The Frame Gallery: a learning space for artists at CMU

At the edge of Carnegie Mellon University’s Pittsburgh campus sits a small but vital space for creative exploration: The Frame Gallery. When I first noticed it, the building was under renovation. With its boutique storefront and what looked like student apartments overhead, I assumed it was a retail or commercial space. But when official CMU signage went up, marking it as a university building, I got curious.

This week, I spoke with Lillian van Veen, a senior artist and the outgoing Co-Director of The Frame. Lillian has worked in various roles at the gallery since their sophomore year, and they describe it as a space where undergraduate artists take risks, explore new ideas, and learn what it means to practice and present their work publicly.

It quickly became clear that The Frame is far more than a display or exhibit space. It’s a student-run learning environment, a leadership opportunity, and a community hub — all rolled into one. At a university known for engineering, robotics, and cutting-edge AI, The Frame stands out as a different kind of laboratory: one devoted to creative expression and the evolving practice of art.

Here are a few threads from our conversation.

From Studio to Gallery: a student’s journey

Lillian, who works across painting, textiles, video, and performance-influenced mediums, describes their experience with The Frame as transformative. “I’ve been an artist my whole life,” they shared, “but the gallery side of things — learning how to run one, how to install a show, how to support others — that was totally new to me.”

They joined The Frame as a sophomore, right as the university was emerging from the disruptions of the pandemic. Much of the operational knowledge had been lost during that time, creating a steep learning curve for the team. “We were just trying to figure out how to do what people did before us, but without that guidance,” Lillian recalled.

Still, over time, the team rebuilt, adapted, and reimagined the space — not just logistically, but philosophically.

The Gallery as Experimental Space

The Frame operates on a fast-paced schedule. Each exhibition opens Friday night and closes by Sunday evening. Installation happens on Tuesday; deinstallation must be completed by Monday. “It’s intense,” Lillian said, “but it means more students get the chance to show their work.”

The space is entirely run by undergraduates — co-directors, a finance manager, PR and media lead, gallery attendants, and, more recently, an archivist who documents each show and helps preserve institutional memory. That role isn’t just about taking photos — it’s about continuity. “We didn’t want future teams to start from scratch the way we did.”

To support both knowledge sharing and creativity, the team created resources and guidelines for exhibitors. Each semester begins with a meeting to walk participants through the logistics, and a detailed guide offers tips on everything from promotion to installation. While each exhibitor is responsible for their own show, these materials help demystify the process and lower the barrier to entry.

“It’s not about perfection,” Lillian explained. “It’s about giving students space to experiment, to try something new, to figure things out. That’s what makes The Frame so important as a learning space.”

While studio courses at CMU teach students how to make art, The Frame invites them to present it publicly — to think through the full experience of an exhibition. That includes how to hang and light a piece, how to write wall text, how to attract an audience, and how to shape the overall tone and feel of the event.

Lillian even developed a resource guide for that part, too — with suggestions for press outreach, reception planning, and designing the interactions. “Some students just want to show a series of paintings,” they said. “Others want a DJ, a spoken-word performance, or a whole experience. We try to support all of that — while still giving them ownership over what they’re doing.”

I couldn’t help but think of it as a kind of creative scaffolding.

The Frame’s fast-paced schedule and open-format ethos have produced a wide variety of exhibitions — from immersive installations and textile works to performances, conceptual experiments, and traditional media shown in untraditional ways.

Below are a few snapshots of recent shows, offering a glimpse into the range of artistic voices and curatorial visions that move through this space:

Whether it’s a dimly lit room filled with projected video, a burst of color from a textile-draped wall, or a minimalist series of canvases and soundscapes, each show transforms The Frame into something new.

And that’s the point. No two weekends are the same — and every show is a chance to rethink what a gallery can be.

A Show Every Week

Over time, the gallery has become a regular weekly cultural ritual. Opening receptions are held every Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. “You start seeing familiar faces,” Lillian noted. “It becomes this social and creative space that’s different from class or the studio.”

This routine helps create a sense of mutual support. Student artists show up for each other’s exhibitions. There’s a familiarity that builds — not just among the creatives, but also among the wider community who return week after week to be in the presence of new work, new ideas, and each other.

“There’s something really special about being physically present with art and with people,” Lillian said. “It’s not the same as scrolling online.”

That intimacy — of sharing space with others, of witnessing something that will only exist in that form for one weekend — makes the experience feel both ephemeral and deeply meaningful. The Frame offers a rare kind of social inspiration — a place where students gather not just to see, but to feel, connect, and belong.

Supporting the Work: funding & tools

The Frame offers each student modest financial support: a $50 stipend for every exhibition, along with two larger $500 grant opportunities each semester. Many artists use these funds for reception snacks, drinks, or for extras like printing custom vinyl wall text — a popular trend that adds a professional touch to the space. To help keep costs minimal, the gallery itself maintains a shared stock of installation tools, including ladders, lights, hanging hardware, and other essentials. This baseline of support — paired with access to guidance from the student leadership team — allows artists to focus on the creative aspects of their show without being overwhelmed by logistics,

An Asset for Artists in a STEM-Heavy University

Carnegie Mellon is internationally known for its strengths in engineering, robotics, computer science — and yes, its world-class drama school. But for students in the visual arts and design, The Frame offers something else entirely: a lab not of algorithms or theatrical performance, but of experimentation, aesthetic risk, and emotional presence.

“We’re not just machines cranking out code,” Lillian reflected. “We’re human. We’re animals. We make things. We need to see beauty. We need community.”

In a culture often centered on outcomes, optimization, and measurable results, The Frame provides a necessary counterbalance. It offers space to slow down (even if the weekly turnaround is fast-paced), to make meaning, and to explore ambiguity. And in doing so, it becomes more than a gallery — it becomes a form of intellectual and cultural infrastructure.

Like a robotics lab or a black-box theater, The Frame is a site of practice. It’s where students learn by doing, by making, by showing up. In that way, it serves not only the College of Fine Arts but the entire university — and even the neighboring community — by reminding us that creativity, reflection, and presence are vital forms of intelligence, output, and contribution,

Closing Thought

As Lillian prepares to graduate next week and head to New York for the next chapter of their artistic journey, they leave behind more than just a record of exhibitions. What they’ve helped shape — alongside dozens of peers — is a culture of care, experimentation, and shared learning. A gallery that, week after week, invites students to take themselves seriously as artists, while still allowing room to play, fail, and try again.

“It’s demanding,” Lillian said. “But it’s deeply rewarding. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

In a space as fleeting as a weekend show, The Frame has endured for over five decades—not just in its white walls or archival photos, but in the rituals it cultivates, the questions it invites, and the confidence it instills in emerging artists. Its longevity is proof of its necessity: a creative venue, a cultural asset, and a space where generations of students have learned not only how to make art, but how to share it. Week by week, show by show, it deepens their practice—and affirms their place in the creative landscape.