The Type Directors Club Exhibit Saturday, November 9; 11 am to 3 pm Sunday, November 10; 11 am to 3 pm Typography 64: Communication and Type Design. The exhibition features the work of outstanding graphic designers selected by an international jury. The exhibit runs from October 21-January 11

11 am to 5 pm
Park City Design and the Archive
Open House: Custom furnishings and home décor plus Rare vinyl records, obscure movies, and more.

11 am to 5 pm
American Fabric Arts
WPKN 50 yr Vinyl Collection Sale, proceeds support the non-profit radio station programs.

11 am to 6 pm
305 Knowlton Street
Tour three floors of open studios including the Armstrong Gallery where you can view and purchase art. Don’t miss the Boathouse Pop-Up space presenting a variety of art works, demos,  and a Saturday night live music party featuring Mikata and Orquestra Afinke.

11am-7pm
Cris Dam Open Studio at the Arcade Mall

12 pm to 4 pm
Read’s Ground Floor Gallery
Exhibit: Artists Choose Artists, works by Read’s ArtSpace artists and artists that they have selected for the show.

12 pm to 5 pm
The Arcade Mall
Open Studios: The artists and designers of the Arcade welcome visitors to their studios.

12 pm to 5 pm
City Lights Vintage
Create your style for home, work, fashion. Select items 20% off for the BAT weekend.

2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
City Lights Gallery
Join Shanna Tanika Melton for the Writer’s Group-FREE.

2:pm
Read’s ArtSpace
Art Walk & Talk, a guided tour through the halls of Read’s ArtSpace and select artists’ spaces.

2 pm to 4 pm
NEST Arts Factory
Join songwriter and musician Rick Reyes and his small band for a unique experience as they wander the NEST and play new and old favorite songs in the studio spaces.

2:30 pm 
American Fabric Arts 2

Event: Portrait demo in charcoal, Heidi Harrington, studio #2-1 Saturday, November 9; 11:30 am to 2:30 pm After demo, volunteers are invited to sit for a one hour portrait, with the choice of buying for $40.

5:30-7:30 pm 
A Pop of Color
A Pop of Color is a multi-venue pop-up art exhibit in a variety of vacant storefronts throughout Downtown Bridgeport. Bridgeport artists have created art installations to inspire and delight residents and visitors to the downtown area. A joint venture between the Downtown Special Services District and the NEST Arts Factory, a Pop of Color is supported by an Art Project grant from the Connecticut Office of the Arts. Storefront installations will be viewable through January 2020. Event: A Pop of Color Opening Reception Saturday, November 9; 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm Join the exhibiting artists at the pop-up locations in downtown
Bridgeport, listen to local musicians and sample tasty delights from local eateries. Wander from location to location for a delightfully immersive art experience and see how colorful Bridgeport can be!

7-10:30pm PARTY AT THE BOATHOUSE!
Bands at the Boathouse, 305 Knowlton St
MIKATA and Orquestra Afinke perform at the Boathouse, 305 Knowlton Street for an incredible night of music and dancing. $5 suggested admission fee supports arts enrichment for youth in Bridgeport Public Schools.

7 pm
MIKATA, Afro-Caribbean folkloric drumming, song and dance

8:15-10:30pm
Orquestra Afinke, 10 piece Salsa band, 3 horns and the choreographer will

For more info on how we serve our youth: https://www.citylightsgallery.org/community-outreach/

Starting at 7:30 pm
Klein Auditorium
Trombone Shorty & Paul Shaefer perform a benefit concert for the Anti-Defamation League-CT.

9 pm to 2 am
BPT Creates
The 6 year celebration of BPT Creates.

Sunday, November 10

Go to: Thursday • Friday • Saturday

6:30 am to 2 pm
Harborview Market
“Artists Teach-2” exhibit the art of Danielle Julius is paired with Sunday coffee, paper, yummy almond croissants or other baked goods and a fresh, delicious breakfast. Start the last day of the art trail at this neighborhood eatery, a family-friendly hub in Black Rock, Bridgeport, CT.

10 am to 12 pm
NEST Arts Factory
Art Brunch at the NEST-Art and food! Don’t miss this deliciously artful experience. Enjoy a scrumptious brunch with tasty treats for omnivores and vegetarians. Socialize with the artists in the rustic community room where the acoustic guitar of John Cloonan and vocalist Dawn Ricciardi round out this pleasurable setting.

10 am to 4 pm
Mongers Market
A palatial market filled with antique, vintage, and salvaged objects from a collection of mongers (aka dealers). You’ll discover authentic, reclaimed inventory, new pieces brought in weekly: furniture, architectural elements, fireplace mantels, furniture, sinks, light fixtures, clothing, and more.

Mongers Market will get your creative juices flowing and very likely inspire DIY projects for your home, workspace or gardens. Use an antique door for a headboard, or bowling alley lanes for a table top, or reclaimed wood for a shelf. Buying salvaged and reclaimed materials helps our environment by keeping usable artifacts out of our landfills.

