By Kaela MacLaughlin

Arts, Culture & Design Editor

kmaclaughlin@mail.smcvt.edu

Sunlight shines and the indoor lights glow brighter. Stripes of faint color spill over half-taped sheets on the walls. A grid of tied-up earbuds are hung in the back, emitting an ambience of chime-like sounds. Each piece comes together to resemble an open windowpane at the height of early morning.  This is the make-up of Migrating Landscapes, an exhibit by the artist Daniela Rivera, kicking off the resumption of in-person art gallery shows at St. Michael’s College on Sept. 9. Brian Collier, Assoc. Professor of Art and Design, said the engagement and attendance levels were high, the estimate being about fifty people.

Hannah Muse ‘24 visited the exhibit and reflected on her experience at the gallery. “To get to be able to talk to her in person was really nice, just ask direct questions about her work, instead of just like, I don’t know,  zoom is just confrontational ‘cause you have to say it in front of everyone,” she said.

Celeste Matte ‘24 also visited the gallery and expressed excitement over the in-person viewing. “I was really happy to see how many people showed up,” she said.

Daniela Rivera, an artist featured in the gallery, was also content with the amount of attendees and their interest in navigating her work: “It was great, I think it was a good turnout…It was great to see bodies in the space,” she said.  Her past works soar onward to completion once begun, fulfilling their intended goal right away. Migrating Landscapes is designed to be in-progress forever, taking on more and more meaning as more people migrate into and out of the exhibit, she said. She also said the exhibit models the idea of ‘transculturation’ in which the pieces move from space to space while also creating new imprints in experience for anyone visiting.

The hours of the McCarthy Arts Center are Monday-Friday from 10:00-5:00 p.m. Migrating Landscapes is expected to be available until Oct. 21.