Bleacher/Everard, Rockefeller, Donnett At Mattatuck Museum

It’s an embarrassment of riches at the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury: several installations, all of them interesting in their own way.

“Alone in My Four-Cornered Room” is a display of mixed-media works by Nathaniel Donnett of Texas, whose themes revolve around African-American male identity. On canvases made of paper lunch bags. Donnett uses black garbage bags to create his figures. The two colors are a symbolic reference to “colorism,” discrimination based on lightness or darkness of skin tone. Education is seen as a path out of limited opportunity. On view until Jan. 4.

“A Park Bench View” is a collection of 10 screens showing Steven Rockefeller’s “fixed-frame video,” long videos in which cameras never move, but things move in front of them, ever-so-slightly: ponds, gardens, beaches, fields, flowers, the Waterbury town green. The videos are meant to instill in the viewer the desire to just sit and concentrate on one thing for a long time. Comfy seating is provided. On view until Jan. 4.

“Outtakes: bleacher and everard photography” is a show of celebrity photographs by the highly regarded husband-and-wife portrait team of Katie Bleacher and Dean Everard, who live in Bethlehem, Conn. Enhancing the selection of photographs is a video showing the process of creating them. The photos of John Cho, Greg Kinnear and especially Zoe Saldana are standouts in their unique artistic approach. On view until Jan. 25.

“Palace Theater: A Staged Reflection 1922-2014” tells the story of the performance space on Main Street in Waterbury, from its auspicious beginning in 1922 to its decline in the late ’80s and its renaissance in 2004. Many highlights and lowlights of the Palace’s history are outlined. Who knew that the first time Queen sang “Bohemian Rhapsody” in North America, it was at the Palace? After seeing the exhibit, organized by archivist Michael Dooling, visitors will want to sign up for a tour of the Palace to see it for themselves. On view until Feb. 1.

MATTATUCK MUSEUM is at 144 West Main St. in Waterbury. mattatuckmuseum.org.