05/17/2026
New art in The World's Smallest Gallery
Drawn Together
Introduction by Sandra Enos:
In spring semester 2026, members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at URI joined Honors students in Drawn Together: Intergenerational Exchange through Poetry, Letters and Doodling. The class taught by Professor Karen de Bruin, PhD. and Sandra Enos, PhD. was designed around intergenerational cultural exchange, offering OLLI members an opportunity to share their favorite poems (listed below) with Honors students who, in turn, shared their favorite music with the OLLI members. The class met over the course of the semester exchanging conversation and letters over issues surfaced by the poems – immigration, the American Dream, the place of nature in our lives, surviving in chaotic times and more. The students transcribed these poems producing over 200 illustrations. Curated by John Kotula, this exhibit showcases some of the students’ and OLLI members’ favorite work. Names of class members are as follows:
OLLI Members. Betty Bogutt. Jack Cottle. Aleka Chase. Amy Gaddes. Debbe Hayes. John Kotula. Larry Mandel. Judy Mandel. Maureen Mulvaney. Lyn Primavera.
Honors 147 Students. Sarah Beule. Marinna Chhoun. Maya Crawford. Anxhelika Deda. Amanda Feldman. Donnie Gardner. Lokelani Gayton. Erin Hanrahan. Jackson Irving. Mike Marino. Ava Maroney. Owen Masse. Abigail Oxley. Marguerite Oxley. Bradley Palmer. Justyne Paolino. Dillon Robidoux. Ambar Rodriguez. Sofia Rodriguez. Kara Rondano. Kaliegh Stenstrom.
Poems selected by OLLI Members. Expect Nothing (Alice Walker), Dutch Interior (May Sarton), The World is Too Much with Us (William Wordsworth), On the Pulse of Morning (Maya Angelyou) The Earth is a Satellite of the Moon (Leonel Rugama), Quarantine (Eevan Boland), America (Paul Simon), Listen to the Mustn’ts (Shel Silverstein), Apostrophe to the Ocean (Lord Byron), Try to Praise the Mutilated World (Adam Zagajeski) and One Today (Richard Blanco).
Curator's statement:
I was a participant in Drawn Together and was quite moved, informed, and inspired by the experience. It is exciting to present some of the work and process to the community through this exhibition. I invite you to pause your bike ride or stroll and spend some time with these poems and the illustrated transcriptions they inspired. I've included some of the poetry here and will post some more over the course of the show.