For the second time, the McCoy Gallery is partnering with Western Avenue Studios to showcase a vibrant art exhibit. Last year, professional artists from Western Ave exhibited a hundred pieces at the McCoy Gallery in the Rogers Center for the Arts. This year, our Merrimack students and alumni are the featured artists exhibiting at the Loading Dock Gallery in Lowell, Massachusetts—which is the premiere gallery at Western Avenue Studios.
This exhibit, titled Great Day to Be a Warrior, displays 27 works from 17 artists—eight current students and nine alumni. The focus of the exhibition is on experimentation and risk-taking. It offers space for individual voices to coexist, overlap, and communicate, highlighting the diverse ways artists, designers, and performers think, create, experiment and engage critically with the world today.
It’s quite unusual for a student show at Merrimack to be off campus. “This is the first student exhibition, at least in recent memory, to be held off campus,” notes Nancy Wynn, Academic Chair and Dean of the Department of Creative Arts, Design and Architecture (CADA) at Merrimack. “That makes it all the more special to us and our department. Building this partnership with Western Ave is also very meaningful, and we hope to continue this professional relationship in the years ahead.”
The curators include Jonathan Latiano, Associate Professor of Art & Art History and Director of the McCoy Gallery, along with Ally Lewis ‘17, Senior Administrator of the CADA Department. Besides helping curate the show, Lewis submitted her own piece titled Get Slugged!, featuring three felted slugs.
“I am super grateful for the Loading Dock Gallery for welcoming us into their space and for our blossoming relationship,” Lewis says. “The arts are under attack, so it is incredibly important to have support within this professional community and alongside your fellow artists.”
Great Day to Be a Warrior is now open at the Loading Dock Gallery through April 26. The gallery hours are Wednesday to Friday, 12:00-5:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. To learn more, visit Western Ave’s website and the Lowell Sun article about the show.
