WESTPORT — A new exhibition highlighting the intersection between visual art and African American musical traditions will open this weekend at MoCA\CT.

Art, Jazz + the Blues will debut on Thursday, Feb. 26th. An opening reception will run from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., with live music from Mark Naftalin. The exhibition will be on view through June 7th.

A central feature of the exhibition is Giants of Blues, a series of group portraits of blues and folk legends by Eric von Schmidt. A folk musician and painter, von Schmidt’s portraits focus on the musicians who influenced his own rise as a major figure in the folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s.

The exhibition also includes more than 50 additional works depicting musicians, musical themes, or the connection between visual and musical forms. These artworks are drawn from a broad range of sources, including the Westport Public Art Collections. The exhibit also includes important loans from ACA Galleries, The Brubeck Collection at Wilton Library, the Fairfield University Art Museum, the Housatonic Museum of Art, and contributions from artists and private collections.

In addition, the exhibition will celebrate Westport’s role as a community that has attracted notable artists and musicians, highlighting individuals including Ann Chernow, Eric Chiang, James Daugherty, Stevan Dohanos, Frances Gershwin Godowsky, Barbara Rothenberg, Larry Silver, and Tracy Sugarman.

MoCA\CT has scheduled several programs and events to accompany the exhibition, including a film screening, curators’ talk, concerts, workshops, and panel discussions. These events run on certain dates between Saturday, Feb. 28th and April 12th, with additional programming through June to be announced soon.

Art, Jazz + the Blues was curated by Anne Boberski, Ive Covaci, and the WestPAC Committee. For more information, visit mocact.org.