ACADEMICS

  • Suzanne-Gainer

    Suzanne Gainer

    Contact Information
    Office L-303D
    508-929-8108
    Suzanne.Gainer@worcester.edu

    Education
    B.A., Saint Vincent College
    M.F.A., Rhode Island School of Design

    Suzanne Gainer earned her MFA in Photography from Rhode Island School of Design, and holds a BA in Communication, with a concentration in Media Production from Saint Vincent College. She is an active, exhibiting artist, photographer and graphic designer whose work concerns nature, the environment and domestic violence. Her extensive exhibition record includes recent solo shows in Maynard and Concord, MA, and a number of notable national venues including New York City’s Limner Gallery, the South Shore Art Center in Cohasset, the Worcester Center for Crafts, Bunker Hill Community College, the Katherine Shultz Gallery in Cambridge and the Nash Gallery in Minneapolis. She was awarded the grand prize and exhibited in the lobby of the Charles Playhouse for the Blue Man Group’s first annual Vortex exhibition, and her video work has been screened at a number of festivals including New England Film & Video Festival at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

    Professor Gainer has a special interest in international education. Since 2005 she has been leading groups of WSU students on a short-term study abroad photography course to Costa Rica. Eco-tourism and Photography in Costa Rica offers students the opportunity to receive hands-on instruction in photography while experiencing the nature and culture of this vibrant Central American country. Outside of the Communication Department, Professor Gainer is an active member of the Women’s Studies Advisory Board and served a term as Director of the Women’s Studies Program. Her personal interests include adventure travel, yoga and dance. She is a former classically trained dancer and an instructor of Nia technique.

  • Courses Taught
    Exhibitions

    SOLO EXHIBITIONS
    Suzanne Gainer: Selected Works from the Flora Series
    Yoga & Nia for Life Studio Gallery, West Concord MA. December 2009-October 2013

    Flora: Photographic Works by Suzanne Gainer
    Gallery Seven, Maynard MA. August-September, 2009

    Memories Wake: A Video Installation by Suzanne Gainer
    The Red Eye Gallery, Providence RI. May, 1994      

    SMALL GROUP EXHIBITIONS
    Worcester State University Faculty Invitational Exhibition
    Ghosh Science and Technology Center, Worcester MA. 2008, 2009, 2012, 2014

    Five Local Artists
    Circle Furniture Gallery, Acton MA. November-December, 2009

    State of the Art: Recent Work by Massachusetts University State & Community College Faculty Bunker Hill Community College Art Gallery, Boston MA. November-December, 2007

    Vortex: A Juried Art Exhibit hosted by the Blue Man Group
    The Charles Playhouse, Boston MA. November, 2003

    Spectral Works: Crossley, Gainer & Holbrow
    University Place Gallery, Cambridge MA. November, 2002

    Viewpoints Invitational Exhibition
         ArtSpaces, California MD. 2000               

    By the Palette, For the Palate
    Katherine E. Nash Gallery, Minneapolis MN. 2000

    Suzanne Gainer, Lisa Abendroth and Torrance York: New Work in Video
    Sol Koffler Gallery, Providence RI. 1994

    ADDITIONAL JURIED EXHIBITIONS & FILM SCREENINGS
    Center Yourself Juried by Paula Tognarelli, Executive Director, Griffin Museum of Photography.
    Worcester Center for Crafts, Worcester MA. February-March 2011

    Northeast Prize Show Juried by Cheryl Brutvan, Curator of Contemporary Art, Norton Museum of Art . Kathryn Shultz & University Place Galleries, Cambridge MA. May-June 2010

    Red Juried by Carl Belz, Director Emeritus, Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University. Kathryn Shultz and University Place Galleries, Cambridge MA. November 2009-January 2010

    Blue Juried by Rachel Rosenfield Lafo, Director of Curatorial Affairs, DeCordova Museum. University Place Gallery, Cambridge MA. 2004
    Directors Choice Award Recipient

    Inch x Inch
    Gibbs Gallery at the Arlington Center for the Arts, Arlington MA. 2002

    New England Photography & Sculpture Show 
    Kathryn Schultz Gallery, Cambridge MA. 2002

    2002 Cambridge Art Association National Prize Show Juried by Lisa Dennison, Deputy Director, Guggenheim Museum
    University Place Gallery, Cambridge MA. 2002

    PlaceScapes 
    The Stage Gallery, Merrick NY. 2001          

    Small Works National All Media Invitational 
    Period Gallery, Omaha NE. 2001

    The Frances N. Roddy Open CompetitionJuried by Barbara Krakow. 
    Concord Art Association, Concord MA. 2001

    Wonders on Wood 
    Kathryn Schultz Gallery, Cambridge MA. 2001

    74th Annual International Competition: Photography Juried by Therese Mulligan. The Print Center, Philadelphia PA, and the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences, Loveladies, NJ. 2000

    Photography Now Juried by Frank Gholke
    South Shore Art Center, Cohasset MA. 2000

    Salon 2000 
    Limner Gallery, New York NY. 2000

    Rhode Island School of Design Graduate Alumni Show
    The Sol Koffler Gallery and Market House Gallery, Providence RI. 1999 & 2000              

    20th Annual Parfitt Photography Exhibition 
    Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, Portsmouth NH. 1999

    Family Trauma 
    The Knitting Factory, New York NY. 1996

    The New England Film and Video Festival
    Remis Auditorium at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA.1996

    The Albany International Short Film Festival
    Swyer Theatre in the Egg at Empire Plaza, Albany NY. 1996

    Honors and Grants
    2014 Art of Science Learning Fellowship
    Innovation Fellow for the Art of Science Learning Worcester Innovation Incubator, a National Science Foundation funded initiative. A learning community to develop creative & collaborative skills using curriculum that integrates the arts with STEM education.

    2013, 2010, 2009 2008 Faculty Mini-Grant Awards
    Competitive funding grants awarded for student scholarship funds for Costa Rica program (2013), for training in Adobe AfterEffects motion graphics software (2010), for the purchase of mounting materials for a solo show (2009), for study with National Geographic Photography Workshops (2008). Worcester State University, Worcester, MA

    Published Finalist
    National Wildlife Refuge Photography Contest, 2008

    Directors Choice Award
    Blue Exhibition: Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge MA, 2004

    $2500 Grand Prize Award
    Vortex: A Juried Exhibition by the Blue Man Group, Boston MA, 2003

    Art Teacher Fellowship Award
    Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs NY, 1999 & 2000

    DuArt Outstanding Independent Video Award
    New England Film/Video Festival, Boston MA, 1996

    The TC Coley Award for Excellence in Photography
    Rhode Island School of Design, Providence RI, 1993

    RISD Graduate Student Award of Excellence
    Rhode Island School of Design, Providence RI, 1993