The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
A place to create
Launchpad program brings studio life, mentorship to students
TORRINGTON >> Young artists have found a creative home in downtown Torrington through the Launchpad program — an ongoing partnership between the University of Hartford, Five Points Gallery, and the Hartford Art School.
The current group of Launchpad artists — 11 in total, soon to be 15, all graduates of the Hartford Art School — have 24 hour, seven-day-a-week access to the space above Five Points Gallery, and are able to try their hand at a number of creative outlets as they see fit — painting, print-making, photography.
Their efforts will then be put on display at the gallery in the future, as have works from around the country, at a show.
“(The program) affords graduates of the Hartford Art School affordable, shared studio space, mentorship opportunities with professional artists, and an affiliation with Five Points Gallery,” said gallery Executive Director Judith McElhone Thursday. “Which means, in two years, the Launchpad artists will receive an exhibition opportunity in Five Points.”
The program founders hope it will benefit the young artists, the university, and the city as a whole, McElhone said. The artists are given inexpensive working space and a sense of community, the university provides incentive to keep its graduates close to home, and the city has the chance to benefit from the energy and participation of these young individuals.
The chance for the artists to spend time with other people in the field, McElhone said, is not always common for art school graduates.
Artists can lose the sense of being part of a community after leaving school, she said, and often, struggle to afford studio space in addition to the other demands of life — and can get out of the habit of creating art, and instead turning their talents to another pursuit.
“They lose the feedback, that’s important from their peers and people in other disciplines, and this Launchpad initiative allows all of that,” said McElhone. “So it’s wonderful for downtown, it’s wonderful for the artists.”
The studio spaces have been furnished largely by the artists themselves, McElhone said, along with donations.
A stipend from the city allowed for the purchase of supplies through Fire Equipment Headquarters on Migeon Avenue at cost, McElhone said. Kent Presents also put forward another grant, and Daly’s Moving and Storage moved items to the studio at cost as well.
A $50,000 anonymous donation was also made towards the program, she said, which allowed for the purchase of equipment, including a printer and scanner.
“The community has really come together to support this,” said McElhone.
Karl Goulet, a Terryville resident, was working in the studio Thursday afternoon, cleaning his palate as he worked on a series of paintings in a sun-lit room overlooking the downtown.
Goulet, in addition to being a Launchpad artist, is currently working as the Gallery Manager for Five Points, after he began working with the institution as an intern while attending the University of Hartford.
He and the rest of the class began working in the space in February, he said, and to date, the experience has proved to be a positive one.
“(The space), it’s invaluable. The community — having somebody to have feedback from, the great view is nice,” said Goulet. “And you get a show in Five Points, which is nice.”
Many of the artists knew one another from their common alma-mater, Goulet said, which features into the nature of the community.
Macayla Muzzulin, a sophomore at Torrington High School, was also hanging out in the upstairs space Thursday, and took the chance to begin drawing the cityscape is she gazed out the window.
She was introduced to McElhone while working with Danielle Mailer on the “Fish Tales” mural that now overlooks the Naugatuck River, and began to volunteer and spend time at the gallery.
She hopes to attend Maine College of Art, she said, with the experience at Five Points propelling her along the way.
“I’ve learned a lot once I came here,” said Muzzulin.
The current plan is for each artist to participate in the program for two years, according to McElhone, with a fresh group of artists coming in each year.
11 artists are now taking part in the Launchpad program, McElhone said, with four more set to join the program on April 1.
The space for the studio, she said, was freed up through an agreement between the Torrington Downtown Partners and the gallery.
“We’re just thrilled,” said McElhone. “They are such an amazing group of people, that we’re just thrilled to have them affiliated with us.”
The effort, McElhone said, fits the mission of the gallery.
“The gallery’s mission is to champion and nurture artists at all stages of their careers, and to empower the community — the birth community — through mounting of inspiring exhibitions and educational events,” said McElhone. “And this fits into that — perfectly.”
Learn more about the gallery and its offerings at fivepointsgallery.org.