Occupation: Director Visual Arts Westport Arts Center, independent curator /art advisor and photojournalist
How long have you lived/worked in Westport? As an expat from New Zealand, I have lived, raised two sons, and worked 24 years, almost half my life in the Westport /Weston area.
Favorite Place in Westport: So many favorite places -- sailing for an hour at the end of the day at Longshore or watching the sun set at Compo Beach. Also taking pictures of the sun setting and of people watching the sun set or the moon rise!
Favorite restaurant in Westport? Tough question. So many great restaurants -- Le Farm, The Boat House, River House, Matsu Sushi, Oscar’s, Little Kitchen, Splash. But for touching my heart to my belly’s core, it’s a tie is between Gold’s Deli -beautiful thinly sliced Nova on a poppy seed bagel and The Dressing Room on a Friday night ---listening to Lissie Newman singing while enjoying a glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with a delicious slider and bumping into friends.
Why Westport? There’s a true sense of community here. There are many marvelous people who are intensely passionate about life. They are fully engaged with what’s happening globally and endeavor to make a difference starting right here in their own backyards. Examples are everywhere -- creating a community garden, the Monday evening readings at the Westport Country Playhouse, the Malloy lectures at the library, friends hosting fundraisers at their home, or the Staples High school kids taking photos of dogs in a pound in Bridgeport . They are all making a difference.
And naturally, I love everything that happens at the Westport Arts Center; exhibitions, gallery openings, kids classes, storytelling, jazzjams, film screenings, and the artCafe (every Friday morning, 9:30-10:30 a.m) - freshly baked berry muffins and coffee overlooking the Saugatuck river and reviewing the art world with a great group of Westporters passionate about the arts and each other.
