June 2026

James E. Mahoney Foyer

Art Wellesley: Colossal Collage

mixed media

Art Wellesley’s 2026 community art initiative builds on the success of last year’s Yarn Bomb with a new large-scale collaborative project. Five community maker sessions will bring participants together to cut, glue, and assemble found and repurposed papers into a botanical-themed composition inspired by flora and fauna. Guided by local artists Elizabeth Cohen and Jenny Schneider, participants will explore scale, color, and creative expression through collage. The project will culminate in a Colossal Collage—approximately thirty-two feet long by seven feet high.

Wakelin Room

D’Ann Hansen: Beneath the Art: many hands, many years, one surface

Acrylic paint, marker, pencil on paper

For more than 20 years, these paper mats protected tables in painting classes in Wellesley. As students ages six to 88 painted above them, layers of drips, brush cleanings, and overlapping colors quietly accumulated below, forming dense, joyful, and unexpected abstract surfaces. These mats weren’t meant to be art, yet over time they became powerful collaborative records of creative energy at work. This exhibition invites viewers to look at what is usually overlooked and to consider the beauty that can emerge through simple acts of experimentation, learning, and showing up.

D’Ann Hansen studied education and art at Boston College and was inspired to begin teaching in Wellesley when her daughters were in elementary school. Finding it difficult to locate high-quality, local art classes that they enjoyed, she opened her personal studio for instruction. Since 2005, D’Ann has been encouraging artistic confidence in Wellesley and surrounding towns. Her mission is to help as many people as possible connect with their creative side and find joy through artistic expression. She finds deep fulfillment in seeing her students produce unique and meaningful works of art.

Lucky U Display Case

Nancy Schon: Aesop’s Fables

Nancy Schon is a Boston-based sculptor, celebrated for her warm and evocative representation of human and animal figures. Her work, characterized by a profound sense of empathy and detail, captures the essence of her subjects — making them relatable and endearing to viewers of all ages. She is best known for her iconic Make Way for Ducklings sculpture in the Boston Public Garden, which brings to life the beloved characters from Robert McCloskey’s classic children’s book. This charming installation has become a cherished landmark, delighting generations of visitors with its playful depiction of a mother duck leading her ducklings.

Schon’s Aesop’s Fables sculptures are a masterful series inspired, of course, by the ancient, previously enslaved Greek storyteller, Aesop. With a collection of twenty-four sculptures, each piece corresponds to one of the twenty-four letters in the Greek alphabet, creating a symbolic link to the origins of these timeless tales. Schon’s imaginative approach not only pays homage to the cultural heritage of Aesop’s fables, but also serves as a tribute to the universality and enduring relevance of these stories. Learn more about Nancy Schon and her work at schon.com.

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