In an effort to learn more about what it’s like to live in the New London community, The College Voice met up with Art History Professor Karen Gonzalez Rice. She was asked about the people who call New London home, undiscovered and worthwhile restaurants and what the art scene is like in our beloved small city. Not only is the city notable for its history as a whaling port, but today it is also remarkable for the numerous art museums, galleries, theaters and concert spaces tucked away throughout the city. Connecticut College students tend not to visit many of these cultural hot spots, so be sure to take advantage of them during your years here.
The College Voice: How do you like living in New London, and where do you live?
Karen Gonzalez Rice: I live right by the Ocean Pizza. I really like the area. It’s more urban than further-out parts of the city, so it’s a lot of multi-family dwellings and a lot of diversity, which I really like.
TCV: What are some things you do for fun in New London?
KGR: We have a greyhound, so I have gotten really knowledgeable of all the places to bring dogs in the area. I know all the different parks and which are better in the summer or which are better in the winter. Haley Farms is really great for running and dogs, as long as you don’t mind dogs. Waterford Beach is also a great place to walk in the winter.
TCV: Are there any really good restaurants that are off the radar?
KGR: I really like Neon Chicken. It’s this little hole-in-the-wall place on Pequot. It’s great. It’s a really simple diner, well, more like a cafeteria, and they have delicious chicken. That’s pretty much all it is, it’s just chicken with really simple sides. I spend a lot of time at Bean and Leaf. I do a lot of writing there. I really like their almond lattes with almond milk. I had this really nice moment on Saturday when I went to David Dorfman’s dance show and, while I was there, first of all, I saw lots of students and faculty, but I also recognized a lot of people from the New London community. I saw a lot of people who were very often sitting at the next table over at Bean and Leaf or I noticed a woman who is a resident at the Hygienic Art Center. It was really nice to feel like I recognize people from the community, not just the College.
TCV: That leads into my next question: how do you think the art scene at Conn and New London intermix?
KGR: That’s a good question. I think a lot of that happens at the Lyman Allyn because local people go there whereas they wouldn’t come up to see a student show—unfortunately, because they should. The Lyman Allyn pitches a lot of their programs to the community, and a lot of community members go, but also a lot of students go there quite a bit, too, so I think there is some nice mingling there.
At the Hygienic Art Center, there are residencies for local artists to live in the building. They have concerts in the summers in the garden next to it. In the building they have artists living there and they give them shows in their gallery. A friend of mine, named Travis, has his show up right now, it’s called “The Ant1-Her0 Project” and it’s up now. It’s really nice. I went to that opening.
TCV: Could you tell me more about the local art scene in New London?
KGR: I think it’s really great that we have such a rich art scene in New London. There is a Conn alum who started and runs the Pigeon Hole gallery which is a small gallery in New London. There are also some really fun things on the kitsch end of the spectrum. There is this place that just opened called the Drunken Palatte where you go and the woman who runs it (it’s kind of a Saturday night thing, BYOB) and she will teach you how to paint a particular scene. So there will be thirty people in the room, the night that I went it was all Coasties and then a couple of friends and I, and we were all painting a ghost ship. It was really ridiculous and my painting is so ugly, but it was really fun. Everyone paints the same scene and the instructor tells you what to do. I highly recommend it for students; it would be cool to organize a group and go.
TCV: Do you see a lot of students participating in the art community in New London?
KGR: No… not really. I have never seen a student at a Hygienic opening, and I go to those pretty frequently. I would love to see more students there, and in my future classes I plan to incorporate some trips down there and interviews with those artists, it is just difficult in terms of transportation. There is not an easy way to get students from here to there, and so I can understand why there are not a lot of students attending these events. Regular transportation would be really nice in getting students to participate more.
TCV: Since you are kind of in the middle between Conn and New London, do you sense any tension or unease from the New London residents toward the Conn community?
KGR: I’ve never heard anything negative. When I say that I teach at Conn College, I’ve never had a negative response, in fact people usually ask questions about the student body, or they will mention things like the greenery. My landlord always picks up the greenery. It happens during the holidays: the Arboretum prunes the trees and then they leave a pile of greenery somewhere on campus so community members know that they can come on campus and take it back home. My landlords are always asking me if the greenery is out, they’ve lived here their whole lives. It’s a very practical thing and it’s a good way of getting the community on campus.
