TheaterWorks Hartford, under the direction of Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero and Managing Director Jeff Griffin, is excited to welcome Peter Albano as the new curator of the gallery for the theater’s upcoming 2025-2026 season. 

In this new role, Albano will oversee all gallery programming at TheaterWorks Hartford, curating exhibitions that complement the theater’s productions throughout the 25/26 season. Albano brings a unique curatorial vision and a deep commitment to elevating contemporary visual art within the Greater Hartford community.

“I’m really looking forward to curating in the TheaterWorks gallery this year because I see that space as a kind of microcosm of Hartford itself: small, beautiful, and often under-recognized. That quality really resonates with me,” says Peter Albano about the position. 

“For me, the arts are fundamentally about sharing, and curating is no different. I’m excited to share the incredible regional artwork and artists I encounter with the TheaterWorks’ audience, and in turn give those artists a platform where their voices can reach a wider community. This area of Connecticut doesn’t have as many exhibition opportunities as larger urban areas, so I see this gallery as an important and viable option for artists in the region. Being able to connect them with an institution as well-established and respected as TheaterWorks feels like a meaningful way to strengthen both the local arts community and the cultural life of the city." 

Peter Albano’s curatorial experience is expected to further position TheaterWorks Hartford as a multidisciplinary institution, integrating visual and performing arts in innovative ways throughout the organization’s 40th anniversary. 

About Peter Albano:

Peter Albano is a Hartford based artist, curator, and gallerist. After receiving his BFA, Albano spent 18 months spelunking Hartford’s underground Park River and producing documentative/interpretive work mapping the riverway, under a project titled The Hog River Revival. Later, Albano became a resident muralist/sculpture artist at Wild Bill’s Nostalgia in Middletown, CT. In 2021, Albano founded The Arts Industry and Loading Dock Gallery in West Hartford, eventually becoming the Visual Arts Manager at Real Art Ways in Hartford. Albano is a recipient of a 2014 Hartford Arts Catalyze Placemaking Grant, 2016 Regional Initiative Grant from the Shoreline Arts Alliance, and 2023 Artist Fellowship Grant from the city of Hartford.