The Fine Arts Gallery on the campus of Springfield Technical Community College celebrates the life and creative talents of Amy H. Carberry, an aspiring artist, poet and alumna of STCC, who passed away in 2003.
A gift from Carberry’s family to the school, the gallery honors all artists who labor to share their creative energies with the world.
Producer Dave Fraser spoke with Associate Professor and Gallery Director Sondra Peron to learn more about the space and a unique camera obscura room which is also housed at the gallery.
The Carberry Fine Arts Gallery hosts many exhibits each year, including Paul Bloomfield’s COVID series, which we recently profiled here.
Read the full transcription:
Sondra Peron, Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery: Amy Carberry was a student here. She passed away. And so, Gail Carbery and her husband, Don, they wanted to honor her life in this way. And so, they created an endowment so that this space would always be a gallery space.
The gallery is a space that is open to all students and the greater Springfield community, really. Anyone taking a class at STCC can come to the gallery, anybody from the public can come to the gallery. We showcase work from artists who are local, regional, national, as well as student — student work.
The gallery annex, which is right off the main gallery, is the camera obscura room. And that is a space that is basically a room that — where I have blocked the windows with a very thick plastic and then I’ve made a hole in one of the windows. And when you turn around and you look at the wall, the image from outside that room is reflected inside and, on that wall, upside down.
Art is huge. I think every community needs murals. They need outdoor sculptures; they need site-specific installations. I think if we were to cover up all the art that we enjoy and take for granted, we would suddenly be at a great, great loss.
So, having the opportunity to exhibit work is not only important for the artists exhibiting, but it’s really important for everyone, collectively.
