Featured Events and Programs
HASE, Inc. supports many programs, events, and exhibitions throughout each calendar year.
Learn more about specific initiatives below.
2023 Visiting Artist Exhibitions
Two exhibitions will celebrate resident artists at the Hartford Art School, Chiraag Bhakta and Genevieve de Leon. Both artists will display new work and highlight collaborations across disciplines, communities, and cultures. Associated programming and events will also be interspersed throughout the duration of their shows.
To Order the Days /
Para Ordenar Los Días
The Georgette and Richard Koopman Distinguished Chair in the Visual Arts Exhibition: Genevieve de Leon
Image: Genevieve de Leon, Star Series: Oc (Aries), Oil on panel, 2022
On view February 23 – March 25 in the Silpe Gallery
During her tenure as the 2022-23 Koopman Chair in the Painting Department, Genevieve de Leon has produced solo and collaborative artwork focused on the knowledge–intellectual and embodied–that she has received as part of her study of the Maya calendrical cycles. Maya cosmology, mathematics, and mythology are at the center of an ancient Indigenous knowledge system that is vast and geared to help us locate our place in the cosmos. De Leon’s practice is the outgrowth of her study of this ever-evolving knowledge and her desire to place it in conversation with other systems of knowledge. The exhibition To Order the Days / Para Ordenar Los Días features de Leon’s newly completed, large-scale paintings of constellations in the Maya Zodiac, alongside her multimedia collaborations with students at the Hartford Art School; Indigenous artists in the Native Youth Arts Collective; and the University of Connecticut’s Milky Way Laboratory.
Featured events;
Cosmic Hearth: Sky Knowledge Across Traditions—A Talk Series
Friday, February 24, 5-6 p.m.
Monday, February 27, 5-6 p.m.
Tuesday, February 28, 5-6 p.m.
Held in conjunction with the 2023 Koopman Chair Genevieve de Leon’s exhibition, To Order the Days / Para Ordenar Los Días, this talk series offers Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives on the cosmos. Traditional Indigenous storytellers and knowledge keepers will share stories and insight that reconnects us to the sky. Western scholars will give reports from their fields, framing their knowledge as a furthering of long-standing inquiries about the cosmos. This series will be held in the Silpe Gallery and is free and open to the public.
Koopman Artist Talk + Community Dinner
Thursday, March 23, 5-6:30 p.m. (talk), 7pm (dinner)
In conjunction with the exhibition, community members are invited to attend a talk by Genevieve de Leon in Auerbach Auditorium (Hillyer Hall) followed by the Koopman Community Dinner. The buffet-style dinner starts at 7 p.m. in the 1877 Club, following the artist talk. Reservations are required, for more information please email Amanda Lusteg at Lusteg@hartford.edu.
The exhibition and associated programming are made possible by the Georgette and Richard Koopman Distinguished Chair in the Visual Arts fund held by Hartford Art School Endowment, Inc.
Designing the Dream State
The Whitney Artist-in-Residence Exhibition: Chiraag Bhakta
Image: Chiraag Bhakta, Still from video work, 2022
On view February 23 – March 25 in the Joseloff Gallery
This exhibition features new work created by Chiraag Bhakta during his tenure as the Hartford Art School’s inaugural Whitney Artist-in-Residence. Graduating from HAS in 1999 with a degree in Graphic Design, Chiraag is now expanding his understanding of design beyond graphics. Designing the Dream State looks at empire building, specifically the evolution of South Asian-American identities post 1965, when new immigration policies were designed to bring highly educated South Asians to the U.S. in pursuit of the “American Dream.” The exhibition includes new work in video, sculpture, screenprinting, and assemblage, alongside Bhakta’s ongoing photo-documentary series, The Arch Motel Project. Taken together, the artwork sheds light on the many ways that design enters our everyday lives, from banal marketing to the construction of personal memories.
Featured events;
A Conversation with Chiraag Bhakta
Thursday, March 2, 5:00pm, Joseloff Gallery
Join Gallery Director Dr. Carrie Cushman for a conversation with Chiraag Bhakta to learn more about new artwork that Bhakta has created at the Hartford Art School during his tenure as the Whitney Artist-in-Residence.
Artist Panel: Whose Dream Are We Living
Friday, March 24, 2:00pm, Wilde Auditorium
Artists from immigrant backgrounds Chiraag Bhakta, Genevieve de Leon, and Arshia Fatima Haq discuss the expectations and responsibilities that they inherit from families who have instilled in them the pursuit of “the American Dream.” Moderated by Anuradha Vikram.
Vijay Iyer + Wadada Leo Smith: Prism 1965
Wednesday, April 12, 7:30pm, Millard Auditorium
Join us on Wednesday, April 12th for a performance with two acclaimed jazz musicians Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith, in collaboration with HAS Whitney Artist in Residence Chiraag Bhakta. The event will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Millard Auditorium.
Prism 1965 was made possible by a grant from the Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
The exhibition and additional programming are made possible by the International Distinguished Artist Symposium and Exhibition Fund and the Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund held by Hartford Art School Endowment, Inc.