FOLLOW WCAC

November 1, 2023

Volume 23-60

Welcome to Artist Alley,

Washington County Arts Council's electronic newsletter.

We hope this publication will engage you with the arts in your community.

WCAC welcomes your ideas and support as it continues to take the lead in bringing together the community's art organizations to strengthen our region's arts culture.

For artist information, arts events, calls for art, and more visit WCAC's web page...

www.washingtoncountyarts.com.

Washington County Chamber of Commerce!

Washington County Chamber of Commerce

1 South Potomac Street, Hagerstown, MD 21740

Phone: 301-739-2015

About the Maryland Pastel Society

Founded in 1977, the Maryland Pastel Society is a non-profit organization devoted to the promotion and development of professional, original works of art in the medium of soft pastel and to the creative and technical development of its members. There are many local pastel societies throughout the country, but the Maryland Pastel Society is the oldest state society and is an active member of the International Association of Pastel Societies. While the Society had its roots in the Baltimore area, its members (over 200 today) come from all over the Mid-Atlantic region.

Our society aims to provide educational opportunities for artists and the public through the Society’s website, lectures, art demonstrations, workshops, and art exhibitions.

https://www.marylandpastelsociety.com/about/about/

Exhibiting Artists

Dolores Andrew

Laurie Basham

Mary Boeh

Nanette Catigbe

Mary Ann Clarendon

Deborah Cole

Rebecca Denneny

Karen Ferrick

Alan Fink

Michael Gaudreau

Jean Hirons

Gayle Mangan Kassal

Joanne Lamm

Lyn Laviana

Joyce Lister

Deborah Maklowski

Denise Matuk-Kroupa

Michael McGurk

Donna Mitchell

Mary Moores

Grace Newcomer

Susan Due Pearcy

Kate Quinn

Desiree Scherini

Anne Singer

Shamim Sisson

Mary Rinderle Smith

Dorothy Stepenaski

Kim Stone

Andrée Tullier

Joyce Turk

Mary Anne Warner

Hsiang-ling Yao

DEADLINE: November 30, 2023 @ 3pm

Call for Entries

Cumberland Valley Artists and

Photographers Exhibitions

The Washington County Museum of Fine Arts has announced a Call for Entries for the 2024 Cumberland Valley Photographers and Cumberland Valley Artists exhibitions at the museum.

An annual tradition since the 1930s, the Cumberland Valley Photographers and Cumberland Valley Artists exhibitions showcase, celebrate, and support artists of the Cumberland Valley region. Each year, hundreds of works are submitted for consideration for inclusion by exhibition jurors.

New this year, the exhibitions will not run concurrently. Cumberland Valley Photographers will be on view from March 23 through June 2, 2024. Cumberland Valley Artists will be June 15 through Aug. 26, 2024. However, the dates for submission and evaluation are the same for both exhibitions.

Entries for both exhibitions must be submitted online at the following link https://client.smarterentry.com/wcmfa.

The link closes at 3 p.m. Nov. 30, 2023. Each artist can submit up to four works and can submit to either the artists exhibition OR photographers exhibition, but not both. Artists from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia may enter the competition. A First Place Juror’s Award will be named in both competitions and receive a $1,000 cash award.

For complete rules, download the PDF here, Call For Entry Flyer 2024.

For more information, call the museum at 301-739-5727 or info@wcmfa.org.

Calendar

• Submissions Open: Friday, September 29, 2023
• Submissions Close: Thursday, November 30, 2023, 3pm
• Notice of acceptance: Thursday, December 14, 2023

Fees

• Museum members: $12.50 per entry – promo code to use in Smarter Entry is “member”
• Non-members: $15.00 per entry.

To become a museum member, visit wcmfa.org and purchase a membership. Or call Donna Rastelli at 301-739-5727 or email her at drastelli@wcmfa.org.

Please contact the museum if you need help with your submission(s).

Call for Films:

Maryland International Film Festival - Hagerstown

REGULAR DEADLINE: December 1, 2023

Welcome, filmmakers, to the Maryland International Film Festival-Hagerstown. We are excited about our 11th year coming up on March 21st-24th, 2024. We are Movie Magazine's top 50 festival worth their entry fee. For 12 years, we've been bringing in the finest films from around the world. The film festival became a 501(c)3 and launched in 2009 and now screens more than 100 films each year! Hollywood Director Joe Carnahan is our creative director, and has been a powerful partner with our festival! He has brought us such films as "The Grey" and "The A-Team" with Liam Neeson and just released Wheelman to Netflix which is getting RAVE reviews. He now has his own production company with Frank Grillo, and has recently signed a deal with Sony Entertainment to work on their Adaptation of 'UNCHARTED'. So join us! We look forward to having you screen at our 12th anniversary!

