Thoughtful conversation unfolded throughout the Addison Gallery of American Art (Addison) last Thursday evening as the space hosted a book release party celebrating “Other Things Uttered,” the catalog accompanying artist-in-residence Tommy Kha’s first solo museum exhibition. The reception marked both the long-awaited arrival of the publication and an unofficial, bittersweet closing to an exhibition that has shaped artistic and academic conversations on campus over the past year.
The event drew a mix of Andover students, faculty, and local community members from beyond campus. Copies of the catalog lined the tables as Kha signed books and spoke with eager attendees. Laughter echoed against the gallery walls, pens hovered over freshly printed pages, and clusters of guests formed and re-formed as Tommy Kha moved through the gallery.
“It’s exciting. We have advanced copies of my catalog done in collaboration with the curators here. We only have limited copies and I’m just going to do some signings until we run out. But I hope people get to check out the show before it closes. This is sort of an unofficial closing of ‘Other Things Uttered.’ I like alohas though, so I hope this show will become something else and hopefully people get to see more and make their own pictures,” said Kha.
The catalog launch was part of the Addison’s newly established Hayes Prize initiative, which supports early-career artists by offering their first solo museum exhibition, a residency on campus, and a published catalog documenting their work. Over the course of his residency, Kha has become a consistent presence on campus. Dr. Rachel Vogel, the lead curator of the exhibition, highlighted Kha’s character and student-centered approach.
“Tommy really wanted part of the exhibition to come from working with students. The work in the rotunda was created with students in eight different classes last spring. He came to campus seven or eight times over the past two years and met with PA classes, Lawrence Public School classes, Middlesex Community College, and college photography departments. He is collaborative, open, warm, and friendly. He is always pushing himself and his work, and he is the ideal artist to work with,” said Vogel.
For students, the event provided a rare opportunity to engage directly with a working artist whose work they had encountered in classrooms and discussions. Keita Narusawa ’26 attended the reception after visiting the exhibition multiple times throughout the year.
“Each time I have been here, it has been very different. The first time, Tommy Kha was not here and we just looked at his art. The second time, he was here and many students attended. It was a big dinner where we asked him questions in a large group, and it felt very community focused. This time, there are a lot of people from outside of campus who I do not recognize, but there still seems to be a communal atmosphere, which is nice,” said Narusawa.
Narusawa noted the playful and creative spirit of Kha’s exhibition, as well as the changes it underwent over time.
“His work is very playful and very self aware. I was with a friend this time, and he pointed out that Tommy includes Balenciaga chips, which I had not noticed the first two times. That detail really stuck out to me as reflective of his personality. There were things that changed or that I did not notice the first time, like the wall mural of himself in one of the rooms or how he switched up images of himself,” said Narusawa.
Curatorial fellow Ricardo Mercado emphasized that accessibility and community engagement were central goals of both the exhibition and the book launch, reflecting the Addison’s broader mission as a public museum democratizing art embedded within the Andover community.
“One important goal is to make the museum an accessible space that anyone can come to. We are free, which helps. Giving people the opportunity to meet a working artist and explore the themes he is developing in his work was the driving force behind this exhibition and program,” said Mercado.
As “Other Things Uttered” approaches its January 25 closing date, the book launch offered a final gathering point for reflection, something Kha hopes viewers will take away from the exhibit.
“I hope [students] get to choose who they are at the end of the day. No matter what different subject matter my work goes through in the different rooms in the Addison, I hope that it shows there’s different ways to arrive at ourselves and that it’s okay to grow as a person and to change with the information that we attain. It’s okay to make mistakes and be able to be resilient at the same time and learn and grow. Just be artists and be other things and be many things or be one thing, it’s up to you,” said Kha.
