A line of people extended into the street in front of Northampton’s Masonic Street Laundromat Saturday, Oct. 23. These people were not waiting to wash their linens. Rather, they were in line to attend the opening night of an art show, put on by Amrita Acharya ’23J, being displayed in the space.
When asked about the thought process behind the show, Acharya described it as “a mix of oh, cool, let’s repurpose this space” and “a method of community building that I found to be really significant because art and laundry are universal concepts that we don’t bring together.”
Acharya met Masonic Street Laundry owner, Jason Foster, two years ago while producing a piece on his laundromat for her podcast “413 Ethnography,” a series that shares the stories of Pioneer Valley locals. Since then, the two have cultivated a friendship. When Acharya proposed an art exhibit in his laundromat, Foster enthusiastically agreed.
Foster sees the show as a positive incorporation of the Smith student body into the Northampton community. “I think it’s great to pull Smith students in a non-commercial way into a business in Northampton, where they don’t have to spend money,” he said. “They get to experience a public space that is as diverse as anything that you’ll ever find in any society.”
The show employs a multimedia approach. Along with detergent dispensers and washing machines, the laundromat is occupied by photographs, drawings, poems, embroidery, a projected film and other forms of art.
On one wall hangs a display of nearly one hundred mismatched socks shaped into a rectangular form.
Amongst these displayed works is a series of poems by Ciana Socias ’25. Socias has shared her work at poetry readings in the past but never at an art exhibit and certainly never at an art exhibit inside a laundromat. She remarked, “I thought it was really interesting for art to be in a place not usually used for art.”
The opening night was attended by Smith students and Pioneer Valley residents. After viewing the show, Sophie Askanase ’25 remarked, “I liked the way that there were a lot of different mediums shown, and I liked the way that they use the setting to improve the art and the art to improve the setting.”
The art displayed opening night will remain in the laundromat until April. So if you find yourself needing to do a load of laundry or wanting to see some art, stop by the Masonic Street Laundromat.
