Film Screening: Journey from the Fall
2025-09-12 17:00 (America/New_York) | Rehm Library in Smith Hall –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Cantor Art Gallery

Film Screening: Journey from the Fall

Join us as Vietnamese American actress Kieu Chinh speaks with fashion designer Thai Nguyen about her trajectory as an actress and her work in the public eye on notable projects such as HBO’s miniseries The Sympathizer and the 1993 film The Joy Luck Club.
The conversation will be followed by a screening of the drama Journey from the Fall (2006), which traces the struggles of one family after the Fall of Saigon in 1975.

Details

September 12, 20255 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Rehm Library (Smith Hall)

Opening Reception: The Vietnamese Áo Dài in a Time of War
2025-09-11 18:00 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Cantor Art Gallery

Opening Reception

The Vietnamese Áo Dài in a Time of War

Join us for the opening reception for current exhibition The Vietnamese Áo Dài in a Time of War at the Cantor Art Gallery, featuring Vietnamese appetizers and a cash bar.
Free entry, open to the public.

Details

September 11, 20256 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Cantor Art Gallery3rd Floor in The Prior

Panel: Fashion, Politics, and Cultural Identity: The Vietnamese Áo Dài
2025-09-11 16:30 | Rehm Library in Smith Hall –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Cantor Art Gallery

Fashion, Politics, and Cultural Identity: The Vietnamese Áo Dài

Join us for this panel discussion about the role of Vietnam’s national costume—the áo dài—in individual and national expression across Vietnam and the Vietnamese diaspora.
This panel features co-curators Prof. Ann Marie Leshkowich, Prof. Martina Thucnhi Nguyen (Baruch College), and Prof. Tuong Vu (University of Oregon), along with fashion designers Si Hoang and Thai Nguyen.

Details

September 11, 20254:30 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Rehm Library (Smith Hall)

The Vietnamese Áo Dài in a Time of War: Fashion, Citizenship, and Nationalism (1954–1975)
2025-08-26 - 2025-12-19 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Cantor Art Gallery

The Vietnamese Áo Dài in a Time of War

Fashion, Citizenship, and Nationalism (1954–1975)

The Vietnamese Áo Dài in a Time of War explores the significance of Vietnam’s national costume—the áo dài—during the Vietnam War.
Honoring the 50th anniversary of a conflict, the legacies of which continue to haunt us to this day, the exhibition highlights the contributions of Vietnamese women to politics, society, and culture. Artifacts trace the history of the áo dài as a practical item of clothing and important symbol of Vietnamese heritage and identity in Vietnam, among Vietnamese Americans, and on the global stage—thus showing how a national costume can be both traditional and modern fashion with meanings that change over time and space.
Co-curated by Professors Ann Marie Leshkowich (Anthropology, College of the Holy Cross), Martina Nguyen (History, Baruch College, City University of New York), and Tuong Vu (Political Science, University of Oregon).

Exhibition Events

Panel: Fashion, Politics, and Cultural Identity: The Vietnamese Áo DàiThursday, September 11 | 4:30 p.m.Rehm Library (Smith Hall)

Opening Reception: The Vietnamese Áo Dài in a Time of WarThursday, September 11 | 6 p.m.Cantor Art Gallery

Film Screening: Journey from the FallFriday, September 12 | 5 p.m.Rehm Library (Smith Hall)

Living Threads: Community, Culture and the Áo DàiThursday, October 23 | 4 p.m.The Beehive at The Prior

Concert: The Odyssey–from Vietnam to AmericaTuesday, November 4 | 7:30 p.m.Luth Concert Hall in The Prior

Workshop: The Politics of National Costume in AsiaFriday & Saturday, November 7 & 8Rehm Library (Smith Hall)

Details

August 26-December 19, 2025

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery3rd Floor, The Prior Performing Arts Center

Room of Wonders Closing Reception
2025-07-17 17:00 - 19:00 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Cantor Art Gallery

Room of Wonders: A Worcester Wunderkammer

Closing Reception

Join us at the Cantor Art Gallery to celebrate the closing of Room of Wonders, the inaugural exhibition in a new annual summer series spotlighting the Worcester arts community.
Curated by Birgit Straehle, a longtime creative force in the city, the exhibition brings together nearly 30 artists with ties to Worcester in a vibrant, contemporary take on the Wunderkammer (a “cabinet of curiosity”) filled with works that span visual art, spoken word, sound, fashion, and handcrafted instruments.
This special evening offers a final opportunity to experience the richness and diversity of local talent in a uniquely Worcester setting. Light refreshments will be served. All are welcome!

