The 2021 grand opening festivities of The Norwalk Art Space (TNAS) were clipping along as planned outside on the large patio – speeches by politicians, the obligatory ribbon-cutting and VIP photos ops – when the slate-grey clouds above the exciting new museum and café poured forth a steady late spring rain.
“That was Alexandra,” says Artistic and Educational Director Duvian Montoya, smiling and shaking his head. “She was saying, ‘Go inside! Get in there and enjoy your space!’”
“Alexandra” is Alexandra Davern Korry, the alpha and omega of this inspiring new venture that’s giving unlikely new life to a former Christian Science church-turned-carpet warehouse just north of Mathews Park on West Avenue.
An ambassador’s daughter who lived in Chile, Ethiopia and England before settling with her own husband and two daughters in Westport, Korry was long a trailblazer. She forged a notable career as a mergers and acquisitions attorney – and was a formidable art collector, philanthropist and fierce Civil Rights advocate as well – before the high ceilings, multi-paned windows and mountains of potential in the 1935 former sanctuary caught her eye.
“In the 1990s, it became a rug store and there were actually rugs hung on display over these windows,” Montoya says gazing over the sun-drenched space from high in the former choir loft. “She had the vision to see past that.”
With encouragement from her husband and daughters, Korry set to work creating her museum and after-school educational program. TNAS would be a buzzing hive of creativity with a simple yet profoundly effective mission: local artists would be given the opportunity to mount free exhibitions in the gallery and be provided free studio space, and in exchange would teach free art classes to under-served high school students. It was important to Korry that the project help narrow opportunity gaps and give everyone a fair shot, so the space would focus on enhancing opportunities and equity for these marginalized groups.
“Priority is given to the artists Korry found sorely underrepresented in the international museums she had visited – women and people of color,” says Katy Sullivan, gallery and events manager. And the space’s vision would expand beyond the visual arts to include a full music program led by saxophonist David DeJesus, a professor of music at Purchase College, and a writers’ group, among other things.
“We want a place where all generations are welcome,” Katy, herself a painter, says.
The promise of the Norwalk Art Space was coming to a crescendo when tragedy struck. Korry was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and passed away in 2020, halfway through the site’s creation.
Her loss was – and is – deeply felt by those who create and inspire others in the space that has become one of her dearest legacies. About a month after his wife’s death, Robin Panovka sought advice from Duvian, a professional artist who had co-founded two enduring Fairfield County arts organizations: the Saint Philip Artist Guild Network in Norwalk and the Artists Collective of Westport.
The two discussed what it would take to get artists involved, how to program the space andif there was enough want in the community to fulfill Alexandra’s mission.
“I was really open and honest,” Duvian says, “and it was a natural progression from advisor to employee.”
Korry had left a unique blueprint for the look and feel that melds the church’s ‘bones’ with imported tiles from Italy and the striking green lighting imported from Germany that leads to the museum café, created by Connecticut Restaurant Association 2021 Restaurateur of the Year Bill Taibe.
“It is my first space outside of Westport, at least in the last 15 years,” says the impresario behind The Whelk, Don Memo and Kawa Ni. “Joining the team at TNAS was an easy choice for me, the mission is special, and I really fell in love with Alexandra’s story. It’s been a great partnership since opening, and I look forward to making it a valuable, contributing member of the Norwalk community.”
In its first year, TNAS has welcomed a series of exhibitions from its Korry Fellows, an eclectic crew from mixed media pop artist Tara Blackwell to Westport-based abstract and figurative artist Kelly Rossetti to Lizzy Rockwell, an award-winning author/illustrator who is director of Peace by Piece: The Norwalk Community Quilt Project. This fall brought a showing of works by Duvian and his mentor, Robert Cottingham.
Resident artists, who have been known to follow their individual muses at all hours of the day, include crafter Francisco Mandujano, Norwalk visual artist and educator Lorena Sferlazza and painter/mixed media artist Remy Sosa, whose work considers how emotional and internal worlds are shaped by the broader trends in social life. Emily Teall, a sculptor and installation artist, teaches at Fusion Academy’s Greenwich campus.
Free, small-enrollment classes at TNAS run the gamut from blind contour drawing to iPhone photography and helping aspiring young artists build their first portfolios. A songwriter’s circle, teen open mic night, and weekend jazz ensemble sessions are a welcome addition to the burgeoning “Museum Mile,” which includes the nearby Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Stepping Stones Museum for Children and Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum.
Through it all, devotion to Korry’s mission runs deep. The Art Space team is passionate about fomenting a love of art in underserved youth, supporting local artists and bringing the Norwalk community together, Katy and Duvian say.
Katy scans the inventive work filling the sanctuary. “Our heart is in this place,” she says. “We really want it to work. It’s an honor to be here, to be doing this.”
thenorwalkartspace.org