Alter/Altar was created to highlight and showcase the various artists throughout Merrimack College. With art submitted from students in Sports Management to Biochemistry, they all responded to the following prompt:

From the moment we are born, we embark on a lifelong journey of curating the altars of our lives. These altars are created by the countless distinctive elements that influence us over time – tangible or intangible. They provide us with a sense of identity and purpose, reflecting the values and priorities we hold dear. Along this journey of life, numerous factors continuously alter these altars; some changes arrive like gentle whispers while others crash down like thunderstorms. Our question to you: what has altered your altar?

With 12 submissions of both 2D and 3D art, the artists answers ranged from the grief of losing a mother to the gems that being raised by grandparents had given them.

Using the largest piece as an anchor towards the back wall, it was sandwiched between two of our black and white drawing submissions. The west wall featured colorful graphic drawings, while the east showcased two of our 3D artworks and a poem submission. The center of the gallery held the largest 3D submission with hanging butterflies flying in from the glass ceiling.

The idea of the Alter/Altar logo was to show that, with the change of one simple letter, a word can be strongly changed in both meaning and impact. The color palette of red, white, and gold was chosen to display the heaviness of the subject matter while reflecting the creativity of the show.

The gallery celebrated its opening on December 1st with a reception, in which more than 100 guests attended.