On Monday, February 3, curator and artist David Walega arrived at New Bedford’s Gallery X around noon. The walls were bare inside the 1855 Universalist Church-turned-art gallery. Paintings, sculptures and ceramics covered floors and tables, waiting for installation.
The sight was “overwhelming,” he said. And art just kept coming through the door.
By 3:15 p.m., with the help of several volunteers, 67 works by 36 artists hung on the walls and sat upon white pedestals.
The work of planning, preparing and installing the hundreds of annual art exhibitions throughout New England takes the effort of innumerable curators, gallery assistants, administrators and, of course, artists.
But what works for a 140-year-old church won’t work for a gallery space in a storefront window, or for a massive complex housing a 15,000 square-foot exhibition and event space.
No two art institutions curate and hang their shows exactly alike. Institutional philosophies, space constraints and the qualities of individual artworks change how curatorial teams approach an exhibition.
According to Walega, the Gallery X board meets at the beginning of the year to plan themes for each of the venue’s month-long shows. Board members then step up to curate the exhibitions that interest them and they help “shepherd the show along.”