Stony Brook University hosted its Spring 2025 Art Crawl on April 4, showcasing five diverse installations across campus, drawing attendance from students and the surrounding community for a series of free guided tours. These tours, led by expert curators, provided a platform for cultural and artistic exchanges.
The event commenced at the Charles B. Wang Center, featuring the exhibit "Cycles of Clay: The Ceramic Narratives of Sunkoo Yuh." The work of Yuh fuses cultural heritage with contemporary expression through ceramic sculptures. "These art crawls are important because they provide an opportunity for students and the surrounding communities to visit new spaces here on campus that they might not visit," said Eric Murphy, Asian Art and Culture program coordinator at the Wang Center. This exhibit remains open until May 24.
The Zuccaire Gallery highlighted the works of three graduating Master of Fine Arts students in "TRACES: MFA Thesis Exhibition 2025." Among the artists, Diana Salomon discussed her family-themed series, stemming from discovering stored photographs in Arkansas. "This is a great feeling for me, finding a new connection with my mom," Salomon expressed.
Further adding to the selection, the Stony Brook University Photography Club presented works on the second floor of the Melville Library. "At SBU, the amount of spaces for students to exhibit their artwork has dwindled considerably, so as the event coordinator for the Photography Club and as an art student, I wanted to give our members an opportunity to show off their work," explained senior media and art history major Nicholas Castellano.
The Lawrence Alloway Memorial Gallery also displayed works from the First Year MFA Group. Artists, including Madeline Yacovone, engaged visitors with pieces that explore biblical narratives from fresh perspectives.
The final gallery visited was the Simons Center Gallery, where the exhibit "Flows of Reflectivity" bridges art and science to examine the dynamics of glacier change. The central theme of the exhibition is albedo, tying into broader discussions about climate change and the environment.
"The campus-wide Art Crawl is a wonderful opportunity for students, faculty, staff, and community members to hear from curators and artists at various campus art galleries," shared Karen Levitov, the director and curator of the Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery. Linda O’Keeffe, professor and chair of the Department of Art, added, “Events like the Art Crawl open up space for curiosity, for encountering ideas and experiences that surprise us, move us, or challenge how we see the world around us.”