The festival is conveniently located downtown; we're in the middle of the arts and entertainment district. And after the films, we host some of the best after parties with live bands and fantastic food and drinks!

Submission Guidelines: Entries must be submitted online, through FilmFreeway's online screener option.

Entry Fees: Checks or money orders must be made payable to Maryland International Film Festival.

Notifications: February 15, 2024

Tickets for BARE are still on sale now. Dates are 11/3, 11/4, 11/10 & 11/11 at the Black Box Theatre at the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts, 7 S Potomac Street at 7:00 PM. Seats are general admission and cost $15. Telephone 301-766-8840

Holiday Fine Art Show and Sale

The Potomac River Artists Guild is celebrating twenty three years of "artistic comradery" with a weekend show on Nov.10,11,and 12, 2023, in the Shepherdstown Community Center located at German and King Streets in Shepherdstown, WV. The hours are Friday, Nov.10, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, Saturday, Nov.11th from 9:00 am - 6:00 pm and Sunday, the 12th from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. On Saturday, there will be an Opening Reception from 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm and it is FREE and open to the public. Light snacks will be served.

The group offers a wide variety of work from small to large, flowing watercolors, oils, acrylics to multi-media abstracts, cards, framed and unframed pieces. This is an exciting show, the walls will be covered with original art for every budget. 

For more information about the Guild or the Show, please visit and like us on Facebook, PotomacRiverArtistsGuild.

“Orphans,” by Lyle Kessler will be performed November 10-12 & 17-19, 2023.

Directed by Tom Doty with Greg Berezuk, Assistant Director

The Potomac Playmakers proudly announce auditions for the second show of the 2023-2024 Season, the gripping Lyle Kessler thriller “Orphans!” An international success throughout the world, the play details the story of two brothers: Phillip, sensitive, reclusive, never venturing out of his North Philly home; and Treat, a violent pickpocket and thief who kidnaps a mysteriously wealthy businessman. When the businessman turns the table on the two brothers, in a strange, hilarious, and moving way he becomes their long-lost father figure. Produced with kind permission from Concord Theatricals Corp. Supported in part by grants from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Washington County Arts Council.

All performances will be held at the Potomac Playmakers Performing Arts Center

17303 W. Washington Street, Hagerstown MD 21740

www.potomacplaymakers.org

potomacplaymakers@gmail.com

FASHIONABLE DISPLAY

Frederick native Claire McCardell redefined women's fashion from the 1930s through the 1950s. She designed casual sportswear for women that was comfortable yet stylish. The Washington County of fine Arts has 12 fashions in a special display from our collection to celebrate McCardell's fashionable legacy. They can be seen through Nov. 12, 2023.

Washington County Museum of Fine Arts

401 Museum Drive, Hagerstown, MD 21740

Hours: Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,

Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m.

301-739-5727

“Cornucopia,” the Valley Art Association all members’ November 2023 show in the North Gallery of The Manson House, opens Friday, Nov 3, 2023 and closes Sun, Nov 26, 2023. 

The Mansion House is located at 480 Highland Ave (City Park), Hagerstown Maryland 21740. Gallery Hours: Fridays & Saturdays 11am-4pm , Sundays 1-5pm. Admission is FREE.

Sounds of Silence Tribute to Perform

In Hagerstown, MD on November 14, 2023

Live On Stage, Inc. and the Hagerstown Community Concert Association is pleased to announce 1970s Greenwich Village folk tribute as part of their 2023 - 2024 Concert Season

Original members of Burlap to Cashmere, Johnny Phillips, and Steven Delopoulos, will be performing their brand-new show The Sounds of Silence Tribute at The Maryland Theatre on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. Advance tickets can be purchased at the Maryland Theatre Box Office or on their website www.mdtheatre.org, $30 for adults and $10 for Students aged 4-17. Lobby doors open one hour prior to the show. Theatre seating starts 45 minutes prior to the show for season/individual ticketholders, and 30 minutes prior to the show for reciprocity ticketholders. General seating, there are no assigned seats. For additional ticket information, visit the association web site at www.communityconcertshagerstown.org. 

