The Artist Who Chooses the Artists Broadens The Landscape

Changin’ Seasons: A Juried Art Exhibition
Gallery 66
New Britain
Through Jan. 13, 2024

Do you know your local arts curator? I’ve made it a point to learn the names of the artists in the exhibits that I’ve gone to, but I hadn’t given much thought to to the person who hangs their works on gallery walls in the first place.

I learned the name of that person in New Britain when I visited the Changin’ Seasons exhibit at Gallery 66. Her name is Adrian Elliot, and she’s been curating the gallery space there for seven years.

Adrian came into the job as an artist herself. She lives in the apartments above the gallery, in an artists’ co-op that she essentially had to audition for to get into. The rest of the co-op was impressed by her graphical design work, and she moved in 11 years ago. Eventually the other artists who maintained the gallery moved on, so she took it upon herself to be the next in line to keep the Gallery 66 tradition going.

“I like to think of this as an ‘opportunity’ gallery,” she explained. “This isn’t the New Britain Museum of American Art or Yale. It’s a place where artists can figure out if this is what they want to do or not.”

She works very hard at the gallery, because she knows how powerful having one’s art exhibited in a professional setting can be. Adrian told me that she started curating the gallery for fun at first. “Then you see how you impact people and it makes you get really serious,” she said.

Artist Eddie Hall and Adrian Elliot talk art

One of the people who appreciates her approach is Eddie Hall. He happened to walk in while Adrian and I were talking. He has pieces on display in galleries all over the state. He had high praise for Adrian, where his striking image of painted circles on a window pane is displayed.

“I’ve been working with this gallery for years because Adrian tries to give everyone a chance. A lot of galleries ask for a fee to consider an artist’s work for display, but she almost never does that. There aren’t a lot of places to exhibit in Berlin or New Britain, so this is a special space,” Hall said. He noted that she hosts open mics and gatherings once a month where artists can come together and network or commiserate.

Heliocentric, with creator Eddie Hall in the reflection.

Despite her experience as a curator and an artist, this exhibit is a first for her and Gallery 66: the first exhibit that is juried, in which judges look at the work and name a best in show and two runners up.

“Things like taking part in a juried exhibit, or even winning a judging contest, can go a long way in advancing an artist’s career,” Adrian said. “I’m glad that I get to provide that opportunity to artists who might not otherwise have that chance.” Even as she experienced new firsts with her gallery, Adrian was able to look back on her accomplishments with pride.

“When I started, I had to call my friends and ask them to help me fill the gallery. Now people call me,” she said, and smiled. “This is becoming a place where artists want to be.”