Summer Exhibition Recap

Room of Wonders: A Worcester Wunderkammer

During the run of its 2025 summer exhibition, the Cantor Art Gallery welcomed nearly 800 visitors for its inaugural Worcester-based show and hosted programming that deepened community engagement and invited interdisciplinary dialogue. Please enjoy some of the highlights below!

About the Exhibition

Room of Wonders was the first in a series of annual summer exhibitions that foreground and celebrate 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—invited nearly 30 creatives to participate in this group exhibition, each based in or connected to Worcester, to celebrate the individuality and scope of the talent in our community.

Faculty & Staff Appreciation

Over 50 faculty and staff from diverse sectors of the College came together to enjoy the exhibition and connect with each other.

Smiley Talk

Museum of Worcester Executive Director Bill Wallace and the children of Harvey Ball, Smiley creator, shared insights about the iconic Smiley Face.

Weiss Wednesday

Weiss fellows engaged in a close looking and lightning presentation activity, connecting their research interests and processes to analyses of works in the exhibition.

Girls, Inc. Visit

25 rising ninth graders from Girls, Inc., all first-time visitors to the gallery, spoke powerfully about their connection to works in the exhibition, exercising critical thinking and public speaking skills.

Worcester’s Roving Typewriter

The Roving Typewriter from the Museum of Worcester’s exhibition The Poem Next Door: Worcester in Poetry inspired impromptu poetry writing by Holy Cross students and staff.

Caelum Lam Workshop

Rising Holy Cross sophomore Caelum Lam led a well-attended artist talk and fabric painting workshop enjoyed by both on- and off-campus visitors.

Wonder-ful Worcester Poetry

Worcester-based poets gave readings of original poems inspired by the city of Worcester, connecting their poems to artworks in the exhibition created by Worcester-based artists.

Cesar Rodrigues Artist Talk

Exhibition artist Cesar Rodrigues and his sister Cendya Rodrigues presented on Cesar’s use of adaptive technology in his powerful abstract pieces.

Artist & Curator Talks

Artists Katie & James Dye, Tim Gannon, and Michael Hachey shared insights about their works, while curator Birgit Straehle spoke about the curatorial process of bringing together the works of 29 artists.

Soundkammer Concert

Sound artists Michael Rosenstein and Stella Silbert discussed their approach to exploring and capturing the world of found sound, including Rosenstein’s soundboxes in the exhibition.