One Boston University student’s dream became a reality Tuesday night as the 1019 Art Gallery celebrated its grand opening.
A collection of student art, live music and glasses of sparkling cider drew more than 50 students and faculty members to the newly renovated multi-purpose room located on the ground floor of 1019 Commonwealth Ave.
But for College of General Studies sophomore Christian Greer, the two-hour gala was the culmination of three long months of work.
Last semester, Greer set out to create a BU literary magazine. However, he received more art submissions than he expected, inspiring him to change agendas.
“People wanted to submit photos and pictures, but [in a magazine] the quality would not be there,” Greer said. “I wanted to represent the talent of the entire Boston University community.”
Realizing that there was almost no forum for a majority of BU students to display their artwork outside of the College of Fine Arts, Greer recalled that the 1019 Residence Hall Association had planned to transform the building’s multi-purpose room into a social room. On Dec. 12, he proposed creating an art gallery within the new social room.
With some help from 1019 Residence Hall Association President Phil Desgranges, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, and 1019 and Hamilton House Area Director Jennifer Battaglino, Greer’s proposal flourished.
“The Office of Housing allowed us to go forward with this project because they sympathized with 1019’s lack of a social room and also because they knew that our project, of an art gallery/social room, had tremendous potential for success,” Desgranges said in an email.
After overcoming problems with security and finances, the Office of Housing accepted the plan on March 23 and turned the lounge into a gallery that will rotate work every few weeks.
The issues were worked through after “very generous donations from the Office of Judicial Affairs [and] Student Safety Programs and also the Dean of Students,” Desgranges said.
CGS sophomore Eric Tovell was also in attendance.
“The gallery is great,” he said. “It’s brought out a lot of students and shows the talent of the entire campus.”
School of Management sophomore Natalie Martello, who displayed her photo entitled “HotDog” at the gallery, said she was excited about the opportunity to display her art.
“It’s the only way people can get work shown outside of CFA,” she said. “Also, it shows that business people aren’t all business.”
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