Art and community — a look back at the Closet Artists' Show
Set in an old one-room schoolhouse converted to a gathering space for community, the show consisted mainly of works by residents of the area around Rices Mills, with some from more distant parts of Thetford and Norwich.
Shows of "high art" at venues like city museums in New York and Boston, or even Dartmouth's Hood Museum, are impressive and awe-inspiring. Here is Art, flawlessly displayed and illuminated in a spacious and formal setting. Yet in the midst of this perfection there's the feeling that something is missing — the famous artists are from somewhere else, from abroad even — they seem remote. Rarely does the viewer have a personal connection to the artist.
The recent show of Closet Artists at the Rices Mills Community Center is at the other extreme. Set in an old one-room schoolhouse converted to a gathering space for community, the show consisted mainly of works by residents of the area around Rices Mills, with some from more distant parts of Thetford and Norwich. There were 25-30 artists represented.
But far from being unrefined and rustic, the works revealed a range of talent, ingenuity, and humor that was remarkable and refreshing. There's art in them there hills!
And indeed, "closet artist" was an apt term. While some works were by recognized local artists, there were also unexpected names, residents who nobody guessed had been quietly making art. How intriguing to discover that one's neighbor has hidden talent.
The history of the show is also notable. Prior to Closet Artists' Show 2025, the last shows had been in 1983 and 1984, also at the RMCA. Thetford resident Nancy Limbaugh deserves credit for doing much of the legwork that revived the idea and made the 2025 show happen. This included making signs, postings on the ListServ, and working with Chris Coyle on other publicity. Old porch screens salvaged from a mansion under demolition were repurposed as gallery room dividers on which to display artworks. And a team of several Rices Mills residents, and even an artist from Norwich, installed the show together in 2-3 hours.
True to the art show tradition, there was a Friday show opening. About 50 people attended, many dressed in their finery for the occasion. They came together to view the art, meet the artists, enjoy refreshments, and be entertained by the music of Bruce Keller and friends.
The show itself was brief — Friday Sept 26th through Sunday 28th — with about 15 visitors a day over the weekend. Some left feeling inspired by the mix of beautiful work and simple creative methods to go home and pick up that project they had set aside. But most importantly, as Nancy observed, it was a focus around which people in the community came together and got to know each other better, often through lively discussions about the art, how it was made, what it might mean, and who made it.