Mark Hopkins is now home to the 100 Level Art Gallery, featuring the works of many student artists in the community. This diverse collection includes various forms of art, ensuring a rich and varied experience for visitors.
This initiative was organized by MCLA's Disability Resource Center and was led by student interns Sunny Monaghan '24, Isabella Dill ‘24, and Cindy MacDonald, Director of Disability Resources at MCLA.
The 100 Level Gallery was created to establish a space where artists from underrepresented backgrounds can showcase their art. It encompasses a vast array of creative expression including digital, mixed media, and sculpture. This fall, the gallery featured the creations of 21 artists and brought several visitors to its opening event.
The gallery is designed to promote community pride with a commitment to fostering inclusivity and providing opportunities for artists to gain exposure, recognition, and the valuable experience that comes with participating in a gallery.
“The 100 Level Gallery will continue to grow...our work has just begun,” MacDonald said. “We hope that you will join us in working to increase access, participation, and representation in the arts.”
Sunny Monaghan connected with Disability Resources in the spring of 2023 and discovered that many students were also affiliated with the center who had interest in art or were artists themselves. By working with MacDonald, they were able to start working on establishing a gallery that would support artists with disabilities as well as other underrepresented groups on campus.
“It was the first time I curated art and realized it was a hidden love I didn’t know I would like,” Monaghan said. “There’s a lot of care that comes into taking care of someone else’s art.”
Monaghan spent the fall semester recruiting artists and tabling in the marketplace to promote the gallery. Isabella Dill assisted in organizing an open house, making a gallery guide, and developing a virtual gallery to make it accessible outside the campus community. The virtual gallery will also serve as an archive for when new artwork is showcased.
Throughout the process of curating the gallery, Monaghan ensured that the artworks were easily accessible to visitors, for example, considering how a viewer with a seeing-eye dog would navigate the space.
“We had a lot of transforming to do and we really wanted to give the artwork a space that it deserved,” Monaghan said.
Disability Resources will continue to collaborate with MCLA's Fine and Performing Arts program and will host another intern in the fall. Students interested in this opportunity should contact Fine and Performing Arts Professor Lisa Donovan for more information.
The 100 Level Gallery is located on the first floor of Mark Hopkins. The accessible side entrance, closest to the quad leads directly into the gallery. There is seating throughout the gallery as well as accessible restrooms. Ongoing efforts prioritize accessibility by offering audio descriptors, transcripts, and tactile experiences for visitors. “Art is something that should be enjoyed by everyone,” MacDonald says. The 100 Level Gallery serves as a platform for our campus community to have important conversations about disability, equity, and inclusion.