10 am to 5 pm
American Fabric Arts and AmFabII

Annual Open Studios at American Fabrics Arts Buildings 1 &2 (AmFab) showcases over 25 artists in their studios where the creative process happens. Check out the studio sales.

3rd Annual “Printing Money” Fundraiser: Letterpress Print-Your-Own Proverb–AmFab building 1 studio of Emily Larned, #310

10 am to 5 pm
American Fabric Arts

WPKN radio 4B 50 Vinyl sale from 50-year record archive AmFab building 1.

10 am to 5 pm
NEST Arts Factory

Meet the artists. Tour the open studios, listen to musicians, enjoy a gallery show, and see a variety of demonstrations. Art on view and for sale includes acrylic and oil painting, sculpture, drawings, collage, jewelry, ceramics, mixed-media, fiber, decorative painting, and much more.

10”x10” art sale for $100 NEST fundraiser #, grab a piece of art for $100 at the popular sale. Support the NEST, build your arts collection. Works go quickly.

4” x 6” art at $30, choose an original art souvenir of the 2019 Bridgeport Art Trail created by artists of Bridgeport. All proceeds benefit City Lights/Bridgeport Art Trail arts education programs and next year’s Art Trail.

10 am to 5 pm
Discovery Museum
Exhibit: Art of Cris Dam lights up the museum in the mezzanine. Check out the newly installed Digistar planetarium. Admission to the museum $11 Adults, $9 Children.

11 am to 5 pm
American Fabric Arts
WPKN 50 yr Vinyl Collection Sale, proceeds support the non-profit radio station programs.

11 am  
Pop of Color
Downtown Storefront Window Installations on Main St and Fairfield Ave.

11 am to 3 pm  
Robert Valle at the Arcade
Art & Mimosas 

11:30 am to 5 pm
City Lights Gallery
Exhibit: “Artists Teach” art of Bridgeport schoolteachers and Bridgeport teaching artists. Also on view students’ portrait Polaroids by Chuck Close.

12 pm to 5 pm
City Lights Vintage
Visit an eclectic shopping venue downtown, a friend-and-fundraising pop-up that supports community art programs. Items on consignment include antiques, collectibles, nostalgic art, household items, vintage clothes, radios, cameras, and toys. Inventory always changes.

Read’s Ground Floor Gallery
Hallway Art Talk, starting at 2pm; this will be a guided hallway tour of the various exhibits in the halls.

12 pm to 5 pm
Freeman Center
View the work of Richard T. Patton IV, fine artist and graphic designer. Learn about the mission and history of the Freeman Ctr and Bridgeport’s Little Liberia from Executive Director Maisa Tisdale, restoring 2 landmark homes for an African American cultural center.

12 pm to 5 pm
305 Knowlton Street
Open Studios and East End Variations exhibit at the Armstrong Gallery.
Meet the artists, see the work, tour the repurposed Armstrong factory space, enjoy the rustic wooden floors and architecture. 

305 RAFFLE Visitors to may purchase tickets for a drawing of these offerings:

1. Professional Photographer’s TRIPOD.
2. A photography ‘session’ offered by 305’s Davinci Photographic Services, LLC, under the direction of Ivan Lopez
   

12 pm to 5 pm
305 Knowlton Street
Photo Blitz. Bring your cameras and your love of photography, styled sets and models will be available throughout the beautiful industrial chic building, a photographer’s dream. Great for student photographers to build their portfolios and for pros to add to theirs.

12 pm to 5 pm
305 Knowlton Street
Boathouse Pop Up, check out the sprawling space and artists’ work.

DOWNTOWN THEATRE PROGRAMS CLOSE OUT THE ARTS WEEKEND:

2:00 pm to 5 pm 
Bijou Theatre
Sassie’s Birthday Frolic, Fundraising Drag and Variety Show. Ticket sales support the Sassie Saltimbocca scholarship going to a City Lights emerging artist for further arts education. Tickets: $20

6:00 pm to 9 pm 
Bijou Theatre
PECHAKUCHA, at the Bijou Theatre, a Storytelling/Bridgeport Art Trail Closing Party. The Art of Sharing Personal Stories provides a great platform for arts enthusiasts and the creative community to socialize at BAT Closing Party. People from diverse backgrounds share and listen to personal stories designed to inform, inspire, and entertain! Presenters are allowed 6 minutes and 40 seconds, supported by 20 images projected for 20 seconds each, creating a stimulating flow of “real people telling real stories.” A suggested $1 donation will go to the international Pechakucha organization. Chef Raquel with have yummy, healthy meals and baked goods for sale.

7:30 pm to 9:30 pm 
Stress Factory
Vic Dibitetto Live! Stand Up Comedy at Vinnie Brand’s Stress Factory Comedy Club top headliners every week; eat, drink, laugh! Seating is first come first serve. Restrictions: 16 & over. Tickets $30-$50. More Information: 203.576.4242 / bridgeport.stressfactory.com