Artist’s Talk to Open Iconic “Know Your Connecticut Farmer” Exhibit at MCC on Main

The newest exhibition at the Adolf & Virginia Dehn Gallery in the Manchester Community College Arts and Education Center — or MCC on Main — will open with a special talk from the artist, Jack McConnell, at 6 p.m. on December 5.

McConnell will discuss the importance of having passion for one’s work as he focuses especially on the dedication shown by his subjects, more than 50 Connecticut-based farmers he has photographed for the exhibition.

The talk will also include a recount of McConnell’s collaboration with artist and songwriter Jack Collins, with whom he created a video to accompany the photo series. To view the video, visit McConnell’s website.

A gallery reception with food catered by Wind Hill Community Farm and music by Collins & Bradley will follow the artist’s talk and run until 8 p.m. The show will hang in the Dehn Gallery through January 10, 2015.

A sample of the artist’s work

About Jack McConnell’s Project – After shooting Connecticut stone walls for ten years, Jack McConnell started shooting portraits of the state’s farmers — the current keepers of the flame. In September 2013 he began showing this new work at galleries and public spaces, inviting visitors to become more aware of the need to protect Connecticut farmland and support working farmers. Today, farming in Connecticut is a $3.5 billion industry, supporting 21,000 jobs. There are 5,977 family farms in the state today, but every year the state loses 20 percent more farmland than it protects. Through preservation efforts made by groups like Connecticut Farmland Trust,CT NOFA, Working Lands Alliance, Department of Agriculture’s Farmland Preservation, land trusts, environmental groups, and municipalities throughout the state, efforts are ongoingto protect farmland for the 90 million people living within a day’s drive of Connecticut farms and in part rely on local farms for the food they eat.