Holy Cross College, in its spectacular glassy new Prior Performing Arts Center, has a compelling exhibition, Always Be Around: Corita Kent, Community and Pedagogy, celebrating the art of Corita Kent, a Massachusetts artist and practicing nun known as Sister Mary Corita.

Anyone driving to Cape Cod on Route 3 from Boston will see her bright splashes of color on this gas storage tank.

Kent’s serigraphs (silkscreen prints) generally, scatter text with social and political messages throughout colorful imagery.

What attracted me most was the show’s creative and meaningful educational component.  Faculty members were invited to participate in a workshop facilitated by one of the professors.  They were asked “to examine and reflect on how we take permissions from artists, predecessors, peers, mentors, and other creative things we live in.”  I was struck by these teachers’ openness  and their willingness to share vulnerabilities.

An art class was asked to respond visually to the exhibition in small, collective groups. This is one example of the many unique tapestries of shapes and colors which beg to be examined.

Another installation intrigued me. Viewers are invited to answer the question “What can we learn/teach about art?” They can write responses on Post-Its and then expand the installation by adding theirs to the whole.

Twelve other artists were invited to respond to Kent’s art in a contemporary context

Rush to see this exhibition before December 15th.  It’s worth the drive.

By Donna Hamil Talman, a member of New England Wax

College of the Holy Cross, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA. Hours: M-F 10-5, Sat noon-5