10/08/2026
Essex Art Center is thrilled to announce its next exhibition, “The Crow Show & Community Roost,” opening next Saturday, October 17, 2026 from 2:00-5:00 PM, and running through February 20, 2027. Returning after a six-year hiatus, this iteration of “The Crow Show” is organized by Lawrence artist Kate Delaney (Kate Delaney).
Crows are highly social animals, and their annual Winter Roost transforms Lawrence into a gathering place for more than ten thousand birds. This exhibition creates a roost of its own, bringing artists, educators, students, and the broader community together to explore this local phenomenon that happens just beyond the Art Center’s doors. Featuring work by Jenn Houle (Jenn Houle), Johanna Finnegan-Topitzer Johanna Finnegan-Topitzer), Dianne Pappas (Dianne Pappas), Mor (Mor), Kate Delaney, and over 50 regional artists, “The Crow Show” illustrates how crows serve as a muse for so many.
Visitors will encounter 90 works, including sculpture, mixed-media installation, collage, woodblock carving, and silkscreen. The exhibition also invites visitors to become part of the show through participatory elements, including a community “Crow Altar” inspired by crows’ collecting behavior and associations with gift-giving. Visitors are encouraged to bring a small offering to the opening reception, a shiny trinket, colorful object, bead, button, or other little treasure to add to the altar and help the collection grow throughout the exhibition.
Occupying the Art Center’s Sidell and Beland Galleries as well as The Community Art Wall, the exhibition also includes artwork by students from Jenn Houle’s Art and Design class at Northern Essex Community College. Houle shared her process-oriented work for the show with her students, involved them in creating a collective crow “mind map”, and introduced Craig Gibson’s Winter Crow Roost Study. Afterwards, students created experimental crow art for the gallery.
Crow-inspired programming will take place throughout the show.
Visit https://www.essexartcenter.org/exhibition for the full list of artist-led workshops and family activities.
