Sandy Spring Museum recently broken ground on a new project — the Cultural Heritage Hub. This innovative space is a response to the voices of traditional artists who expressed a pressing need for a dedicated place to practice, rehearse, and gather without the burden of high rental costs. The Cultural Heritage Hub, set to open in early 2025, is designed specifically for these artists and their organizations, offering space for rehearsals, small-scale recordings, meetings, and performances in an adjacent open-air amphitheater.

Sandy Spring Museum connects diverse communities and advances social equity through shared and inspiring experiences of the region’s cultural heritage. Residing in the most ethnically and linguistically diverse county in the state, regional folk artists include immigrants and people of color who are members of underserved communities, sometimes lacking access to resources or space in which to practice and promulgate traditions. Our goal is to expand opportunities and provide equal access to all, including after-hours and weekend engagement.

Audiences will be enriched by opportunities to explore many traditions, including those arising from indigenous tribes, earlier agricultural communities, and diverse cultures from around the globe. Connecting through concerts, events, workshops, and the arts will strengthen ties among members of our highly diverse, 21st-century population.

Cultural heritage is a vehicle for communities to draw on their past in the present, so they can shape their own futures. It is generative and evolving, attuned to the changing experiences of the region.