The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield is doing something rare in the art world: launching a survey that only happens once every decade. Starting June 27, 2026, "I am what is around me" will showcase 40 artists living and working in Connecticut—the first iteration of what the museum is calling the Aldrich Decennial.
This kind of 10-year pacing is almost unheard of. Only Sculpture Projects Münster in Germany follows a similar rhythm. Most recurring exhibitions reset every two to five years, which means the Aldrich is betting on a slower, deeper kind of attention.
The survey spans generations
Chief curator Amy Smith-Stewart and publications manager Caitlin Monachino conducted over 100 studio visits to arrive at their final list. The artists range from Lucy Sallick, born in 1937, to Remy Sosa, born in 1995. Some names carry national recognition—Dominic Chambers, Tammy Nguyen, Em Rooney, Aki Sasamoto, Julia Wachtel—while others are anchored primarily in their Connecticut communities.
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Start Your News DetoxThe exhibition sprawls across the Aldrich's entire campus: 8,000 square feet of galleries plus a recently renovated three-acre grounds with a sculpture garden. That scale matters. It signals that this isn't a token nod to local artists. It's a genuine attempt to explore what happens when artists choose to build lives and practices outside the gravitational pull of New York or Los Angeles.
"Connecticut has always been a site for visionary artists and daring ideas," Smith-Stewart said. "This survey spotlights artists who call this place home—artists whose work is deeply rooted in the Museum's community yet resonates far beyond it."
Executive director Cybele Maylone framed it differently: "While The Aldrich's expansive mission highlights the work of living artists from around the United States and the world, over the past 60 years the Museum has also had an enduring interest in artists living and working in Connecticut. With the debut of this inaugural series we are so proud to spotlight the immense talent in our small but mighty state."
The exhibition runs through January 10, 2027. If the Aldrich holds to its decennial schedule, the next survey won't arrive until 2036—which means this first one carries the weight of a generational marker, a snapshot of who's working in Connecticut right now, before another decade passes.
