Bristol Art Museum Presents In Bannister’s Footsteps

The Bristol Art Museum announces In Bannister’s Footsteps, a special exhibition and program honoring the life, work, and enduring influence of Edward Mitchell Bannister, a Canadian-American oil painter who resided in New England in the late 1800’s, on Sat., Feb. 7, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. The event features an exhibition and screening of a nine-minute documentary highlighting the Bannister Community Art Project and Bannister’s significant yet often underrecognized contributions to American art, followed by guest speakers and an engaging audience conversation.

This program is sponsored by Annie Castelnovo McMullen in memory of her mother, Providence Art Club artist Mary Castelnovo.

“In Bannister’s Footsteps invites our community to engage more deeply with the legacy of Edward Mitchell Bannister, an artist whose work and influence deserve broader recognition,” said Mary Dondero, Museum Curator and Board Member. “This program honors not only his artistic achievements, but the continued dialogue his life inspires around creativity, community, and representation.”

The program will feature guest speakers Theresa Guzmán Stokes, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society, and Gage M. Prentiss, sculptor. The conversation will be facilitated by Dr. Victoria Gao, Director of the Bannister Gallery and Adjunct Professor at Rhode Island College. Participating artists include Darrel Perkins, ponnapa prakkamakul, and Michael Talbot.

Theresa Guzmán Stokes is a writer, historian, U.S. Navy veteran, and cultural preservation leader whose work centers on African Heritage, Latin American, and diasporic histories. She is president and founder of 1696 Heritage Group and founder of Historical Writers of America, and she leads statewide efforts to preserve and elevate African and Indigenous histories through her role at the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society.

Gage M. Prentiss is a Rhode Island–based visual artist whose loosely representational sculptures and evocative oil paintings explore presence, place, and light. Working in materials ranging from welded steel and bronze to resin and concrete, Prentiss’ work spans private commissions and an expanding public art practice. He has a BFA in Sculpture from Boston University

Dr. Victoria Gao has served as Director of the Bannister Gallery and Exhibitions at Rhode Island College since 2018. She received her PhD and MA in Visual and Cultural Studies from the University of Rochester and her BA in Physics and in Art History from Cornell University. Victoria has had a longstanding interest in curating and in art exhibition spaces and previously interned at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Admission is $10 for Bristol Art Museum members and $15 for general admission. Tickets and additional information are available via Eventbrite.