"I am still every age that I have been. Because I was once a child, I am always a child. Because I was once a searching adolescent, given to moods and ecstacies, these are still part of me, and always will be… This does not mean that I ought to be trapped or enclosed in any of these ages… the delayed adolescent, the childish adult,but they are in me to be drawn on … far too many people misunderstand what “putting away childish things” means, and I think that forgetting what it is like to think and feel and touch and smell and taste and see and hear like a three-year-old or a twenty-three-year-old means being a grown-up, then I don’t ever want to be one. Instead of which, if I can retain a child’s awareness and joy, and “be” [twenty-two], then I will really learn what it means to be grownup.” 

-Madeleine L’Engle.

Each of us has experienced the strange and ever-changing concept that is “coming of age.” It’s slow at first — each day feels eternal in the chlorine-soaked summer afternoons scattered with chirping crickets and fireflies, but suddenly each day starts to rush by a little quicker, and before we know it, we’re updating our resumes and applying for “big-girl jobs.” 

Although our past selves are gone, certain versions of ourselves remain with us. When we make the time to reflect, it all comes rushing back: the way the room smelled, the staircase performances, and the pink flip flops to a first homecoming ask, high school algebra, or the first drive to college.

We believe that our memories, both cherished and bittersweet, serve as poignant reminders of our unique identities and experiences that have shaped us. May our exhibition serve as a testament to the enduring power of storytelling and the profound connection that binds us all.

Through paint, photo, and design, we invite you to pause, reflect, and perhaps even rediscover fragments of your own journey through our collective narrative. Welcome to a celebration of getting older while still remembering and treasuring the pieces of our past selves – “Places I’ve Been.”