At Tufts University Art Galleries (TUAG), this year was one of expansive thinking about performance and sound. We went deep into the archives and pulled out stories of nonprofit resilience in the Boston area, showcasing the tenacious legacy of Mobius Inc. With Impossible Music, we considered the historic power of sound and music to empower resistance. We also looked at the career of artist Beverly Semmes, one of our most notable alumni, and reasserted a space for women—at a time when women’s rights are under attack yet again. And by probing the intersection of disability and protest in How do you throw a brick through the window…., we considered how to create more space and visibility for everyone, and for all voices to be heard. 

While 2025 posed new and unforeseen challenges—what year doesn’t!—here at TUAG we presented artists and artworks that offer new possibilities and other points of view, with fresh ways to reflect upon and think through our current moment. 

Our heartfelt thanks to the artists who made this possible—and to you, our community, for being here. In 2025, we hosted 40 artists and speakers in the galleries, including: Johanna Hedva, C. Spencer Yeh, Candice Hopkins, Raven Chacon, Jeffrey Merris, Mobius Artist Group, Beverly Semmes, Takahiro Yamamoto, and Gabriel Sosa, among many others. 

In 2025, we acquired key works for our campus collection—honoring alumnus artist Allan Rohan Crite (1910–2007) with an edition of his “Madonna of the Subway” print series; welcoming works by exhibiting artist Tomashi Jackson and painter Jeff Perrott; and marking the newest addition to the Boston art ecosystem with print acquisitions from Caira Art Editions by artists Crystalle Lacouture and Cameron Barker. 

Collective Futures Fund, our collaborative initiative with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Regional Regranting Program, funded twenty artists running exhibition spaces throughout Greater Boston, photographic documentation with community, and legacies of activist publishing. And we are thrilled to announce new funding from the Barr Foundation for the 2026 cycle. Artists are at the center of everything we do at TUAG, and we are excited to widen our impact in Greater Boston!

As the year wraps up, please consider supporting TUAG in your annual giving. Every gift—at any level—makes our shared community a richer and more responsive cultural resource. 

Wishing everyone a warm, joyous, and peaceful holiday season, 

Dina Deitsch  Director and Chief Curator, TUAG