July 2025

Resistance is a Collective

July 2 - July 25

Opening Reception on Arts Night Out

"Resistance is a Collective" emerges as a profound tribute to the resilience and strength of Black women, intertwining their narratives with the rich tapestry of movements like Black Lives Matter and the LGBTQI+ community. Rooted in the artist’s earlier work, "Tears, Tragedy, Triumph," this new exhibit amplifies the voices of those who have faced unimaginable loss and violence, ultimately shedding light on the broader fight for justice.

Through striking imagery and powerful storytelling, the artist encapsulates the essence of resistance, aiming to elevate the often-overlooked stories of Black women. Each piece serves as a reminder of the collective power that lies within these narratives, emphasizing that their struggles, activism, and unwavering spirit are vital components of a larger movement towards freedom and triumph in society. This exhibit invites viewers not only to witness but also to engage with these profound stories, fostering a deeper appreciation for the ongoing journey towards justice and equity.

  • Robin (she/they) identifies as an artist and seeker, driven by her intuition and intellect to uncover the stories behind her work. Utilizing bold colors and collage techniques, along with her photography, Robin aims to create pieces that transcend conventional boundaries. She believes that creative expression should explore both the present and the possibilities of what could be.

    Her work often focuses on and celebrates women of color, as exemplified in her series "Women of Color Are Political." After she began creating pieces about women of color, Robin felt compelled to amplify the voices of other marginalized groups that resonate with her own experiences through her art.

    Currently, Robin resides in Northampton, Massachusetts, with her wife Miriam, their children Ell and Lily, and their dog Leo. Living in Western Massachusetts has provided her with the ideal environment to cultivate her artistry and grow as a creator. Robin eagerly looks forward to sharing her work with others.

    @robing.photoart

June 2025

There’s nothing wrong with love

June 6 - June 27

Opening Reception on Arts Night Out

Sunny and Jae are both trans/non-binary artists who explore their queer identities through abstraction. As friends and collaborators who use complementary materials to create imagined worlds, they want to discover how their work can be in conversation with each other. Love, in this context, is a celebration of desire and connection, and our muster point in a world on fire.

  • Sunny Allis (they/them) is a trans/non-binary multimedia artist. Their artistic works focus on cultivating community and connection through different forms of play and storytelling. Sunny studied directing and design for theater at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and received their MFA from California Institute of the Arts in Integrated Media.

    Sunny has developed an alphabet of objects and symbols that translate into a variety of media. They function as building blocks, creating foundations for new languages and worlds. Through queering spaces and objects, they seek to unlock ways that bodies relate to their environments in unexpected ways. Sunny explores how shifts in scale and perception affect our orientation to the world around us, expanding our awareness of the different ways we can move and feel. 

    Sunny’s paintings, sculptures, immersive environments and animations have been featured in galleries both in solo and group exhibitions. They have created interactive public art installations that take people through imaginary worlds and immersive environments at Occidental College, the City of Santa Monica, and Kidspace Children’s Museum, among other organizations.

    @allis.sunny

    sunnyallis.com

  • Jae Southerland (they/them) is a working class queer visual artist from North Carolina currently living and working in Montague, Massachusetts. Their creative practice has included painting, zine making, sculpture, textiles/fiber art, immersive installation, photography, video, and graphic design. They recently began working with tulle as their primary medium to create small adornments, sculptural pieces, and site-specific installations.

    In 2022, Southerland created their first interactive public work, where we dream–an outdoor installation made with hand-dyed tulle and reclaimed wood, constructed on the beach at Laurel Lake in Erving, Massachusetts. The piece was dedicated to the transgender community and part of the Survivor Art Collective’s annual Queer Trans Beach Day. In May 2023, they held their first solo showing of work, tender fortress, as part of an ARC 2023 residency at A.P.E. Ltd Gallery in Northampton, Massachusetts. Southerland returned to A.P.E. in 2025 to create a large-scale experiential installation for Registry of Grief and Delight, an exhibition created in collaboration with the gallery’s co-directors.

    @jaesoutherland.design

    jaesoutherland.com

June Split Level Gallery 2025

Queernology & Naturepunk

June 5 - June 27

Opening Reception on Arts Night Out


Queernology & Naturepunk explores queer existence across time, examining its natural roots, current challenges, and future visions. Through ink, etching, print, textile, and comics, this exhibition brings together two distinct yet resonant practices. Together, these works map a queer cosmology that spans myth and machine, ritual and data, deep time and urgent presence. Queernology & Naturepunk invites you to wander through past selves and future worlds, to reimagine belonging not as a fixed point, but as a living, evolving ecosystem.

