View the New Canaan Community Canvas

For a glimpse of the past and a look at the present, residents are encouraged to visit the Community Canvas that was unveiled Saturday on the lawn of the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society.

The four sections of the Community Canvas include the photos of about 300 New Canaan families who responded to requests for pictures from the Museum & Historical Society. Some historic photos are also included among the present-day pictures. The project initially got underway in June 2019, and photos were collected until January of this year.

Like most everything else, the project was sidelined for several months by the COVID-19 outbreak before being revived when the Museum & Historical Society deemed it was safe for people to be outside and view the display. The Community Canvas was created by designer Gina Federico of Pound Ridge, N.Y.

Museum & Historical Society Executive Director Nancy Geary said she hopes the project gains momentum now that the Community Canvas is on display. Initially, there was a hope that as many as 5,000 of the more than 7,500 New Canaan families would submit photos for the project, and the canvas would be significantly larger.

Moving forward, Geary said new sections will be added to the canvas as the Museum & Historical Society collects more photos from local families. Geary said she’d like to see the canvas snake all across the lawn.

“These are snapshots in time. This should be fun,” Geary said. “This is your community, come out, find yourself, and find your friends.”

Geary said photos will continue to be collected. Residents can submit photos at info@nchistory.org, or for more information, call Geary at 203.966.1776, ext. 2 or email ngeary@nchistory.org.