Through the lenses of Art and Identity: Highlights from the Collections of the Hudson River Museum and Art Bridges and the Museum’s rich collection of painted and sculpted portraits, our visitors experienced a series of interactive tours, demonstrations, and hands-on workshops with professional visual artists over a period of five months. Participants explored the power of portraiture and learned how it can be used to communicate ideas, evoke emotions, reflect the climate of the historical period in which it was created, and effect social change. Each artist presented a demonstration of their working technique in a particular medium, followed by a workshop in portraiture or self-portraiture, focusing on the inner life of the subject.

These artists included Joliana Hunter-Ellin, who conducted a printmaking workshop using block printing ink and transfer paper to make self-portraits; local portraitist Madge Scott, who invited people to bring photos of friends and family members and translate them into charcoal, colored pencil, and pastel drawings;  Lee Romero, who inspired participants with two- and three-dimensional collage; Leo De La Cruz, who instructed participants in the rich range of charcoal; and, finally, the Museum’s Spring 2018 Teaching Artist in Residence, Ebony Bolt, who led a workshop in creating self portraits using fine-point pens and markers.

Here’s a selection of artworks made by the workshop attendees. Our thanks to all the artists who contributed to this online exhibition.

Support provided by Art Bridges.