Ekphrasis 2026
Where Poetry Meets Art

Art in the Atrium First U presents an Invitational Exhibition with Works by 15 Artists and 15 Poets

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Opening Reception with Poetry Reading:

Thursday, January 22, 2026

Poetry Reading: 5:30 PM to 6:45 PM, Followed by reception 6:45 to 7.30 PM.

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View the Exhibition:

January 8 to March 6, 2006.

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About the Exhibition:

Ekphrasis – Where Poetry and Art Meet is an invitational exhibit conceived by artist and poet Diana Cole, whose book of poetry “Between Selves” was published in 2023. Diana has poems published in numerous poetry journals and is editor for The Crosswinds Poetry Journal. She’s also a prolific stained-glass artist, photographer, member of the First U choir and member of Art in the Atrium First U program. Her website is HERE

 

The Art in the Atrium curatorial team invited 15 artists to submit artwork, and Diana invited 15 poets to write poetry in response to the artwork.

 

Each poet was randomly assigned to a selected piece of artwork and given a month to compose a poem in response to the artwork. When assigning artwork to each poet, Diana explained that ekphrastic poetry was not a curatorial statement or what the artist might write about their own motivation.  She referred them to Mark Doty’s quote (below) and added “Whatever the image stirs in your own imagination and from your own life is valid.”

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What is Ekphrasis?

Ekphrasis, then, is a process of seeing and saying what is there in a work of art, and also of seeing and naming what we put there, how we attach meaning to as much as find meaning in these beautiful gestures, and how we discover ourselves in them. In the process, it becomes clear that no artwork is exhausted by a poet’s work, and we’re never really finished exploring an image, which goes on generating new meanings. You can’t get to the bottom, because there isn’t one — the image goes on offering itself to the eager eye.

 

—Mark Doty, poet, from Brisk Vacancies, An Introduction to Ekphrasis​​​

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