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.

The Grimshaw-Gudewicz Art Gallery’s 25th Anniversary Exhibition brings together forty artists whose works mark the passage of time across fifty-three exhibitions. From our first show in 2000 to Full Circle in 2025, these works honor both the artists who have shaped this space and the community that has grown with it.

When we began planning, we imagined presenting twenty-five works — one for each year. Instead, the responses we received revealed a fuller truth: every submission carried history, memory, and connection. To exclude any voice would diminish the collective story. All forty works are therefore included, creating a living archive within the larger arc of our program, which now spans 141 exhibitions over twenty-five years.

This anniversary exhibition is both retrospective and forward-looking. It revisits the ideas, materials, and stories that have defined our exhibitions while reaffirming the gallery’s role as a place of learning, discovery, and dialogue. Each piece, individual and distinct, resonates more deeply in the company of the others — together forming a circle of creative voices that extends into the future.

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