Concord Academy’s drawing teacher, Ashley MacLure, recently launched the Visiting Artist Series, which brings local artists to speak about their artwork. Typically held during the school’s “club block,” MacLure invites all members of the CA community to learn about art in an inclusive, welcoming environment.
MacLure launched these workshops after a student mentioned how amazing it would be to meet one of their favorite artists, an oil painter named Sophie Pearson. Thus, MacLure looked into her work and invited Pearson to share her art at CA. From there, she’s lined up other artists to discuss their art and stories with CA students.
The first of these artists was Sophie Pearson, who uses her childhood to inspire her pieces on memory, identity, and body image. The second workshop featured Sophy Tuttle, a Boston-based muralist and activist who makes bright, vibrant pieces to celebrate nature. The next artist will be a CA alum, digital production designer Jack Colton ’13.
The structure of the workshop varies between artists and how they want to share their stories. Many mention their journeys from their childhoods, the decisions they’ve made throughout their lives, their day-to-day activities, and future plans. Pearson and Tuttle both opted for a presentation-style event with a Q&A session, giving students a chance to interact with them in a more casual setting. MacLure noted, “I think it’s nice to bring in [artists] from outside and give you a chance to just talk to them like regular people.”
MacLure hopes the series will expose students to the vast avenues of creative careers, showing them the countless options for their futures. “I hope that the students take away that nobody has a crystal ball, and nobody can see into the future. And it’s just so great to see people succeed in whatever they end up, wherever their decisions take them,” she explained. Inaya Bajaj ’28 reflected on her experience at the workshops, recalling, “It was great to see how different artists were able to pursue art as a career and hear how their past experiences got them to where they are today.”
For the artists, these workshops are a way to foster relationships and share their art with aspiring artists and students. A crucial aspect of art is building community and connecting people through it, and this is another way for these creators to display their work.
As an artist herself, MacLure loves hosting and learning from the visiting artists. “I love when other people do really well. So it's nice to bring people in and see people and other artists doing well at something I also do.”
MacLure is also constantly adapting and learning from the community, incorporating feedback from students. By bringing in artists, she’s bridging CA students and the greater collective, and we’re looking forward to all the connections yet to come!