The Art of a Homecoming

Jamestown Arts Center’s “NEXT” exhibition feels like coming home for three of its longtime artists.

Images courtesy of JAC and the artists

It’s a Friday evening in April, and the main gallery of the Jamestown Arts Center is packed for its spring exhibition opening. The four white walls are embellished with a range of artwork; the styles and aesthetics as varied as the mediums. The room is abuzz with conversations about the artwork, and the sense of togetherness is palpable. For this show in particular, the sense of community is strong — each participating artist is in some way connected to the center or to Conanicut Island, where all, at one time or another, have planted roots.

The JAC has seen a generation of artists grow up, many of them reflected in the gallery on this opening night. These artists might have attended workshops during school vacation or arts camp while on summer break, learning everything from clay handbuilding techniques to wheelwork, or the ways nature inspires prints and sculpture, or how to develop a sketchbook practice for drawing and dabbling.

Karen Conway, the JAC’s exhibition director for 12 years running, finds herself in the unique position of watching these young artists transform into not only adults, but seasoned professionals. Some have grown from first-time ceramic makers to full-time artists; others have been included in the center’s yearly members’ show.

As it celebrates its sweet sixteenth year, Conway envisioned a way to honor those who blossomed alongside the center as it evolved: “NEXT,” the springtime exhibition on view through June 13, is a
love letter from artists who grew up in Jamestown, as well as those who feel equally at home in the creative space of the arts center.

“Each artist brings a distinct vision, yet together they form a compelling portrait of a generation,” Conway says of the 17 artists, ranging in age from 19 to 39, featured in “NEXT.”

A family legacy continues

Caia Diepenbrock hails from a family of artists. Her father, Peter Diepenbrock, is an award-winning contemporary sculptor whose works have been shown in national museums and fine arts galleries. Her mother, Didi Suydam, is a nationally recognized jewelry designer, decorated photographer, and former chair of the Jamestown Arts Center board.

When the young Diepenbrock chose to volunteer at the center during high school, she had a lot to measure up to as the child of successful artists. Luckily, all Conway needed was someone to work at the front desk at the time.

During her time as a volunteer, Diepenbrock witnessed artists and artwork drift in and out of the center; she watched as exhibitions were curated with love, hung with care, and broken down with pride in orderly succession.

“Having a presence of art and knowing that there’s a community that’s keeping it alive in Jamestown has always been important to me,” she says. “Before [the center], there wasn’t much of an art community.”

Diepenbrock became a part of the island’s artistic community; she saw her work sold in holiday markets and displayed in members’ shows. She packed her bags to study studio art at Bard College in Hudson, N.Y., nestling her experiences at the JAC among her belongings.

The art installation she created as her senior thesis led to a set design career, first in Los Angeles, then in New York. Her work as a design producer on the television show Queer Eye earned her an Emmy certificate in 2023, when the show was named “Outstanding Reality TV Program” and awarded an Emmy.

“NEXT” includes three Diepenbrock prints she created using a photolithography technique she describes as putting a digital image on a plate that can be rolled through a press. The images used for the project are rooted in photos she took around New York City, where she now resides. The exhibit marks the first time she, as a professional, has displayed her work at the Jamestown Arts Center.

“I feel like I’ve gone out and grown a lot both as an artist and professional,” says Diepenbrock, now 32. “Being able to come back and see the center continue developing throughout all this time is wonderful. It feels like a homecoming, but in a way, we’ve both grown.”

The 3D printing trailblazer

If you’re looking for Teddy Trocki-Ryba, chances are you’ll find him strolling along the streets of Jamestown or relishing in the beauty of its local parks.

Before “NEXT,” Trocki-Ryba’s work had spent plenty of time adorning the art center’s exhibit space. The artist was the “Best in Show” winner in a 2018 members’ show, which led to a solo exhibition the following year called “Virtual Memory.”

Trocki-Ryba’s genre of choice may seem like something from another world; his specialty is shooting video footage and transforming it into 3D-printed sculpture. He is exhibiting three unique pieces of
work in “NEXT”: recreations of a train derailment in New Palestine, Ohio; Wuhan, China during the coronavirus era; and a hauntingly peaceful birds-eye view of Little St. James — referred to today as “Epstein’s Island.”

The controversial nature of his source material is the reason he depicts it; Trocki-Ryba says he hopes to start conversations by serving hot topics at the table. His skills have landed him a job assisting with 3D scanning services remotely. Before his venture into the land of 3D, Trocki-Ryba enjoyed drawing and ceramics in high school. Art was always his favorite class, and he was happy to have another artistic outlet when he had the opportunity to volunteer at the JAC.

“Being able to bring [art] into my daily life and make it a serious artistic practice was critical,” he says. He spent his volunteer hours in the ceramics classroom helping with shop preparation. The experience helped him secure two studio assistant jobs.

At 31, Trocki-Ryba says he understands how rare it is to have so many artistic opportunities at a young age.

“Being able to have an artistic resume that involves so many shows and opportunities here makes me feel so fortunate to be involved,” he says. “It’s a very special space. I don’t think I would be here this long after college were it not for the art center.”

From printmaker to art director

When Casey Weibust graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2010, the JAC had just opened its doors. She had studied printmaking and was looking for a job, so she decided to see if the new art center had any need for someone with her own mini printing press. The executive director at the time saw the potential, and Weibust’s printmaking classes began.

About four years later, Kim Pinksaw, the founder of Out of the Box Studio & Gallery, along with Lisa Rafferty, the executive director of what would become Looking Upwards, took Weibust’s printmaking class and recruited her for a position. Now 38-years-old, she is the creative arts director of Out of the Box,
located around the corner from the JAC.

“Jamestown Arts Center has always been a great network connection,” Weibust recalls. “One thing leads you to the next. Being an artist and finding a career in the arts, you really have to surround yourself with other artists and enthusiasts to grow.”

She still considers the JAC a home away from home and continues to teach printmaking classes there. (Just this spring she taught Experiential Printmaking II.) Weibust is the center’s most veteran employee, with a resume that includes everything from bartending to managing events.

After all these years, “NEXT” is her first official inclusion in one of the center’s exhibitions. Her four prints on view offer a much darker vision than some of her peers; one of the works, Macbeth Witches, is formed of two haunting prints in one frame depicting a triage of faceless, ghoulish figures in varying shades of greige.

While Weibust has seen change ebb and flow, some things at the JAC have stayed the same. “The heart has always been here,” she says. “What’s always been present at Jamestown Arts Center, through staffing changes and programming shifts, is that it’s always a hub of community. There’s a feeling of meeting acquaintances that later become colleagues, friends, or family who are a part of your life eternally.”

What comes “NEXT”

Featuring 17 artists and upwards of 12 artistic mediums, the “NEXT” exhibit is a capsule of those who either grew up in Jamestown or spent a meaningful period of their lives on Conanicut Island. In many ways, the group exhibition honors a new generation of Jamestown’s creative voices and invites the next one to share the sense of togetherness felt by those on display.

“Jamestown Arts Center is an incredible resource for the younger generation of artists,” Conway says. “‘NEXT’ reveals how Jamestown continues to inspire, inform, and resonate within the work of those who carry its influence beyond the island.”

You can catch “NEXT” on display at the Jamestown Arts Center, 18 Valley St., Jamestown, until June 13, 2026. For more information, visit jamestownartcenter.org.