Exhibitions
25 Years: 40 Artists Reflect on a Quarter Century of Exhibitions
February 12 - April 2, 2026
Opening Reception: Thursday, February 12, 6 - 8 p.m.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Art Gallery, and to honor that milestone we’re presenting an exhibition titled 25 Years: 40 Artists Reflect on a Quarter Century of Exhibitions.
The exhibition brings together artists whose work has appeared in the gallery since its founding in 2000. When we began planning, we expected to highlight twenty-five works, one for each year. We placed a call for submissions to everyone who had exhibited with us in the past. The forty responses we received revealed a fuller truth: every submission carried the weight of history, memory, and connection. To exclude any voice would diminish the collective story. We decided to include all submissions, creating a living archive within the larger arc of our program, which now spans 141 exhibitions over twenty-five years.
What emerged is not simply a retrospective, but a living archive – one that reflects how the gallery has functioned over twenty-five years as a teaching space, a site of first encounters with contemporary art, and a place where students, faculty, and community members come into conversation.
While the exhibition honors the past, it’s ultimately forward-looking. It asks how we sustain meaningful, inclusive cultural programming, and how the gallery can continue to evolve as part of the academic life of the college. I hope you’ll join us in the gallery and be part of that conversation.
Director’s Reflection
When I look back on twenty-five years at the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Art Gallery, I see not only the arc of 141 exhibitions but the countless hours and invisible tasks that shaped them. As founding director, I have been curator, preparator, lighting designer, writer, advocate, collaborator and — yes — even floor washer. Wearing so many different hats has been less a burden than a privilege: each role has been a way of tending to the work and the people who pass through this space.
My vision has always been guided by two commitments. The first is to artists — to honor their practices with respect, care, and thoughtful presentation. The second is to Bristol Community College and its students, for whom the gallery is a classroom without walls, a place where art sparks dialogue, learning and empathy. The exhibitions we have mounted together embody those dual commitments: they have introduced regional, national and international artists to our community, while also anchoring our students in a wider world of ideas.
If the gallery has become a cultural hub for the South Coast, it is because of these layered roles, both visible and unseen. To curate here has meant more than arranging objects; it has meant shaping experiences, bridging communities and making space for voices to be heard. As I reflect on this milestone, I am grateful for the patience, labor and creativity that have gone into building this institution — and for the artists, students and audiences who have made it thrive.
Kathleen Hancock
Chief Curator of Exhibition Development and Creative Programming Administrator