poor ellen smith

Indoor site-specific indoor installation June 18 – September 8, 2023

Outdoor installation July 6- November 30, 2023

Regeneration-Connection-Celebration is a conceptual showcase of cut paper installations, paintings on canvas, and indoor and outdoor sculptural pieces inspired by Chinese folklore traditions from local artist, Shanye Huang. The work explores the interconnectedness and resiliency of the human spirit amidst the transformation and regeneration experienced through the pandemic. The exhibit also examines human life on earth and its intricate relationship with nature through the artist’s personal reflections, observations, and meditations. Huang will transform the gallery spaces of the Museum into an immersive display of color and vibrancy with cut paper, paintings, and mixed media installation. Outdoors, he will display a new artwork that draws on elements of community and the passage of time through the seasons.

Shanye Huang was born and raised in an ethnic Zhuang family in Guangxi, Southwest China, a region known for its vibrant folk arts. His art connects his southern Chinese folkloric heritage with the disciplined skills of Chinese academic painting and Western contemporary concepts. Huang employs an experimental cross-media approach by integrating a bold lively spirit, embedded in a folk-art tradition through color and form. He uses simple craft material such as paper cutting with contemporary conceptual expressions to create large-scale vibrant installations that are filled with symbols and metaphors to facilitate meaningful conversions. The complex creation process, symbolizing a transformational human experience, expresses the aesthetic relationship between painting and paper-cutting.

April 30 – May 7, 2023, 10 am – 4pm each day, in the upper level of the art barn

A pop-up exhibit of artwork inspired by flowers, nature, and Bible verses, created by Sandy Spring Museum resident artists, Alla and Milana Borovskaia, a mother daughter artist duo.  By using a variety of art mediums, such as wool fibers and resin, the artists have created many vibrantly colored and textured artworks that help viewers appreciate the preservation of nature and the link between flowers and scripture.

Artist reception: Sunday, April 30, 3-5 pm, light refreshments will be offered in studio

Beyond Traditions

January 9 – March 20, 2023

Beyond Traditions brings together seven multi-cultural women artists in a multimedia exhibit curated by Felisa Federman. Participating artists bring their diverse backgrounds and cultural histories that have led them to the art world. They each create textiles that reflect their individual connections to countries of origin, various educational paths, or other forms of expression.

Click to view the exhibit catalogue.

Opened February 28, 2022

First formed in 1822 as Sharp Street Methodist Episcopal Church, Sharp Street United Methodist Church is the oldest Black church in Montgomery County. This exhibit honors this social and spiritual anchor of the Sandy Spring Community with a display of related artifacts and photos, many of which are on loan from church members.

In an effort to keep you healthy, we are requesting that audience members provide proof of a COVID vaccine when attending scheduled programs, and that audience members wear masks unless they are eating or drinking. Under certain conditions, exemptions may be made for those who are not vaccinated.  Please email us for more information.

This exhibit was on display in Summer 2013. This was an exhibit of oil and water color paintings that referenced the spirit of Sandy Spring and its history. Her work addressed the ways one occupies space and the ways one assigns color and graphics to various objects. Bellairs also explored the Museum’s collection and created new pieces inspired by what she saw. Her favorite objects were documented visually and organized and regrouped by color and pattern in the community. She enabled viewers to see the items in the collection in a new light and imagine what life was like in past times.

On exhibit August 2 to September 2, 2017

For many years, Sandy Spring Museum and the Olney Art Association have worked together to offer visitors new views of the surrounding area.  In this year’s theme, “Celebrating Our Neighborhoods,” each artist has strived to capture that special something in our neighborhood, loosely defined as the 6-mile radius stemming from the Sandy Spring Meeting House – that gives him or her cause to celebrate.

With an exhibit of over 40 original works of art by members of the Olney Art Association in multiple media, they celebrated the everyday life in these communities – Ashton, Brighton, Brinklow, Brookeville, Burtonsville, Cloverly, Ednor, Norbeck, Norwood, Oakdale, Olney, Sandy Spring, Spencerville, Sunshine, Roslyn, Tridelphia and Unity.