MIIS Committee on Art in Public Places

We are pleased to announce the creation of the MIIS Committee on Art in Public Places (ICAPP). This group will mirror the College’s CAPP established on the Vermont Campus in 1994.

The idea for MIIS CAPP started through a design-thinking activity that explored findings from the 2015 “Live the Brand” report. MIIS community members brainstormed ways to illustrate the transformative experience. After monthly meetings in the spring of 2015, the group determined the need for coordination and the use of public art to showcase the learning journeys and transformative experiences of the MIIS community.

In service of this aim, MIIS CAPP has been charged with achieving the following goals:

  • **Establish a program for an exhibition of art in public places.
  • **Illustrate the mission of the Institute, as well as the work of our students and alumni, by providing interesting and challenging artwork of high quality.
  • **Elicit gifts and loans of artwork that can enhance the aesthetic and educational mission of the Institute.
  • **nvolve a broad representation of the community in choosing, placing, and interpreting art in public places to improve the overall campus aesthetic, while preserving historical pieces.
  • **Coordinate with relevant departments to secure funding for the purchase, installation, maintenance, and interpretation of works of art in public places.
  • **Work with relevant departments to ensure the security and care of these objects.

We look forward to bringing a unified approach to public art displays on campus to illustrate and improve the MIIS experience.

Visions Across Continents: Craig Lovell’s Global Journey Opens at Middlebury Institute

The Atrium Gallery at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies is pleased to announce Visions Across Continents, a comprehensive retrospective of photographer Craig Lovell’s four-decade journey documenting cultures, wildlife, and landscapes across the globe. The exhibition opens in fall 2025 and runs through spring 2026, featuring four distinct portfolios that span from his early film work to contemporary digital innovations.

Lovell’s work resonates deeply with the Middlebury Institute’s mission of fostering cross-cultural understanding and global awareness. His photographs serve as visual diplomacy, building bridges between cultures through the universal language of human connection and environmental stewardship. From the spiritual traditions of Mexico to the conservation success stories of South Asia, his images embody the Institute’s commitment to addressing global challenges through international cooperation and cultural exchange.

Magic & Mystery in Mexico showcases Lovell’s 16-year intimate relationship with San Miguel de Allende, where he and his wife, Christine, made their second home in 2005. Using innovative layered, multi-image techniques, Lovell captures the spiritual richness of contemporary Mexico, documenting vibrant traditions including Day of the Dead, Día de los Locos, Semana Santa, and the Festival of San Miguel de Archangel. His compositions blend Christian and Indigenous beliefs with historic architecture, reflecting Mexico’s complex spiritual heritage.  Eighty percent of Mexicans identify as Catholic, yet many blend that faith with Indigenous practices. The recurring symbol of the vaquero—the Mexican cowboy tradition that predates the American cowboy—serves as a cultural bridge spanning centuries of history.

Into the Wild: Exploring South Asia’s Wildlife Sanctuaries presents Lovell’s documentation of UNESCO World Heritage sites, including India’s Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Nagarhole National Park, Bandipur National Park, and Nepal’s Chitwan National Park. These images tell a story of conservation triumph, capturing the raw beauty of wildlife across regions that support approximately 400 tigers. India’s over 3,000-strong tiger population, representing 75% of the world’s total. From the lush forests of Nagarhole to the golden grasslands of Bandipur, Lovell’s photographs celebrate the extraordinary ability of nature to heal and flourish when forests are protected, and communities are engaged.

The Spirit of Asia reveals Lovell’s deep personal connection to the continent, beginning with his adventurous 1986 journey through Maoist China, Tibet, and Nepal. His distinctive technique of scanning black-and-white film negatives in color, then printing on archival watercolor paper with selective color washes, creates images that guide the viewer’s attention while preserving the original tone. Through genuine, heartfelt connections with his subjects, Lovell captures authentic moments of human emotion, building trust through respect and dignity, whether through quiet non-verbal communication or meaningful conversation.  

The retrospective Visions Across Continents: Darkroom to Digital traces Lovell’s evolution from his first serious photographic journey in 1978 through Peru, Ecuador, and the Galápagos Islands to his current digital innovations. On that trip he discovery his black-and-white portraits of the Otavalo Indians of Ecuador were his most memorable images.  Lovell learned that by connecting with subjects through shared humanity, authentic portraits of their lives could be captured.  The exhibition contains three collections of indigenous cultures printed in the darkroom as selenium toned silver prints.

His work chronicles not only the advancement of photographic technology but also the dramatic changes to our planet, from the tripling of the human population to habitat loss and climate change. Much of his earlier work is now historic. His current work documents what is happening on our planet today, and what deserves to be preserved.

