Student art displayed in Northampton gallery
The “Collective Ground” exhibition from Mount Holyoke students explores themes from identity and vulnerability to family and politics.
By Keely Sexton
Mount Holyoke College student artwork is on display at the Available Potential Enterprise gallery at 33 Hawley Street in Northampton, Massachusetts. A.P.E.@33 Hawley, as the gallery is widely known, is presenting “Collective Ground,” an exhibition by students in senior and advanced studio arts classes. The exhibition brings together the work of 14 artists, who use a range of mediums from painting to performance in order to explore themes as varied as the materials they employ.
“The diversity of approach amongst these artists reflect the deeply difficult and polarizing world that form the larger context for this exhibition,” read the artists’ statement. “However, viewed together, these works begin to forge connections between issues of identity, vulnerability, and ultimately survival.”
Associate Professor of Art Ligia Bouton brokered the show with A.P.E.@33 Hawley in part to teach her students how to become professional artists by forging connections within their community.
“We have been working toward this all semester,” said Bouton. “Collectively the students have curated the entire exhibition, generated the show publicity statement, created a promotional image and arranged the opening reception.”
Abigail Hill ’20, a featured artist and part of the promotion team for the gallery, noted that just as the works can stand on their own but deliver a more powerful experience when viewed together, artists, too, draw strength from connection.
“Art is about community, building community,” she said. “Our work is seen in communication with each other.”
The exhibition will be on display through November 19 at the A.P.E.@33 Hawley gallery in Northampton.