presented as part of an international exhibition exchange between the University Hall Gallery and Art & Art History Department at UMass Boston and the Golden Thread Gallery of Belfast
curated by Sarah McAvera and Sam Toabe
Artists include:
Ciara Finnegan, Sandra Johnston, Shiro Masuyama, Sharon Murphy, Sinéad O’Donnell, Peter Richards, Elvira Santamaría, and Una Walker
About the exhibition:
Do we find insight into ourselves in the artworks that we experience? Do we use them as a prompt to confirm our own values? Or, do we use them as proof of “otherness?” Has the meaning of “the other” changed in the current political and social climate? Do we use the concept of “the other” as a means of maintaining the status quo?
The selection of artworks for Insight into the Other focuses on those whose meanings change according to the time and space they are shown in. All blur boundaries around what they are and what they appear to be, or could be, based on its relationship to the experience of the viewer and vice versa. Some works will be restaged for the first time in many years, shown in alternative presentations that provoke the viewer into being part of the work, leading them to question what they are seeing and experiencing. The multitude of alternate readings undermine the stability of the viewing process and our sense of self and sense of the “other.”
The selection of artworks for the exhibition will be drawn from the collection of the Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast’s leading contemporary visual art program. Located in the capital of Northern Ireland, their purpose is to present high quality artistic programs embracing the breadth of contemporary arts practices by world-class national and international artists, and to develop, support and champion contemporary Northern Irish artists.
The exhibition exchange will result in Insight into the Other at the University Hall Gallery curated by Golden Thread Gallery’s Co-Director Sarah McAvera in collaboration with our Gallery Director, Sam Toabe. This collaborative exchange will will overlap with a group exhibition at the Golden Thread Gallery in Belfast composed of studio art faculty, staff, and alumni from UMass Boston’s Art & Art History Department, opening on 2.14.26.
This is the first international exhibition of its kind at the University Hall Gallery.
We would like to extend our gratitude to the staff of the Golden Thread Gallery for their support of this project, as well as the faculty and staff of the Art & Art History Department at UMass Boston for making this landmark exhibition exchange possible.
Image above:
Sharon Murphy
Interval (after Lucio Fontano),2015
For more information about the exhibition exchange, or to schedule a visit, please email us at UHGallery@umb.edu
On view next:
Arts on the Point: Celebrating 30 Years
on view: 3.9.26–4.18.26
Artist talk by Sheila Pepe:
Wednesday, April 8th timing TBA | University Hall
About the exhibition:
This group exhibition will bring past artists of the Arts on the Point, UMass Boston’s revolving public art program, to the University Hall Gallery to celebrate this historic curatorial program. While celebrating and reflecting on the artworks that have previously been shown, and those that are still on view, this exhibition reintroduces visitors to the program by historicizing it in the contexts of our locale, Columbia Point, and within Boston’s long and rich history of public art. Grounding by smaller scale artworks, images of the large scale sculptures and other materials pulled from our archives will bring the history of Arts on the Point to life.
Founded by Professor Emeritus Paul Hayes Tucker in 1997, Arts on the Point has brought world class sculpture to Boston’s only public research university, and engages with the local community through events and public programming. Guided by his conviction that “a public university needs public art,” Tucker attracted some of the most well-known post-modern and contemporary artists working in large-scale sculpture in the US. Artists such as Sol LeWitt, Roy Lichtenstein, Willem de Kooning, Dennis Oppenheim, Luis Jiménez, Sheila Pepe, and Mark di Suvero, among others, have lent artworks and visited the campus to install and speak about their work with our students. Paul Tucker retired from UMass Boston in 2012, and since 2017 the program has been led by Gallery Director Sam Toabe.
This exhibition is being organized by our Curatorial Assistant Isabella Slonka as part of her honors thesis, with the support of our Gallery Director.
\A companion exhibition looking at current projects and future plans for Arts on the Point will coincide with new installations across campus in 2027.
For more information, or to schedule a visit, please email us at UHGallery@umb.edu
Lan Tuazon's Matters of Consequence, coming to UMass Boston as part of the Boston Public Art Triennial
On View: March 2026 - March 2027
About Matters of Consequence:
Arts on the Point and University Hall Gallery are proud to share that we are partnering again with the Boston Public Art Triennial. Through this partnership, we will be welcoming internationally renowned artist Lan Tuazon to develop and install her artwork Matters of Consequence in the atrium of University Hall, with participation and programming produced by UMass Boston students.
Matters of Consequence was inspired by a 15th-century painting of a “studiolo,” a private space for study and reflection. This artwork becomes a platform for conversation, workshops, and exchanging materials and ideas, a public place for practicing climate-conscious behavior. It also serves as a pedestal to honor the work of student groups at UMass Boston who are creating their own social systems through art practices, sustainability, mutual aid, food access, health, and fitness. The installation supports reflection on the impact of individual consumption and invites visitors into shared storytelling, “deep hanging out,” and survival strategies drawn from lived experience.
Visit the University Hall Gallery
Location First floor of University Hall in room 1220. p. 617.287.5707
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