From the Ground Up: Fairfield’s Foods
October 3, 2019-January 5, 2020
Spaght Gallery
“The food you have at home grows on you and becomes more important than simply the food itself. It becomes associated with all parts of your life in a very deep way, part of your roots, your inner self.”
– Jacques Pepin (Madison, Connecticut).
The food we eat helps define us. It is woven through our cultural traditions and our local landscape, as well as into wider global economies. This exhibition will explore how local foods are important to our traditions and how they have shaped Fairfield and our region’s identity over time. Explore the kitchen with a closer look into ingredients from the farmers’ fields, the ocean, and the forest, and share your own special food memories.
Sponsored By:
Brooklawn: A Walk in the Park 
August 22 – November 11, 2019
Ruth Carlson Horn Gallery
The Brooklawn neighborhood developed as an outgrowth of Bridgeport’s industrial revolution, providing a specially designed enclave for the booming city’s business leaders. Enjoy photographer Ari Burling’s luminous early morning photographs of the Brooklawn neighborhood and its unique landscape and architecture. Historical vignettes of the home’s original owners and their businesses will be featured alongside objects from the Museum’s collections which were created during a time of national and local transition.
Photographer Ari Burling works globally to document achievements in architecture, design, and engineering in a comprehensive range of building types, interior spaces, and technologies. He is based in New York City and Fairfield County and his work is commissioned by a broad range of clients, from architecture and engineering firms to interior designers and manufacturers.
Special thanks to Ari and Erika Burling and to Brooklawn Country Club.
Jennings Beach, Fairfield, Day to Night
Stephen Wilkes of Westport is renowned for his amazing Day to Night series, in which he shoots breathtaking iconic landscapes, portrayed from a fixed camera angle for up to 30 hours, to capture fleeting moments over the course of a full day to night. Fairfield’s Jennings beach has now joined Stephen Wilkes’ Day to Night portfolio from around the world. Jennings Beach, Fairfield, Day to Night has been generously commissioned and donated to the Fairfield Museum by the Saft family in memory of Marcia Saft, a former Board member, friend and longtime supporter of the Fairfield Museum. The photograph is on permanent display in Creating Community. Limited edition fine art photographic prints are available exclusively at the Museum Shop.
Creating Community: Exploring 375 Years of Our Past | Ongoing
This hands-on exhibition invites visitors to explore the history of Fairfield and its region over the past four centuries. Look inside a Native American wigwam, climb into an American Revolution fort, decipher a spy code, and look through the windows of a trolley. Young and old alike will enjoy learning how people worked, lived, and built communities over time by exploring original objects, individual stories, and engaging activities. Sponsored by CT Humanities, Fairfield County Community Foundation, The Perry Family and Southport Area Association.
Gustave Whitehead: First to Fly
On view in the Tulloch Library Gallery Gustave Whitehead was the first to fly a powered airplane, although his flights in Fairfield and Stratford in 1901 and 1902 are not nearly as well-known throughout the world as the Wright brothers’ flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903. This mini-exhibition in the library foyer displays items from the museum’s William O’Dwyer/Gustave Whitehead Research Collection, which is available for research in the library. More information about Gustave Whitehead is available here.
