Hartford-based Andre Rochester wears many hats. He’s a father and husband. He’s a painter. He curates UCONN’s Celeste LeWitt Gallery and he’s the program manager at The 224 EcoSpace, a role that oversees two exhibit spaces and the Artists of Color Accelerate. 

That latter initiative trains fellows from diverse arts – visual, dance, spoken word, culinary – in pitching, running a business, building a brand, and other essentials for modern artists, including one-on-one time with leaders from places like the Wadsworth.

Here the multi-hyphenate Rochester shares his thoughts on why Hartfordites should be proud of our town, how art brings him joy, and essential advice for artists looking to make it.

CELEBRATE HARTFORD… 

“Hartford very much has its own identity, and I think that where Hartford trips up is not leaning into that identity and showing its confidence in who it is. Hartford is a historic place. There’s a lot that has come out of Hartford – important cultural institutions, our role in American history – Hartford has quite a story to tell. How we tell that story is something I don’t think folks have always agreed on.

…THE RIGHT WAY 

“We’re the capital city of our state. We have to stand out. We shouldn’t try to be West Hartford. We shouldn’t try to be anywhere else but Hartford, right? As cool as it is to have slogans like ‘Hartford Has It,’ what happens when you show up as Hartford in different spaces? Are you representing it right?

ARTISTS’ BIGGEST MISTAKE

“One of the biggest mistakes that we make as artists is promoting our exhibits to other artists. You have to find the collectors and the patrons who might buy your stuff. You grab the attention of buyers.”

HOW HE FOUND HIS JOY

“Art has been my path to joy. It gives me a sense of purpose. It went from a thing that, you know, a 7-year-old is doing to be occupied, to a thing that got me through the toughest time of my life. It has shown me that I have some importance, that I’m here for a reason and that I have the power to affect people in a positive way.”

WHAT STOPPED HIM COLD

“I stepped into this gallery at MoMA and there was Picasso’s Girl in a Mirror. This thing was so colorful and well preserved, it looked like it was painted the day before – and it stopped me in my tracks. That’s that pause I aspire to: This thing that is just beautiful and forces you to look at it. You may not know why, you may not think much of it, but you saw it; you engaged it; you felt something.”