Barn Door Gallery
NCFA’s dedicated art gallery at 33 Hawley
April 2025
Portraits of My People
April 2 - April 26
Opening Reception on Arts Night Out
Titled "Portraits of My People," Mark Guglielmo's current work examines the costs that Italian immigrants and their descendants have faced to attain the benefits of whiteness in America. Through mixed media collage portraits inspired by archival photographs, he highlights the evolving identities of Southern Italians, who have transitioned from being viewed as demonized laborers to defenders of whiteness. Guglielmo employs collage and unmixed color to critique race within a fine art scene where these issues remain largely unaddressed. This work is particularly relevant in light of recent bans on critical race theory, diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and more.
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Mark Guglielmo (he/him, b. 1970, New York City) is a multidisciplinary artist whose paintings incorporate a diverse range of materials such as cut-up paper, cardboard, oil, acrylic, fabric, gold leaf, and corrugated steel. Guglielmo is best known for his layered figurative works that intertwine current events, social history, and the human psyche, to critically explore themes of race, class, migration, and power. Collage is central to his practice and a bridge between his art and music. For years, he employed similar techniques producing hip-hop, sampling, truncating, and reconfiguring existing materials into new compositions. Through his unique blend of media and technique, Guglielmo addresses some of the most pressing issues of out time, sparking healthy dialogue and contributing to contemporary discourse.
Born and raised in New York, Guglielmo roots his work in the exploration of the self and the complexities of the human experience. His fragmented portraits of everyday people based on archival and photographic reference material peel back the layers of social, cultural, and personal history to reveal the raw reality of life. Guglielmo’s approach invites viewers into the inner worlds of his subjects to consider the nuances of identity, place, family, culture, and belonging. Significant projects in his oeuvre include “Portraits of My People” (2021-2025), a collection of portraits honoring his Italian ancestors that reveals the fraught process of race-making in America, merging family lineage with broader cultural and social questions. Additionally, his series of photo-collage portraits, interviews, and field recordings examining contemporary Cuban identity, entitled “Cubaneo” (2015-2017) and created on 3 trips to the island, expanded his enquiries at the intersection of the personal and collective narrative, heritage, international relations, and artistic diplomacy.
Guglielmo’s work has been featured in numerous exhibitions, including at The Loveland Museum in Colorado; Villa Victoria Center for the Arts in Boston; Central Connecticut State University in New Britain; Vermont Center for Photography in Brattleboro; The New York State Museum in Albany; and von Auersperg Gallery in Deerfield, Massachusetts. His pieces are held in both public and private collections, among them Emory Healthcare in Atlanta; The Calandra Institute in New York; and the City of Loveland, Colorado. Guglielmo has been awarded multiple honors and prizes, including from The Puffin Foundation; Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts; Deerfield Academy TEDx Talk; Community Mural Institute Artist Fellowship at Fresh Paint Springfield; and The Williston Northampton School Artist-in-Residence. He graduated from Haverford College with a BA in History, spending a year at Université de Paul Valéry in Montpellier, France. A former rapper and music producer, Guglielmo aka Vesuveo rapped with Eminem on the Top 10 hit “Green and Gold.” He released 8 albums, 4 with his group The Anonymous, and shared the stage with KRS-One, Biz Markie, and Black Eyed Peas while his music forms the soundtrack to Pimp My Ride, Jersey Shore, Cribs, and Beavis and Butt-Head. He currently serves as a Community Advisor for the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts’ ValleyCreates Program, in partnership with MASS MoCA’s Assets for Artists. He lives and works in western Massachusetts.
Mass Appeal 3-D art exhibit exploring Italian-American life at the Barn Door Gallery in Northampton
WHMP Radio Talk the Talk with Bill Newman and Bus Eisenberg
Italians and Whiteness in the U.S.: A Community Conversation
Sat April 19th, 4-5 pm
Join artist Mark Guglielmo, Jennifer Guglielmo (Professor of History, Smith College), and Heshima Moja (Composer/Musician/Sonic Architect) in the Barn Door Gallery for a Community Conversation. More info here!
