GRIMSHAW-GUDEWICZ ART GALLERY
BRISTOL COMMUNITY COLLEGE
LETTER FROM THE CHIEF CURATOR
Reflecting on the past year at the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Art Gallery, we are reminded of the gallery’s role as a vital cultural space for Bristol Community College and the broader South Coast community. As a place of inquiry, reflection, and engagement, the gallery continues to foster dialogue through diverse exhibitions and programming that deepen our understanding of contemporary art and its relevance in our daily lives.
This year, we witnessed the profound impact of art on students, faculty, and visitors—many of whom were engaging with a gallery for the very first time. The range of work presented— spanning disciplines, media, and perspectives—reinforced our mission to provide accessible, thought-provoking encounters with art. Collaborations with college departments and community partners expanded our reach and enriched our offerings, affirming the gallery’s position as a cornerstone of cultural exchange. As we look ahead, we remain committed to growth, accessibility, and deeper engagement.
Kathleen Hancock
YEAR IN REVIEW: EXHIBITIONS & PROGRAMMING
Laura Gurton and Nancy Hayes
Sept. 5 – Oct. 17, 2024
Fluidity was an evocative exhibition featuring the works of artists
Laura Gurton and Nancy Hayes. This exhibition delved into the multifaceted concept of fluidity, exploring its manifestations in both the physical and metaphysical realms.
Laura Gurton's pieces emphasized the material aspects of fluidity. Utilizing a wet-on-wet technique, she combined oil paint with alkyd medium to create layered surfaces that appeared in constant motion.
In contrast, Nancy Hayes approached fluidity from a spiritual and intuitive perspective. Her work was characterized by an ongoing dialogue with the medium, where patterns, lines, shapes, and colors formed narratives guided by her inner voice.
Together, Gurton and Hayes presented a compelling exploration of fluidity, demonstrating how this concept permeates both the tangible materials of art and the intangible processes of creation. Their works invited viewers to consider the continuous flow of energy and matter that shapes our universe and personal experiences.
Fluidity
Slant Dazzle featuring works by the Pell Lucy Collective closed out 2024. The exhibition drew inspiration from Emily Dickinson's poem "Tell all the truth but tell it slant," exploring themes of indirect truth and nuanced perception.
The Pell Lucy Collective, an international group of artists, embraced the concept of 'telling it slant' by creating artworks that reveal truths through abstraction and subtlety. Their pieces invited viewers to engage with the art on a deeper level, encouraging contemplation and personal interpretation. The exhibition emphasized the power of art to convey complex ideas and emotions without direct representation, aligning with Dickinson's notion that truth is best received when approached obliquely.
The Pell Lucy Collective
Oct. 31 – Dec. 13, 2024
Through a diverse array of mediums and styles, Slant Dazzle showcased the collective's commitment to exploring the interplay between clarity and ambiguity, offering a rich, immersive experience that challenged and expanded viewers' understanding of truth in art.
Slant Dazzle
Ruminations on Drawing: 366
A Year Long Drawing Project by Kristin S. Street
Jan. 23 – Feb. 20, 2025
Ruminations on Drawing: 366 was a compelling exhibition at the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Art Gallery, showcasing a year-long drawing project by Rhode Island-based artist Kristin S. Street. The exhibition featured 366 individual 8x8-inch drawings, each created daily over the course of a leap year.
Street's disciplined daily practice served as both a creative endeavor and a reflective process, with each drawing building upon the previous while anticipating the next. This cyclical approach mirrored the iterative nature of understanding our world—through revisiting, reckoning, and reimagining. The exhibition invited viewers to engage with the passage of time, the evolution of ideas, and the profound impact of consistent creative exploration.
Through this extensive body of work, Street demonstrated the transformative power of daily artistic practice, highlighting how structure and repetition can lead to deep personal insight and artistic growth.
Bearing Witness
A Sea of Buttons in Memory of the Holocaust’s Youngest Victims
March 6 – April 3, 2025
Bearing Witness: A Sea of Buttons in Memory of the Holocaust’s Youngest Victims was a poignant exhibition held at the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Art Gallery in March. The exhibition showcased a community-driven initiative that amassed 1.5 million buttons, each symbolizing a child lost in the Holocaust. This collective effort, initiated in 2017 by Linell Dean, then an administrative assistant at Bristol’s Holocaust and Genocide Center, involved contributions from local businesses, schools, and individuals worldwide.
The gallery displayed the extensive button collection alongside models of three finalist designs for a forthcoming permanent memorial on campus. Visitors were invited to reflect on the magnitude of loss represented by the buttons and engage with the evolving vision for a lasting tribute to the Holocaust’s youngest victims.
Annual Juried Student Art & Design Exhibition
April 24 – May 17, 2025
The 2025 Annual Juried Student Art & Design Exhibition showcased the creative achievements of students across various media. This exhibition served as both a celebration of student talent and a practical learning experience, reflecting the college's commitment to teaching, mentorship, and professional practice in the visual arts.
Students submitted their works for consideration by a panel of jurors, mirroring real-world opportunities and providing valuable experience in preparing their work for professional review. The selected pieces highlighted the strength, depth, and diversity of Bristol's student talent and underscored the high level of instruction and critical inquiry present in the classroom.
