MILLBROOK, June 2 — The doors barely opened Saturday morning before a line had already formed outside the Millbrook Arts Center on Birchwood Drive. The 2025 Summer Showcase, the center's largest annual exhibition, welcomed more than 800 visitors over its opening weekend — a 20 percent jump from last year — and has drawn early praise for its ambitious, regionally rooted curation. This year's theme, "Roots & Routes," explores migration, memory, and identity through the lens of artists who call the greater Millbrook region home.
Highlights from the Exhibition
- "Tobacco Road Triptych" by painter Eloise Drummond — a striking three-panel oil series on rural displacement
- "Signal/Noise" by sculptor Tomás Reyes — an interactive sound installation in the east gallery
- A dedicated emerging artists wing featuring eight first-time exhibitors
- A live mural project running every Saturday through July
Arts Center director Priya Nambiar called the turnout "a real validation of what this community values." Local artist and longtime MAC member Drummond, whose triptych has already garnered a purchase inquiry, was more direct: "People are hungry for art that actually talks about where they live." The Summer Showcase is free and open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., through July 27. A ticketed closing reception is planned for the final evening.
