Meet The Curator
Bruce Alan St. Germain
Bruce Alan St. Germain, a native of Gary, IN, moved to the Washington DC area to attend the University Of Maryland in 1978. As a longtime advocate for children and young adults, both in the Northwest Indiana region as well as the Washington Metropolitan area, he has continually sought out new opportunities to help kids find and achieve success. To that end he designed and built the gallery as a way to bring together established artists and hopeful young artists, with the goal of building mentorship ties between the two.
Born of a first generation Canadian emigrant father from Ontario, Canada, and a midwestern mother from Green Bay, WI who was the oldest of eight siblings, Mr. St. Germain learned first-hand the struggles of the working class. His father, who at the age of 5 only spoke French, moved to Gary with his parents and two brothers so that his father could make a living working in the steel mills that made Gary the largest steel producer in the world. His mother had learned the hardships of life early during the Great Depression, helping her mother raise her seven siblings while their father struggled to earn enough money to support the family. Mr. St. Germain’s father and mother met while both were employed at US Steel Corporation, married, and lived in a single story, two bedroom home, originally one of many built by US Steel to house its employees.
Mr. St. Germain’s father, being an active volunteer Eagle Scout leader for the Boy Scouts Of America, instilled in him the responsibility of mentorship and volunteerism. Upon his father’s passing at the age of twelve, he took up that torch, volunteering at the Youth Crisis Center in Gary where he worked as a mental health counselor for youth as well as adults. While in high school, he accepted a paid position with the Northwest Indiana Regional Addictions Authority (NIRAA) teaching First-Aid (Certified American Red Cross Instructor), CPR (Certified American Heart Association Instructor), and Drug Overdose First-Aid (Certified NIRAA Instructor) as part of a comprehensive multi-day training course offered to the general public. His volunteer activities also included working as a counselor at the Alternative House in Miller, IN helping run-away youth. Mr. St. Germain also managed to hold down a part-time retail job while attending and completing high school.
Mr. St. Germain moved to Maryland to pursue studies in Information Systems Management at the University Of Maryland while continuing with his volunteer activities at the University Of Maryland’s Help Center and the American Red Cross. He was appointed to a leadership position at the center where he coordinated outreach efforts with the Prince George’s County Hot Line and the Alexandria Hot Line on behalf of the center.
His professional career began with AT&T, spanning 37 years, during which time he held positions as computer programmer, network engineer, and computer security manager. Additionally, he worked as corporate trainer for what became Bell Atlantic and adjunct faculty member for Prince George’s Community College and the University Of Maryland, teaching computer programming. He completed his BS at Maryland and completed his MS through an NSA program in computer security.
As a Washington area resident he also found his love for the arts. He frequently visited the Smithsonian collections, the National Gallery Of Art, and the Phillips Collection art gallery, and attended performances at the Kennedy Center, the National Theater, the Arena Stage, Wolf Trap, the Warner Theater, as well as local community theater productions. His frustrating lack of musical talent, two left feet, and a minimal talent for sketching helped him appreciate the skills of those with a gift for the arts. Eventually he found his art talent through photography which he continues to pursue as a hobby.
While raising two children as a single parent Mr. St. Germain found an extreme lack of mentorship for kids in our educational system and saw how negatively impactful it was, particularly on at-risk kids. He worked with the Department Of Justice and law enforcement agencies in Virginia and Maryland, as well as the US Naval Academy, to provide a mentorship program to Washington area youth. That program extended to a joint project with the Smithsonian Institution where students were introduced to the career opportunities found in forensic science. Mr. St. Germain actively supported reading programs in Alexandria, Va and was a volunteer mentor for a program put on by the city of Falls Church, Va.
Upon retirement, Mr. St. Germain envisioned a program that would help build mentorship relationships between established artists and art students. Like Walt and Roy Disney, he realized that the magic of the arts was in its ability to bring out the best in us. To that end he designed and built the Gallery de Saint-Germain to act as a virtual art experience that would connect artists, students, art schools, art galleries, and the general public in a way in which they could collectively experience, promote, and benefit from the magic of the arts.
A Few Words From The Curator
I would just like to welcome you, and thank you for helping to build the gallery into an effective and valued asset for students and artists. By participating, you help to spread the magic of the arts across the globe and its ability to bring out the best in us.
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Bruce Alan
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