April Split Level Gallery 2025
Revelry at 33
April 3 - April 26
Opening Reception on Arts Night Out
Join us for our fourth annual fundraising event, showcasing over 35 talented local artists. This year's theme, "No Place Like Home," will be beautifully represented in the Split Level Gallery at our newly renovated venue, located at 33 Hawley Street. Don’t miss the chance to celebrate the vibrant community spirit and the incredible artistry of the Connecticut River Valley. Come support the arts and immerse yourself in a celebration of creativity, connection, and culture!
Participating Artists:
Acadia Black
Aldo Cipriani
Amy Kotel
Christine Mirabal
Cindy Lutz Kornet
Dean McKeever
Deb Lohmeyer
Debra Hoyle
Ella Nathanael Alkiewicz
Elena Watson
Eliza Fichter
Hannah Harvester
Hannah Laird
Heather Geoffrey
Jeannie Donovan
Jennifer Ablard
Jesse Merrick
Juli Kirk
Julia McGlew
Kate Marion Lapierre
Kristi W. Colbert
Laurel Rogers
Madge Evers
Marc Moses
Mark Luiggi
Mary Witt Painter
Melissa Stratton Pandina
Natalie Goodale
Rebecca Herskovitz
Renee Pitre
Robert Bent
Robert Markey
Robin Griffith
Shelley Kirkwood
Simone Alter Muri
May 2025
softedge
May 3 - May 30
Opening Reception on Arts Night Out
softedge refers to the space between self and other, internal and external, where an ending holds the simultaneity of sharpness and a soft beginning.
Mystic and symbolic, Lena’s work contemplates both the beauty and pain of healing and being human. Rae’s work lives in the reverb of dualities: despair-hope, loss-joy, dis-connection, in-decision – where aliveness finds weight and heft when framed by the fact of death.
In dialogue, these works share a meditative and maximalist sensibility, which offers the viewer a container for their own transcendent and most human need - a place where joy and grief are held as one.
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Lena Mac (b. Boston, 1992, she/her/hers) is an American visual artist. Her practice primarily consists of painting, making large scale murals and more recently, three-dimensional objects of wood and ceramics.
Inspired by the natural world, contemporary illustration and her personal experiences, Mac’s work combines figurative symbols with abstracted forms to create metaphorical spaces that contemplate mysterious aspects of the world around us.
In 2016, Lena began painting in the streets while living in Santiago, Chile and has since continued to paint in public spaces across the world. She has participated in numerous mural festivals and been an artist in residence with La Sierra Foundation (2023 Colombia), Dripped on the Road traveling residency (2021 USA), and Watershed Studios (2019 Ireland).
Lena holds a BFA in painting from Boston University. She is a recipient of the Mass Cultural Council Grant for Creative Individuals, the Blanche E. Coleman award and the Mass MoCA Assets for Artists grant.
Lena lives and works in Western Massachusetts.
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Rae Heller (b. NYC, no pronouns) is an artist primarily creating large scale quilts. Rae graduated from Simmons College with a BA in Arts Administration and Art. Rae’s quilts queers the line between art and craft. Rae’s textile work uplifts sustainability as a generative practice, focusing on using repurposed fabric, as well as scrap by-products of the artmaking process to create. The durable softness of quilts celebrate the dualities of daily living.
Rae lives and works in southern Vermont and teaches quilting as an artform at Marlboro Studio School and Looky Here in Greenfield, Massachusetts
May Split Level Gallery 2025
Playground
May 3 - May 26
Opening Reception on Arts Night Out
Get ready to be amazed by the incredible talent of our young artists! From stunning portraiture to captivating still life and impressive sculptures, the Northamption Highschool students have poured their creativity into an inspiring showcase of their work. Join us this May as we highlight the artistic achievements of students with installations done by the students themselves!
Don't miss the unique selection of pieces curated from art classes taught by Zoe Sasson and Louise Martindell, along with the Senior Honors Art Shows.