  • Emet Aron (he/they) presents etchings, sacred printed bandanas, tarot paintings, and pages from a graphic novel memoir that draw on myth, memory, and natural cycles. These pieces illuminate queer healing and self-realization. Rooted in dialogue with nature and spirit, their work invites viewers into deep listening—with intuition, with the animal body, with the sacred wild.

    @bug.theory.arts

  • JT Phillips (they/them) offers a contrasting lens: Bold Afrofuturist drawings of unfathomably ancient, alien nonbinary Gods observing humanity from the edges of space and time. An alternate yet possible timeline exists where these creatures bestow the gift of knowledge to humans. These dispassionate Dieties, neither benevolent nor cruel, witness our entwined relationships with nature and technology. Their presence asks us to consider: what future do we create through our actions, and who—if anyone—will be there to watch it unfold?

    @blackpixeldust

    www.blackpixeldust.com

May Split Level Gallery 2025

Playground

Northampton High School student and senior show

May 3 - May 26

Opening Reception on Arts Night Out

Get ready to be amazed by the incredible talent of our young artists! From stunning portraiture to captivating still life and impressive sculptures, the Northamption Highschool students have poured their creativity into an inspiring showcase of their work. Join us this May as we highlight the artistic achievements of students with installations done by the students themselves!

Don't miss the unique selection of pieces curated from art classes taught by Zoe Sasson and Louise Martindell, along with the Senior Honors Art Shows.

May 2025

softedge

May 3 - May 30

Opening Reception on Arts Night Out

softedge refers to the space between self and other, internal and external, where an ending holds the simultaneity of sharpness and a soft beginning. 

Mystic and symbolic, Lena’s work contemplates both the beauty and pain of healing and being human. Rae’s work lives in the reverb of dualities: despair-hope, loss-joy, dis-connection, in-decision – where aliveness finds weight and heft when framed by the fact of death.
In dialogue, these works share a meditative and maximalist sensibility, which offers the viewer a container for their own transcendent and most human need - a place where joy and grief are held as one.

  • Lena Mac (b. Boston, 1992, she/her/hers) is an American visual artist. Her practice primarily consists of painting, making large scale murals and more recently, three-dimensional objects of wood and ceramics. 

    Inspired by the natural world, contemporary illustration and her personal experiences, Mac’s work combines figurative symbols with abstracted forms to create metaphorical spaces that contemplate mysterious aspects of the world around us.

    In 2016, Lena began painting in the streets while living in Santiago, Chile and has since continued to paint in public spaces across the world. She has participated in numerous mural festivals and been an artist in residence with La Sierra Foundation (2023 Colombia), Dripped on the Road traveling residency (2021 USA), and Watershed Studios (2019 Ireland). 

    Lena holds a BFA in painting from Boston University. She is a recipient of the Mass Cultural Council Grant for Creative Individuals, the Blanche E. Coleman award and the Mass MoCA Assets for Artists grant.

    Lena lives and works in Western Massachusetts.

    @_lena_mac_/

    lenamccarthyart.com

  • Rae Heller (b. NYC, no pronouns) is an artist primarily creating large scale quilts. Rae graduated from Simmons College with a BA in Arts Administration and Art. Rae’s quilts queers the line between art and craft. Rae’s textile work uplifts sustainability as a generative practice, focusing on using repurposed fabric, as well as scrap by-products of the artmaking process to create. The durable softness of quilts celebrate the dualities of daily living. 

    Rae lives and works in southern Vermont and teaches quilting as an artform at Marlboro Studio School and Looky Here in Greenfield, Massachusetts

    @raehellerstudio

    raehellerstudio.com

April Split Level Gallery 2025

Revelry at 33

April 3 - April 26

Opening Reception on Arts Night Out

Join us for our fourth annual fundraising event, showcasing over 35 talented local artists. This year's theme, "No Place Like Home," will be beautifully represented in the Split Level Gallery at our newly renovated venue, located at 33 Hawley Street. Don’t miss the chance to celebrate the vibrant community spirit and the incredible artistry of the Connecticut River Valley. Come support the arts and immerse yourself in a celebration of creativity, connection, and culture!

