Activist Dawn Cook Joins ‘The Committee’ At ArtSpace

Dawn Cook has been an activist her whole life, fighting for progressive causes, getting arrested a few times for civil disobedience. Her dedication to social justice can be seen in her artwork, too. Issues dear to her heart — the plight of the homeless, etc. — become the subjects of her mixed-media assemblages.

Even when she’s not making art about political issues, a mood of gloom often creeps in. “When I was younger, I was really naive and optimistic,” she said. “But when you know the state of the world and the things that are going on, it can be really sad.”

A charcoal-and-pastel drawing titled “Mood Indigo” reflects this, a collection of contemplative faces in dark grayish-blue. “Mood Indigo” is one of the pieces Cook will exhibit at a show at ArtSpace in Hartford. Cook is the newest member of the art collaborative called The Committee. Other members are Joseph Gorneault, Lynn Truby, Leonard Bullaro, Holly Spencer, Gabrielle Zane and H.L. Groen.

Cook lives in Manchester and works for the town’s public schools as a data specialist in the special education division. In addition to making art, she also performs music as Electric Dawn.

Cook’s home is full of her artworks, which she creates with objects others think of as trash: pizza boxes, bits of old mirrors, an old drill bit, a chunk of potato.

“In America the Other Day” is a drawing of homeless families on an appropriately raggedy chunk of cardboard. Another artwork, using a print made from that potato, takes on the issue of mass incarceration. Another artwork states “greed kills.”

She can be lighthearted, too. “Ode to Art Blakey” is a piece created in acrylic, on a chunk of drywall left over from home improvements.

THE COMMITTEE will open a show at ArtSpace, 555 Asylum Ave. in Hartford, on Saturday, Oct. 8, with a reception from 6 to 10 p.m. and close on Oct. 29, with another reception from 6 to 10 p.m. that will double as a Halloween party.