Cape Ann Student Exhibitions 2026
In 2026 CAM Educators worked with approximately 600 second, sixth and eighth grade students across Cape Ann to learn and interpret the history and culture of the region through the collections at the Museum. In a two-part program elementary grades students studied works by the Folly Cove Designers, while sixth and eighth grade students explore works by artist Milton Avery. These unique exhibitions, which culminate in month-long installations at CAM, celebrate student artwork alongside works from the Museum’s collection in a professional gallery setting, creating a visual, tangible connection between young artists and professional artists.
Where the Water Wonders Live: Cape Ann Second Grade Exhibition
Over the past year, second-grade students from Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester, and Essex were introduced to the Folly Cove Designers—a 20th-century, guild-style collective of printmakers led by Virginia Lee Demetrios. At the Museum’s Downtown campus, Where the Water Wonders Live presents students’ work in direct conversation with the Designers, emphasizing pattern and repetition to tell stories rooted in place.
Inspired by these ideas, students created block prints of sea creatures found around Cape Ann, printing them on fabric, echoing the Designers’ rich legacy of textile arts. Their works have been transformed into sculptural forms and installed as part of a collaborative display, appearing alongside works by Demetrios, Eino Natti, and other members of the Folly Cove Designers, creating a lively dialogue between past and present.
Reflections on Friendship: Cape Ann Middle School Student Exhibition
At the CAM Green campus, Reflections on Friendship brings middle school students into conversation with the Museum’s major summer exhibition, Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea, which explores the creative bond between three leading figures of 20th-century American art.
Engaging directly with the exhibition’s themes, including friendship and the expressive use of color, students from Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester, and Essex explored how relationships can shape artistic practice. Working with CAM educators, they developed their own distinctive color palettes, giving each an expressive name, and used them to create painted portraits of friends and meaningful figures on mirrored surfaces.
Installed in the Janet & William Ellery James Center at CAM Green, the exhibition is presented alongside works that similarly explore the theme of friendship, extending the ideas of Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea into a contemporary, community-centered context.
To learn more about Student Exhibitions at CAM, or to speak with the Education Manager at CAM about educational programming at the Museum, email us at [email protected].
