Swing by the Workshop Gallery and connect with other arts, culture, museum, and creative workers from 5-7 pm on Monday, June 2nd.

Light bites provided.

Featured Artists:

Paul Baylock; Alan Bisbort; Michaela Gorski; Deborah Hesse; Chelsea Marti; Mike Mindera; Sarah Nguyen; and Rashmi Talpade

Boardslide:

In keeping with the historic location of Ball and Socket Arts which was a manufacturing facility, “Board Slide” is an exhibition focusing on the ability of fine artists to translate the form of a skateboard through their creativity.

The gap between sports and art is wide mainly due to preconceived notions. Fine artists often find themselves compelled to defend creation of utility items which are termed as craft as if it is in any way a genre of lesser importance. Likewise, sports equipment is usually not associated with fine art. In a complex world where a case can be made for all forms of creation to be connected through artistic as well as economic means, what better than the motif of a simple toy like a skateboard to form the basis of inspiration for a group of contemporary artists?

The materials are diverse as is the aesthetic of each participating artist.

Swing by Artsplace for a FREE hands-on workshop exploring collage with Rashmi Talpade. Advanced registration required. Space is limited.

Bring your favorite photos, magazines, and fancy papers for a hands-on workshop exploring the art of collage with Ball & Socket Arts' Workshop Gallery artist, Rashmi Talpade from 4 to 5:30 pm on Sunday, June 1st.

Glue and materials provided, but please bring your own images to collage.

Workshop is limited to 14 participants, so be sure to register now!

*** please note this Workshop will take place next door at Artsplace in Building 2!

Reserve your spot here.

Swing by the Workshop Gallery and hear insights on the creative process from the artists of Boardslide at a panel discussion.

Featured Artists:

Paul Baylock; Alan Bisbort; Michaela Gorski; Deborah Hesse; Chelsea Marti; Mike Mindera; Sarah Nguyen; and Rashmi Talpade

Boardslide:

In keeping with the historic location of Ball and Socket Arts which was a manufacturing facility, “Board Slide” is an exhibition focusing on the ability of fine artists to translate the form of a skateboard through their creativity.

The gap between sports and art is wide mainly due to preconceived notions. Fine artists often find themselves compelled to defend creation of utility items which are termed as craft as if it is in any way a genre of lesser importance. Likewise, sports equipment is usually not associated with fine art. In a complex world where a case can be made for all forms of creation to be connected through artistic as well as economic means, what better than the motif of a simple toy like a skateboard to form the basis of inspiration for a group of contemporary artists?

The materials are diverse as is the aesthetic of each participating artist.

Swing by the Workshop Gallery and enjoy spring with us.

Featured Artists:

Paul Baylock; Alan Bisbort; Michaela Gorski; Deborah Hesse; Chelsea Marti; Mike Mindera; Sarah Nguyen; and Rashmi Talpade

Boardslide:

In keeping with the historic location of Ball and Socket Arts which was a manufacturing facility, “Board Slide” is an exhibition focusing on the ability of fine artists to translate the form of a skateboard through their creativity.

The gap between sports and art is wide mainly due to preconceived notions. Fine artists often find themselves compelled to defend creation of utility items which are termed as craft as if it is in any way a genre of lesser importance. Likewise, sports equipment is usually not associated with fine art. In a complex world where a case can be made for all forms of creation to be connected through artistic as well as economic means, what better than the motif of a simple toy like a skateboard to form the basis of inspiration for a group of contemporary artists?

The materials are diverse as is the aesthetic of each participating artist.

Spring Tasting event from 3-5 pm on Sunday, May 4th.

Take a stroll into the past to explore the history of Ball & Socket Manufacturing, once the biggest employer in town and now the home to Ball & Socket Arts. Learn more about the industrial history, boarding houses, factory workers, and transportation that powered this region, and what Ball & Socket Arts is doing now with these historic landmarks.  Reserve your spot over at the Preservation CT website here.

Swing by the Workshop Gallery and be the first to catch Boardslide at our opening reception.

Featured Artists:

Paul Baylock; Alan Bisbort; Michaela Gorski; Deborah Hesse; Chelsea Marti; Mike Mindera; Sarah Nguyen; and Rashmi Talpade

Boardslide:

In keeping with the historic location of Ball and Socket Arts which was a manufacturing facility, “Board Slide” is an exhibition focusing on the ability of fine artists to translate the form of a skateboard through their creativity.

The gap between sports and art is wide mainly due to preconceived notions. Fine artists often find themselves compelled to defend creation of utility items which are termed as craft as if it is in any way a genre of lesser importance. Likewise, sports equipment is usually not associated with fine art. In a complex world where a case can be made for all forms of creation to be connected through artistic as well as economic means, what better than the motif of a simple toy like a skateboard to form the basis of inspiration for a group of contemporary artists?

The materials are diverse as is the aesthetic of each participating artist.

Opening Reception: Friday, May 2 from 4-7 pm with light refreshments

Come find our team at the Home, Health and Garden show, hosted by the Cheshire Chamber.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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!

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 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.

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).

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. 

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.

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 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)

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 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 Reception for Community Garden: Works by David B. Smith in the Workshop Gallery from 3-6pm.

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!