Details

Thursday, July 175-7 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery3rd Floor, The Prior Performing Arts Center

Artist Talk & Fabric Painting Workshop: Caelum Lam
2025-07-09 15:00 - 16:00 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Caelum Lam

Artist Talk & Fabric Painting Workshop

Customize your own textiles in this fabric painting workshop from Room of Wonders artist Caelum Lam. Free and open to the public for patrons ages 10 and up, read more about this amazing opportunity below:

Bring Your Own Textile

Patrons are encouraged to bring their own fabric items from home to paint on including clothing, bags, apparel accessories, towels, pillowcases, or anything made of fabric. Lightly colored items that are made of cotton or T-shirt-like materials are recommended for the best application. Plain white cotton fabric square patches will be provided.

Details

Wednesday, July 93-4 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery3rd Floor, The Prior Performing Arts Center

Luthier Talk and Soundkammer Performance: Dan Hunt with Charles Ketter & Nynez Lopez
2025-06-28 12:00 - 14:00 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
An Afternoon with DRH Guitars

Room of Wonders artist Dan Hunt and Charles Ketter of the Plectrum Club will perform on and talk about 5 different guitars made by Dan Hunt of DRH Guitars.
Charles Ketter, a gifted multi-instrumentalist, who began with guitar at age 6, studied arrangement and composition at Berklee College of Music. He performs on his 7 stringed DRH custom guitar and sings as a solo act or as the duo with Dan Hunt, called The Plectrum Club since 2021.
Dan Hunt is a luthier and musician participating in Room of Wonders with his hand-built classical guitar. He will be showing a few of his other masterpieces, including a custom acoustic & a Selmer style and accompanying Charles. He has played guitar since childhood as well, and performs currently with bands We & The Dawg, Jubilee Gardens and Eldon James & The One Eyed Cat, as well as many bands over the years. He enjoys playing in the Plectrum Club with Charles as he is free to stretch out and find new voicings on his DRH creation that he built with the same hands.
Charles and Dan, both guitar teachers, will be joined by Dan’s guitar student-turned-vocalist Nynez Lopez.

Details

Saturday, June 2812-2 p.m.
Gallery open 12-5 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery3rd Floor, The Prior Performing Arts Center

Shiny-Shop Workshop with Birgit Straehle
2025-06-28 10:00 - 12:00 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Shiny-Shop with Birgit Straehle

Metal Leaf Application Workshop

Create your own Wunderkammer Object in this Metal Leaf Application workshop from Room of Wonders curator Birgit Straehle. Free and open to the public for patrons ages 10 and up, read more about this amazing opportunity below:

Bring Your Own Object
In preparation for the workshop: think about and bring your own individual wondrous object that you’d like to “glow-up.” Please choose an object with a firm surface (not made of paper, etc.) and please limit the size of your object to 4 inches in both directions. Note: the flatter the object, the easier the application process. Oyster shells are available for patrons unable to bring objects of their own. Please find examples of objects in the image below.

Timeline
Participants are encouraged to by 10 a.m. to begin application of glue. With up to 30 minutes of glue cure time, participants can enjoy their visit to the gallery during this time. Application of metal leaf comes next, which Birgit will demonstrate on one oyster shell, followed by a brush-in technique. Finally, the workshop will end before noon to allow for a transition to the next gallery event: a Luthier Talk and Soundkammer Performance from Dan Hunt, Charles Ketter & Nynez Lopez.

Details

Saturday, June 2810 a.m.-12 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery3rd Floor, The Prior Performing Arts Center

Artist Talk and Soundkammer Performance: Michael Rosenstein and Stella Silbert
2025-06-27 14:00 - 16:00 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Artist Talk & Soundkammer Performance

Michael Rosenstein constructed the 4-channel sound piece “Found Sound for Wunderkammer” for the Room of Wonders exhibit at the Cantor Art Gallery. For the piece, he utilized processed, manipulated, and distressed field recordings captured with a variety of DIY microphones and sensors. For his artist talk, he will discuss his approach to exploring and capturing the world of found sound, including a demonstration of some of the tools he utilizes. The talk will be followed by a series of improvisations where he and Stella Silbert will interact with the 4-channel sound piece.

