Barnard considers adding gallery space in the Diana

For Columbians who are used to bureaucratic, slow change on Columbia’s campus, a group of Barnard artists advocating for unplanned gallery space in the Diana might prove to be the exception to the rule.

After Barnard’s art history and architecture departments moved from the third floor of Barnard Hall to the fourth and fifth floors of the Diana, new studio and office spaces for both departments opened, as well as a room currently functioning as a gallery on the fourth floor. “The space was originally conceived as an exhibition space and an architectural space for the departments’ and students’ use,” Joan Snitzer, director of the Barnard visual arts program, said.

Although the gallery “was never fully realized as a public space,” as Snitzer said, the room has been received enthusiastically by groups both inside and outside the Barnard art community. Because of the public response, Barnard and the departments involved with the gallery have begun to consider future plans for the space. “Since the Diana opened, we’ve been approached by so many groups requesting gallery space, that Barnard is starting to think about how that could be achieved,” Snitzer said.

A committee is now in the works to discuss the logistics of opening the space as a gallery to the wider public. Without any specific endowment allotted for the staffing, curating, collecting, or restoring of pieces, the possibility of a gallery remains very much “a work in progress,” Snitzer said. Despite the countless requests from outside parties, the space was ultimately conceived primarily for Barnard use. “We don’t want the students who are supposed to be using it to suffer either. So we need to come up with a plan,” Snitzer said.

Currently on display in the gallery is the work of artist Louise McCagg, BC ’59, as part of an exhibition titled “Louise McCagg: 2000-2010.” On Feb. 26, there will be a closing reception. McCagg recently exhibited her work in the 2009 Venice Biennale, one of the world’s most prominent contemporary art exhibitions. The Diana gallery displays an assortment of the artist’s most recent work, including her signature cast heads, and private sketches never before displayed to the public. Especially the drawings provide valuable and intimate insight into the artist’s creative process.

Although, currently, there are no definite plans for the future of the Diana gallery, the success of the McCagg exhibition has only furthered interest in the room. “The room itself presented us, when it was opened, with such a beautiful space, of course we’re thinking about how that could be used for a bigger public,” Snitzer said.