Sculpture, prints, drawings, paintings, photographs and ceramics by 30 faculty-artists representing diverse styles and directions will be on display at at the 32nd Annual Art Department Faculty Exhibition at The William Benton Museum of Art, from September 2 through October 17. The featured artists will be abstract painter Pamela Bramble, an associate professor of art at the Torrington campus, and printmaker Laurie Sloan, an associate professor at Storrs.

Running concurrently with

the faculty show is "Caribbean Connections: Images of Identity and Culture," an exhibit of works by 14 contemporary artists from Trinidad and Jamaica. They are showing sculpture, paintings, drawings, prints and works in mixed media. While revealing a common heritage, the exhibit demonstrates the diversity of contemporary artists of Caribbean descent. For information, call (860) 486-4520.

Gigantic insects and nightmarish ghouls await visitors at the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry. "Dragons, Giants, and other Household Pets," promises a scare or two with a world of fantasy creatures. Oscar the Grouch, one of the original Sesame Street Muppets, will be among the frightful crowd. The exhibit opens tomorrow and runs through November 9. The museum is located at the depot campus in the Willimantic Gallery on Weaver Road off Route 44. For more information, call (860)486-4605.

A guitar-playing preacher, a former prison inmate and a survivor of a street gang are among the artists whose works will be on display at the Atrium Gallery. "Drawing on the Spirit of 9" is an exhibit of drawings and paintings by nine contemporary African-American self-taught artists. Known as outsider artists, they draw their creative strengths from outside the mainstream art world. The imagery, often blending figurative and abstract forms, is rich in color. The exhibit will run August 27 - September 19.

The Atrium Gallery is located in the Fine Arts Building. For information, call (860) 486-3930.

Sherry Fisher