Participating Artists:

Acadia Black

Aldo Cipriani

Amy Kotel

Christine Mirabal

Cindy Lutz Kornet

Dean McKeever

Deb Lohmeyer

Debra Hoyle

Ella Nathanael Alkiewicz

Elena Watson

Eliza Fichter

Hannah Harvester

Hannah Laird

Heather Geoffrey

Jeannie Donovan

Jennifer Ablard

Jesse Merrick

Juli Kirk

Julia McGlew

Kate Marion Lapierre

Kristi W. Colbert

Laurel Rogers

Madge Evers

Marc Moses

Mark Luiggi

Mary Witt Painter

Melissa Stratton Pandina

Natalie Goodale

Rebecca Herskovitz

Renee Pitre

Robert Bent

Robert Markey

Robin Griffith

Shelley Kirkwood

Simone Alter Muri

April 2025

Portraits of My People

Mark Guglielmo

April 2 - April 26

Opening Reception on Arts Night Out

Titled "Portraits of My People," Mark Guglielmo's current work examines the costs that Italian immigrants and their descendants have faced to attain the benefits of whiteness in America. Through mixed media collage portraits inspired by archival photographs, he highlights the evolving identities of Southern Italians, who have transitioned from being viewed as demonized laborers to defenders of whiteness. Guglielmo employs collage and unmixed color to critique race within a fine art scene where these issues remain largely unaddressed. This work is particularly relevant in light of recent bans on critical race theory, diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and more.

  • Mark Guglielmo (he/him, b. 1970, New York City) is a multidisciplinary artist whose paintings incorporate a diverse range of materials such as cut-up paper, cardboard, oil, acrylic, fabric, gold leaf, and corrugated steel. Guglielmo is best known for his layered figurative works that intertwine current events, social history, and the human psyche, to critically explore themes of race, class, migration, and power. Collage is central to his practice and a bridge between his art and music. For years, he employed similar techniques producing hip-hop, sampling, truncating, and reconfiguring existing materials into new compositions. Through his unique blend of media and technique, Guglielmo addresses some of the most pressing issues of out time, sparking healthy dialogue and contributing to contemporary discourse.

    Born and raised in New York, Guglielmo roots his work in the exploration of the self and the complexities of the human experience. His fragmented portraits of everyday people based on archival and photographic reference material peel back the layers of social, cultural, and personal history to reveal the raw reality of life. Guglielmo’s approach invites viewers into the inner worlds of his subjects to consider the nuances of identity, place, family, culture, and belonging. Significant projects in his oeuvre include “Portraits of My People” (2021-2025), a collection of portraits honoring his Italian ancestors that reveals the fraught process of race-making in America, merging family lineage with broader cultural and social questions. Additionally, his series of photo-collage portraits, interviews, and field recordings examining contemporary Cuban identity, entitled “Cubaneo” (2015-2017) and created on 3 trips to the island, expanded his enquiries at the intersection of the personal and collective narrative, heritage, international relations, and artistic diplomacy.

    Guglielmo’s work has been featured in numerous exhibitions, including at The Loveland Museum in Colorado; Villa Victoria Center for the Arts in Boston; Central Connecticut State University in New Britain; Vermont Center for Photography in Brattleboro; The New York State Museum in Albany; and von Auersperg Gallery in Deerfield, Massachusetts. His pieces are held in both public and private collections, among them Emory Healthcare in Atlanta; The Calandra Institute in New York; and the City of Loveland, Colorado. Guglielmo has been awarded multiple honors and prizes, including from The Puffin Foundation; Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts; Deerfield Academy TEDx Talk; Community Mural Institute Artist Fellowship at Fresh Paint Springfield; and The Williston Northampton School Artist-in-Residence. He graduated from Haverford College with a BA in History, spending a year at Université de Paul Valéry in Montpellier, France. A former rapper and music producer, Guglielmo aka Vesuveo rapped with Eminem on the Top 10 hit “Green and Gold.” He released 8 albums, 4 with his group The Anonymous, and shared the stage with KRS-One, Biz Markie, and Black Eyed Peas while his music forms the soundtrack to Pimp My Ride, Jersey Shore, Cribs, and Beavis and Butt-Head. He currently serves as a Community Advisor for the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts’ ValleyCreates Program, in partnership with MASS MoCA’s Assets for Artists. He lives and works in western Massachusetts.

    @markguglielmo

    markguglielmo.com

Mass Appeal 3-D art exhibit exploring Italian-American life at the Barn Door Gallery in Northampton

WHMP Radio Talk the Talk with Bill Newman and Bus Eisenberg

Italians and Whiteness in the U.S.: A Community Conversation

Sat April 19th, 4-5 pm

Join artist Mark Guglielmo, Jennifer Guglielmo (Professor of History, Smith College), and Heshima Moja (Composer/Musician/Sonic Architect) in the Barn Door Gallery for a Community Conversation. More info here!

