DANBURY — Photographer and educator Catherine Vanaria had a deceptively simple idea: to ask artists to respond to a prompt created by opening a fortune cookie. The resulting exhibition, “The Fortune Cookie Project,” will be presented at The Gallery at Still River Editions, 128 East Liberty Street in Danbury, July 11-September 25.

An opening reception is scheduled for Saturday, July 11, from 2 to 4 pm. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.

Vanaria says after years of collecting fortunes after each Chinese takeout meal, “I felt that one of these days the fortunes could be used for something, but was never sure what…"

In 2025, after she retired from being a professor of art at WCSU, she found her collection of fortunes as she was cleaning out her office, and took them back to her studio. She thought about using them as prompts for her own artwork.

“It occurred to me that this might be an interesting project if I included others to do the same, so in November the process of inviting friends, colleagues, and artists began,” she said. “Each person who agreed was given a prepackaged fortune cookie with the following instructions:

“Today, you have received your fortune cookie which includes a message inside. This message is your sole prompt. I am asking you to create a new piece of art that reinterprets, challenges, or literalizes the meaning of your fortune. The choice of medium is completely up to you.”

The works created by the artists were made in a variety of media and will be presented as archival digital prints that include the fortunes that inspired them. A full-color, printed exhibition catalog will be available for purchase, and there will be a free online version on the gallery’s website.

In addition to the New Fairfield-based Vanaria, the list of artists represented in “The Fortune Cookie Project” includes: Venkateshwer Acharya (Barcelona, Spain), Frances Ashforth (New Canaan and Ketchum, Idaho), Moira Barrett (New England), Katie Bassett (Bethel), Judith Black (Cambridge, Mass.), Karen Bonanno (Torrington), Nicole Bricker (Conn.), Jennie Carr (Ridgefield), Richard Cooke, and Shona Curtis (Litchfield County).

Also, Bruce Dunbar (South Salem, N.Y.), Alma Faham (Danbury), Jim Felice (Bethel), Joan Fitzsimmons (Hamden), Elisa Flynn (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Daisy Gesualdi (Conn.), Bill Gore (Conn.), Lys Guillorn (Shelton), David Haislip (Oxford), and Violet Harlow (Milford).

Also, Beth Houghtaling (Brookfield), Laura Shahinian Kara (Brookfield), Bob Keating (Southbury), Mary Kenealy (Norwalk), Patrick Kennedy (Torrington), Richard Klein (Norwalk), Paula Kubisek (Worcester, Mass.), Martha Willette Lewis (New Haven), Anne Lloyd (Brookfield), and Dan Makara (Redding).

Also, Megan Marden (Conn.), Maritza (Bethel), Sabrina Marques (Hamden), Janice Mauro (Redding), Brian McCarley (Bethel), Karen Neems (Stamford), Betty Nero (Danbury), orbithead (Conn./Calif./ Mass./ N.Y.), Vito Pasquale (Mount Kisco, N.Y.), Rachel Peet (Barcelona, Spain/Conn.), and Cynthia Rauschert (Bethel).

Also, Valerie Richardson (Conn./Atlanta, Ga.), Lori Robeau (Torrington), Jim Rohan (Boston area, Mass.), Margaret Roleke (Easton), Nancy Ryan (Bethel, Conn. and Richfield Springs, N.Y.), John Ryan (Boston, Mass.), Mark Savoia (New Fairfield), Ken Scaglia (Weston), Johanna Schulman (Cambridge, Mass.), Elyse Shapiro (Bethel), and Barbara Shepard (New Haven).

Also, David Skora (Litchfield County), Jack Tom (Shelton), Rita Valley (Southbury), Tony Vanaria (Paris, France), John Walsh (Holmes, N.Y.), Riley Weaver (Chestnut Ridge, N.Y.), Elizabeth White (Bethel), Bruce George Wingate (New Haven), and Andrea Zimmermann (Newtown).

The Gallery at Still River Editions is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 am-5 pm. It will be closed July 27-31 and September 7, however.

For additional information call 203-791-1474 or visit stillrivereditions.com.