About The Artists

Michael Rosenstein
Michael Rosenstein is an improviser based in New England. He collaborates in constantly evolving settings drawing on strategies of spontaneous interaction and collective structures. His work explores the mutable interplay of acoustic instrumentation, electronics, multiphonics, abraded and degraded recordings, and feedback within performance spaces.
Visit his SoundCloud and Bandcamp sites for more information.

Stella Silbert
Stella Silbert is an improviser, audio editor, curator, cook, field recordist, disorganizer of sounds and organizer of multi-disciplinary gatherings in Western Massachusetts.
Visit her website for more information.

Details

Friday, June 272-4 p.m.
Gallery open 12-5 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery3rd Floor, The Prior Performing Arts Center

Look Into The Wunderkammer: Curator's Talk with Birgit Straehle
2025-06-26 16:00 - 17:00 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Look Into The Wunderkammer: Curator’s Talk with Birgit Straehle

Meet Birgit Straehle, independent guest curator, for an insider’s look at Room ofWonders: A Worcester Wunderkammer.
Birgit has been a resident of Worcester for almost 20 years. Besides her institutional commitment as paintings and frame conservator at the Worcester Art Museum (2006-2022) she always had a strong connection to local art, various local institutions and many individuals who make Worcester original and wonderful as it is. As a curator she produced Golden Contemporaries: The Many Meanings of Gold (Sprinkler Factory, 2018) and Aura: Radiant-Illuminated-Iconic (White Room, 2023) among other co-curated exhibitions at Sprinkler Factory, Museum of Worcester, Worcester Center for Crafts and White Room since 2013.
Patrons who arrive early may join us for All About That Smile, a gallery talk from Bill Wallace from the Museum of Worcester at 3 p.m. in the gallery.

Details

Thursday, June 264-5 p.m.
Gallery open 12-5 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery3rd Floor, The Prior Performing Arts Center

Gallery Talk: All About That Smile with Bill Wallace
2025-06-26 15:00 - 16:00 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
All About That Smile with Bill Wallace

The one and only original Smiley Face. A Worcester Wonder.
Join us in the Cantor Art Gallery on Thursday, June 26 at 3 p.m. and smile back at Bill Wallace, executive Director of the Museum of Worcester, and Smiley Face, who has spearheaded global happiness since 1964. Expect lots of insider stories, fun facts and shared happiness as Bill gives our patrons an introduction about Smiley’s history!
Stick around for Look Into The Wunderkammer, a Curator’s Talk from Birgit Straehle in the gallery at 4 p.m. that same afternoon.

Details

Thursday, June 263-4 p.m.
Gallery open 12-5 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery3rd Floor, The Prior Performing Arts Center

Room of Wonders: A Worcester Wunderkammer
2025-06-11 - 2025-07-17 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Cantor Art Gallery

Room of Wonders: A Worcester Wunderkammer

Room of Wonders is the first in a series of annual summer exhibitions that foregrounds and celebrates the Worcester arts community at the Cantor Art Gallery. Each year, a Worcester-based arts professional is invited to curate an exhibition of their choosing with the objective of focusing on the local community.
In this inaugural show, Birgit Straehle—co-owner of The White Room celebration hall and gallery and formerly co-manager of the iconic Sprinkler Factory—invites nearly 30 creatives to participate in this group exhibition. Each artist is based in or has a connection to Worcester, celebrating the individuality and scope of the talent in our community.
The word Wunderkammer translates to “cabinet of curiosity,” which refers to the mid-16th century European tradition of displaying personal collections of fascinating and unusual objects. The collections typically included all manner of scientific specimens, natural phenomena, artworks, antiquities, and anthropological artifacts. Straehle updates the tradition in a uniquely Worcester Wunderkammer that includes the spoken word, hand-crafted musical instruments, auditory experiences, fashion, and other works of art and wonder.

