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The Taunton River Heritage Exhibit
Paintings, drawings, photographs and poetry interpreting the Taunton River - June 22, 2002
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| Green Futures, the Fall River Art Association, Southeast Creative Writers and the host - the Narrows Center for the Arts were pleased by the enthusiastic response to the Call for Artists and Poets. Over 100 artistic works interpreting the Taunton River Heritage were entered in the exhibit which was funded by a collaboration between Taunton River Watershed Partners, The Executive Office of Environmental Affairs and its agencies, Department of Environmental Management, and the Riverways Program of the Department of Fish and Wildlife. |
As Green
Futures Director of Special Events, Nancy Durfee, stated at the
press conference on June 13 (see the Fall River Herald News,
story by Deborah Allard-Bernardi, page A3), the hope was to focus
the public's attention on the wonderful resource that flows through
this southeastern corner of Massachusetts. Durfee said the relationship
between art and the river is a natural partnership since it is
such a strong focal point in this area. "Art adds the flavor,
spice and aesthetic to the Taunton River. More and more people
 are drawn to it.
It's an expression of the way people feel about this river."The Taunton River, called the Kuttetequat by the native Wampanoags, was the major Native American passage between Plymouth, at Cape Cod Bay and lands west. In colonial times, the river was important to industry and commerce. Shipbuilding, pottery works, brickmaking, logging, arms manufacturing, and textiles all flourished along the river, according to a historical look at the river by Green Futures. |
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The Taunton River also had extensive oyster, sturgeon and river herring fisheries. However, economic development led to pollution and the river became "little more than a sewer."according to Green Futures and some historians. Today the river is cleaner but Green Futures says there is still alot of work to be done. "We'd like to make it a cleaner place for everyone to enjoy,"said Durfee,"It's for all of us. We have such a connection to the river."
Art works shown on this webpage are all award winners. |
The Taunton River Heritage Art Exhibit certainly accomplished it's goal of focusing attention on the river in a very pleasant way! As the public and artists arrived to view the art submissions at the opening reception, they were greeted by the jaunty tunes of Ragtime Jack Radcliffe. Our donors Westport Rivers Vineyard and Winery, Buzzards Bay Brewery and Lees Market of Westport, MA offered the patrons a selections of fresh fruits, cheeses, wine and beer.
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The four categories had many entries; selecting the award winners was no easy task. In the Painting category, Jurors. Brian Fox and Susan Mohl Powers chose Nancy Possinger's "Watercolors" for First Award. Cynthia Getchell's "Untitled" for Second and Tony Henriques' "Berkley" for Third Award.
Mr. Fox and Ms. Powers were also, the jurors in the Drawing category. First Award was won by Cindy-Lou Wandaschild for "Crabs", Aaron Price's "Seascape" took Second Award and Paul Hitchen won Third place for "River".
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In Photography, The Jurors were Omar Bradley, Del Furtado and Cindy Arruda. The awards were as follows: First - Louis M. Ricciardi for "Reflections Along the Riverbed", Second - Colin Furze,"Untitled", Third - Donna Berthelette for "Weir Bridge",a special Judges Award for Brian Shriver's "End of the Line" and Honorable Mention - William F. Sullivan, "Sailboat in Fog".
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Al Lima of Green Futures and Debbi Edelstein of the Trustees of Reservations chat during the reception. |
Bob
Kerr, Marc Munroe Dion, and Janice Warren were the Jurors in
the Poetry category. William F. Sullivan won First place
for "67 Warren St.,Somerset, Massachusetts." Lorry
Ayash Vieira took Second Award for "I Am Kuttequat"
and Third Award went to Tricia Settig for "Sitting Above
the Taunton River.Many creative, artistic works were entered by area young people so, a Youth category was added. Kyle Coogan won an award for her painting "Windy River" and Angela Possinger, for her poem "Everyday the River Shows Me Something New."
The evening continued with poetry readings by some of the award winners, followed by the presentation of awards. Everett Castro, Public Affairs Director for Green Futures, announced the winners and handed out all gifts and certificates.
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Many thanks to all Green Futures members and patrons, donors and participants who made this event possible. |
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