Upcoming Events
Artist Talk for Slapstick
Artist Panel and Q&A with curator on Saturday, February 22, 2025 from noon to 1 pm! Come hear about the artmaking process from four of Slapstick’s participating artists: Cat Balco, Melanie Carr, Niki Lederer, and Suzan Shutan.
Party in the Pews: Amy Gallatin & Stillwaters
Our spring music series, Party in the Pews returns on Saturday, March 8th from 3-5 pm with the bluegrass stylings of Amy Gallatin and Stillwaters. Tickets are just $10 and can be purchased here.
The powerhouse duo of Amy Gallatin and renowned resophonic guitarist Roger Williams—20 and 40 year veterans of the New England music scene--joined forces a few years ago to explore their mutual love of country standards, served up with an acoustic treatment in the bluegrass vein. The result is a toe-tapping blend of heartfelt vocals, soaring harmonies and red-hot picking, traditional yet modern and distinct.
Americana radio host Ed McKeon says: "Amy's vocals, with the power and tone of her voice, are tempered by Roger's baritone which has been sanded smooth by cigarettes and, shall we say, maturity. The song selections are perfect, the harmonies glorious, the sentiments wonderfully maudlin (like any good old country song)."
The two are enhanced on mandolin and vocals by Roger's son, Berklee College of Music grad JD Williams, who--in the time-honored tradition of musical consanguinity complements his father's style perfectly--and by veteran bassist Bob Dick, formerly of the award-winning bluegrass band Front Range and New England favorite Blackstone Valley Bluegrass.
Opening for Lillian Bayley Hoover exhibition
Welcome our latest exhibition featuring the paintings of Lillian Bayley Hoover in the Workshop Gallery from 4-7 pm on Friday, March 21st.
Meet the artist and be the first to see this new exhibition!
Image features: A Planet Swayed by Breath, by Lilliian Bayley Hoover, completed in 2024, dimensions 36x48 inches
Artist Talk with Lillian Bayley Hoover
Artist Talk with Lillian Bayley Hoover from 11 am to noon on Saturday, March 22nd.
About the Artist:
Lillian Bayley Hoover's work is in public collections including the Baltimore Museum of Art, Weatherspoon Art Museum (Greensboro, NC), and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. She is the recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Grant, the Bethesda Urban Partnership's Trawick Award, multiple grants from the Maryland State Arts Council, a travel grant from Philadelphia’s Center for Emerging Visual Artists, and fellowships to attend residencies at Vermont Studio Center, Monson Arts Center, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Her work has been featured on the cover of New American Paintings. She has had solo exhibitions at MoCA Arlington (Arlington, VA), Goya Contemporary (Baltimore, MD), BlackRock Center for the Arts (Germantown, MD), and VisArts
(Rockville, MD), among other venues. Hoover holds an MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art and a BFA from University of North Carolina Asheville. She teaches at Towson University.
https://lillianhoover.com/home.html
Image features: A Planet Swayed by Breath, by Lilliian Bayley Hoover, completed in 2024, dimensions 36x48 inches
Party in the Pews: Band O’ Brothers
Our spring music series, Party in the Pews returns on Saturday, March 22nd from 3-5 pm with Band O’ Brothers. Tickets can be purchased online in advance here or at the door with cash or card.
Based in Cheshire, Connecticut, Band O'Brothers is an Irish-American Folk Band made up of three pairs of brothers and some brothers from other mothers. The group plays traditional and original Irish folk music with vocals, guitar, banjo, mandolin, accordion, harmonica, whistle, and drums.
Live @ the Factory: Community Sing with Brian Ember
Ball & Socket Arts is excited to bring back the Community Sing in summer 2025 on-site.
On Saturday, June 21st from 6-8 pm, we will gather again for our second annual “Sing Out” led by Brian Ember. Join us for a night of belting out classic tunes from the last few decades in our very own community sing.
It will be silly.
It will be delightful.
You’ll find community and find unlikely connections.
No musical experience necessary, but a curious and open mind will help.
New Haven’s Brian Ember (https://brianember.com/about) will be our song leader. Song list will be shared as soon as we have it.
Experience what Brian Eno describes as ‘the key to a long life’ and sing with us!
Need more reasons to try a group sing?
Brian Eno’s Reasons: https://www.npr.org/2008/11/23/97320958/singing-the-key-to-a-long-life
Scientific Reasons: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-020-00549-0
Journalistic Reasons: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/06/25/singing-with-others-mental-physical-health/
Etc…: https://www.artsandmindlab.org/group-singing-provides-a-good-refrain-for-the-brain/
Slapstick Opening Reception
Join us for an opening reception from 4-7pm in the Workshop Gallery.
