Jackie Welsh

Jackie Welsh

Jackie Welsh has called South Bend home for more than thirty years. She retired in 2010 from the Snite Museum of Art after 10 years as curator of education, public programs. Prior to joining the Snite, she was gallery manager for the Art Market at the South Bend Museum of Art in the 1990s, a part time job which began her art museum career. Welsh met almost every artist in town through the Art Market. That part time job transitioned to museum education studies and training another group of volunteers, the museum docents, with the title curator of education. Welsh initiated many innovative programs during her career and volunteered with Perley Arts Academy and the Notre Dame Center for Arts and Culture and the Scholastic Art Awards following retirement. She continues her interest in folk art and art from countries outside the US, especially Mexico. She graduated 50 years ago with a B.A. in Psychology from Winthrop College “a teaching College for women,” located in Rock Hill, S.C. While at Winthrop, she took every class offered by the art department. It was the only classroom that allowed students to wear jeans instead of a skirt. She also met her husband, Tim, a 23 year old English teacher fresh from the University of Virginia, hired to teach freshmen English. They have been married 51 years. They have two married sons, John, who teaches at Wake Forest University in North Carolina and Tim who teaches at Loyola University in New Orleans. Welsh continues to paint and exhibit her work locally . She meets with other artists to talk about art and travels the world when she can. The artworks in this exhibition were inspired by a trip to Cuba in May 2016.

Artist Statement

Memories of Old Havana
Jackie Welsh
Artist’s Statement
The Memories of Old Havana monotypes were created in 2018 under the brilliant and gentle guidance of master printer, Jill Lerner. I was very fortunate to collaborate with Jill in the Segura Arts Studio, part of the Notre Dame Center for Arts and Culture. The Notre Dame Center for Arts and Culture was housed in the former Children’s Dispensary in the West Washington National Historic District from 2013 – 2018. The building was transformed through grants and donations from a number of arts patrons and community partners, under the direction of Dr. Gilberto Cardenas. In addition to arts and education programming, NDCAC featured a gallery space called The Crossroads Gallery. Dr. Cardenas brought acclaimed teacher and master printer Joseph Segura to South Bend to recreate his print studio, Segura Press, which attracted nationally and internationally recognized artists. The Segura print studio in South Bend existed from 2013 – 2018. Segura and staff brought contemporary artists to South Bend to create prints and to give talks for the community. These exceptional artists enriched the lives of everyone who came into contact with them.
The opportunity to make prints on a press in our community is a rare experience for me (and others) because of the lack of access to a press and guidance of a master printer. I am grateful to Jill and others for this experience.
Memories of Old Havana, the monotypes, photographs and paintings are the result of a whirlwind trip to Cuba with my travel companion, Maribel Rodriguez in May 2017. I cannot travel to Spanish speaking countries without her. She is also a good companion and appreciates a Mojito as much as I do. From the moment we landed at the airport in Havana, every day was a new experience in an unforgettable city. Beauty was everywhere: sunny days, lush green trees, colorful flowers, welcoming, friendly Cubans, fabulous coffee. Yes, there was music and dancing to be seen and heard in the areas frequented by tourists and near the government run hotels.. There was also evidence everywhere of poverty, scarcity, buildings and streets crumbling due to neglect. Dogs wandering, looking for scraps, beggars with hands outstretched. In the US we are accustomed to finding everything we need, more than we need, under normal circumstances. Not the case in Havana. What we consider the bare necessities are not available to everyday Cubans. The lessons of Co-Vid 19 show us what many people around the globe suffer every day with lack of supplies, scarce food and other resources.
We were allowed to travel when the Obama relaxation of travel restrictions were in place. Our official reason for travel was to experience the art and culture of the Cuban people (education). Visits to artist’s studios were arranged ahead of time.