“…a memorable evening of phenomenal music!”

- Julie Ng-Castillo, Harlingen Concert Association

The Sounds of Silence Tribute, performed by Johnny Phillips and Steven Delopoulos – original members of the award-winning group Burlap to Cashmere, is a throwback to the early 1970s Greenwich Village folk music scene. Taking audiences on a journey back to a time when lyrics and melody meant something more, their show features the music of Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, John Denver, Harry Chapin, Cat Stevens, Don McLain, and more! Click Here To View A Video Of The Sounds of Silence Tribute.

The Hagerstown Community Concert Association was first established as the "Civic Music Association” for the 1945-46 season and joined the National Community Concert Association in 1959. This all-volunteer nonprofit organization is committed to enriching the cultural life of Hagerstown through live performances. All concerts are presented at the historic downtown Maryland Theatre.

St. Maria Goretti High School fall play…November 17 & 18, 2023 at 7:30pm 

presented by the Saint Maria Goretti Players Theatre.

Showing at Otterbein United Methodist Church, 

108 E Franklin Street, Hagerstown, MD 21740

Tickets--$15 per person

Friday, November 17

6:15-6:50 PM

The Maryland Theatre (lobby)

• FREE photos with The Grouchy Green Neighbor in the lobby of the Theatre 
• Stay for a free youth holiday performance that begins at 7PM in the auditorium.

*Event hosted by City of Hagerstown

• Holiday performance featuring 9 local youth studios.
• FREE and open to the public

*Event hosted by City of Hagerstown

HCC students to perform “And Then They Came for Me”

Students from Hagerstown Community College’s Introduction to Theater course will perform “And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank,” on Friday, Nov. 17, and Saturday, Nov 18, at 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov. 19, at 2 p.m. All performances will be held in the Kepler Black Box Theater on HCC’s main campus.

The production is a poignant, multimedia play by award-winning playwright, James Still, weaving videotaped interviews of two teen-age friends of Anne Frank – Holocaust survivors Eva Schloss and Ed Silverberg – with live actors recreating scenes from their lives during WWII. The message of “And Then They Came for Me” resonates beyond the 20th century genocide in Europe. This powerful play speaks to the senseless persecution of people worldwide based on nationality, religion, race, and gender.

Director Mike Harsh has teamed up with former HCC student, Josiah Hixon, who is serving as the associate director of the production. Hixon went on from HCC to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drama from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Since then, he has worked in a variety of capacities on Broadway and off-Broadway, in London’s West End Theater District, and in TV and film. He is excited to return to HCC to share his experiences with this production and its cast.

Others involved in the production include Jason Buhrman as technical director, Robin Shaner as costume designer, Marlie Mitchell as technical assistant, Beebs as costume assistant, and Nevaeh Horst-Wade and Kahrisa Mann as assistant producers.

Cast members include Dorothy Brown, Ethan Buhrman, Isaiah Cook, Ellie Davis, Jonathan Diloy, Ian Ekins, Jade Fraction, Hassan Keller, Erin Kellogg, Jasmine Leonard, Luke Malott, Jennafer Pasch, Maisah Poindexter, Khaylee Porter, Victoria Queen, Yasmine Rodriguez, Ryland Simpson, and Hannah Webster.

General admission is $5, and seating is limited. HCC students, staff, and faculty can attend for free. To purchase tickets online, visit https://hcckepler.square.site/.

The production contains material depicting Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. It is produced through special arrangements with the Dramatic Publishing Company of Woodstock, Ill. For more information, contact director Mike Harsh at mgharsh@hagerstowncc.edu.

The Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater is proud to present their final MainStage performance of 2023, The Hunchback of Notre Dame! This classic tale opens November 17, 2023.

Based on the Victor Hugo novel and songs from the Disney animated feature, The Hunchback of Notre Dame showcases the film’s Academy Award-nominated score, as well as new songs by Menken and Schwartz. A sweeping score and powerful story make The Hunchback of Notre Dame an instant classic. Audiences will be swept away by the magic of this truly unforgettable musical.

The show is preceded by Dinner featuring Dinner Rolls, Plated Salad, Dinner, Dessert, and Coffee, Tea, and Iced Tea. A Full Service Cash Bar is available. Bar tab and gratuity not included. Children under age 5 are not admitted.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame plays November 17 - December 17, 2023 on Friday and Saturday evenings at 6PM and select Sunday matinees at 1PM. 