The exhibition was the result of a collaborative effort between Art and Design faculty and the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Art Gallery staff. In preparation for the show, students received hands-on guidance in areas such as framing, presentation, writing artist statements, and the mechanics of art installation. This holistic approach not only enhanced student learning but also prepared emerging artists for the expectations and best practices of the wider art world.
EDUCATIONAL & PUBLIC PROGRAMMING
Artist Talks and Class Visits Students and visitors engaged directly with exhibiting artists, deepening their understanding of creative process and context.
Collaborations with the Holocaust and Genocide Studies Center
COMMUNITY & COLLEGE ENGAGEMENT
The gallery remained a free and open space for students, faculty, and the broader public, including many first-time visitors.
As a frequent stop on admissions tours, the gallery highlighted Bristol’s investment in integrating the arts into student life.
These and other efforts connected the gallery with local schools, nonprofits, and cultural organizations such as the SouthCoast Creative Arts Lab, an afterschool program for local middle school students to explore arts and music.
Students from the Creative Arts Lab explore the Annual Juried Student Art and Design Exhibition
THE BUTTON PROJECT AND MEMORIAL
Zach Horn’s design for the memorial. We hope to complete the construction of the memorial by the end of 2025
This landmark public artwork—memorializing 1.5 million children lost during the Holocaust—continued its development through the following key stages:
Issuing a national call for proposals, drawing strong interest from a diverse applicant pool
Convening a review committee and organizing in-person nalist visits
Addressing environmental and engineering challenges for long-term outdoor display
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & LEADERSHIP
The Grimshaw-Gudewicz Art Gallery continues to benefit from the active professional engagement of its chief curator, whose work extends beyond the campus and into broader arts and culture networks.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER
FALL RIVER ARTS AND CULTURE COALITION (FRACC)
As a regional arts liaison, the gallery director helps shape cultural policy and advocate for the integration of the arts in economic and civic development initiatives throughout the South Coast.
GRANTS SUBCOMMITTEE
SOUTH COAST COMMUNITY FOUNDATION (SCCF)
Through service on the SCCF grants panel, the director supports the distribution of resources to artists and cultural organizations across the region, helping ensure equitable access and impact.
NEW ENGLAND MUSEUM ASSOCIATION (NEMA) CONFERENCE PRESENTER
At a recent national convening, the director presented a paper examining the unique challenges and generative potential of art galleries within working-class community college settings.
GALLERY GUIDES
This academic year, two unlikely guides—Bleep and Blop—accompanied us through every exhibition at the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Art Gallery, offering humor, curiosity, and moments of reflection.
Their comic strip adventures, developed by Olivia Harris, began in the fall with Fluidity, where they grappled with the ambiguities of identity, perception, and form.
In The Slant Dazzle, they stumbled into metaphor, channeling Emily Dickinson as they puzzled through oblique truths and shimmering half-reveals.
Winter brought Ruminations on Drawing 366, where the pair explored the act of observation itself— not as just a way to create; but a method of inquiry, reflection, and growth.
Finally, in Bearing Witness, Bleep and Blop encountered The Button Project—a powerful installation of 1.5 million buttons symbolizing the children lost in the Holocaust. For perhaps the first time, they stood silent.
As the year ends, one of them prepares to move on. But their shared journey has left its mark—on the gallery walls, on our imaginations, and in the reminder that even the smallest voices can ask the biggest questions.
THE GALLERY AS A LEARNING SPACE
Adjunct Professor Mathew Napoli with Drawing I students
Curricular Integration
Professors across departments incorporated exhibitions into syllabi, using the gallery to cultivate critical thinking and visual literacy.
Faculty feedback emphasized the importance of in-person discussions around original works of art.
Impact on First-Time Visitors
Students often shared how gallery visits shaped their perspectives and expanded their sense of the possible, both academically and personally.
These first encounters often sparked curiosity and lasting connections to the arts.
Navigating Change
The shifting landscape of arts in higher education presents persistent challenges, including budget constraints and digital saturation.
Kathleen Hancock talks with student reporters from the campus newspaper The Hawk about the exhibition
Slant Dazzle
EXHIBITION CALENDAR 2025-2026
I SEE MYSELF IN YOU
WORKS BY WILLIAM COLLIN
September 4-October 16, 2025
Reception: Thursday, September 4, 6-8 pm
25TH ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITIONS
CELEBRATING A QUARTER CENTURY OF PROGRAMMING
Planning underway for February-March, 2026
FULL CIRCLE
WORKS BY BRIENNE BROWN, ROBIN CROCKER, AND ALLISON PASCHKE
October 30-December 12, 2025
Reception: Thursday, October 30, 6-8 pm
2026 ANNUAL JURIED STUDENT ART AND DESIGN PROGRAMS EXHIBITION
April 23-May 16, 2026
Reception: Thursday, April 23, 6-8 pm
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS & THANKS
This year’s successes were made possible by the continued support of the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Foundation, Bristol’s faculty, staff, students, exhibiting artists, and community partners.
We are especially grateful to the artists and creatives who lent their time, insight, and energy to make the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Art Gallery a welcoming and inspiring space.
We look forward to another year of curiosity, creativity, and meaningful engagement with the arts.
Installation view of the annual student show