March 2025

El Telar De Un Sueño

Pamela Acosta

March 5 - March 28

Opening Reception on Arts Night Out

Pamela Acosta often finds inspiration in literature and nature. She draws on dreams of flourishing inner lives and creates visual narratives that explore a myriad of beings, quests, and the symbiotic relationships formed between these beings and their environments. Her work investigates how we construct, transform, and are transformed by our surroundings. Characterized by figurative narratives, her art embraces elements of visual poetry and magical realism. Currently, she is developing a body of work that focuses more closely on the poetics of flora, fauna, and the connections within the natural world.

"El Telar De Un Sueño" or “Looming Dreams” is a comprehensive exhibition featuring works created over the past decade. It includes a variety of mediums, such as drawing, painting, and analog collage. A key highlight of the exhibit is one of Acosta's most recent pieces, "Fuegos Fatuos," her first tapestry.

  • Pamela Acosta (she/her) is a Mexican painter, illustrator, and occasional animator from the borderlands along the Rio Grande Valley, currently living and working in Northampton, Massachusetts. She received her BFA from the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley in 2013 and pursued studies in traditional animation at the School of Visual Arts throughout 2014 and 2015.

    @pamacostah

    pamacosta.com

February 2025

Headspace

Connor O’Rourke

February 5 - February 27

Opening Reception on Arts Night Out

HeadSpace is an immersive installation of over one hundred large scale, mixed-media, dimensional illustrations. These “heads” are made of recycled cardboard, paint, hot glue, crafting scraps and trash! This space is meant to be a reminder of just how good it feels to make art for yourself and what it really means to share that feeling with others. 

  • Connor O’Rourke (he/they) is a line cook for money and an artist for fun! Their work is often cartoonish and silly, but considerate in a way that makes you at least hope there’s more to it than bold lines and bright colors. They use recycled materials as well as traditional illustration methods to create an uncanny variety of tangible things. 

    @coldhatkid

January 2025

Nexus: The Ties That Bind

NCFA’s 2025 Curritotial Committee

JanUary 9 - January 30

Opening Reception on Arts Night Out

Nexus: The Ties That Bind marks the second annual showcase of talented artists and creative thinkers who formed the Barn Door Gallery Curatorial Committee (2024). Each July, a new collective of creative minds convenes, sparking thoughtful dialogue and shaping a yearlong series of exhibitions hosted by the Northampton Center for the Arts from September through August. This curatorial process ensures equitable opportunities for local artists, championing equity, offering a platform for diverse voices, perspectives, and artistic mediums to shine. This fresh collective builds on the solid foundation laid by previous groups, consistently infusing new energy, perspectives, and talent into the Center's commitment to accessibility and inclusion.

In January, we honor this collaborative spirit with a special exhibition spotlighting the work of Curatorial Committee members or artists they have personally selected. Join us in celebrating this year's dynamic nexus of the local arts community as these creative minds unite, showcasing their work and reinforcing the spirit of collaboration and support within the local art scene. Don’t miss the chance to experience the vibrant expressions of our community!

  • My name is Avery Eberlein. I am a trans man. Everything I write is a biography. Pay attention.

    @eberzine

  • Educator and Innovator Carlos REC McBride (he/him) is a dedicated educator and program leader with over 15 years of experience spanning higher education, multimedia storytelling, and community-focused initiatives. He specializes in leveraging technology and creative arts, such as photography, video, and audio, to foster engagement, address social issues, and support diverse learners. Carlos has taught at institutions such as Hampshire College, Smith College, and Holyoke Community College, designing interdisciplinary curricula on topics like social justice, urban studies, and Hip-Hop culture, Art and Graffiti culture. 

    He is an advocate for equitable education and inclusive learning environments, mentoring underserved students as reflected in his work with The Community Journalism Program at UMASS Amherst. Carlos REC extends his commitment to social justice through his work with incarcerated individuals and those working through mental health and substance use sickness challenges. Additionally, he has traveled throughout the country offering workshops and lectures, mentoring young men who face systemic barriers, self empowerment and healing.

    With a passion for innovation, community building, and student empowerment, his academic credentials include a Master’s degree in Social Justice Education and a near-completed Doctorate in Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Recognized for his impactful contributions, Carlos has received accolades such as the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus’s Latino Excellence Award.

    @rec1ne

  • David (he/him) is a Chicago-born artist currently living and working in Western Massachusetts. He calls his works emotion-provoking sculpture on paper.

