November 1997
Authors & Artists Exhibit Celebrates Scholarly Pursuits
Last month, vivid artwork covered the walls of the Walter Grossmann gallery on the fifth floor of the Healey Library -- large canvases with bold colors in oil and mixed media, more subdued and subtle ones in acrylic and photo emulsion. A series of pinhole photographs accompanied by text hung there, too. Add six glass-covered cases, chock-a-block full of books, journals, magazine articles, scripts, musical scores, dramatic performances, videos and more, and you have a testimony to the prodigious creative and scholarly accomplishments of UMass Boston's faculty and staff -- the first Campus Authors and Artists Exhibit.
The exhibit opened September 30 with an reception at which UMass Vice President for Academic Affairs Selma Botman shared the genesis and development of her own scholarly research on gender issues, politics and citizenship in 20th century Egypt, and applauded the achievements of the exhibit's participants.
"Your work makes a difference to this institution, to your colleagues, and to your students when you write, paint, or create music. And in doing so, you advance our culture," Botman told the gathering. One hundred faculty and staff members submitted work they produced between 1994 and 1996 for the exhibit.
Healey Library Director Sharon Bostick, a member of the Authors and Artists Exhibit committee, was struck by the variety of interests on display. "The initial thrust was to celebrate -- and I use that word consciously -- the research and publication of our faculty, but I had no idea of the research interests we would find," she says.
What surprised Pat Davidson, dean of undergraduate education at CAS and a member of the Campus Authors and Artists Exhibit committee, was the range of interests that a single participant might have. "I knew that our faculty was very involved with publishing and research, but I honestly didn't know as much as I do now about what people's interests are, and the diversity of topics and fields that an individual might be involved in," she says.
The members of the Exhibit Committee spent many hours working with participants, developing a format for the exhibit, and communicating the concept to participants as it evolved, since this was the first year. Besides Davidson and Bostick, committee members included Andrew Castiglione, head of acquisitions, Healey Library, and Susan Haussler, associate dean, College of Nursing.
Because this was the first time such an exhibit has been organized for the entire campus, Davidson expects wider participation next year. "This event is something that can grow, and now we have something to build on," she remarks. Poetry readings, lectures and other events may accompany an Authors and Artists Exhibit in the future.
As the first exhibit came to a close, count Davidson and Bostick as two who couldn't be more pleased with the fruits of this work. "I was so proud of my colleagues, and I hope this exhibit becomes a more complete picture of their achievements in the future," says Davidson. Adds Bostick, "I hope the exhibit continues for decades."
The Walter Grossmann Gallery, where the Campus Authors and Artists Exhibit was displayed during October, honors the first director of the Healey Library. Walter Grossmann, the mastermind behind the library's original collection, played a key role in the design of the Healey Library. He also had a strong interest in the arts, and thought they played a crucial role in a student's educational development, according to Andrew Castiglione, head of acquisitions, Healey Library.
"It is because of Walter Grossmann that we have a fifth floor gallery," says Castiglione. After Grossmann's death, he was honored with the portrait and placque on permanent display in the gallery. The gallery's next exhibit will come from the Institute for Asian American Studies.