Featured Artists

Abu MwenyeAlice DillonAmanda Kidd-KestlerAndrew HainesBeryl RosenblumCaelum LamCesar RodriguesCliff HuntDan HuntEric Cruze

Eva RosenstielHarvey BallJames DyeJennessa BurksJesse Kenas-CollinsJosé CriolloKatie DyeKristen KiefferLouie DespresMadeleine Lord

Michael HacheyMichael RosensteinThe CreativesThe Poet’s CauldronTim DoyleTim GannonTim JohnsonTomo SakaiTrevor Toney

Exhibition Events

Artist/Curator Talks:Michael Hachey | 12-2 p.m.Cesar Rodrigues | 3-4 p.m.Wednesday, July 16 | 12-5 p.m.

Room of Wonders Closing ReceptionThursday, July 17 | 5-7 p.m.

Special Summer Hours

Wednesdays, Thursdays, & Fridays | 12-5 p.m.

Details

June 11-July 17, 2025

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery3rd Floor, The Prior Performing Arts Center

Everything/Nothing | 2025 Senior Studio Concentration Seminar Exhibition
2025-04-23 - 2025-05-23 | DEPARTMENT OF VISUAL ARTS – Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Visual Arts & Cantor Art Gallery

Everything/Nothing

2025 Senior Studio Concentration Seminar Exhibition

The Cantor Art Gallery and the Department of Visual Arts are honored to present Everything/Nothing, an exhibition of the work of studio art majors from the College of the Holy Cross. Throughout their senior year, the students have participated in a rigorous capstone seminar, honing their artistic practice through independent work and experimentation.
Featuring work by Jane Doyle, Peyton Ellinghaus, Aine Frisch, Jackson MacLeod, Serena McCarthy, Alex Raper, Marley Rehm, and Isaac Trius.

Exhibition Events

Academic Conference Presentations by Senior Studio MajorsWednesday, April 23 | 12:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Opening ReceptionThursday, April 24 | 5:30 – 7 p.m.

Details

April 23-May 23, 2025

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art GalleryThe Prior Performing Arts Center

Faculty & Artist Roundtable
2025-03-13 17:00 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Cantor Art Gallery

Faculty & Artist Roundtable

Please join us at the Cantor Art Gallery for a spirited roundtable discussion about creativity, curiosity, and problem-solving across disciplines with the artist Michael Beatty and Holy Cross faculty.

Details

March 13, 20255:00 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Cantor Art GalleryThe Prior Performing Arts Center

Form, Structure, and Symmetry: Bach in the Gallery
2025-02-25 16:00 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Cantor Art Gallery

Form, Structure, and Symmetry: Bach in the Gallery

Cello Concert + Talk
This immersive concert features selections from Bach’s iconic Cello Suites, performed by Pietro Romussi ’27, Brooks Scholar, and Julianna Stratton ’26, followed by a lively discussion on Bach, math, and symmetry between Mathematics Professor Gareth Roberts and artist Michael Beatty.
Set in the inspiring Cantor Gallery, this unique program weaves together the intricate beauty of Bach’s compositions with the mathematical elegance and harmony of the sculptures on display. Attendees are invited to move freely through the gallery, experiencing music and art in perfect dialogue. The 30-minute concert will be followed by a 30-minute talk, which will also feature musical performances by Romussi and Stratton.
Please join us for what’s sure to be an engaging event and discussion!

Details

February 25, 20254:00 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Cantor Art GalleryThe Prior Performing Arts Center

Michael Beatty: Fabrications
2025-01-21 - 2025-04-05 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Michael Beatty, Inside Out, 2020, birch plywood, resin, welded steel and paint, 15″ x 16″ x 10″. Courtesy of the Krakow Witkin Gallery.

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery

Michael Beatty: Fabrications

Selected works from 1992 to present

Associate Professor Emeritus Michael Beatty taught sculpture and three-dimensional design at Holy Cross for 25 years before retiring in 2023. This retrospective exhibition celebrating his sculptural practice investigates duality and hierarchy as a dialogue between technology-assisted and handmade forms. Beatty’s work, inclusive of prints and drawings, is informed by concepts and visual culture taken from science, nature, and mathematics. Beatty’s sculptures and drawings are evocative hybrids of geometry and biological form.

