The 53rd Westport Fine Arts Festival
Jury and Judges Panel
The 2026 Westport Fine Arts Festival jury panel consists of:
James Brunelle, Instructor Director of Southington Community Cultural Arts
David E. Gordon, Fine Art Painter, and Best in Show winner 2023
Tracy Hambley, Mixed Media Artist, and Award of Excellence winner 2024
John Harris, Fine Art Painter, and Award of Excellence winner
JURY PROCESS
The Westport Fine Arts Festival used the Zapplication platform to jury the annual event. In 2025, 261 artists competed for 167 coveted spaces in 14 categories, making this one of the largest festivals over the past five years. The artists come from 19 states: 32 from Connecticut and seven from our hometown of Westport. We are delighted to welcome 42 artists making their festival debuts. Artists submitted images of their work, which were scored on a scale of 1 to 5. Scores were then tabulated for each artist. The highest scores in each media category were invited to participate in this prestigious show. Congratulations to the 2025 artists who made the show!
The 2026 Westport Fine Arts Festival judges panel consists of:
Kathleen (Kathie) Bennewitz, Executive Director of Edward Hopper House Museum and Study Center, Nyack, NY
Kathie has extensive experience with Connecticut museums and nonprofits.
Over her career, she has curated exhibits on American art and artists in Connecticut at the Lockwood-Matthews Mansion Museum, the Norwalk Historical Society, the Westport Historical Society, the Westport Library, and as Town of Westport Curator with the Westport Public Art Collections.
Kathie earned degrees in art history from Princeton University and the University of Delaware.
Miggs Burroughs, Co-Founder of the Artists Collective of Westport, Westport, CT
Miggs is a graphic artist and lifelong Westport resident whose award-winning artwork can be seen throughout Westport and beyond.
Miggs has designed the town flag, public schools’ logo, Levitt Pavilion logo, and Tunnel Vision, among other projects, in Westport. The local works are among many other creations, including a U.S. postage stamp, TIME Magazine covers, the public access TV show “Miggs B on TV,” and a book of questions titled “What If?”
Burroughs graduated from Carnegie Mellon University and is a member of the Westport Arts Advisory, Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts Committees, and Artist in Residence at the Westport Library.
Sandra (Sandy) Pelletier, Principal & Owner of Sorelle Fine Art Gallery, Westport, CT
Sandy founded Sorelle Gallery in 2009 in Saratoga Springs, NY, with a vision for a tech-forward approach to art advisory and e-commerce. She expanded the gallery’s digital and physical footprint to multiple locations before consolidating in a 3,500 sq. ft. flagship space in downtown Westport, CT.
Over her career, Sandy has worked closely with over 55 artists, offering personalized art advisory services to private and corporate collectors in the U.S. and internationally. Additionally, she leads business workshops for artists and frequently speaks on entrepreneurship, art sales, and gallery innovation.
Sandy is a Connecticut native and earned art degrees from Southern Connecticut State University and Skidmore College.