Simmons University presents “Inside the Outsider World: Gateway Arts at Simmons University,” a group show of paintings and mixed media works on paper, March 25-April 25, at the Simmons University Trustman Art Gallery, fourth floor of the Main College Building, 300 The Fenway, in Boston.
A reception with Gateway Arts Director Rae Edelson and Artistic Director Stephen De Fronzo will be held in the Trustman Gallery March 31 from 4:30-6 p.m. The exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.
“Inside the Outsider World” is curated and organized by the Arts in the Community seminar students who are primarily seniors in Simmons’s Arts Administration program. The course, combined with a professional internship, is the final requisite for an arts administration major.
“This exhibition is a great example of the many paths to community engagement and professional achievement offered to our students,” said Trustman Gallery Director Barbara O’Brien, who also directs the program. “Working with both the artists and staff of Gateway Arts, one of the premier studios for outsider artists in the country, is an incredible opportunity.”
The class of 11 students has been working all semester with the staff at Gateway Arts to organize, curate, and design the exhibition. Each student selected the work of one artist for display and will write educational and biographic materials to accompany that artist’s work in the Trustman Art Gallery.
“Making art professionally can create a life that is of value and one that gives value back to society,” said Gateway Director Rae Edelson. At Gateway, individuals fulfill their dreams as working artists in the local, national, and international art community.
The exhibition includes 2-D works by Yasmin Arshad, John Colby, Larry Edmiston, Robert Kirshner, Morgan, Gilberto Palacios, Ruby Pearl, Carmella Salvucci, Gabrielle Sichel, Roger Swike, Cameron Wilder, and Bohill Wong.
Gateway Arts, according to its website, “is a magical place filled with colorful crafts, contemplative and whimsical paintings and over 95 talented artists with disabilities learning a vocation while realizing their dreams. This unique, non-profit service includes the Studio Program, The Gateway Crafts Store, and The Gateway Gallery.” Gateway is a service of Vinfen, a private, non-profit human services organization providing a comprehensive array of services to adults and children with mental illness, mental retardation, and behavioral health disabilities.
Trustman Art Gallery hours are 10 AM – 4:30 PM, Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, 10 AM – 7 PM on Wednesday and Thursday. The gallery is free, open to the public and wheelchair accessible. For more information, contact Kyle Mendelsohn at (617) 521-2268 or find us on Instagram.