Puzzle piece art decorates downtown Norwich windows in symbol of unity
Mar. 31—NORWICH — Puzzle pieces are colorful, and when people work together, the pieces can be interlocked to form a beautiful picture.
Those were the images and themes Norwich Free Academy students wanted to convey with their Project Outreach program, "We're All a Piece of Norwich," a community art project with students and staff in 11 schools and members of more than 30 community organizations participating. People from age 4 to 80 created colorful puzzle pieces cut out from sheets of paper.
In total, 687 participants submitted completed puzzle pieces to NFA Project Outreach student coordinators Ella Bean, a 10th grader from Preston, and Annika Savage, a senior from Voluntown.
On Wednesday, the two students and Jodi Savage, NFA staff coordinator for Project Outreach brought bags and folders full of pieces of artwork to the Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce. Joined by chamber Executive Director Angela Adams and Norwich police Officer Ryan O'Connell, they hit the downtown businesses asking permission to hang several pieces in each window for the month of April.
"Our plan is to create giant murals of puzzle pieces that members of our community have made and display them in the windows downtown as part of First Friday in April and throughout the month," the students wrote to business owners. "Each person that lives, works, or goes to school in Norwich was eligible to join our project. We want to cover downtown in puzzle pieces that represent the people, who live, work or go to school here and/or why they love Norwich."
The students are inviting the puzzle piece artists, Norwich residents and visitors to come downtown, find their art piece, eat in a downtown restaurant or shop in the stores.
"It shows the community we're all still united during the time of the (coronavirus) pandemic when everyone is struggling to find anything that is normal," Annika Savage said. "So, to show that we're all still united and can come together is important to people."
Adams said the timing is perfect, as the chamber hopes to revive the traditional First Friday art-themed programming in downtown Norwich. No events are planned for this Friday, but the students' project to bring families and visitors to the urban center to find their puzzle pieces fits the bill.
With the gradual reopening of the state's economy, with more restaurants preparing for outdoor dining and the state allowing larger gatherings, Adams said the chamber hopes to attract more people downtown. She is considering a flower theme for May First Friday.
Adams picked several puzzle pieces for the chamber office windows to give the students a start before they headed to La Stella's Restaurant, Kevin Wickless Law office, the Harp & Dragon Irish Pub and other businesses.
Wickless met the students in his lobby. "I read all about this project," he said, referring to the letter the NFA students sent to downtown businesses. His son, Jackson, a sixth grader at St. Patrick Cathedral School, drew a puzzle piece. Not all students signed their work, but Jodi Savage was able to flip through the piles and find several pieces from St. Patrick school to hang in the law office window, along with a drawing from a Rotary member to hang near his large Rotary Club symbol.
"You guys are awesome," Wickless said to the students. "It's cool you're doing that, because it's so hard to do anything these days."
Designs on the puzzle pieces varied as much as the students. Bean said students were encouraged to show themselves, their cultures, favorite things about Norwich, their schools and their hobbies. The water fountain at Mohegan Park was one favorite spot. School mascots — including many depictions of the NFA Wildcat — decorate some pieces. Scribbles fit together with carefully drawn and colored roses, stars and peace signs interlock with sports balls and fencing foils made of toothpicks.
Some have whimsical messages: "I like to play with my roller skates. I like to listen to music," one student wrote on a puzzle piece decorated with stars and flowers.
Norwich resident Jeremy Booty, 65, had a thank-you message for the longstanding local health agency, United Community and Family Services. "1961. When I was five, I stood in line here for the polio vaccine," Booty wrote with a drawing of the UCFS building on the Norwichtown Green. "2021. When I was sixty-five, I stood in line here for the COVID vaccine. Two plagues, one place. UCFS."
