August 2025
Emerging Artist Showcase
local emerging artists
august 2 - august 23
Opening Reception on Arts Night Out
The Self is an integral part of art, serving as a mirror to the complexities of human identity - from the personal, political and cultural. Coming from various backgrounds and identities, each artist in this exhibit connects to the world uniquely. Together they create a melting pot of socio-political art that spans across mediums. They show that our identities matter, as they not only reflect upon the viewers lives, but what the artists wish others understood about themselves. Freed from societal constraints, artists mold, capture, and share their identities through their artworks. Allowing space for emerging artists to just be, is one step towards radical acceptance.
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Acadia (she/her) has always been interested in the natural cycles of the world. Her wandering brain was never meant for the structure of science, but her interest in it never waivered, now she bridges the gap between science and art. Currently, she’s interested in sustainability in artmaking. Her recent work features wood salvaged from burn bins, logged forests, and roadsides which she reassembles, paints, and allows to grow into something new, similar to how the process of decomposition allows for new life and growth.
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For Amy (she/they), art has always been a salvation, a means of relaxing her nervous system, and a way to express both her dreams and her discomfort. While she did attend art high school in NY and started college as an art major, she has spent most of her adult life career vacillating between dance, puppetry, fine art, fitness and teaching. Since becoming a mom 14 years ago, fine art has taken the front seat again, where she creates in vivid color, magical land/dreamscapes, and utilizes small shapes to create larger images.
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Chanel (she/they) has had a love for art since she was young, but during the pandemic, she discovered a passion for bringing pictures to life using pencil, ink, and acrylic. Over the years, she has found ways to incorporate her favorite holiday, Halloween, into upcycled prints and lithographs that had been left behind and forgotten. She reimagines these pieces with the spirit of core memories and lost loved ones who never truly leave us, capturing that happy, peaceful feeling we experience in our favorite places. The ghosts in her work symbolize the idea that our energy has a significant impact on all aspects of life and highlight just how powerful it can be.
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Claudia (she/her) is a multifaceted artist: musician, dancer, and photographer. Claudia es una immigrante Mexicana, raised in Los Angeles, CA, Claudia uses the lens to showcase places in time that once seemed inaccessible to her. Raised in a working-class community, once undocumented, Claudia never thought she’d see, visit, and experience places that she once imagined. She photographs and showcases experiences for others who have traversed nations for a better life.
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Jamie(she/her) is a painter and papermaker with a background in ceramics, raised in the Connecticut River Valley in Massachusetts. Influenced by her parents, she developed an appreciation for the brilliance and healing properties of plants.
Her work often tackles challenging themes, such as the impact of absence, white supremacy, misogyny, and the complexities of borders and private property. Recently, she has focused on the materials in her art, exploring papermaking with plant materials that she harvests and processes herself.
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Jacob (he/him) is a local, self-taught artist who uses visual media as means to communicate his experience living for decades as a closeted transgender man in America. A recent transplant to the Pioneer Valley, his black and white photo series Paradise City POV focuses on the intangible imprint that the glaring public display of acceptance in Northampton, Massachusetts, will have on those navigating a difficult path in life.
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Kendall (she/they) is an oil painter and mixed media artist who explores the intersections of femininity, identity, and queerness. Working from personal experiences, studies of mythology and historical references, they embody an interest in symbolism and the ways in which the past informs the present. They recently received their Bachelor of Arts in Art Studio at Mount Holyoke College.
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Robin (she/her), unsatisfied with most social conventions, sought authenticity in a place she'd never find it--in Fresno, CA. One day, while swimming in a pool, she ruminated to the sky and wished for an interesting life. This wish led her to escape via Naval Intelligence, ultimately arriving in western Massachusetts in 1985. She knew immediately that she had come home.
In June 2023, Robin began her visual migraine journal. Although the pain can be intense, it does get the pen/pencil/brush in her hand, and the blessing is that it allows Robin to step outside of the pain and befuddlement for a few minutes. As she worked on this project, visually documenting her chronic migraines over the course of the year, her relationship with them began to shift. She discovered a growing gratitude for them, since they presented themselves in a language she understood, set her on this path, and, like it or not, they walk with her, so she has learned to make peace with them.
Robin can usually be found in her studio, which is the room formerly known as the living room, with her lucky studio gremlin at her feet. Upstairs, her roommate, also named Robin, is dancing. -
Paige (she/her) is an arts educator, community builder, and artist of whimsy who cannot pick just one hobby. She grapples with her reality of making too much art about cats and is always plotting her next formal execution of a new recipe. Her art tends to reflect her ever-loving affair with ecology and the natural world while also experimenting with alternative materials and techniques.
IG@Paigesquinn
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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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?
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.
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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.
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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
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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!
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My name is Avery Eberlein. I am a trans man. Everything I write is a biography. Pay attention.
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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.
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David (he/him) is a Chicago-born artist currently living and working in Western Massachusetts. He calls his works emotion-provoking sculpture on paper.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.