Gateway Community College celebrated April 10 the naming of the NewAlliance Foundation Art Gallery with a new exhibit, "Memory and Legacy," and program of speakers. The grand opening is the first of many naming ceremonies slated for Gateway's campus.

The night's speakers were: Thomas Griggs Jr. (Chair, Gateway Community College Foundation Board); Dorsey L. Kendrick, Ph.D. (President,  Gateway); Robert J. Lyons Jr. (Chair, NewAlliance Foundation Board); Kim Healey (Executive Director, NewAlliance Foundation); Fay Sheppard (Co-Director, Greater New Haven Holocaust Memorial); and Nicholas Halko (Program Coordinator, Gateway Art/Graphic Design Department).

NewAlliance Foundation provides financial support to charitable organizations, addressing diverse community needs in the arts, community development, health and human services, and youth and education. According to Mary Ellen Cody, ‪dean of Development and Community Partnerships‬, "The college is grateful to the NewAlliance Foundation for its generous support. Its investment not only helps to enrich the lives of Gateway’s students, faculty and staff, but also provides important programmatic enhancements and learning opportunities." 

Nicholas Halko, program coordinator, Gateway Art/Graphic Design Department, and his wife Teresa
The exhibit "Memory and Legacy” will be on display until April 25. It is a poignant Holocaust remembrance exhibit that tells the story of the New Haven community (Holocaust survivors, educators, artists, political leaders, architects and landscapers) behind the creation of the New Haven Holocaust Memorial. The exhibit, designed by architect Eric Epstein, features oral histories, drawings and archival photographs. The monument itself was erected more than 30 years ago.

Through the NewAlliance Foundation Art Gallery, GCC will continue to showcase New Haven and its history. Recently, Winchester Factory was highlighted and, coming soon, the artwork of prize-winning high school students.

 For Halko, the beautiful new gallery is something he's been dreaming of for 22 years—and it's a far cry from the former Long Wharf facility, where "a few students displayed their art on a wall."

 The Gateway Community College Foundation, Inc. supports Gateway Community College and its mission. Its Board of Directors is comprised of volunteers from Greater New Haven’s business, education, government and health care sectors who generously donate their time and expertise to support Gateway Community College through fundraising, scholarship selection and other volunteer activities.