25 Years: 40 Artists Reflect on a Quarter Century of Exhibitions 
February 12- April 2, 2026

Opening Reception:   
Thursday, February 12, 6 to 8 p.m.

Snowdate Reception: 
Fridau, February 13, 6 to 8 p.m. 

Gallery Hours:   
Monday - Thursday: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.   
Friday: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Bristol Community College’s Grimshaw-Gudewicz Art Gallery, and to honor that milestone the gallery is presenting the exhibition 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 the gallery began planning, it expected to highlight 25 works, one for each year. The gallery placed a call for submissions to everyone who had exhibited with us in the past. The forty responses they received revealed a fuller truth: every submission carried the weight of history, memory and connection. To exclude any voice would diminish the collective story. Chief Curator of Exhibition Development and Creative Programming Administrator Kathleen Hancock decided to include all submissions, creating a living archive within the larger arc of the gallery program, which now spans 141 exhibitions over 25 years.

What emerged is not simply a retrospective, but a living archive - one that reflects how the gallery has functioned over 25 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 is 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.

Reflection by Kathleen Hancock, Chief Curator of Exhibition Development and Creative Programming Administrator, Grimshaw-Gudewicz Art Gallery

When I look back on 25 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 and 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.