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Inside the wavy brick exterior walls of Lafayette’s Williams Visual Arts Building in downtown Easton, throughout the building’s studios and the Richard A. and Rissa W. Grossman Gallery, there’s a world of learning going on—and Lafayette students aren’t the only ones benefiting from the experience.
Jim Toiahas been director of the gallery and the Community-Based Teaching program since the Williams building opened six years ago at 243 North Third St.
In addition to benefiting from these sessions, area residents have the opportunity to visit exhibits in the Grossman Gallery, which currently features the work of Easton-based artist Ken Kewley. His Collages and Drawings is on display through Feb. 24.
Toia says that close to 90 Lafayette students from different classes have visited the exhibit, and many attended a lecture by Kewley last week. In addition, he says, students in a course taught by Elaine Reynolds, associate professor of biology and chair of neuroscience, are using Kewley’s work as a jumping-off point for a distinctive exploration of visual stimuli.
The Community Based-Teaching program will host an exhibition of works by high school and middle school art teachers from throughout the region this summer. “The teachers will have an opportunity to show their work in a way their students don’t usually see. It’s an opportunity for kids and teachers to learn more about each other, and on a different level,” Toia says. Last summer the Grossman Gallery exhibited works by more than 20 local high school students.
Toia is currently working with five Lafayette independent study students who are learning the ropes of gallery management and curatorial programming. The students are Sarah Reddan ’09 (Monroe Township, N.J.), English and art double major Morgan Schneller ’07 (Bay Shore, N.Y.), American Studies major Nicole Sidrane ’08 (Wardsboro, Vt.), mathematics and French double major Katherine Sloan ’07 (Ho Ho Kus, N.J.), and international affairs major Stephanie Sulfaro ’09 (Melville, N.Y.). They are working on “all aspects of running a gallery, including art installation, art handling, inventory, sending and receiving, lighting, prep work, docent work, artist relations, and greeting the public,” Toia says, adding that they will also learn about curatorial work by helping write invitations to local artists and teachers to participate in the summer exhibition.
“We’re doing a complete sweep of the area, within a 25-mile radius,” Toia says, explaining that while the program has built relationships with many school districts, many more districts could benefit. “The students will make final selections for the summer show, including determining how much work should be included, what the format should be, etc., all under my supervision,” he adds.
Toia is also working with five EXCEL/Community of Scholars students, who are interacting with visiting artists, artists-in-residence, regional artists, the Arts Community of Easton (ACE), and the Boys and Girls Club of Easton.
Art majors Emily Gillespie ’07 ( Hammonton, N.J.), Alaina Lackman ’09 (Philadelphia, Pa.), Rachel Pidcock ’09 (Allentown, Pa.), and Danielle Schreier ’07 (New York, N.Y.), and art and English double major Allison Thompson ’08 are working to develop an arts program for a new community center for Easton teens.
What distinguishes Easton’s center, known as “The Club,” from other Boys and Girls Club teen center initiatives nationally is a focus on the humanities – the visual arts, dance, and intentional group dialogue grounded in civility and citizenship – and Lafayette is playing the lead role in developing the center’s humanities-focused programming. Toia and Ed Kerns, Clapp Professor of Art and the visual arts building’s founding director, have been instrumental in framing the role of art in building the cultural and social capital of the community. The center’s creative humanities-focused programming will include Lafayette students as teachers and mentors for the teens.
“We are very excited to have this chance to further serve the community and be of service to the Boys and Girls Club of Easton and we think this relationship is a great opportunity for our students to work as art educators and mentors to young aspiring minds. This is what civic engagement and town-gown relationships are really all about,” Toia says. “We’ll work closely with them from the very start, and that will continue to grow based on the center’s needs and how many resources it has.”
Upcoming exhibits at the Grossman Gallery include works from Lafayette’s Experimental Printmaking Institute from March 7 to 14, the work of videographer Xu Bing from March 21 to April 21, and the Lafayette Honors in Art Studio Exhibition from April 28 to May 26 (read about last year’s honors exhibit here).