    @DrawingsByDavidAndrews

    www.heathergeoffrey.com

  • Heather Geoffrey (she/her) experiences creating art as an ongoing dialogue with the worlds she inhabits and those that inhabit her. She believes that the seen and unseen realms of the physical, imaginary, emotional, and spiritual are in constant conversation. It is this continuous dialogue that she finds magical and is the most curious about and interested in.

    @ouroboros_studios

    www.heathergeoffrey.com

  • Madge Evers (she/her) uses alternative photography, mushroom spores, and painting to depict actual details of landscapes and imagined flora. She has exhibited throughout New England and attended artists residencies in New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Ireland. She lives and works in western Massachusetts; her book about the cyanotype process will be published by Storey/Hachette in June of 2026.

    @_sporeplay

    madgeevers.com

  • Maricela Garcia (she/her) is an urban artist based in Holyoke, MA who utilizes a multi-disciplinary approach in her creative practice. With a deep understanding of art history and a keen eye for the vibrant and ever-changing city landscape, Garcia's work explores the intersection of urban culture and artistic expression. Through the medium of collage, she repurposes materials, creating striking visual narratives that reflect the diverse stories and voices that exist within the urban environment. Influenced by street art and graffiti, Garcia's work boldly challenges traditional notions of fine art to capture the raw authentic essence of the city and its inhabitants. Through her unique storytelling abilities, Garcia's work serves as a powerful reflection of the urban experience and the rich tapestry of humanity within it.

    @revolucionarteco

    revolucionarteco.bigcartel.com

  • Natania Hume (she/her) was born in New York City but spent her formative years amidst rural academia in Amherst, Massachusetts, in a household of artists. Natania earned a BFA from UMass Amherst and a Master's in Art Education from Southern Oregon University. She enjoys many various kinds of artistic pursuits, and when not in her studio, she can be found volunteering as a board member for the Northampton Center for the Arts and teaching art at The Williston Northampton School, where she serves as Arts Department Chair.

    @slow.studio

    www.slow-studio.com

December 2024

WallFlower Wawa

Nickolas Roblee-Strauss & Jacqueline Strauss

December 4 - December 21

Opening Reception on Arts Night Out

In a mother-son duo exhibition, Wallflower Wawa turns our gaze toward the watchers on the perimeter. Silenced by their own shyness, welling up in tears, passed over for more popular blooms, this exhibition mines figuration’s capacity for introspection. Transforming the Barn Door Gallery in an explosion of color, these paintings and wall sculptures from Nickolas Roblee-Strauss and Jacqueline Strauss seek to understand the melodramas of less obvious party guests. In both artists' work, a sense of exuberance pervades. Color, pattern, and playful reinvention of form make for celebrations. For some it’s difficult not to dance—as figures swivel and sway before us. Still wallflowers peer out from pulsing surrounds with halted commentary, melancholy creatures of celebration’s fringe. Wallflower Wawa invites its visitor to a party, whose somber messaging incites contradictory interpretation. A mix of weeping dancers and twisters on the edge of temptation, the exhibit asks us to look to the perimeter and see what blossoms sprout from the wall.

  • Jacqueline Strauss (she/her b. Amsterdam, 1964) is a textile artist living in rural western Massachusetts. Her soft sculptures explore the spirited nature of seemingly inanimate remnants bringing to fruition a bottomless imaginative population. Playing the wise fool, she probes the puerile medium of stuffed forms for edgie, more complex emotions and shapes. In the past year, she has shown at Greenfield Community College, Greenfield, MA, Club George, Northampton, MA, and the Wendell Free Library, Wendell, MA. Her work has appeared in the local press as well as the Dutch journal Textiel Plus.

    @jezaculear

    jezaculear.com

  • Nickolas Roblee-Strauss (he/him) is an oil painter born in rural western Massachusetts. His work explores themes of queerness, the historicity of the medium, and precarious 21st-century experience. Over the past two years, he has worked under the guidance of established artists in New York City, and his paintings address the evolution of gestural language.

