S³: A Moment of Reflection
July 8 - August 30, 2026
Opening Reception: July 15, 2026, 6 - 8 PM
The Student Summer Showcase, S³, returns for its second year as The Umbrella’s annual celebration of the work our student community is creating in our classrooms. This year, the theme is S³: A Moment of Reflection.
We are experiencing difficult times with heightened division and misunderstanding, and we believe that art is the great connector. Art helps us take a moment to be introspective, muse about our personal mission, express feelings and emotions that can’t be described in words. S³: A Moment of Reflection means to give our community a space to come together and reflect on our personal journeys as student artists, community members, and human beings.
The Allie Kussin Gallery will feature 2D works, including painting and drawing. The glass cases at the front of the building will feature a selection of 3D works from our ceramics and glass working classes. Youth and teen work will be exhibited upstairs in the Wedge Gallery.
This exhibition also aims to continue fostering the spirit of creative learning and development. Susan Swinand was invited to jury the exhibition and select one Grand Prize winner and a group of Honorable Mentions who will receive scholarship funds to be applied to their next arts course at The Umbrella.
Interested in taking a class at The Umbrella yourself? View example course options.
Juror Susan Swinand received her BFA from Moore College of Art in Philadelphia and studied the Philosophy and Appreciation of Art at the Barnes Foundation. She has exhibited widely in the USA, including over 40 Solo Shows on the east coast. In 2020 her show, Nature Imagined, was featured in a one person exhibition at the Worcester Art Museum. Simultaneously, Sue exhibited a suite of large scale watercolors in, Fluid/Solid, at the Krikorian Gallery at the Worcester Center for Crafts.
Her work is in numerous collections including the Worcester Art Museum, Fitchburg Art Museum and the Danforth Museum of Art. Sue was a longtime instructor at the Worcester Art Museum, Clark University and the greenhouses at Wellesley College.
She has received numerous awards including Best of Show Awards at the ArtsWorcester Biennial. For over 10 years Sue hosted a half hour TV program called "Arts and Ideas," interviewing artists in the Metro West area, now available on YouTube.
