THE BARN DOOR GALLERY
AT 33 HAWLEY
Stewarded by the Northampton Center for the Arts (NCFA), the Barn Door Gallery supports our mission to foster community connections through the arts, and is a dedicated venue for evolving, transformative dialogue between artists and audiences.
OPEN HOURS:
12 pm - 7 pm - Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday
Closed - Sunday, Monday & Tuesday
The Barn Door Gallery is ADA compliant and admission is free.
Additional information can be found on our FAQ document.
THE SPLIT LEVEL GALLERY AT 33 HAWLEY
Stewarded by the Northampton Center for the Arts (NCFA) and A.P.E . (Available Potential Enterprises, Ltd.) the curation of this gallery is shared by both building partner organizations and supports our mission to foster collaboration and community connections through the arts.
Current Exhibits:
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.
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.
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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.
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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.