    He has shown at 440 Gallery and Thomas van Dyke Gallery in Brooklyn, NY as well as the Granoff Center, List Art Center, Joukowsky Institute, and Salon 149 in Providence, RI. He holds a BA in Modern Culture & Media from Brown University, where he was a Royce Fellow and Brown Arts Institute grant recipient. He lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

    @nickrobleestrauss

    nickolasrobleestrauss.com

December Split Level Gallery 2024

New Voices, New Perspectives

December 4 - December 21

Opening Reception on Arts Night Out

The Quabbin Arts Association introduces "New Voices, New Perspectives,"The Quabbin Art Association, in partnership with the Northampton Center for the Arts and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, presents New Artists, New Perspectives featuring 20 emerging artists from nine universities and colleges throughout the Connecticut River Valley area who wish to pursue a career in the visual arts. These artists represent American International College, Amherst College, Elms College, Greenfield Community College, Holyoke Community College, Mount Holyoke College, Springfield College, The University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Western New England University. In an effort to remove some of the barriers often experienced by emerging artists, each participating artist received a 2-year membership in the Quabbin Art Association and a $250 cash stipend to help support the development of their work. Enjoy the show!

  • Quabbin Art Association (QAA) promotes community interest and appreciation for the visual arts by providing education, support, and opportunity for artists who live and work in the Pioneer Valley. Founded in 2016 by Belchertown, MA residents Denise Fontaine-Pincince and Jennifer Turner, QAA offers year-round exhibit opportunities for artists at venues throughout the Valley, holds monthly membership meetings featuring guest artists, offers artisans markets and teaching opportunities for our members, and promotes community interest and appreciation for the arts through outreach activities supported by our members and offered free of charge to our community.

    https://quabbinartassociation.com/

PARTICIPATING Artists:

  • Jenezy’s work focuses on themes of domesticity, identity, individualism, and family. Through anatomical references, Jenezy makes an effort to connect the physical and emotional state of beings, superficial and internal identities, and gendered roles within a typical American family structure. She broadly discusses concepts of lineage and history through recurring characters/figures within her work. She continues to explore these dynamics and juxtapositions through playful, saturated colors and kitschy plastic finishes, causing false invitations to private scenes of tension and animosity.

    University of Massachusetts Amherst

  • Heeju Yoo was never allowed to explore their passions, motivations, or inspirations. Instead, they spent their time organizing a non-profit called the "Korean Cultural Service of Massachusetts," which opened a Korean library for immigrants, offering books in their native language and teaching Korean to Americans, including immigrants and second-generation children. They formed a team of translators to translate Korean poems into English to promote Korean literature in the U.S. Inspired by visual art, they gained the confidence to publish their poetry and have released four books in Korea since then. About 15 years ago, they started painting to cope with their busy lifestyle and overcome fatigue, which helped rejuvenate their spirit. They create ceramics, sculpture, and installation art, but their main focus is painting. Their works embody the poetic images they write, aiming to illustrate and visualize the invisible aspects of the soul and time.

    University of Massachusetts Amherst

  • We use the term "natural" to describe the world that is untouched and left alone by human intervention. In this way, human existence is often seen as unnatural. Despite how we manipulate nature and curate our unnatural synthetic environment—our homes, our bodies—we are made from the Earth, just like every other creature. How can we learn from the creatures of the Earth in their natural states? 

    Caly Van Leeuwen employs a blend of colors and textures that intertwine, representing humans, animals, and other living beings all within the same space. This artistic choice reflects their interest in exploring the tension between the natural and the artificially modified. Their sculptures further examine this conflict through the materials they manipulate: wool and epoxy. Wool requires a collaboration between sheep and shepherds, while epoxy is a completely synthetic material.

    Amherst College

  • Sarah Paradee has always loved painting even though their first instructor was a Paint-by number kit. While in nursing school, they were able to take their first painting class, lighting their passion for the art, progressively improving from that first day. They are excited to have the opportunity to continue to grow and learn more techniques.

    College of Our Lady of the Elms 

  • Western Massachusetts artist Erin Shabunin explores chaos through her abstract ink and paper scenes, inviting viewers to lose themselves while discovering meaning in her nebulous work. By using printmaking ink without the constraints of an engraved plate, Shabunin employs a subtractive mark-making process that embraces her materials' unpredictable and ephemeral qualities. Transitioning between using a ballpoint pen and scratchpad and then returning to monoprinting has influenced the direction of her work, revealing new details that enhance her unique mark-making vocabulary. She explores the challenges of breaking away from established patterns, focusing on her stream of consciousness.

    Greenfield Community College

  • Eads Fouché explores the relationship between sculpture and geology by representing the

    connections between space and place. His work blurs the literal and metaphorical line between the arts and geology by building sculptures based on 3-dimensional lines. Lines are more than just 2-dimensional strokes on a page; they are movements, thoughts, emotions, and 3-dimensional. They are how he thinks. While lines can divide, they also connect. Not only can they visualize a bridge between seemingly disparate concepts, but they also manifest dynamic movement, making them a powerful tool for communication. In both geology and sculpture, the 3-dimensional line is fundamental in representing form, movement, and space. Lines are how we understand geology. Whether it be 2D lines on a geologic map, segregations in the geologic time scale, a scientific figure, or 3D lines of bedding planes, science functions through lines. Eads wants to expand our understanding of line from a 2-dimensional division to a 3-dimensional connection between ideas and spaces. In the same way that the Earth draws 3-dimensional lines to create mesmerizing geologic formations, Eads sculpts pieces to illustrate the interconnected relationship between line, geology, and place.

