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Health & Fitness

Student-Curated Art Exhibition Explores the History of Regis College

Students in the Museum Practicum course at Regis have stepped outside of the classroom to put together a first of its kind exhibition using pieces from Regis’ own art and antiques collection. Regis has a rich history shaped by its founders, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston, who instilled values such as “serving the dear neighbor without distinction” and “excellence tempered by gentleness” that are still very much part of the current Regis culture.

The six students spent the Fall 2013 semester conceptualizing the theme, identifying and researching the objects, and planning the exhibition that would take place in the Carney Gallery of the Fine Arts Center. After creating a catalog and brochure and writing labels, the students installed the exhibition during January with the guidance of their professor, Dr. Kathryn Edney of the History, World Languages, and Cultural Heritage Department.  

The exhibition, aptly named, “Following Our Path: Regis College through Its Art Collection,”  opens to the public on February 3 and can be viewed until May 10, 2014, in the Carney Gallery in the Fine Arts Center at Regis. Gallery hours are Monday – Friday from 10am – 4pm and by appointment by calling 781-768-7034. 

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“Regis has many beautiful art works that represent the cultural sensibility of the Sisters during an earlier phase of Regis’ history,” said Amy Damon, graduate student in the Heritage Studies program. “It was hard narrowing it down to just a few paintings, busts, pieces of furniture, and other artifacts, but we feel the exhibition gives a true sense of Regis’ spirit. We are all grateful for the experience and opportunity to create our own museum gallery exhibition.”

“This opportunity to get students outside of the classroom and to provide real-life experience is so valuable,” said President Antoinette Hays, PhD, RN, President of Regis College. “They curated an entire art exhibit which gives them relevant skills that will assist them in their future careers and future job placements.”

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“It’s the hand-on experience with works of art and placing them in their historical-cultural context that develops the eye of students and all art lovers who wish to read the signs of the times and recognize what different works are saying about them,” said Laura Garrity-Arquitt, who graduated from the Regis Museum Studies Program in 2008 and is Registrar at the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, MA. “My Regis education in Museum Studies prepared me precisely for that, whether looking at brush strokes, colors, or the context of a particular work,” she continued.

After the exhibition closes, the students will also dismantle it, thus providing a full circle of events from start to finish. The Regis campus also houses the Spellman Museum of Stamps and Postal History and the Public Heritage Institute dedicated to working with local agencies to help historical and cultural research.

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