Current Exhibitions
As Long As I Have Breath in My Body
April 6 - July 20, 2025
IN PROCESS… is an African American women's acapella ensemble from the Washington metropolitan area. The membership of IN PROCESS… and The Village of African American Doll Artists consists, in large part, of individuals born in Washington, DC in the 1940s and 1950s. They descend from Black migrants who arrived in Washington, DC during the Great Migration. Their forbearers laid the foundation for the African Americans communities that have thrived for decades. During the Great Maafa (the Middle Passage), millions of African artisans were transported to the Americas from regions where dolls, puppets, masks, and textiles were integral to cultural and religious ceremonies. African American doll and puppet making are among the oldest continuous art forms that enslaved Africans brought into the Americas.
All images courtesy of Camila Bryce La-Porte
The doll and puppet artists are storytellers who use mixed media to chronicle their communities’ history, identity, and culture. Like IN PROCESS…, the doll and puppet artists recognize that their works are healing and transformative for themselves and for the communities they represent. The exhibition will include videotaped conversations with the artists about their personal histories, the communities from which they emerged, their creative processes, and their works’ transformative and spiritual power. Dolls in a variety of textiles and mixed media will be on display to accompany the story and history of these artists.
Community Gallery
Music of Passion by Ahmed Alkarkhi
May 19 – June 15, 2025
Opening Reception, Sunday, June 1, 1-3 pm
The show explores how emotions permeate every aspect of our lives, being intertwined with memory, attention, perception, and decision-making and forming the backdrop to every form of art and literature. The theme “Spaces of Emotions” highlights the importance of emotions in personal relationships and in broader social life, the main places where emotions manifest themselves: among family, friends, and public spaces. Art is not just works of art; it is the soul that knows beauty, that carries music in its soul and the color of the sunset in its handkerchief, that can dance in a blazing world and make the world dance too.
Upcoming exhibitions
Visual Verse: Recent works by Sara Caporaletti
June 16 – July 18, 2025
Opening Reception, Sunday, June 22, 12-2 pm
Visual Verse is a collection of new works from the past few years, exploring aspects of identity, the human body and moments of ordinary life. Sara Caporaletti is a mixed media artist that chooses materials in connection to ideas. Much of her work references her own physical, emotional, and spiritual health as abstract ways to process and understand the myriad experiences. This exhibition will highlight hand stitched textiles, small sculpture and digital photography that will be paired with poetry. This exhibit will be on view until July 18, 2025.
About the Artist:
Sara Caporaletti is a mixed media artist who received her BA in studio art from McDaniel College in Westminster, MD, and her MFA in interdisciplinary fine art from American University in Washington DC. She has participated in several artist residency programs and actively exhibits her artwork in group exhibitions in art centers or galleries around the DMV and Mid-Atlantic region. She is a member of the Montgomery Art Association and Women's Caucus for Art, DC chapter. Since 2017, Sara has been on staff at Sandy Spring Museum, working as an Exhibit intern, Archives assistant, Exhibit Coordinator, and most recently as the Director of Operations.
Great Truths without Division: Chinese Garden Culture in Contemporary Art
July 27 – September 21, 2025
Great Truths Without Division: Chinese Garden Culture in Contemporary Art explores how contemporary artists reinterpret traditional East Asian Garden aesthetics to reflect themes of transformation, spirituality, and cultural exchange. Rooted in the philosophies of Taoism, Buddhism, and Christianity, the exhibition reflects on the interconnectedness of all life forms and the shared future of humanity.
Featuring works by 32 contemporary artists, including faculty and students from the Academy of Fine Arts at Minzu University of China, the exhibition blends traditional values with modern artistic approaches. The artworks— ranging from painting and sculpture to installation and digital media—draw inspiration from classical garden design and philosophy while reimagining them through modern global and digital lenses.
This multicultural exhibition illustrates how ancient wisdom can find new expressions in contemporary art, offering fresh perspectives on unity, ecology, and human experience. It emphasizes cultural diversity and invites public reflection on how tradition and innovation can coexist.
By bridging East and West, and past and present, the exhibition fosters meaningful dialogue and strengthens connections between communities in China, Sandy Spring and elsewhere.
Outdoor Public Art: Invisible Paradise
July 27 – September 21, 2025
This summer, experience a 9-foot-tall interactive installation on the museum grounds! Blending sight, sound, touch, and scent, the artwork (artist: Hui Han) invites visitors into a playful moment of harmony between humans and nature. Bring the little ones—come play with the panda!
Han Hui is a Chinese trendsetting IP (Intellectual Property) artist. He creates an atmosphere inspired by Zen philosophy, leading participants on a journey of self-discovery and the enhancement of life's value.