When Josie Wong ‘26 saw that the Nolan Art Lounge was taking applications for art exhibits, she wondered if she was even able to apply. The space, located in the Julia McWilliams Child ’34 Campus Center, had typically been used in the past as a space for solo exhibits, but Wong had a different idea for how the space might be used.
“I wanted to see if I could bring together a group of artists and take a jab at curating my own show,” Wong said. “I thought it would be a fun experience, and bring together some of my friends who are talented artists.”
Wong is a double-major in Art History and French Studies, as well as a Museum Studies concentrator and Posse scholar. Her idea for the exhibition came together through a love of art and a strong community.
“I was thinking about a theme for the show, and I came upon this idea of memory. There are so many layers to it — it’s memory as it’s constructed, it’s moments from the past that you bring to the present, but it’s also fragmented, it can change, it can evolve with your perception as you grow,” Wong said. “But it’s also things that you hold onto, thinking about your family, your ancestors — how is that passed on? And it’s like something that is alive, but you can’t really touch it physically.”
As Wong considered how to portray memory, she reached out to her artist friends to see whether they had pieces that could fit into her theme. Once she had all the pieces selected, the process of installation began.
“It was long. I feel like I had to start thinking about the theme and the process in November when the application was due,” Wong said. “[It involved] coordinating with each artist what pieces they want and figuring out the space — because it’s kind of a limited space with a few walls — and figuring out how I wanted the walls positioned.”
Despite facing challenges — one work that needed to be hung from the ceiling and another that required hammering into thick canvas — the installation process successfully concluded.
To tie all the art together, Wong collaborated with co-curator Isa Otero ‘26 to incorporate sound elements into the space and design an artist catalogue.
“Collection of Memories” features art by Olivia DeTraglia ‘26, Ilana Diddams ‘26, Alex Herrera ‘26, Suha Khan ‘26, Nikté Lopez-Aleshire ‘26 and Eloise Silver Van Meter ‘26. Wong wanted the show to be a meaningful send-off for her fellow seniors.
Beyond the significance of the exhibit happening during their last semester at Smith, the show also gave the artists the chance to explore their artwork through the lens of memory:
“This collection of work reflects on memory in relation to intimacy, longing and love. It is a conversation about spatial relations and the way people fit into them, emphasizing the beauty of the ordinary and the intimacy that exists within the quotidian,” DeTraglia wrote, discussing her compilation of film photographs curated for the exhibit.
“The repetition in the mark-making reflects the cyclical nature of generational trauma and the rhythm of these hereditary wounds. My process becomes an archaeology of family histories as I piece together partial narratives that drift between what is known, what is spoken, what is withheld, what is censored and what is forgotten. These states of memory feel both heavy and delicate, ancient yet always present,” Lopez-Aleshire wrote of her piece Private Epics.
“The piece is an exercise in patience and a reflection on the precarity of how spaces and feelings are remembered,” Herrera wrote of their painting A Study of Mood and Memory. “By limiting myself to painting one square a day, there are noticeable variations in my different interpretations of the same subject matter, highlighting the ephemeral nature of memory, while still retaining the essence of the greater picture.”
The works varied widely, but together, they formed a layered reflection of memory.
“What surprised me was the amazing turnout for the opening reception. So many people came out to help support […] and it was just such a fulfilling feeling,” Wong said. “It felt rewarding, like, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is why I wanna do this kind of work.’”
Wong hopes that the exhibit will encourage viewers, and especially students, to slow down, sit with and reflect on how the artists’ pieces speak to their own memories.
“I think the thing about memories is, it’s a universal theme. So when people walk in, they see these images and artworks of other people’s memories and their stories and connections with these works,” Wong said. “But I hope that they’re also able to connect with it on a certain level — maybe it might remind them of a place that they were at physically or mentally and take them back, but also feel a sense of reflection and hope for the future.”
“It really is just a space for artists and for students and also non-artists. I hope anybody, even without an art background, feels comfortable entering the space and just enjoying some cool art.”
Be First to Comment