Artist and author Carolyn Mary Campagna Kleefeld has made a significant gift toward supporting the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) in enhancing its arts curriculum by funding the development of a new teaching center at MCLA. 

MCLA President James Birge recently announced at an opening breakfast that for the second semester, Campagna Kleefeld will fund the construction of the center on Porter Street and also fund its operation for three years. The announcement prompted a wave of applause.

“Sometimes it seems to me like society has forgotten the value of a liberal arts education,” he said. “Our work here, that of the faculty, staff and the administration, can seem lonely at times, but there are those wonderful moments in our lives when we’re reminded of just how important our work is and that we are, in fact, not alone in our belief that liberal arts improves the world.”

While work is expected to begin immediately at 94 and 100 Porter Street, with construction slated to start in the fall, Birge did not give a cost for the project. However, he did tell the Board of Trustees last year that the gift could be up to $10 million. A public session to inform neighbors about the project is planned to be held on January 30, with the college also providing updates on the project via its website. 

The New MCLA Arts Learning Center

The Campagna Kleefeld Center for Creativity in the Arts will support the college’s programs, providing opportunities for students to engage with artists, their work, and the community, while also serving as the primary gallery and arts programming space on campus. College officials stated that the center will be a “dynamic and flexible space” for faculty engagement and curricular innovation, fostering meaningful interactions with a rotating array of exhibits and programs. 

“I think one of the most exciting elements of this project is that we will be able to bring to campus many different kinds of art from numerous artists, so that we can learn about the inspiration of artists, their motivations and why each of us appreciates art different,” said Birge. “Valuing the aesthetic of art isn’t just appreciation for the work itself, but rather how an arts management, for example, learns how to curate, discern and share our work that might be controversial or provocative or a different form of art.”

Campagna Kleefeld, a London-born contemporary artist who grew up in California, will have her art and poetry integrated into the learning center, offering opportunities for students to curate and engage with her work as a model for exploring the creative process. The learning center will also provide space for student artists to showcase in-progress and completed work, supported by peer and faculty critiques.

“The Campagna Kleefeld Center for Creativity in the Arts will be a vital hub of creativity that will also provide a compelling teaching and learning environment,” Campagna Kleefeld said in a statement. “This will allow others to explore and engage with the artistic practices that have meant so much to me throughout my life.”

Relocations During Construction

The construction of the new MCLA arts learning center means the removal of the offices of interdisciplinary studies, modern language, and philosophy to vacant spaces on campus. However, the offices for fine and performing arts and the Porter Street Art Gallery will relocate to the new building. The offices are located in former single-family homes adapted for college use.

The construction plans also mean that the activities at Gallery 51 on Main Street, opened by the college in 2006, will move back to the campus when the building is completed. 

The generous gift from the artist comes after three years of discussion with Campagna Kleefeld that took a more tangible form last year as Birge updated the Board of Trustees on the talks. He credited Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Richard Glejzer and Vice President for Institutional Advancement Robert P. Ziomek as instrumental in developing the gift as well as faculty members Winchester, Jerome Socolof, Melanie Mowinski, and Victoria Papa. 

“Carolyn’s real gift for MCLA is the inspiration to be creative, to have a space where we can wrestle with the definitions of what art is and how creativity is a form of expression of who we are and how we value one another,” Birge said.