The Newport Art Museum will open a new exhibition this spring that examines the role of play and imagination across a lifetime.
Play / Pretend opens May 7, 2026, with a free public reception from 5 to 7 p.m. The exhibition runs through Jan. 31, 2027.
“Play is how people first learn to engage with the world around them,” said Danielle Ogden, artistic director of the Newport Art Museum. “It remains a powerful tool for experimentation and possibility.”
The exhibition features 19th- and 20th-century historic dolls, automata and miniature environments from the collection of Shelley Schorsch, alongside works by seven contemporary artists and pieces from the museum’s permanent collection.
Among the featured artists is Rhode Island-based Tom Deininger, whose assemblages constructed from found and discarded materials appear strikingly realistic from a distance but dissolve into fragments of toys and debris up close. Also featured are Gerry Perrino, former head of studio art at Salve Regina University; Eric Telfort, dean of fine arts at Rhode Island School of Design; and Christina Pell, a seventh-generation Rhode Island artist and RISD graduate.
Newport-based artist Sam Heydt will present a pop-up installation in the museum shop, transforming the retail space into an immersive environment.
The Newport Art Museum is located at 76 Bellevue Ave. For more information, visit newportartmuseum.org or call (401) 848-8200.