Smith Arts Day

The Botanic Garden of Smith College, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
As in the previous two years, student-commissioned art installations were on display in the annual Spring Bulb Show. This year, these two installations will be up for Smith Arts Day too! Explore the work created by Jamie Biagiarelli AC ’26J and first-year student Congyue (Ella) Wang ’28 throughout the botanic garden, as well as a sound installation in the Succulent House by Emily Wilson ’17 entitled savor/spine.

Upper Lobby of Theatre 14, Mendenhall Center, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
Students from Lara Dubin’s Lighting II class, inspired by their research into artists working in the medium of light, have devised their own light art installations. These seven student light art installations reside in various locations in the upper lobby area of Theatre 14 in Mendenhall. Visitors are encouraged to check out these unique student works while learning more about theatre and the arts at Smith College.

Museum Atrium/Hillyer, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
At the Campus School of Smith College, second graders began the year in the art studio with the question “How can artists show the beauty of nature through art?” At the Smith College Museum of Art, students studied three paintings by Georgia O’Keefe and discussed the concept of abstraction. Then back in the studio, children created their own nature-inspired abstractions in the style of O’Keeffe using glue resist and chalk pastel.

Smith College Museum of Art, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
Drop by the Cunningham Center for the Study of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs on the second floor of the museum to see a special installation of works curated by sixth graders from the Campus School of Smith College.

Nolen Art Lounge, Julia McWilliams Child ’34 Campus Center, 9 a.m.–10 p.m.
Field Works merges plant physiology, conservation ecology, and studio art, that draw from Maltz’s research on plant ecophysiology and botanical ink-making. Using sustainably harvested plant-based inks, Maltz reimagines botanical illustration to emphasize the material connections between art and environment. Centering species that shape the Smith College landscape and Maltz’s own research experiences, this work invites viewers to reflect on their relationship with place, ecology, and the fleeting beauty of the natural world.

April 18–20, outside Neilson Library
Join us at sundown on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday night to view custom artwork designed by Smith students, projected on the Neilson Library. This new public art display was created just for Smith Arts Day, to be enjoyed by all throughout the weekend.

The Botanic Garden of Smith College, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
This student-curated photography exhibit explores the intimate relationship between nature and personal identity through photographs and stories of individuals adorned with botanical tattoos that celebrate the beauty and diversity of plant life as a form of self-expression. Each image tells a story of connection to nature, heritage, and personal meaning.

Smith College Museum of Art, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
Temporarily Ours features eight contemporary artists working in Cuba, Iran, Pakistan, Palestine, and the United States. Through photography and film, each artist reveals some of the innovative ways communities have maintained a sense of belonging in the face of adversity.

Smith College Museum of Art, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
Younes Rahmoun: Here, Now is the first survey for multidisciplinary artist Younes Rahmoun. Born in 1975 in Tetouan, Morocco, where he continues to live and work, Rahmoun is a leading figure in contemporary art internationally as well as a dedicated mentor and teacher to subsequent generations of artists in Morocco.

Smith College Museum of Art, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
When we look at a finished piece of art, we often feel a deep appreciation for that special moment when it transforms from an idea into a completed work. This change is usually shown through sketches and drawings that the artist creates along the way. These early works reveal the artist’s thoughts and invite viewers to see the process of creating art. They offer a glimpse into the artist’s mind, showing the decisions made and the moments of inspiration that drive the work. These sketches are clear records of the effort, trial, and discovery that led to the final artwork.

Smith College Museum of Art, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
Drawing from the SCMA’s holdings of Asian art collected over more than a century, this exhibition features paintings, sculptures, prints, and religious and decorative arts that engage with the discourse of figuration versus abstraction.

Smith College Museum of Art, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
Worlds in Process: Art From the SCMA Collection pilots new strategies for displaying the collection. The installation includes artworks from a range of time periods, cultures, materials, and perspectives alongside places to gather and reflect. When a group of museum staff set out to reimagine this floor, they wanted to try some new approaches, which included deepening their understanding of what visitors (especially Smith College students) find most meaningful and welcoming.

Oresman Gallery, Hillyer Hall, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
In his latest exhibition, Logan Ryland Dandridge, a time-based artist, reimagines Appalachian forests and bodies of water as sites of ancestral communion and merges interviews of Nina Simone, Etta James, and Toni Morrison into a single stream of consciousness. He explores the experience of growing up in rural Virginia where the presence of the supernatural feels imbued in the land. The image is a testimony and sound is a vessel. What emerges is a collision between logic and being, wonder and utility, speculation and revolution.

Jannotta Gallery, Hillyer Hall, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Imaging Spaces In Between is a group senior studio art major showcase that features artwork by Ruzhuo Chen, JC Landi, Jamie Marigold Biagiarelli, Dana Willette, Rasa Walter, and Vera Robinson. This exhibition considers themes of identity, inheritance, and space/place.