Hotchkiss's Tremaine Art Gallery will present The Circe Effect: Women’s Creative Power Reclaims the Narrative, an exhibition featuring the work of Madeleine Conover, Donna Dodson, Katiushka Melo,  Dana Robinson and Chelsea Steinberg Gay, from Nov. 14, 2024 to Jan. 25, 2025.

An opening reception, including an artist panel discussion, will take place on Thursday, Nov. 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. The panel discussion begins at 7 p.m.

Curated by Sarah Anderson Lock P’24, The Circe Effect was first presented in February 2024 at The Gallery at The Visual and Performing Arts Center, Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, CT. The exhibition is traveling to Lakeville as part of programming for the 50th anniversary of women and girls at Hotchkiss.

The exhibit is inspired by themes explored in the best-selling novel Circe by Madeline Miller. The narrator is Circe herself, goddess and sorceress from the ancient Greek epic The Odyssey who was banished by the Gods to live in isolation on the isle of Aiaia. The New York Times called the novel “A bold and subversive retelling of the goddess’ story … recasting the most infamous female figure from The Odyssey as a hero in her own right.”

The Western cultural imagination has habitually presented Circe one-dimensionally as a dangerous, seductive witch, known for casting a spell that turned Odysseus’s crew of sailors into swine. In Miller’s novel, Circe takes ownership of her story and tells it on her own terms, releasing herself from these narrow constraints. 

Miller’s methodology has struck a cultural chord by addressing the familiar feminist principles of women’s power and agency: when women orchestrate the narrative, stereotypes are challenged and recast. The artists gathered for The Circe Effect address these issues from their own points of view and experiences. The exhibit includes works in sculpture, painting, photography, performance, installation, printmaking, and drawing. 

The Tremaine Art Gallery is located on the ground floor of The Hotchkiss School’s Main Building at 11 Interlaken Road, Lakeville, CT.  Regular gallery hours are Tuesday to Saturday from 12-4 p.m. and Sunday from 1-4 p.m. The gallery is closed Nov. 22 to Dec. 2 and Dec. 17 to Jan. 6.