The works of three area artists were celebrated in the “2024 East 40 Artist-in-Residence Exhibition,” Communications Hall Gallery, Northampton Community College (NCC), Bethlehem Township.

The East 40 Gardens & Nature Area is described as “A Center for Place-Based Learning.”

Information about applications for the East 40 Artist-in-Residence program is available on the program’s website.

“Typically, we have two to three spots available in the summer for the artist-in-residency program,” says East 40 Manager Katelynn Frey.

Chosen for NCC’s annual East 40 Artist-in-Residence program in Summer 2024 were photographer Sasha Phyars-Burgess, musician Mike Lorenz and poet Anne Sipos.

They visited the 40-acre open space on the NCC campus, seeking inspiration while interacting with students and the public.

The East 40 community began in 2010 to foster a welcoming space for “place-based learning” among the meadows, gardens and woodland.

“East 40 is an idea. An idea for a way of living, a way of thinking.” says Phyars-Burgess. “It is a turn away from a culture that wants you to commodity yourself to every end of the spectrum.”

Phyars-Burgess, with a studio in Bethlehem, graduated with a Bachelor’s in Photography from Bard College.

Lorenz found inspiration for composing the six instrumental tracks for his “East 40” CD when he brought his guitar to the bucolic summer setting to improvise “material that could become a larger piece.”

Several 9 in. x 13 in. color photographs taken by Lorenz highlight what he found at the East 40 that struck a chord with him.

The Bethlehem-based jazz guitarist, composer and educator says, “I spent the fall putting the disparate pieces together and connecting them.”

Lorenz recorded the music in early 2025 and after editing and mixing the material, released the CD in November 2025.

Lorenz received a Bachelor’s in Music and Master’s in Teaching from Moravian University.

Sipos’ poetry “rocks” with the words of the last two stanzas of her poem, “Threshold,” transcribed to stones where those visiting her East 40 “rock poetry garden” built their own compositions with them.

“This project lives in that shared space between speaking and listening, between solitude and connection,” says the poet and NCC educator. “Here, the rocks are both the page and the poem, both offering and invitation.”

Sipos’ “Through the Threshold” is inspired by lines of poetry lines from her poems, “Threshold” and “Through the Threshold.” A “digital scrapbook” of the pictures can be viewed on the East 40 website.

Sipos, a Northampton resident and NCC educator, is a graduate of Liberty High where she taught English. Sipos received a Bachelor’s in English and a Master’s in Education from Lehigh University.

The exhibition was sponsored by the Northampton Community College Art Department and The East 40 Center for Place-Based Learning at Northampton Community College.

“2024 East 40 Artist-in-Residence Exhibition: Sasha Phyars-Burgess, Mike Lorenz, Anne Sipos,” concluded March 6, Communications Hall Gallery, Northampton Community College, 3835 Green Pond Road, Bethlehem Township. Information: https://www.ncceast40.org/

“Gallery View” is a column about artists, exhibitions and galleries. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com