SURGE Arts Initiative

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SURGE Arts Initiative is a creative platform amplifying diverse voices through the power of the arts

10/10/2026

What a way to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month! 🎨❤️

Today’s Ink & Identity workshop brought us together for an afternoon of art, culture, identity, and creative expression!

A huge THANK YOU to artist Eddy Rodriguez for sharing his artistry and leading such an engaging experience, to the Silas Bronson Library for hosting, and to everyone who came out to create with us!

At SURGE, uplifting BIPOC artists means more than celebrating their creativity. It means valuing their work, paying artists for their expertise, and recognizing the importance of their voices and contributions to our communities.

A beautiful way to celebrate Hispanic heritage and the artists who keep culture and creativity moving forward!

10/09/2026

A little behind the scenes with Ashe. 👀🎨

Our Fall Resident Artist has been putting in the WORK!

From digging deeper into the ideas behind their art to arranging sessions with models and continuing to build their body of work, Ashe has been making the most of their time at SURGE Studios.

It’s been exciting to see their dedication, intention, and creative process unfold.

And they’re just getting started!

10/04/2026

Parents, give your teen a space to create, experiment, and express themselves. 🎨✂️

Surge Arts Initiative is hosting Connect & Create, a FREE hands on art workshop for teens ages 13 to 18, facilitated by Surge Arts Initiative Resident Artist Ashe.

Teens will mix paint, cut, collage, reimagine, and explore their creativity while connecting with other young people in a space designed for them.

📅 Sunday, October 25
⏰ 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
📍 The People’s Place, 101 Pierpont Rd, Waterbury
🎟️ FREE | RSVP Required

Parents, sign your teen up today:
https://forms.gle/XwZQDAyciyQSB7yLA

Funded in part by Connecticut Community Foundation and the Connecticut Office of the Arts.

10/03/2026

Okayyy, who’s coming to paint with Eddy?! 👀🎨

No experience. No pressure. Just good energy, creativity, and a chance to make something that tells a little bit of your story.

INK & IDENTITY
Oct. 10 • 10:30AM–12:30PM • FREE • 18+
📍 Silas Bronson Library

We saved you a seat…but you gotta register. 😉

09/21/2026

Meet our first SURGE Studios Resident Artist: Ashe! 🎨✨

We’re excited to officially welcome Ashe (they/she), a Waterbury-based artist, creative, caregiver, and lifelong knowledge-seeker, as the inaugural artist in the SURGE Studios Residency.

Ashe’s work leans toward realism, with moments of expressive and abstract exploration. Working across oil paint, watercolor, alcohol markers, colored pencils, pastels, and charcoal, their subjects center primarily on people and nature.

Ashe is especially interested in natural history, earth science, human evolution, and the connections between humanity and the natural world. During their residency, they’ll have dedicated space to explore those intersections, strengthen their creative practice, and develop new work.

For Ashe, making art professionally is a new chapter and we’re excited that a piece of that journey is happening right here in Waterbury at SURGE Studios.

Welcome to SURGE, Ashe. 🖤 We can’t wait to see what you create.

09/07/2026

We’re kicking off Hispanic Heritage Month by proudly featuring Edwin “Eddy” Rodriguez Jr., a local Puerto Rican visual artist whose work explores identity, culture, roots and self-expression through contemporary art. 🇵🇷

And you don’t have to wait for the workshop to experience it.
Eddy’s exhibition is UP NOW at the Silas Bronson Library through October 31 — and the artwork is available for purchase. Come see the work in person and support a local artist.

Then, on Saturday, October 10, join us for INK & IDENTITY, an interactive art workshop led by Eddy as part of the SURGE Cultural Series.

🎨 Exhibition on view: September 1–October 31
📅 Workshop: Saturday, October 10 | 11 AM–1 PM
📍 Silas Bronson Library | 267 Grand St., Waterbury
🎟️ Registration required | Register directly with the library
🔞 Ages 18+ | Limited to 25 participants

See the work. Support the artist. Explore your own creativity.
Presented by SURGE Arts Initiative, in partnership with the Silas Bronson Library.

08/12/2026

Your work doesn’t need to fit neatly into a category to belong here.

SURGE Studios is looking for BIPOC visual artists whose existing practices engage the stories, histories, cultures, and issues that shape our collective lives.

That might mean preserving cultural memory. Challenging what gets erased. Carrying folklore and tradition forward. Confronting injustice. Questioning dominant narratives. Creating space for dialogue.

We’re not asking you to change your practice to fit this residency.

We’re making room for the work you’re already doing.

SURGE Studios supports a range of 2D and 3D visual art disciplines. Film, video, and animation may be incorporated into a multidisciplinary visual arts practice, but cannot be the sole medium.

SURGE Studios is a three-month artist residency for BIPOC visual artists who live in, work in, or have a deep connection to Waterbury.

September 15 – December 15, 2026
Apply by August 24 at 11:59 PM EDT
bit.ly/surgestudios

08/03/2026

THIS WORK DESERVES SPACE.

Applications are now open for the inaugural SURGE Studios Residency.

If you're a BIPOC visual artist who lives in, works in, or is deeply connected to Waterbury, this residency was created for you.

SURGE Studios offers dedicated studio space, financial support, professional development, and the opportunity to deepen your practice while sharing your work with the community.

We're looking for artists whose work invites deeper engagement with the issues, histories, cultures, and communities that shape our collective lives.

Important Dates:
September 15–December 15, 2026
Applications close August 24.

Apply:
https://bit.ly/surgestudios

Know an artist who should see this? Please share.

05/12/2026

Conflict: Self and the World is a solo exhibition by Denycia Thompson, on view May 18–30 in the Baldwin Room at The People’s Place.

Spanning 30 abstract and mixed media works, the exhibition explores the tension between inner life and the external forces that shape identity, drawing from personal experience, questioning social norms, and navigating vulnerability and self-definition.

The exhibition is accompanied by a series of artist-led moments:

• Opening Reception — May 18, 4–8pm
• Live Painting — May 23, 2–5pm
• Artist Talk — May 30, 12–1:15pm
• Private Tours — Tuesdays & Thursdays, May 18–30

Katiana Jarbath Smith will be facilitating the artist talk on May 30.

Please visit Denycia’s page for additional details and scheduling.

04/24/2026

Last night was special.

The room was full of laughter, stories, and hands moving with intention. We learned about Dr. Pamela D. Jones’ journey, the history of quilting within African American communities, and got to create something of our own in the process.

Every piece that started in that room was different. Personal. Real.

If you were there, thank you for showing up and being part of that energy.

And if you didn’t finish your piece, we definitely want to see it when you do 👀

We’re running it back at the

Exhibition + workshop.

Spots are limited, don’t wait on this one:
https://bit.ly/QuiltingAtSilas

If you know someone who needs to be in spaces like this, send this to them.

We’re building something real over here.

Quilting CreativeCommunity

Address

101 Pierpont Road
Waterbury, CT
06705

Website

http://bit.ly/WaterburyArtists, https://bit.ly/surgestudios

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