New Year, New Gallery for Purdue University Calumet

New-Year-New-Gallery-for-Purdue-University-Calumet-2016-01The lease has been signed and the keys have been made as Purdue University Calumet looks to welcome the New Year with a new off campus gallery in the Hessville area on 6725 Kennedy Ave.

The process is in development as the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and the Communication and Creative Arts department are working with contractors to prepare for a tentative opening date in February.

Thomas J. Roach, Purdue University Calumet Communication and Creative Arts department head, said the gallery could create more opportunity for the students professionally.

“It’ll be an important step for the visual communication program because it gives students ongoing opportunities for displaying work and interacting with the community,” Roach said.

Yueqi Zhang, an artist and associate professor at Purdue University Calumet who teaches visual communication design, said the gallery provides a public showcase for our students.

“It is a stage which can display student’s creative talent and works, accumulate professional experiences and approach the real world,” Zhang said.

Zhang said the gallery is a bridge which connects the university and the community. He said the gallery won’t only be a venue to host group or solo exhibitions for the school and the region, but it will provide studio learning opportunities for the community as well.

New-Year-New-Gallery-for-Purdue-University-Calumet-2016-02“The gallery is a window of the department, Zhang said. “The community will learn more about who we are and what we do.”

The department has many ideas regarding the first opening weeks of the gallery including an alumni night and a show to display photos from the department’s Paris trip from this past summer.

Haley Smith, a student worker who is assisting with the gallery project, said it has been an exciting experience to be a part of for the department. Smith was also a student who traveled with the Purdue University Calumet photography class to Paris.

The department has been engaged in searching for a gallery spot for the past couple of years to expand the department’s resources for students.

“They’ll have shows and receptions,” Roach said. “Also we will host shows for local artists to bring the university into closer contact with the arts community.”

“The Hessville property is ideal because it’s walking distance from campus, and it’s located within an emerging community of small businesses and art venues,” Roach said.