The exhibition reflects Lovell’s philosophy that photography’s greatest strength lies in its versatility and the endless ways to explore personal visual style. From traditional darkroom techniques to modern digital printing on a variety of surfaces, his work demonstrates how the tools of the medium are as diverse as the visions they help bring to life.

Samson Reading Room: Being There: Photographs by James P. Blair

The Samson Reading Room at the Middlebury Institute is proud to host a semi-permanent exhibition showcasing the extraordinary photography of James P. Blair, one of the preeminent photographers of the pre-digital age.

In an era before digital cameras made image-making accessible to all, Blair mastered the demanding art of film photography, transforming complex techniques—shutter speeds, F-stops, and meticulous light metering—into second nature. His images are a testament to a craft that required precision, patience, and an innate understanding of composition, timing, and light.

For over 35 years, Blair’s work for National Geographic transported millions of readers to the farthest reaches of the globe. From Tristan da Cunha to Iran, from Haiti to South Africa, his photographs illuminated the human and natural worlds with breathtaking beauty and poignant clarity. His ability to capture our planet’s majesty and fragility remains unparalleled.

This exhibition features iconic images that span Blair’s illustrious career, offering an intimate look at the depth of his skill, determination, and vision. Each photograph tells a story, inviting viewers to experience moments of wonder, reflection, and connection to places they may never visit.

Blair’s work reminds us of the transformative power of photography: to inform, inspire, and preserve a world both stunning in its diversity and sobering in its challenges. Without the visionaries of his era, our collective understanding of the world would be far less vivid.

We invite you to visit the Samson Reading Room to explore this remarkable collection, an enduring tribute to a master of photographic art and storytelling.

Photo: Ketelie Regis and her baby, Haiti, 1987. Photo: © James P. Blair.

Visitors to the Middlebury Institute and Monterey area can now enjoy a self-guided walking tour of public art across the Institute campus. The artwalk includes 12 stops across two blocks. Descriptions are provided for each stop in the digital flyer.

MIIS Artwalk

Heidi McGurrin: Paintings Exhibition

We are thrilled to present a new exhibition of striking abstract paintings by local artist, poet, and photographer Heidi McGurrin. With a lifelong curiosity and an adventurous spirit, McGurrin’s work dives into themes of indigenous beauty, social injustice, and the profound connection between nature and human emotion. Her art reflects a life richly lived, shaped by her travels through Cuba, Haiti, Brazil, and the Incan lands of Peru, as well as her deep ties to the landscapes and culture of California.

McGurrin’s journey as an artist began in a world of vivid, wild imaginings, and she began sharing her inner landscapes with the public through poetry in 2017. Today, her visual work stands alongside her literary endeavors, offering viewers an immersive experience that blends abstraction with deeply personal reflection. Her pieces evoke the colors, textures, and rhythms of the natural world and indigenous cultures she so reveres, and they call us to look more deeply into our own stories and connections.

This exhibition invites you into McGurrin’s world—a space where poetry and paint flow together, where the spirit of the earth and the whispers of history are palpable in each brushstroke. With works that are at once energetic and contemplative, McGurrin encourages us to pause, reflect, and embrace the beauty of imperfection, the wildness of creation, and the endless potential of the imagination.

Please join us in celebrating this remarkable collection of abstract works as thoughtful and poetic as the artist herself.

Watch her interview for Big Sur Stories.

Kindness Rock Garden

Students, faculty, and staff came together to create uplifting and inspiring painted rocks for the Institute’s first kindness rock garden near the Holland Center.

The Trinity: Janko Sculpture

The Janko family (friends of the Institute) generously donated a steel sculpture and covered installation costs. Check out the new addition to our public art in front of the Casa Fuente building.

Wood Sculpture and Carvings

The Janko family graciously donated wood carvings they have collected from local artisans around the world from Sub-Saharan Africa to Southeast Asia. The modern handicrafts are on display in the lower McCone Atrium.  The Janko family also donated a metal sculpture on permanent display in front of the Casa Fuente Building onPierce Street. The Institute is thankful for the donation on behalf of Albert and Abigail Janko.

Flag Display

ICAPP randomly selected 18 flags from our current student body representing 44 countries to display in the Samson Center. This exhibit is a recreation of a prior flag exhibit displayed on campus until around 2010.

The Institute’s Committee for Art in Public Spaces is working with the Old Monterey Foundation to complete a mural on the side of the McCone Building. Join us to celebrate the conclusion of the mural project on November 8. Learn more and RSVP.

Pierce Street Asphalt Art Project

The Institute is working with the City and the Old Monterey Foundation on the beautification of Pierce Street. As part of this effort ICAPP is proposing an asphalt art project on Pierce Street. The suggested color scheme reflects the Middlebury Institute’s colors and visual identity.

Sign-up to help paint Pierce!