The Barn Door Gallery Mission and Values
The art gallery that the Northampton Center for the Arts (NCFA) stewards at 33 Hawley is a space which supports NCFA’s mission to foster community connections through the arts. The Barn Door Gallery provides dedicated space to cultivate constantly evolving and transformative conversations between and among artists and viewers. In managing this community resource, NCFA uses the following intentions as a guide:
To create an art space that is accessible and inclusive, with transparent criteria, that welcomes a wide variety of artists and art mediums
To steward the art gallery in such a way that it is available to as many artists and community members as possible
To provide space to learn more about how people with varying identities express themselves through art
To maintain a rotating curatorial committee of NCFA staff and board and community members that makes recommendations on curatorial decisions
To make financially sound decisions that will enable us to continue to provide opportunities for our community to experience the arts for years to come
Application Process for Exhibits
Next CALL FOR PROPOSALS: May 2025
NCFA will put out a call for exhibit proposals each May.
A new curatorial committee will meet each July to make decisions about the following year’s exhibits. More here!
Committee members will be asked to review images independently before coming together.
Applicants will be notified by early August.
Exhibit proposals may include:
individual shows
guest curation or shared exhibits
submissions for the group show for emerging artists
all types of visual art, including 2D and 3D work
Please note that all artwork submitted must be available for sale (exceptions may apply), and NCFA retains a 20% commission on all artwork sold. We try to keep this as low as possible to aid our mission.
The Barn Door Gallery is approximately 20’ x 26’ and has about 70-80 linear feet of wall space (depending on the kind of art being displayed). It has five pedestals, a movable wall, and tables may also be available for 3D work.
Submission Form for Solo Exhibits
NCFA’s Commitment to Representation
As the leaders of a small, local arts organization, we know the power of the arts to help us process, contextualize, and speak out. In good times and bad, we know the beauty of witnessing works of art coming into being. We also know the challenges of supporting the arts in the context of infrastructure impacted by racism, classism, gentrification, unnamed power dynamics, colonialism, elitism, and gatekeeping that is too often performed in the name of curation. At the Center, we believe that arts administration and curation offer an opportunity for care, inclusion, and challenging the status quo. As such, we are committed to an ongoing practice of dismantling patterns of white supremacy culture in ourselves and our organization. (From NCFA’s Antiracism and the Arts page)
Our goals for representation in the Barn Door Art Gallery over the first three years:
NCFA is committed to supporting artists who hold historically marginalized identities. Half of exhibiting artists will identify as BIPoC. In addition, half of all exhibitors will identify as LGBTQIA+ artists. (These identities may intersect.) Proposals for identity themed exhibits are encouraged.
NCFA is committed to supporting emerging artists. One exhibit per year will be a group show dedicated to emerging artists, with some prioritization for those who have never exhibited work in a gallery before.
NCFA is committed to supporting local artists. As such, the curatorial committee will prioritize artists both within a 30 mile radius of the Center, and will consider artists from farther away (up to 60 miles) as well as those with ties to the area.
NCFA is committed to supporting and welcoming low income and new/emerging artists, and to taking steps to mitigate any tendency for artists to feel intimidated. We offer resources such as a commitment to no artist application fees, providing refreshments for artists’ receptions, and marketing support (website, social media, email, newsblast). We are working towards securing discounts for printing and framing at specific local businesses, providing basic hardware for hanging as well as resources for artists regarding the hanging and presenting of work. The parameters for portfolio submissions and formatting will be as flexible as is feasible.
NCFA is committed to listening to and engaging with community members, and will continue to prioritize multiple mechanisms for feedback.
The Curatorial Committee
Any community member may apply to be on a curatorial committee.
The application form is open and applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Applicants will be contacted in the spring of each year to join that year’s committee.
Applicants will remain on the list unless they ask to be removed.
All eligible applicants will eventually be invited to serve on the committee.
NCFA will strive for each committee to have the same representation as our exhibiting artists: half BIPOC, half LGBTQIA+, and a mix of emerging and experienced artists. We understand these identities may intersect.
Each curatorial committee has the option to curate a group show for the January exhibit, either with their own art or an artist they would like to amplify.
In addition, the gallery curatorial committee will be guided by a three-year vision which will ensure that the mission and values established initially are consistently incorporated into the operation of the space.
The curatorial committee will solicit feedback after the first year to help revise and improve practices.
(For the first cycle, the steering committee became the first curatorial committee. This group, who worked closely together in the fall of 2023, will choose the February through August 2024 exhibits, and will exhibit their own work in January 2024.)
Past Barn Door Gallery Exhibits
Barn Door Gallery
Past Split Level Gallery Exhibits
Barn Door Gallery