Details

January 21-April 5, 2025

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art GalleryThe Prior Performing Arts Center

Inspired by Blue
2024-11-25 12:00 | DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC – Cantor Art Gallery –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery; Departments of Music and Theatre & Dance

Inspired By Blue

Join us for a performance of compositions by students in Professor Matthew Jaskot’s Composition/Songwriting course and dances from students in Professor Jimena Bermejo’s Body Stories. These works are inspired by the current gallery exhibition Blue Profundity: Contemporary Artists Revisit a Color.

Details

November 25, 202412:00 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art GalleryThe Prior Performing Arts Center

Adam Chau, Artist Talk + Clay Demo
2024-11-20 12:00 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery

Adam Chau, Artist Talk + Clay Demo

Adam Chau, whose work is featured in the Cantor Art Gallery’s current exhibition Blue Profundity, will give a lunchtime gallery talk and hands-on clay demonstration. A graduate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Industrial Design program, his research blends digital technology with traditional studio craft. In 2018, Adam was awarded the Emerging Artist Fellowship from the National Council for the Education in the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) and in 2019 became a member of the International Academy of Ceramics, a UNESCO partner.
Chau will discuss the hybrid approach to art-making, as well as the integration of digital culture, queer politics, and adding to the canon of traditional blue and white pottery.
Snacks provided and/or BYO lunch!

Details

November 20, 202412:00 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery
The Prior Performing Arts Center

From Pigments to Perception: The Chemical Origins of Color
2024-10-22 16:00 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery

From Pigments to Perception: The Chemical Origins of Color

Featuring Class Deans and Professors Sarah Petty (Chemistry) and Rob Bellin (Biology)

Blue is everywhere in the world around us . . . or is it? In fact, many of the things we see as blue have no blue pigments in them at all. Why, then, do we perceive them as blue and how does science make that possible? Of course, some things are colored by pigments — we will explore the science of those colors as well.
Join us for this fascinating conversation at the Cantor Art Gallery with Class Deans and Professors Sarah Petty (Chemistry) and Rob Bellin (Biology) about the science of color.
Free entry and blue-colored snacks provided!

Details

October 22, 2024
4:00 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery
The Prior Performing Arts Center

Lunchtime Concert Series | Blue Sonority
2024-10-03 12:00 | DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC – Cantor Art Gallery –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music | Lunchtime Concert Series

Blue Sonority

What does blue sound like?
This is the fundamental question that inspires this program in response to the exhibition Blue Profundity: Contemporary Artists Revisit a Color, currently showing at the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery until December 20, 2024. Come to simultaneously immerse yourself in the shades and sonorities of blue right in the middle of the gallery.
ProgramColeridge Taylor Perkinson (1932–2004)Selections from Blue/s Forms Sergio Muñoz Leiva, viola
Eric Ewazen (b. 1954)Harmony in Blue and Gold Ari Kiirikki, flute (Brooks Scholar ‘25) Aleksandra Labinska, violin Sergio Muñoz Leiva, viola Julianna Stratton, cello (‘26)
Miles Davis (1926–1991)All BluesHarry Warren (1893–1981)Serenade in BlueW. C. Handy (1873–1958)St. Louis Blues Rhiannon Hurst, vocals (Brooks and Fenwick Scholar ‘25) Chris Maratea, bass (‘28)

Details

October 3, 202412:00 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art GalleryThe Prior Performing Arts Center

Blue Profundity: Contemporary Artists Revisit a Color
2024-08-21 - 2024-12-20 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Above: Michelle Samour, Blue (detail), 2019, handmade paper pulp drawing, specimen pins, 10’ x 20’ x 5” (installed). Courtesy of the artist.

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery

Blue Profundity: Contemporary Artists Revisit a Color

This exhibition features contemporary artists who incorporate blue in their work to highlight the symbolic and historic meanings of the color. Blue is celebrated as a marker of socioeconomic status in history, a symbol of cultural pride and economic exploitation, and as a metaphor for sadness and depression. Artworks such as blue-and-white porcelain, hand-pigmented paper pulp, and cyanotype photography explore these concepts by updating forms and materials to reflect current-day concerns with a nod to historical precedent. Confirmed artists include Adam Chau, Ifé Franklin, Michelle Samour, Heather Evans Smith, and Andrea Pettway Williams.

Details

August 21-December 20, 2024

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art GalleryThe Prior Performing Arts Center
