Sacred Heart University has made the difficult decision to close its Gallery of Contemporary Art at the end of the 2012 academic year. The Gallery opened in 1989 and has been dedicated to exhibiting works by contemporary artists. The decision to close is the result of limited resources and a need to reallocate funds to areas of strategic priority. The space occupied by the Gallery will be renovated at the end of the academic year to provide additional room for the Performing Arts.

The University will continue to maintain its extensive art collection, which includes a wide range of donated art works — paintings, prints and sculpture. It also includes the works in the Voluntary Percent for Art Program.

Included in the collection are more than 300 contemporary works of art, each generously donated by supporters of the University. These paintings, prints and sculptures have been strategically placed throughout the campus to make them an integral part of student and faculty daily life. The permanent collection is arranged thematically to reflect The Human Journey, Sacred Heart’s signature core curriculum. This installation of our art works, in pairings or groupings, addresses the same fundamental questions about human experience asked by the common core:

• What does it mean to be human?
• What does it mean to understand and appreciate the natural world?
• What does in mean to forge a more just society for the common good?
• What does it mean to live a life of meaning and purpose?

Members of the University community and visitors to the campus are encouraged to download audio files of our collection from the Sacred Heart University Web site for use when viewing the pieces. Also available is an Art Walk brochure that provides a self-guided art tour through the Sacred Heart University campus. It details each permanent installation of Voluntary Percent for Art Program works created to celebrate the growth of our campus. Additionally, the locations of our Sculpture on the Grounds works—works on loan from area sculptors—are indicated on the map with accompanying images and an artist’s statement or descriptive text.

Later this year, Sacred Heart will introduce a Guide by Cell program that will guide listeners through our art collections with recorded information about the works and artists that will be available through their cell phones.