For years, Dartmouth student artists have been trying to find an adequate and accessible space to display their work. This week, they finally get their chance.
Tonight, the Top of the Hop will become home to AREA, a new gallery space organized by and dedicated to student artists. AREA strives to be unlike existing gallery spaces around campus, offering an environment suitable for a variety of student media, ranging from painting to performance art.
AREA's first exhibition is entitled "Abstract: An Introduction to the 2002 Senior Majors."
The works displayed in this inaugural show will rotate on a week-and-a-half basis, which will provide ample opportunity for students from all spheres of studio art to display their work.
Though other students have tried to secure a space for student artwork in the past, AREA is the brainchild of senior studio art majors Kathy Grayson '02 and Laura Tepper '02.
"After realizing that there was no student gallery on campus, we wanted to find a space not only to present student work but also to learn how to organize shows and set up material," Grayson said.
Hoping to see their vision through to fruition, Grayson and Tepper sought funding from various campus organizations. From the Hood Museum and the Hopkins Center to the Studio Art Department and the Dean's Office, they found sponsors who were receptive to the idea of providing student artists with their own creative space.
As a result, the Top of the Hop was earmarked as the eventual site for AREA. Traditionally a multifunctional space, used for anything from studying to a cappella performances, the Top of the Hop seems an ideal location for a student gallery that promises to be offbeat.
"We will not have the gallery be a run-of-the-mill white box full of 2-D squares," Grayson said.
In fact, this evening's opening gala aims to prove this. Touted by Grayson as "a huge raucous party," the 7:00 p.m. reception will introduce the community to a new concept in Dartmouth gallery space. The evening unites still art with musical performance through a creative venture by three student DJs.
Though its first exhibition showcases studio art majors, AREA's initiative is to offer a space that is both innovative and unhampered by the norms of more standard galleries.
"We are open to guest curators, and we are open to performance and conceptual artists," Grayson said.
Nonetheless, the first showing will tread on more familiar artistic territory. After all, the concept for AREA stems from the pressing need for Dartmouth's studio artists to mold a space for their own artwork.
AREA's startup exhibition features the work of four painting majors and one sculpting major: Grayson, Matt Siegle '02, Sam Dahl '02, Laura Grey '02 and Matt Jones '02, respectively. Each student will display three or four pieces.
After its initial rotation of pieces by studio art majors, AREA will diverge sharply from the installations typical of Dartmouth galleries. Though Grayson remains mum about the specifics of the next exhibition, she hints at a big surprise.
"It will not be studio art majors and will involve video installations."
In this way, AREA is more than simply a wall in the Hop. The coordinators envision AREA as offering a seamless interaction between many media and even between different campus groups.
"We do not want this project to be limited in anyway," Grayson said. "We want to engage the whole campus and create a dialogue about student art."
