About the Ortlip Art Gallery

The Ortlip Art Gallery is an all-purpose exhibition space located in the Center for the Arts at Houghton College. Named for H. Willard and Aimee Ortlip and their family, some of whom were previous art faculty members, the gallery serves current students, faculty and visiting artists.

The exhibit program of the Ortlip Art Gallery presents a diverse range of innovative exhibitions and educational programs offering insights into the work of established and emerging regional, national, and international artists and designers. As a cultural leader, the Ortlip Art Gallery provides a forum for exploring contemporary art and ideas enriching the artistic and intellectual climate of the college, the greater Houghton community, Allegany County, and beyond.   

The Ortlip Art Gallery curates seven exhibitions annually that explore various media, processes, and genres to foster dialogue in and out of the classroom setting. In addition to the work of established and emerging artists we offer annual exhibitions by students, art department alumni, and the art faculty. All exhibitions are accompanied by gallery talks or lectures during lively and celebrated reception events that are free and open to the public. 

The Ortlip Gallery has a mission of furthering the educational goals of Houghton College, preparing students interested in art studies for future careers by providing a professional gallery and exhibit venue for college work study, stimulating conversation with visual complements to ideas crucial to our lives, and enriching every community member possible in the underserved areas that Houghton comes in to contact with. The exhibitions provide opportunities for visual research, objective thinking into areas of culture, philosophy, place, gender, ethnicity and faith.

Jillian Sokso directs the Ortlip Art Gallery.  Professor Sokso teaches in the Department of Art and brings a background of curatorial experience from venues such as the Klein Gallery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Artforms Gallery in Manayunk Pennsylvania. 

Click here to read about the history of the Ortlip Family and its work at Houghton College.