    Amherst College

  • Rhaymi Porter’s work combines charcoal, acrylic paint, and photography to convey emotional intensity. They begin with a rough gesture drawing before gradually building upon it. The charcoal captures the raw qualities of art, while layers of acrylic paint add vibrant colors and energy to the composition.  Rhaymi believes their photographs convey an emotional depth similar to that found in their drawings, showcasing dramatic shadows and sophisticated realism. With its ability to freeze time, photography allows them to preserve fleeting emotions—those delicate, transient moments that often go unnoticed.

    By using these mediums together, Rhaymi invites viewers to reflect on the relationship between the physical world and the emotional landscape we navigate. This combination explores the tension between what is seen and what is felt, revealing the quiet, powerful truths that emerge when we take the time to look closer. Each piece uniquely reflects Rhaymi's journey, and they hope it encourages others to connect not only with their own experiences but also with the universal themes within them.

    American International College

  • Catalina Alexopoulos is a 22-year-old artist who began her drawing journey at the tender age of six. Initially, her focus was solely on horses, and pencils were her medium of choice. As she grew older, Catalina started to experiment with various styles and materials, ultimately discovering a passion for pastels, particularly pastel pencils. Most of her artwork is created with these pencils or regular pencils, enabling her to capture fine details that she cherishes. Additionally, she enjoys working with charcoal, paint, watercolor, clay, and oils for a more varied artistic experience.

    Her pastel animal portraits hold deep personal significance, representing animals that have touched her life, whether they are still present or have passed on. Catalina finds joy in sharing these portraits with others who also know and love the animals depicted. Although her primary focus is on animals, she sometimes draws contortionists, reflecting her own passion as a contortionist. This dual talent allows her to express her creativity through both her artwork and her circus performances.

    Elms College

  • Mars is a Western Massachusetts-based artist and an upcoming graduate of Greenfield Community College. Growing up in Northampton, Mars was exposed to the arts extensively through both public spaces and school programs. With a strong background in art classes during high school, Mars is set to graduate this spring with an Associate’s degree in Visual Arts.

    Mars's art practice is driven by a combination of meditation and movement. While creating, Mars experiences a silencing effect on the mind, transitioning from the chaos of the outside world to a focus on color, texture, and movement. Mars identifies as a movement experimentalist in the arts, and as their work expands in scale, they find that they can move more freely, infusing dynamics into each piece.

    Currently, Mars is presenting a body of work titled Parallels, which is the culmination of a two-year project featuring 13 pieces. In April, Mars had their first solo exhibition of this series at Anchor House of Artists in Northampton. Parallels represents the mental, emotional, and physical landscapes that Mars navigates in daily life. Throughout the creation of this series, gravity and texture have served as anchor points, providing a framework for exploring movement within the visual art-making process.

    Greenfield Community College

  • Nhu Truong has been passionate about art since childhood. Growing up in an Asian household, they often kept this passion hidden. Nhu was self-taught until attending college, where they discovered inspiring art professors and enjoyed learning new techniques in their art classes. They found watercolor to be an engaging, challenging, and budget-friendly medium. Their artwork reflects the places they have visited, such as their grandmother's house in Vietnam, as well as destinations they wish to explore and learn from.

    Springfield College

  • Madison Deboise-Wetherell is an artist whose work reflects her life experiences, including her childhood, the environment where she grew up, her time at a private Catholic institution, her queer identity, and the trauma stemming from the intersection of these worlds. As a queer woman raised in a religious setting, Madison's upbringing has profoundly shaped her identity and artistic voice. 

    In this body of work, she explores the themes of trauma and introspection that emerge from Catholic youth experiences, despite not identifying as religious herself. Through a combination of multimedia illustrations and physical sculptures, Madison expresses the concept of queer children navigating religious spaces, reflecting on her own experiences.

