“As long as I’m creating, it satisfies something inside of me,” says Harvard staffer Byron Jelden, a glass and metal artist. Jelden, along with Kat Nakaji, Clare Putnam, Dave Habeeb, and Kate Pease, is featured in the Harvard Staff Art Show 2022.
The four exhibits represent 260 submissions of staff from Cambridge, Allston, the Arnold Arboretum, Harvard Hellenic Center in Greece, and Villa I Tatti in Italy. The in-person shows are being held on campus at Memorial Church (through today), the Ed Portal (through today), Smith Campus Center (through Tuesday), and Countway Library at HMS (through April 29). Details are here: https://staffartshow.harvard.edu/.
A jazzy video on the website created by participating artist Vincent Liu, an Ed School student and security officer at Securitas, also showcases the varied art, which includes sculptures, textiles, music, and film.
The show, now in the second year, is led by a steering committee, volunteers, and coordinators at the in-person galleries. Says steering committee member and contributing artist Roba Khorshid, “It’s been wonderful to see the Staff Art Show grow from just a Smith Center show in 2020 to a University-wide virtual show in 2021 and currently expand to include four physical exhibits across campus in addition to the virtual show. This would not have been possible without sponsorship by Common Spaces and a dedicated team of staff who volunteered their time to make this project what it is today. We continue to be amazed by the variety and quality of art submitted by staff and delighted by the feedback we receive from the Harvard community.”
Kate Pease
Fabric Artist