Flanders Nature Center & Land Trust in Woodbury, Connecticut, will host Artist Day on Saturday, May 9, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Van Vleck Sanctuary. Artists, craftspeople, and photographers are invited to create work en plein air on the sanctuary's 200-acre grounds, which include woodlands, meadows, ponds, and historic buildings. The event is free and requires pre-registration. Participants may later be eligible to exhibit their work in Flanders’ 5th Annual Exhibition of Art in October at the Van Vleck Gallery.
The event continues the legacy of Natalie Van Vleck, an early Modernist painter and draftsman who founded the center and lived and worked on the property. Artist Day matters because it connects contemporary artists with a historic artistic site, fostering community engagement with nature and the arts. It also supports local artists by offering a pathway to exhibition opportunities, reinforcing the role of regional nature centers in sustaining visual art traditions.