MAKE. BELIEVE.
Material as Spell
Curated by Linda Colletta
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 14th | 6–8 PM
On View: June 14 – July 26, 2025
Artist Panel + Closing Reception: Saturday, July 26th | 2–4 PM
About the Exhibition
At its core, MAKE. BELIEVE. is about the power of material to carry energy, meaning, and memory. In this group exhibition, material becomes the mediator between worlds—how fantasy is made tangible and how abstraction can conjure feeling.
Whether playful or spiritual, the works in this show cast spells using surface, form, and gesture. Some seduce with faux fur, googly eyes, and neon vinyl. Others soothe with shimmer, graphite, and threadbare textures. Each one invites you to feel, imagine, and remember.
This marks Linda Colletta’s curatorial debut at The Stairwell Space—a new artist-run gallery located at AmFab Studios. Our mission is to foster innovation and advancement in the visual arts by providing an alternative gallery space that elevates artists’ work, provokes dialogue, and contributes to the greater conversation about the Arts.
Artists Included
Alison Pilkington, Allyson Monson, Amanda Russo Rubman, Arden Henderson, Ashley Mary, Ben Quesnel, Brooklyn Buzzy, Chellis Baird, Christl Stringer, Denise Treizman, Dina Cline, Galen Cheney, Jenny Zoe Casey, Jennifer Caviola, Josh Kimberg, Judy Riola, Kelly Rossetti, Kelsey Overstreet, kHyal, Michael Manning, Nicole Bricker, Rebecca Stern, Sabine Likhite, Sarah Leuchtner, Shannon Rae Fincke, Srishti Dass, Suzanne Kiggins, and Tiffany Wong.
Directions
The Stairwell Space @ AmFab Studios 1069 Connecticut Ave, Bridgeport, CT 06607
Easily accessible via Metro North New Haven Line to Bridgeport station. From Exit 30 off I-95: turn left on Lordship Blvd, right on Stratford Ave, left on Waterman St, then right on Connecticut Ave. The parking lot is straight ahead.
A free shuttle will run from the train station to the gallery on opening night. Wheelchair-accessible elevator available to the 2nd floor of the gallery. For travel questions or info, email lindafcolletta@gmail.com.
ABOUT US…
The Stairwell Space is an artist-led, mission driven alternative art space in Bridgeport, CT situated in the historic American Fabrics Arts Building. Inhabiting the building’s original entrance, a grand marble foyer that features a two-story spiral staircase, we aim to contextualize and champion the work of local, regional, and national artists, cultivating meaningful conversations about art and culture.
We seek to build an ethos for innovation and advancement of the visual arts by providing an alternative gallery space to foster and facilitate artists to elevate their work, provoke dialog, and contribute to the greater conversation of the Arts.
Our mission is to advance the visual arts, elevate under-represented artists, and foster community engagement through innovative exhibitions and educational programming. to unite and expand the visual arts community in Connecticut through cultivating new opportunities, perspectives, curators and collectors from New York City and other renowned art hubs around the country. We seek to galvanize Bridgeport as an incubator for forward thinking artists and patrons of the arts. We mount exhibitions that prioritize under-represented, marginalized artists emerging artists regardless of age, education or gender, that are actively engaged in pushing the boundaries of their practices.
Through public events and educational outreach,
The Stairwell Space also plans to engage with local residents and create art outreach programs within the Bridgeport Public School System. These programs will provide content and funding for local visual arts after-school and summer programs.
The Stairwell Space is located at 1069 Connecticut Ave. Bridgeport, CT 06607, through the main entrance on CT Avenue. TSS is 90 minutes from Grand Central Station, NYC on Metro North's New Haven line and a 5 minute drive/Uber from the station. If driving, TSS is off Exit 30 on I95, and the Bridgeport/Port Jefferson Ferry port is a 5 minute drive to the gallery.
Ample parking is available and we are equipped with an temporary ADA compliant access ramp at the front entrance, and an wheel-chair accessible elevator to the 2nd floor which allows access to the gallery’s second level.