Slapstick is a physical type of humor involving play, exaggeration and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense. In Slapstick, each of the artists included explores abstraction in a highly personal way with a sense of play and experimentation, both in process and in materials. The work included is unpretentiously formal, borrowing aesthetic attributes from Pop Art. This work successfully exudes the fun and delight of creation.
Learn more about the show here.
Holiday @ the Factory
Don’t miss your new favorite tradition! Holiday @ the Factory will feature live music, an ice carving demonstration, food trucks, and activities for the whole family. Stop by & create a new tradition for the season. Free to attend!
Opening Reception for GOOD THINGS
Join us for the opening reception of GOOD THINGS in the Workshop Gallery as we celebrate original postcards and handmade ornaments crafted by makers and artists from all over.
Stalag Survivor: The P.O.W. Art of Carl H. Holmstrom’s Veteran’s Day Reception and Film Screening
Stalag Survivor: The P.O.W. Art of Carl H. Holmstrom will have a Veteran’s Day Reception and Film Screening featuring a new mini-documentary created by Mike Nagy and Grady Hearn exploring Carl’s legacy through his son, John Holmstrom from 11 am to 2 pm on Monday, November 11th in the Workshop Gallery (with screenings beginning every half hour). We will premiere the film and screen it at half hour intervals. Free parking is available in the lot off Willow Street. Light refreshments will be provided.
EPA Brownfield Application Public Comment Session
This November, per program requirements, Ball & Socket Arts will be hosting an in-person public comment session on the Draft FY24 Application to Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Brownfields Cleanup Grant (https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-funding#c).
Stalag Survivor: The P.O.W. Art of Carl H. Holmstrom Opening Reception
If you had to carry what mattered to you most on a forced march of unknown length across a wintry landscape, would you choose your works of art or food, water and warm clothing? That’s the real-life decision faced by Lt. Carl. H. Holmstrom (1917-1979) in January 1945 as a prisoner of war in Nazi Germany.
Holmstrom chose to carry the visual record he’d made of his 28 months in captivity, and Ball & Socket Arts in Cheshire celebrates that decision, and honors Veterans Day, with the exhibition, “Stalag Survivor: The Art of Carl H. Holmstrom,” on view from Oct. 18 to Nov. 24, 2024. Included with the exhibition at Ball & Socket’s Workshop Gallery (493 W. Main St., Bldg. 3) will be the sketches, finished drawings and watercolors from Holmstrom’s time in captivity, mostly at Stalag Luft III, the site of the legendary Great Escape.
Summer Saturdays with Big Fat Combo - New Date
Enjoy a night of outdoor music with a rescheduled edition of Summer Saturdays, a free concert series at the Factory. We’ll kick things off with Ken Safety & The Sophisticatos from 6-7 pm, followed by local legend, Big Fat Combo from 7-8 pm.
Summer Saturdays featuring Goodnight Blue Moon
Featuring bluegrass from Goodnight Blue Moon with opener Brooke Dougan
Free live music on-site from 6-8PM every Saturday night in August in the Building 5 Plaza closest to the Farmington Canal Linear Trail Entrance.
BYO-chair and a picnic supper from one of our neighboring restaurants & enjoy a beautiful evening of music.
Beverages will be sold with all proceeds supporting Ball & Socket Arts. The 2024 Series is supported by our Series Sponsor, Artsplace, and our Presenting Sponsor, Ion Bank Foundation. Counterweight Brewing is our official Beer Sponsor of 2024.
Goodnight Blue Moon:
Blending rich vocal harmonies with lush orchestrations, Goodnight Blue Moon has created a sound that is steeped in tradition, yet entirely current. GNBM is known for their energetic, honest, and dynamic live performances, offering a refreshing take on Americana roots music. https://www.goodnightbluemoon.com/
Opening Act: Brooke Dougan from 6-6:30.
Historical Sign Unveiling
Join our team & our lead historian, Elizabeth Pratt Fox, for an unveiling to dedicate our two new historical signs on-site on Saturday, August 31 from 5:30 to 6 pm in front of Building 5.
Poets @ the Factory
Poets @ the Factory with spoken- word poet Sharmont "Influence" Little and Nadia Sims on August 30th, from 6 – 8 p.m at Ball & Socket Arts
This event will be presented by Connecticut Poetry Society and Cheshire’s own poet laureate, Pat Mottola with an open-mic to follow.
BYO-chair & picnic supper!
Event will be held at the Live @ the Factory Stage in front of Building 5 at Ball & Socket Arts (493 West Main Street, Cheshire, CT 06410)
Summer Saturdays
Stop by the plaza for a West Main Music Jam from 6-8 pm on Saturday, August 24th!
