UMCA Opening: (OFF)BALANCE: Art in the Age of Human Impact

Aerial view of a rural open-pit gold mine surrounded by fields, roads and piles of earth. Tiny trucks, buildings, and plants can be seen as well.
March 26, 2025 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm ET
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UMCA (Fine Arts Center)

The History of Art & Architecture Department's Professor Karen Kurczynski will be speaking on the panel for the opening reception of the UMCA exhibition: "(OFF)BALANCE: Art in the Age of Human Impact." See the information below, and see the UMCA website for more events related to this exhibition. 

(OFF)BALANCE: Art in the Age of Human Impact

Annual Eva Fierst Student Curatorial Exhibition (March 27 – May 9)

  • Opening reception: Wednesday, March 26, 5-7 p.m.
  • Drawing workshop: April 22

(OFF)BALANCE: Art in the Age of Human Impact invites viewers to explore the intricate ways we interact with, interpret, and shape our environment—both internal and external. The exhibition challenges audiences to reflect on themes of transformation, human intervention, and the tension between destruction and conservation. The ensemble of works highlight how human involvement in the environment is both essential and disruptive shaping our Anthropocene era — an era marked by human activities that have significantly impacted the Earth's geology and ecosystems. Many of the featured artists in the exhibition critically engage with the built environment and social landscape they inhabit, and through a range of media including drawing, lithography, painting, photography, and installation, these artists abstract, render, intervene, and respond to a world with which they maintain a reciprocal relationship.  

This exhibition is co-curated by Adeyemi Adebayo, MFA studio arts candidate; Eva Barajas, MA art education candidate; and Bo Kim, MFA studio arts candidate.  

The University Museum of Contemporary Art’s annual Graduate Curatorial Exhibition is the culmination of a year-long independent project, conducted by students from key graduate programs including history of art and architecture, studio arts, Afro-American studies, and art education. The program was initiated by the museum in 2006 and it has been supported by the Eva Fierst Student Curatorial Exhibition Fund since 2021. 

Featuring works pulled primarily from the museum’s permanent collection, the exhibition demonstrates the strength and diversity of more than 3,800 works of art held by UMass. Students apply each spring, and a team of two to three students is selected. Throughout the program, the students have the opportunity to work on all aspects of creating an exhibition. They research objects, devise a thematic framework, write all exhibition texts including a central essay, design the exhibition layout, assist with installation, and produce an opening reception and related public event.  

The University Museum of Contemporary Art is grateful to the Eva Fierst Curatorial Exhibition Fund for supporting this annual museum project. 

Panel Discussion 
March 26, 5:30-7 p.m.
Randolph W. Bromery Center for the Arts lobby
Join us on March 26 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Randolph W. Bromery Center for the Arts lobby for a thought-provoking panel discussion accompanying the exhibition (OFF)BALANCE: Art in the Age of Human Impact. This conversation brings together artists, curators, and scholars to explore the evolving role of art in responding to environmental crises, human intervention, and the Anthropocene era.

Panelists Xuan Pham (Mount Holyoke), Karen Kurczynski (UMass Amherst), and Evan Garza (MASS MoCA) will examine how artistic practices, curation, and scholarship intersect with ecological and social challenges. Key topics include art’s role in environmental activism, the ethics of curation in the Anthropocene, and cross-disciplinary collaboration in addressing sustainability and human impact.

Moderated by Adeyemi Adebayo, Eva Barajas, Bo Kim (University Museum of Contemporary Art 2024-2025 curatorial fellows), this discussion will provide critical insights into how contemporary art reflects, critiques, and reshapes our relationship with the natural world. Open to all; no prior registration required.