Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) is proud to present “Louder Than Words: David Wiesner’s Art of Visual Storytelling,” an exhibit highlighting the extraordinary work of three-time Caldecott Medalist David Wiesner.

The exhibit will feature the author/illustrator’s sketches, dummy books, storyboards, and paintings from five of his projects, including “Flotsam” (2006), “Art & Max” (2010), “Mr. Wuffles!” (2013), “Fish Girl” (2017), and “Robobaby” (2020), along with the web app “Spot” (2015).  Process pieces and final artwork on display will provide insight into Wiesner’s creative process, showing how he brings stories to life through images.

The exhibit will be on display from Oct. 22 to Nov. 16 at the Montco Cultural Center Fine Arts Center Gallery, located at MCCC’s Blue Bell Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. A special meet-the-artist reception will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 22, from 5 to 7 p.m., where visitors will have the opportunity to meet Wiesner and learn about his visual storytelling techniques.

Both the exhibit and reception are free and open to the community.

As a child growing up in suburban New Jersey, David Wiesner re-created his world daily in his imagination. A swamp, a cemetery and a landfill bound the outskirts of his neighborhood, exotic lands that became anything from a faraway planet to a prehistoric jungle. When the everyday play stopped, he would follow his imagination into the pages of books, wandering among the dinosaurs of Charles Knight, the surreal landscapes of Salvador Dali and the fantastic universes of Jack Kirby. The images before him generated a love of detail, an admiration for the creative process, and a desire to tell stories with the pictures he himself was drawing.

Wiesner has been awarded the Caldecott Medal three times – for “Tuesday,” “The Three Pigs,” and “Flotsam.” Three other books of his, “Sector 7,” “Free Fall,” and “Mr. Wuffles!” were named Caldecott Honor Books. Wiesner was the United States nominee, and a finalist, for the 2008 Han Christian Andersen Award, the highest international recognition for creators of children’s books. Recently, he has taught at The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art.

The Montco Cultural Center’s art galleries, located in the Fine Arts Center in Blue Bell and North Hall in Pottstown,  serve as spaces to educate and inspire students and the community. They are cultural hubs where artists and art enthusiasts can network and learn from one another.

Throughout the year, MCCC hosts a variety of exhibitions featuring professional artists and artwork in an array of genres. MCCC offers lectures, programs, and activities related to each exhibition, so visitors can further enjoy and engage with the arts. All exhibitions, receptions and activities are free and open to the community.

The galleries also are places where students, faculty and alumni can display and share their artwork. MCCC hosts annual alumni and student exhibitions that highlight the quality of the Fine Arts program.

The Fine Arts Center Gallery in Blue Bell is open Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday. It is closed Sundays.

The North Hall Gallery in Pottstown is open Monday -Thursday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is closed Saturday and Sunday.

The galleries will be closed on holidays. 

For more information about the upcoming fine arts season of exhibitions, contact Patrick Rodgers, manager of the Montco Cultural Center, at prodgers@mc3.edu.