Spotlight: <\/h1>student and alumnx art spaces, collectives, and organizations<\/p>\n<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>\nProfile:<\/strong> The Cordial Eye Gallery<\/a> with Alumnx Anastaci Pacella (S 19)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\nAnastaci Pacella<\/strong> is a multidisciplinary artist who lives and works as an artist in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Anastaci received her BFA in Art Education from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and her MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She has participated in, and curated, exhibitions in Vermont and on Cape Cod. Anastaci\u2019s work explores questions about the female gaze, sensuality, and domesticity. She is President, Curator, and Founder of The Cordial Eye Gallery<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\nWhat is\/are your mission\/goals?<\/strong><\/p>\nOur mission is to use the arts as a starting point for social justice and mutual aid. Right now, in our community, that looks like creating an openly queer community center, keeping everything financially accessible, and engaging in difficult and timely topics in our exhibitions. We have just created a mentoring program called Grow Into Art<\/em> for BIPOC and LGBT Youth as well as The Fern Cunningham Memorial Scholarship<\/em> for BIPOC youth pursuing a degree in the arts. The goal of these youth initiatives is to connect students who are often pushed out and marginalized from our community, to each other, and to a professional network of artists. We want to ensure that all our young people feel they have a home here.<\/p>\nWe find on Cape Cod that there is an excessive focus on the tourism industry, and that drives anyone who doesn\u2019t fit into the JFK aesthetic underground. It is important for us to both disrupt the narrative that Cape Codders exist to serve the wealthy, white community that comes for seaside recreation, and also provide a gentle and open place for people to gather, create, and share their work.<\/p>\n
Obviously this idea of gathering looks different right now, but it is all the more important for us to find creative ways to do it. We strive to create a more inclusive community on Cape Cod, one that our kids will feel comfortable to come home to, one that celebrates the multiple histories, perspectives and ways of living here, and we feel the arts are a perfect place to start making that change. Artists are culture creators, after all.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n
Who makes up The Cordial Eye?<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Cordial Eye is primarily run by myself, our Director of Community Support, Merrill Pontes<\/a>, and our Director of Digital Marketing, Gabriella Simpkins<\/a>. Merrill is a social worker, disabilities rights activist and rape prevention activist. She runs our LGBT support group, Adulting While Queer, in addition to serving on our board. Gabriella is a local indie folk musician who has been using the pandemic to land some awesome gigs at places like Club Passim<\/a> in Cambridge, MA. She has completely leveled up our social media presence and I am so grateful to have her on the board as well. We also have a small team of group leaders who run our community led workshops, such as our Writer\u2019s Forum and our Open Mic.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n
student and alumnx art spaces, collectives, and organizations<\/p>\n<\/div>
Profile:<\/strong> The Cordial Eye Gallery<\/a> with Alumnx Anastaci Pacella (S 19)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n Anastaci Pacella<\/strong> is a multidisciplinary artist who lives and works as an artist in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Anastaci received her BFA in Art Education from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and her MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She has participated in, and curated, exhibitions in Vermont and on Cape Cod. Anastaci\u2019s work explores questions about the female gaze, sensuality, and domesticity. She is President, Curator, and Founder of The Cordial Eye Gallery<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n What is\/are your mission\/goals?<\/strong><\/p>\n Our mission is to use the arts as a starting point for social justice and mutual aid. Right now, in our community, that looks like creating an openly queer community center, keeping everything financially accessible, and engaging in difficult and timely topics in our exhibitions. We have just created a mentoring program called Grow Into Art<\/em> for BIPOC and LGBT Youth as well as The Fern Cunningham Memorial Scholarship<\/em> for BIPOC youth pursuing a degree in the arts. The goal of these youth initiatives is to connect students who are often pushed out and marginalized from our community, to each other, and to a professional network of artists. We want to ensure that all our young people feel they have a home here.<\/p>\n We find on Cape Cod that there is an excessive focus on the tourism industry, and that drives anyone who doesn\u2019t fit into the JFK aesthetic underground. It is important for us to both disrupt the narrative that Cape Codders exist to serve the wealthy, white community that comes for seaside recreation, and also provide a gentle and open place for people to gather, create, and share their work.<\/p>\n Obviously this idea of gathering looks different right now, but it is all the more important for us to find creative ways to do it. We strive to create a more inclusive community on Cape Cod, one that our kids will feel comfortable to come home to, one that celebrates the multiple histories, perspectives and ways of living here, and we feel the arts are a perfect place to start making that change. Artists are culture creators, after all.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n Who makes up The Cordial Eye?<\/strong><\/p>\n The Cordial Eye is primarily run by myself, our Director of Community Support, Merrill Pontes<\/a>, and our Director of Digital Marketing, Gabriella Simpkins<\/a>. Merrill is a social worker, disabilities rights activist and rape prevention activist. She runs our LGBT support group, Adulting While Queer, in addition to serving on our board. Gabriella is a local indie folk musician who has been using the pandemic to land some awesome gigs at places like Club Passim<\/a> in Cambridge, MA. She has completely leveled up our social media presence and I am so grateful to have her on the board as well. We also have a small team of group leaders who run our community led workshops, such as our Writer\u2019s Forum and our Open Mic.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
