The Sophian

Issue date: 3/11/10 Section: Arts

Northampton is a notoriously quirky town, and spring break offers students the opportunity to explore off-campus activities without the stress of midterms. For those of you staying Smith-side for break, here's a guide to eclectic downtown - places people drive cross-country to see, all within walking distance of JMG.
A.P.E. is that glass window on Main Street that always houses surprising and occasionally hairy works of contemporary art.
A.P.E. stands for Available Potential Enterprises, a not-for-profit founded in 1977 that has, according to the gallery's Web site, "helped to define and create the city's artistic character." A.P.E. maintains a space for new works accessible to artists and the greater community to allow for both mainstream and experimental work to flourish within the Pioneer Valley.
During Spring Break, "30 Years: John Gibson and Joe Smith" will come to A.P.E., with a gallery talk on Friday, March 12 from 5 to 6 p.m. and gallery hours Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 12 to 7 p.m. The two artists are old friends, and the exhibition marks their first show together. The design reflects a 30-year artistic dialogue between the two men. To create the idea of a conversation between friends, each of Smith's works is paired with one of Gibson's to illustrate the commonalities and contrasts between the two friends' approaches to art. To reserve tickets, call 413-586-5553.
Approximately 1,000 people journey across the country each year to visit the Historic Northampton museum; fortunately for Smith students, the museum, located on Bridge Street, is only a 20-minute walk from campus. "We have people come for a variety of reasons: family history, because their family lived here over 100 years ago, people interested in Jonathan Edwards, Sojourner Truth and Calvin Coolidge and they want to see anything related to them," said Marie Panik, database manager. "Other people want to see as many museums as they can in the area, or local people who come to research about their house or do local history projects." For those interested in their family's genealogy, the museum has city directories, atlases, a photography collection, newspaper clippings and essays on Northampton history.
Often, Smith students use the museum's resources for assignments: one student wrote on travel albums that Thomas and Edith Shepard wrote while wandering across the world; another student recorded on children's clothing from the late 19th century. One highlight of the museum is the Probrush collection, which the brush and mirror company donated when it closed. Other collections include photographs and daguerreotypes, documents and manuscripts from the 17th to the 20th centuries, fine art, objects such as furniture, ceramics, glass, metals, toy, tools, textiles and costumes. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sundays from 12 to 5 p.m. Best of all, even if you are away from Northampton, you can still experience several virtual collections on the Historic Northampton Web site at http://www.historic-northampton.org/index.html.

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