Preview our 2025-2026 exhibition program in our newsletter.

On view:

States of Being

• On view: September 2, 2025 – November 1, 2025

• UMass Boston reception: Thursday, September 25th from 12:30-2pm

  Student led tour from 1-1:30pm from curators Helina Almonte & Rafaela Astudillo

• Public Reception: Tuesday October 28th from 5-7pm

Artists include:

Ophelia Arc, Amy Bravo, Elena del Rivero, Jo Nanajian, Sondra Perry, and Leah Piepgras

About the exhibition:

States of Being explores the femme body as a site of connection across intersectional experiences. As humans, we encounter various states of being. Through bodily interactions like sexual encounters, physical barriers, transitional rebirths, motherhood, illness, and political foul play, we become more aware of our bodies and the spaces we fill. As femme beings with vast and expansive identities, our embodied experiences are a frequent connector of interrelated, yet divergent, realities. Artists in the exhibition, like Amy Bravo, use their own bodies as the starting point, creating visceral and assertive works. Trojan Rooster (Day Stalker), for instance, a sculptural painting references the Trojan Horse as a symbol of strategic resistance. The exhibition honors and positions the body as the primary translator of the contemporary human experience through contemporary artworks in sculpture, painting, installation, and video.

This exhibition is organized by two of our student Gallery Assistants, Helina Almonte and Rafaela Astudillo, with the support of Gallery Director Sam Toabe.

Image above: Amy Bravo
Trojan Rooster (Day Stalker), 2024

Coming in October:

Artist Talk & Book Signing: Cannupa Hanska Luger 

Cannupa Hanska Luger

Artist talk: Monday, October 20th, 2025 | 5-6:30pm

Location: University Hall, Recital Hall, room 1270

next to the University Hall Gallery

followed by a walk to visit Transmutation

Opening remarks by Director of Arts on the Point Sam Toabe; Co-Curator of the inaugural Boston Public Art Triennial, Tess Lukey; and Director of INENS Cedric J. Woods, PhD. 

Join us for this free event, open to the public. No registration is required.

Produced by Arts on the Point, UMass Boston's Visiting Artist Lecture Series, the Boston Public Art Triennial, and the Native American and Indigenous Studies Program at UMass Boston, Hanska Luger artist talk will focus on his artwork Transmutation made in collaboration with the UMass Boston Community and celebrate the launch of his new book SURVIVA. Copies of this new publication will be available for purchase at the event, and the artist will sign copies after the event. 

Weather permitting, we will then walk to the site of the Transmutation, just outside of University Hall. 

Read coverage of Transmutation from the Boston Art Review.

Image above:

Cannupa Hanska Luger in 2023, 

photo by Gabe Fermin

For more information, or to schedule a visit, please email us at UHGallery@umb.edu 

Other Projects and Programs

Cannupa Hanska Luger's new artwork Transmutatio, coming to UMass Boston as part of the Boston Public Art Triennial

On View: May 20, 2025 - October 31, 2025

About Transmutation:

Arts on the Point and University Hall Gallery are proud to share that we are participating as a partner in the Boston Public Art Triennial. Through this partnership, we will be welcoming internationally renowned artist Cannupa Hanska Luger to develop and install his newest public artwork Transmutation on our campus, adjacent to University Hall, with participation from UMass Boston students.

New Mexico based artist Cannupa Hanska Luger (b.1979) continues his exploration into the visual language of the bison, through a participatory artwork titled “Transmutation.” Partnering with localBoston Indigenous community members, the UMass Boston Native + Indigenous Studies Program and NAICOB (North American Indian Center of Boston), the piece explores the loss of America’s buffalo population, while also celebrating indigenous resilience.