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ON VIEW: March 24 – May 1, 2022

Spring 2022 Eva Fierst Student Curatorial Exhibition

Curated by graduate students Tirzah Frank, 2022 MA, History/Public History;
and Cecily Hughes, 2022 MA, History of Art and Architecture

The University Museum of Contemporary Art at UMass Amherst is proud to present the exhibition
We Gotta Get Out of This Place — Transportive Art, from March 24 through May 1, 2022.
The Eva Fierst Student Curatorial Exhibition is presented annually at the UMCA.

During the fourteen months that encompassed the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic here in the U.S., the concept of escape took on a poignant salience, as lockdowns, fear of illness, and social responsibility kept many of us cloistered inside our homes. When there was nowhere to go, we sought to be transported — through stories in books and television encompassing distant histories or dystopian futures; via digital images and videos of cute animals or faraway places; and with meditative and spiritual practice that connected us to our inner selves, the natural world, and our global community. Even taking a darker turn — following violence and political strife or dabbling in the supernatural, the spectral, and the spooky — became a means of getting out of our physical reality. This show is a celebration of art objects that are imbued with such transportive potential. They have the ability to move us across time and space, taking us out of ourselves and into another realm. Featuring work from Susan de Beer, Anne Beresford, Chakaia Booker, Marc Chagall, Caitlin Cherry, Oriole Farb-Feshbach, Sam Gilliam, Edward Johnson, Kara Walker, Gary Winogrand, and many others, We Gotta Get Out of This Place alights on themes of home, fantasy, escapism, nature, the uncanny, and the ways that history haunts everyday experience.

An Opening Reception will be held — in person — on March 24th, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., with a Special Tribute to honor Eva Fierst, the Museum’s first Education Curator.

OPENING RECEPTION (in-person) with Special Tribute to Eva Fierst

• March 24, Thursday, 4:30–6:30 p.m.

ARTIST TALK with SUE DE BEER (virtual)

• April 20, Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. via Zoom

The University Museum, located on the lower level of the Bromery Center for the Arts at UMass Amherst, is open Tue–Fri, 11:00–4:30; Saturday and Sunday, 12:00–4:00; and until 8 p.m. on first Thursdays, when UMass is in session. The public is always welcome, and admission is free.

The Eva Fierst Student Curatorial Exhibition Fund

The University Museum of Contemporary Art (UMCA) at UMass Amherst is pleased to announce The Eva Fierst Student Curatorial Exhibition Fund, a new endowment to support the UMCA’s Annual Graduate Student Curatorial Exhibition, which the Museum initiated in 2006.

Eva Fierst was the first Education Curator at the University Museum of Contemporary Art (UMCA), from 2007 through 2017. She helped nurture the UMCA’s mission to serve as a training ground for future museum and art world professionals and explored new methods of exhibition presentation and art interpretation. Over the years, Eva worked closely with graduate students, faculty, and UMCA staff on the annual Curatorial Exhibition, which is the culmination of a yearlong independent project conducted by Art History and Studio Arts graduate students. 
The Curatorial Exhibition features work selected primarily from the UMCA’s permanent collection of over 3500 works of art on paper. Students select a thesis for their exhibition; research objects; write labels, text panels, a press release, an exhibition announcement, and website information; write and submit a grant application; write and design a brochure; help design the exhibition layout and work on the installation; and assist with all other aspects of exhibition development. 

The goal of the program is to deepen students’ understanding of the intellectual and practical tasks of curating in a museum setting. Working together on an exhibition allows UMass graduate students to collaborate and explore many aspects of museum work. Students receive hands-on experience and highly valuable job skills. 
Eva Fierst holds a B.A. degree from Smith College. She worked as a Teaching Assistant at the Summer Institute for Museum Studies at Smith College; the Jewish Museum in Berlin, Germany; and at Mass MoCA, North Adams, MA. She is one o the founders of The Art Salon, a forum for local artists. 
We Gotta Get Out of This Place (March 24 – May 1, 2022), curated by graduate students Tirzah Frank and Cecily Hughes, is the second Student Curatorial Exhibition to benefit from The Eva Fierst Student Curatorial Exhibition Fund. 

The UMCA thanks the UMassFive College Federal Credit Union for their support of our 2022 exhibition program.
The UMCA acknowledges support from the Department of the History of Art and Architecture; the Department of Public History; and the UMass Graduate School.
COVID-19 Health and Safety: Please review the University’s policy before attending an event or performance.