Art Galleries

Cummings Arts Center

Cummings Arts Center Gallery Hours:  Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday, 1-4 p.m. (Galleries closed Oct. 10-14, Nov. 21-25, 2007; and March 7-23, 2008.)

The Joanne and Nathan Cummings Arts Center at Connecticut College, the focus for visual art and music on campus, is home to the art department's gallery program.

Built in 1969 and designed by Gordon Bunshaft, a partner of Skidmore, Owings, and Merril, Cummings Arts Center houses three gallery spaces totaling approximately 3000 sq. ft.: the Joanne Toor Cummings Gallery, the Manwaring Gallery and Gallery 66. 

Educational aspects of the galleries are central to the program's mission to present diverse exhibitions of high quality contemporary art that enhance the visual arts experience at the College. Over the years a wide variety of exhibitions has included artworks in all mediums.

Exhibitions ranging from the annual student and faculty shows to those by internationally acclaimed artists fill the three gallery spaces throughout the academic year.   The third floor atrium level is used year round for the exhibition of student work and the entrance level salon adjacent to the Joanne Toor Cummings Gallery provides a location for student interaction and discussion.

Each exhibition opens with an artist's reception that provides an opportunity for students and the general public to meet the exhibiting artists.  Artist lectures, gallery talks, round table discussions, and demonstrations allow the students and community to interact with the artists.

Also, when Cummings was built, the Center's plazas became a permanent home for outdoor sculptures by George Rickey, Bernard Rosenthal, David Smalley, and William McCloy. In the fall of 1995, outdoor sculptures on loan from Donald Lippincott were added, including pieces by such prominent artists as Louise Nevelson, William T. Wiley, George Sugarman, and James Rosati.  Excellent examples of the collaborations that took place in the 60s and 70s between artists and metal fabricators, they provide evidence of the period's rich dialogue between architecture and sculptural work.

The first exhibition at the Center was an art faculty show in the foyer space and the Manwaring Gallery. Today the annual Faculty Exhibition begins each gallery season. The creative efforts of the art department are further showcased in the annual spring Senior Thesis Exhibition and the All Student and Art Minor Show.

Charles Chu Asian Art Reading Room in Shain Library

The spacious, handsomely appointed Charles Chu Asian Art Reading Room in Shain Library  serves as both a quiet reading area and as the first permanent exhibition space for the College's Chu-Griffis Art Collection. It also provides shelving for a selection of books and periodicals on Asian art that complements the library's main holdings in the stacks and special collections.

Last Modified: Friday, January 04, 2008 12:54