Virtual Resources

Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau

Omar E. Montaño presents a virtual exhibit celebrating the ocean at the Monterey Museum of Art. “The stewardship of our oceans is very important to me. This particular body of work was inspired by the Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau documentaries that I remember enjoying as a child. Revisiting the documentary series was necessary, as footage provides the source material used for creating each of the individual compositions. To push storyboarding and illustration, I chose linoleum block prints as the medium. The title for each print comes from the documentary that supplied the composition’s visual material. These prints not only celebrate the work of an early environmentalist, but explore the quality of our stewardship since the last of these films aired in the mid-1970s. “

Refuge and Survival: Leaving It All Behind

The Middlebury College museum in Vermont recently acquired a triptych of photographs by Canadian photographer Darren Ell. The images feature the piles of thousands of mostly orange-and-black life vests that had been abandoned at Molyvos on the island of Lesbos, Greece, by Syrian, Bengali, Yemeni, East African, and other refugees upon their arrival by boat from Turkey. Taken in March of 2016, the images are part of a series entitled Survive Refuge that documents the global refugee crisis at perhaps its most acute.

In a new blog post, Pieter Broucke, Professor of History of Art and Architecture, discusses the geopolitical and artistic contexts of this new acquisition. 

Artists Respond to the Protests

New York Times reporters showcase how artists show support and solidarity in response to systemic racism. 

Embracing Art in Vermont and California

iCAPP has curated some of our favorite virtual exhibits in Vermont and California. We hope you can spend a few moments enjoying these exhibits.

Vermont
  • Middlebury Museum of Art
    • Votes…for Women? 3D Tour
    • Land and Lens: Photographers Envision the Environment
    • Precolonial African Sexuality, Contemporary Homophobia and #LimitlessAfricans
    • Coloring Pages (for art and stress relief!)
  • Vermont Art Online (Middlebury faculty-student project)
    • ICAPP recommends checking out the Museum of Everyday Life!
California

Salon Jane Exhibit Opening March 6 in Honor of International Women’s Day 

Thursday, September 26: Moses Nyanhongo Shono Sculpture Exhibit and Presentation

In collaboration with Gallery Sur in Carmel, the Middlebury Institute will preview the opening of LIFE IN STONE, an exhibition of recent sculptures by acclaimed Shona stone sculptor, Moses Nyanhongo, from Zimbabwe. The one-day even will feature a display and exhibition of sculpture hand carved in a variety of beautiful stones, as Moses demonstrates his sculpting techniques and shares the cultural heritage of the Shona Sculpture Movement. The event will take place from 5-7pm in the Holland Center Courtyard. 

Wednesday, February 6: Decoding symbols in Chinese Arts

The Asian Art Society of Monterey Bay is partnering with the Middlebury Institute to offer a presentation by Ms. Zhao Hua, Professor at the Confucius Institute at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Ms Hua has an academic interest in Pun Rebus (谐音字画 Xié Yīn Zì Huà)—essentially wordplay in Chinese visual art. She has come up with an innovative teaching philosophy: learning the surprising meanings behind 《谐音字画》 Xié Yīn Zì Huà enhances students’ grasp of the Chinese language and at the same time increases their understanding of Chinese culture. Her book on the subject titled《谐音”画”汉字》Xié Yīn Huà Hàn Zì, was published by Peking University Press in 2012. Event is free and open to the public. 

Thursday, July 19: Martha Casanave “Magical Pinhole Photography” Opening Reception

Martha Casanave travelled to Russia in 1988 and made beautiful and dreamy images of Leningrad in winter using a pinhole camera (film camera with no lens). Join us in viewing her other images from Russia, which are more conceptual hand-painted photographs.  The exhibit will also feature work from Monterey. To learn more contact Carolyn Meyer at 831-647-6417 or Eduardo Fujii at efujii@miis.edu. This event is sponsored by the MIIS Committee for Art in Public Places (CAPP) and the Graduate Initiative in Russian Studies. The exhibit is currently on display in the Samson Reading Room. 

Thursday, May 3: Damascus Kafumbe–Tuning the Kingdom: Kawuugulu Musical Performance, Politics, and Storytelling in Buganda

Lecture and Musical Africanisms Percussion Workshop, 7-9 p.m. with conversationalists Edgard Coly and Francesca Aka. A fun and informative night for all!

Friday, May 4: Author’s Hour with Damascus Kafumbe

Hosted by Pamela Jungerberg at the Institute Library

Friday, May 4: Series finale: African Soundscapes Concert with Damascus Kafumbe, Jayson Fann and Friends

Samson Center Patio, Van Buren Street

SUNDAY, May 6: Global Solutions

A student initiated celebration of the arts! Great music, ideas, visuals, and a Spring Arts Fest display at Samson Patio.

The Spring Arts Series is Supported by One Middlebury and the Jessica and Ron Liebowitz Fund for Innovation at Middlebury College

http://go.miis.edu/arts18