The Washington County Playhouse is located at 44 North Potomac Street, Rear. Since 1985, The Playhouse has been entertaining guests in the heart of Hagerstown's Arts and Entertainment District and City Center.

Tickets (includes dinner and show) cost $63.00 for Adults, $57.00 for Active Military and First Responders, and $53.00 for children (5-12). Tickets can be purchased at www.washingtoncountyplayhouse.com or by calling (301)739-7469.

Handmade Hagerstown

Holiday Market

Saturday, November 18

2:00-6:30 PM

South Potomac Street



• Shop small and local this holiday season!
• Over 40 different artisan and handmade vendors will be set up along the street
• FREE Downtown Hagerstown shopping bag to the first 150 customers

*Event hosted by the City of Hagerstown.

Downtown Tree Lighting

Saturday, November 18

5:00-6:00 PM

Public Square

• Annual downtown tree lighting in the Square!
• Santa and Mrs. Claus will be making an appearance.
• FREE hot chocolate and a bounce house

*Event hosted by City of Hagerstown

Valley Craft Network Studio Tour

November 18-19, 2023

Celebrating 42 years- Maryland's oldest studio tour. Visit the studios of 16 artists and artisans at 13 stops during a self-guided tour through the South Mountain Corridor in Western Maryland. Celebrate the holidays with one-of-a-kind gifts: pottery, wooden ware and furnishings, fiber arts, artisan goat cheese, paintings, ciders, moonshine, jewelry and more- all handmade in Maryland. Free & open to the public. For a map and brochure go to: https://www.valleycraftnetwork.org/

COMING SOON

Celebrate the opening of our exhibition Childhood Favorites: 100 Years of Children’s Book Illustration Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bring the whole family to tour the exhibition, make kids’ art projects, enjoy story time in our “treehouse” reading area, and sing along to holiday classics performed live. The event is free. 

Childhood Favorites: opens Nov. 25, 2023 and runs through March 17, 2023. With more than 140 original works from over 75 books, this exhibition explores the history of children’s literature and illustration, from the works of Beatrix Potter to the digital creations of Mo Willems. Childhood Favorites features work by Dr. Seuss, Maurice Sendak’s iconic Where the Wild Things Are, and Garth Williams’ Stuart Little. The exhibition was curated and organized by Lee Cohen and Lois Sarkisian in association with Landau Traveling Exhibitions. Exhibition Tour Management by Landau Traveling Exhibitions.

Washington County Museum of Fine Arts

401 Museum Drive, Hagerstown, MD 21740

Hours: Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,

Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m.

301-739-5727

Stories in the Round Series

November 27, 2023

7pm-8:30pm

Beloved native son of this region, Adam Booth – founding artistic director of the nationally acclaimed SPEAK Story Series in Shepherdstown WV – returns to Stories In The Round to close out the 2023 Season. Adam says he will be telling Appalachian tales and is working on new material!

Stories In The Round is a storytelling series at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Hagerstown, 13245 Cearfoss Pike, usually on the 4th Monday of the month. 

$12 in advance, $15 at the door. Payment in advance must be received before Monday, November 27. Cash or check accepted. Please make check payable to Fanny Crawford. If mailing, the address is 20011 Cherry Hill Circle, Hagerstown, MD 21742.

Contact: Fanny Crawford, 301-730-1638 or fanitsky@hotmail.com.

Opportunities for Artists

Explore MSAC grants and opportunities available to independent artists, click here for details.

Links for Artists

Maryland Artist Registry

Maryland Artist Marketplace



Arts Across Maryland

Opportunities for Artists

The Washington County Arts Council, Inc. is funded by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC), an agency of the Department of Business & Economic Development.

Supported in part by:

The Washington County Arts Council is a proud member of

County Arts Agencies of Maryland,

Maryland Citizens for the Arts, and Americans for the Arts

CAAM

The WCAC facility is wheelchair accessible!

Thank you for providing your email address to the

Washington County Arts Council. Your information was obtained from

at least one of the following methods: signing our guest book,

becoming a member, donating, entering a contest, or exhibiting with us.

34 S. Potomac St., Suite 100

Hagerstown, MD 21740

(301) 791-3132

info@washingtoncountyarts.com