This FREE outdoor concert is offered as part of the Summer Saturdays series and rescheduled from our original Make Music Day programming.
Artist Talk with David B. Smith
Artist Talk for Community Garden: Works by David B. Smith in the Workshop Gallery from 11 am to noon on Saturday, August 24.
Hear insights and learn about the artistic process of David B. Smith!
Opening for Community Garden: Works by David B. Smith in the Workshop Gallery
Opening Reception for Community Garden: Works by David B. Smith in the Workshop Gallery from 3-6pm.
Summer Saturdays with jazz from Hank Bolden & friends
Featuring Jazz from living jazz legend and Cheshire resident Hank Bolden (saxophone); Fred Billups on bass; Morris Trent on guitar; Brian Jarawa Gray on percussion; Sam Oliver on drums; Rick Youins on keyboard; and Hank's son, Anthony Bolden (baritone saxophone).
Free live concerts on-site from 6-8PM every Saturday night in August in the Building 5 Plaza closest to the Farmington Canal Linear Trail Entrance.
BYO-chair and a picnic supper from one of our neighboring restaurants & enjoy a beautiful evening of music.
Beverages will be sold with all proceeds supporting Ball & Socket Arts. The 2024 Series is supported by our Series Sponsor, Artsplace, and our Presenting Sponsor, Ion Bank Foundation. Counterweight Brewing is our official Beer Sponsor of 2024.
In the event of rain, we will announce cancellations or location shifts on our website & social media.
Hank Bolden’s Party in the Pews performance in April 2024 was paired with Susan Clinard’s Artist Talk.
Summer Saturdays with Moonrise Cartel
Featuring Moonrise Cartel on Saturday, August 10th
Free live music on-site from 6-8PM every Saturday night in August in the Building 5 Plaza closest to the Farmington Canal Linear Trail Entrance. Please park in the Southern lot (enter on Willow Street)
BYO-chair and a picnic supper from one of our neighboring restaurants & enjoy a beautiful evening of music.
Beverages will be sold with all proceeds supporting Ball & Socket Arts. The 2024 Series is supported by our Series Sponsor, Artsplace, and our Presenting Sponsor, Ion Bank Foundation. Counterweight Brewing is our official Beer Sponsor of 2024.
THE MOONRISE CARTEL
Fueled by songwriter Al Pascarelli’s deeply personal writings of a lifelong battle with mental illness, alcoholism and eventual emergence out of the darker shades of the human experience, this is a band with several gears and one that takes you on an incredible journey. His voice is coupled upfront by Stephanie Harrison who wows with striking vocal prowess, bobbing effortlessly between stunning power and heartbreakingly delicate delivery. Gorgeous layers of ambient color come through Sean O’Reilly with his piano and harp arrangements, often at the same time. Finally, it is all held together on the rock solid backdrop of Benji LeFevre and Steve Tobey on the low end of bass and drums.
Moonrise Cartel
The Assembly Line Block Party
Celebrate the first day of viewing for our ASSEMBLY LINE mural with our lead artist, Rashmi, created for and by Cheshire residents & local organizations. Don't forget to use our hashtag in your posts! #myassemblyline
We will have a small-scale collage-making craft; origami flower making; along with fun giveaways from community partners like the New Britain Museum of Art, Cheshire Pollinator Pathway, and the Cheshire Library!
View the completed large-scale mural (32 feet wide!) at the Artcade and connect with the community groups who made this public art project possible. Stay after for a FREE summer concert featuring Moonrise Cartel from 6-8 pm in front of Building 5.
All photos were submitted by participants and the panels were made by our community with leadership from Rashmi Talpade (our wonderful teaching artist).
Over 302 participants helped create this mural and more than 2,145 photographs were submitted!
This project was funded with generous support from the Connecticut Community Foundation and the Ion Bank Foundation. Additional support was provided by Connecticut Office of the Arts.
Participating organizations in collage creation sessions included:
Artsplace
Cheshire Chamber of Commerce
Cheshire Town Hall
The Cheshire Public Library
Cheshire Senior Center
Yellow House
The Cheshire YMCA
The Cheshire Pollinator Pathway
The Cheshire Grange
ReRead Books
Coalition for a Sustainable Cheshire
If you are interested in hosting a table at the Block Party, please contact Lydia or our office at info@ballandsocket.org.
Ekphrasis Writing Workshop with Pat Mottola
Explore art & poetry with Cheshire Poet Laureate: Pat Mottola in the Workshop Gallery at Ball & Socket Arts in this FREE workshop.
Reserve your spot by emailing us at rsvp@ballandsocket.org. We can’t wait to see you there!