    Westfield State University

  • Emma Aiken has grown up and lived in Western Massachusetts, near the shining waters of the Quabbin Reservoir. Living with so much boundless nature around them has been a constant inspiration. They started drawing when they were little and haven't stopped. Their inspiration is the towering hemlocks, intricate insect patterns and designs, and frilled fungi that grow in their local woodlands. Creating finely detailed flora, fauna, and mythical creatures from their imagination, Emma uses watercolor to wash vivid colors across the paper and fine-line pens to make their creations pop, transporting viewers into a world of myth and legend. They invite viewers to wander into the forests of their creation and to meet the beings that dwell there.

    Holyoke Community College

  • Bela Achaibar is interested in painting, printmaking, beading, and working with textiles. Deeply inspired by South Asian figurative traditions, the creolization of culture in the Caribbean, and Black feminist theory, she tells the stories of those she knows and loves through her artwork. She works closely with her subjects to understand how they want to be represented. Her juxtaposition of circular and linear storytelling conventions allows her to explore a broader historical imagination while also grounding her work in her current reality, thereby creating new visions for the future.

    Amherst College

  • Lize Brown works to intricately examine the complex journey of healing, focusing on the recognition of harm and the emotional landscapes intertwined with recovery. Through predominantly two-dimensional mixed media pieces, Lize crafts visual narratives that invite reflection on the dynamic interplay between pain and resilience. Their practice also focuses on the complexities of nostalgia, exploring how it shapes and reshapes our perceptions of the past in relation to the present. By weaving these themes together, Lize’s work seeks to evoke a deeper understanding of memory, emotion and the process of self- discovery.

  • Ariana Masterjohn is a central mass artist driven by encapsulating moments of time through art. She is greatly inspired by the natural world and often incorporates natural elements into her work. Encouragement from past teachers to experiment and embrace creativity has fostered her love for mixed-media work. She invites you to take a moment to experience the beauty of the small things we often take for granted.

    Western New England University

  • Aj Treat is a senior at Mount Holyoke College who primarily creates art on paper and canvas using charcoal, pen, pencil, and oil paint. They prefer working on a larger scale, as it allows for more movement and lends greater impact to their subjects. Aj creates art to better understand their personal experiences, thoughts, and feelings. Much of their work features imaginative creatures or distorted figures, reflecting how their imagination and experiences influence the creative process.


    Their pieces often contain narratives aimed at creating connections not only between themselves and the viewer but also at encouraging a deeper understanding of perspectives that may not be widely recognized. Aj seeks to initiate conversations around identity and how different identities affect individuals’ navigation of the world. Through these dialogues, they hope to foster greater empathy and understanding among people.

    This body of work specifically explores the multifaceted experience of inhabiting a body, focusing on the inner feelings of being observed and the scrutiny that one's body faces from external viewers.

    Mount Holyoke College

  • As a 3D sculptor, they explore the limitless potential of humble materials like paper, paper clay, and papier-mâché. Their work seeks to transform the everyday into the extraordinary, celebrating the simplicity and accessibility of these mediums. By manipulating texture, form, and structure, they create pieces that invite viewers to reimagine the possibilities of traditional craftsmanship and materiality. 

    Through their sculptures, they aim to evoke a sense of curiosity and connection, showcasing the beauty in the process of building layer by layer. Each piece becomes a tactile narrative, reflecting their fascination with form and the stories materials can tell.

    Springfield College

  • Using painting as a lens, Sophia Jakobson mines both personal and historical archives to create multimedia objects and images that draw influence from the environment, embodiment, and queerness. Like an archeological dig, they explore materials like collage, fiber, and paint as a form of physical poetry building. With particular attention to shadow and its relationship to abstraction, they construct emotional landscapes that unearth remnants of the past, ghostly and unsayable, yet still tangible and felt. Through this process, Jakobson builds space for grief- of family, of a body that feels broken, of a world that is cruel and treacherous- and reimagines possibilities for community and care.

    Mount Holyoke College

  • Malyna Dansereau is a 20-year-old graphic design major at Holyoke Community College. Their work serves as a physical embodiment of their perception of the world around them. They often find themselves drawn to the ordinary rather than the exceptional, viewing the mundane with greater significance than many do. Their goal is to explore the complexity that lies beneath the surface of simplicity, using their artwork as an outlet for this investigation. Malyna extracts and interrogates the memories they associate with each item they illustrate.

    In addition to emphasizing the unremarkable, they strive to work with non-traditional media to establish a direct connection between their pieces and the objects they depict. By crushing rocks to create their own paint or ritualistically burning wood to produce charcoal and ink, they consistently infuse significance into both their processes and the materials they employ in their artwork.

    Holyoke Community College

Bios Coming Soon:

Valentina Cacaj 

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