Angel Sotomayor, a Visual and Performing Arts major and Communication minor, is an aspiring artist and a student here at Worcester State University. Angel is an incredibly talented sculptural artist whose art has been displayed in both the Mary Cosgrove Dolphin Gallery on campus, and Arts Worcester. In March, The Mary Cosgrove Dolphin Gallery in the Ghosh Science and Tech building will be hosting a show curated by Angel to complete his capstone for his degree. He has been employed by Arts Worcester, a local gallery for almost two years and leads a youth arts administration program there. During his time working there, Angel has learned how to properly care for a gallery,and has been able to interact with many artists. Not only is he the first student juror at Worcester State, but he is the first student to host and develop his own gallery. Typically, a juror receives the art submissions and chooses those that best encapsulate the theme they’re given to be displayed. Angel, however, is doing much more than this. He decided the theme and will take the lead on marketing, curating and installing the show. He is also the first student to use an art gallery as their capstone project for their degree.
The show, called “Looking Back”, is focused on the concepts of nostalgia and memoir, giving artists an opportunity to reflect on different parts of their lives and tell their individual stories. Angel stressed the importance of this theme, saying, “the past and storytelling are something that resonate with a lot of young people because I think that’s what connects us all.” The artists submitting to enter the gallery will have projects that reflect on different parts of their lives. Not only will physical art be shown but performance art, such as a short show or poetry reading, may also be displayed. As a Visual and Performing artist, Angel highly encourages video art.
As important as the entirety of the event is to Angel; there is an even deeper meaning behind the show. The choice of the theme, nostalgia and memoir, is designed to allow artists to highlight the events in their lives they wish to create art around. Angel faced a very hard loss during summer 2024 when his brother, Xavier Miguel Sotomayor passed away at the age of 24. Angel wanted to show art influenced by the remembrance of his brother and was inspired to welcome other artists to show memories of the parts of their lives in which they choose. Angel states, “Many of my childhood memories were with him. He was a big influence on who I am today and I want to do this show based around Nostalgia and memoir to explore those early childhood memories I had with him.“ This show is incredibly personal and beautifully designed to not only honor Angel, but also honor his brother.
To submit to the show, artists should email [email protected] a photo, the dimensions of the piece, an artist’s statement, the title and the materials. Submissions are due by Feb. 8 and artists will be notified of the decision Feb. 14. The opening reception will be held March 6.
