ABOUT
What happens in our minds when we experience a piece of prose, art or music? How do our brains tell us a story? Is what we experience what the artist intended? And if it isn’t, how is it different? Is it better? Is it worse? Or is it just different? What happens when we take our response to what we’ve heard or read, and create something new from it?
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These questions are at the heart of VERSE/VISUAL.
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2025 marks the 7th year of VERSE/VISUAL! This project is a collaboration between Ipswich creatives, inspired by a series of visual essays done by the New York Times in 2017, that presents art and writings that result from the joining of creative forces. Creators submit a recent piece of their work, which is then given to a different accepted creator. They, in turn, create a new work responding to it. Collaborator's identities are not revealed until the opening reception of the project, allowing for unfiltered responses.
We are so excited to share this year's VERSE/VISUAL with you.
Photo: Detail from an image by
Jill Bemis, 2021 V/V Photographer
Meet the Verse/Visual 2025 Leadership Team
Cynthia August, Verse/Visual Founder & Director
Cynthia August is a commercial and fine art portrait photographer living and working in Ipswich. She is known for her magic realist portraits that are created in camera featuring costumes and props she makes herself. She writes, teaches and creates photography out of her studio in the Tyler Building. She is also the founder and current President of the Ipswich Art Association, Chair of the Ipswich Cultural Council, and a member of the North Shore Creative Collective. In 2023 she was selected for the Essex County Creative Foundation's ChangeMaker Program, a yearly cohort dedicated to advancing the creative potential of Essex County by building a strong arts and culture ecosystem.
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Kate Zelkowitz, Verse/Visual Producer & Exhibition Coordinator
Kate Zelkowitz is a senior at Suffolk University pursuing a B.S in Media and Film as a member of the College of Arts & Sciences Honors program. Previously, she studied at MCLA, where she served as the Vice President & Copy Editor for The Beacon, the Executive Producer of BWN, and hosted the weekly radio show "The Magpie" on WJJW, MCLA's college radio station. She is also a dance teacher and choreographer, with over ten years of dance training in jazz, modern, and ballet. When not out on assignment or in her "editing cave," Kate loves spending time with her two cats and watching baseball. She is also a former specialty espresso barista and makes a mean cup of coffee.​​
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The Ipswich Art Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the arts in Ipswich. Its purpose is to support, empower and advocate for all creative and performing arts and artists in Ipswich.
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