ARTINA 2026: Ripples of Ten Years

Presented by Washington Sculptors Group and Sandy Spring Museum

Exhibit dates: September 20, 2026 - November 8, 2026 

m.l. duffy, Low-Poly Open Heart (REDE), Exhibited in Artina 2025, Photo by Yu Jie.

ARTINA 2026: Ripples of Ten Years

10th Anniversary Exhibition

Presented by Washington Sculptors Group and Sandy Spring Museum.

EXHIBITION DATES: September 20, 2026 - November 8, 2026 

JUROR: Maria Gabriela (“Gaby”) Mizes 

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Tuesday, July 14, 2026 (received by 11:59 EST through EntryThingy)

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
This is the tenth edition of ARTINA, an annual outdoor sculpture exhibition at Sandy Spring Museum.  Artina 2026,Ripples of Ten Years, celebrates that history while looking forward. Artists are invited to create a living, dynamic landscape — ever-changing with sunlight, weather, and the movement of visitors.

Jeff Chyatte Memorial Award: $500 “Best in Show” selected by the juror. 

Artist Honoraria: There is a $150 per artist honorarium. 

Artists are invited to explore:

  • Reflection and refraction: how sculpture can mirror, fragment, or distort perception.
  • Time and transformation: how sculptural materials can create ephemeral, mutable experiences, echoing a decade of evolving practice.
  • Multiplicity and dialogue: mirrored and refracted surfaces as metaphors for the many voices, artists, and ideas that have shaped the Artina series.
  • Future-oriented imagination: using sculptural media to bend light and flow to suggest possibilities beyond the present moment.

Self-guiding maps of the exhibition will be available at Sandy Spring Museum and on the websites of WSG and SSM. Exhibition cards will be distributed to WSG, SSM members, and the community. Promotion of the show will be actively pursued. 

ABOUT THE ARTINA EXHIBITION SERIES

For the last decade, since 2016, ARTINA has transformed the Sandy Spring Museum’s outdoor spaces into sites of encounter, discovery, and reflection. Past exhibitions include: Upside Down, Inside Out, juried by Zoma Wallace (2025); A Point of View, juried by Nehemiah Dixon III (2024); Queering Nature, juried by Stephanie Mercedes (2023); A Space in Place, juried by Natalie Fulgencio-Turner (2022); Balancing Acts, juried by Twylene Moyer (2021); Light, A Sculptural Solar Dance, juried by María Gabriela Mizes (2020); Introspective, juried by Cecilia Wichmann (2018); (Re)Use and Abuse of the Land, juried by Ursula Achternkamp (2017); and Art in Nature, juried by Martine Van Kampen (2016).

IMPORTANT SITE INFORMATION: 

It is recommended artists visit Sandy Spring Museum to get a sense of the surroundings prior to applying. See site plan below. The museum grounds are open seven days a week, from dawn to dusk. Admission is free. Artina 2026’s Exhibit Manager will be on site at the museum to answer artist’s questions on Sunday, June 14, 3036 from 12 - 4 pm.

Your artwork must remain on display for the full duration of the show. Any means of anchoring the sculptures will be removed by the artist during de-installation with the site restored to its natural state. You are responsible to install and deinstall your artwork and provide whatever equipment you need (i.e., tools, ladders). 

Artworks may be installed on:

  • Museum’s front and side lawns and mulched areas.
  • One of two 10’x 10’ concrete pads adjacent to the rear parking lot. 
  • Wooden trellis extending from the museum’s front entry to Route 108.

NOTE: The Center Courtyard and Outdoor Amphitheater are off-limits (see map).

ARTWORK CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS:

Artwork must be:

  • Structurally stable and suitable for long-term outdoor exposure
  • Weather-resistant, able to withstand rain, sun, humidity, seasonal temperature changes, and strong winds
  • Works must be entirely self-contained as no connection to water, drainage, or electricity is available onsite.
  • Constructed of durable and robust materials appropriate for outdoor public display
  • Fragile materials or materials that may shatter, splinter or otherwise pose a safety hazard are not permitted.
  • Touchable, able to withstand unsupervised public interaction and close viewing
  • Installed safely, with no trip hazards, sharp edges, or pinch points
  • Capable of secure installation, including anchoring or weighting if necessary
  • Non-electrical
  • During the exhibition period, no maintenance required by Museum staff
  • Sensitive to the museum’s natural environment and landscape

Feel free to contact exhibits@washingtonsculptors.org if you need help or have any questions. 

Site Map Artworks may be installed on the museum’s front and side lawns, surrounding mulched areas, along the wooden trellis extending from the museum’s front entry to Route 108, and part of the rear trellis. The areas marked with a red ‘X’ are off limits. 

Maria Gabriela Mizes

ABOUT THE JUROR

Maria Gabriela (“Gaby”) Mizes is originally from Argentina. She graduated from the Instituto Argentino de Museología in Buenos Aires and from Columbia University in New York City and has developed an international career working with major museums and art institutions. Her experience includes positions at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires; the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, where she served as Assistant Curator for the traveling exhibition Latin American Artists of the Twentieth Century; and the American Federation of Arts, where she managed traveling exhibitions in the United States and abroad.

In Washington, DC, Gaby runs Latin American ERA / GABY MIZES FINE ART, a private consultancy specializing in exhibitions and collections management for national and international projects and promoting local and Latin American artists. She has collaborated with the Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Embassy of Italy, the Embassy of Argentina, Dupont Underground, Studio Gallery, and numerous private collections.

In addition to her consultancy, Ms. Mizes worked at Glenstone Museum in Potomac, Maryland, as Director of Registration, overseeing exhibition installations, the outgoing loans program, and the planning and design of art storage facilities. She now works full-time at the Library of Congress in the Exhibits Office as a Museum Specialist Registrar.

The exhibition is open to members of the Washington Sculptors Group only. Artists who are not already members may join WSG by paying annual dues of $45 ($15 for full-time students). Prospective members may download a membership form from the WSG website (www.washingtonsculptors.org), and send checks, along with the membership form, to the WSG address, or may join online through PayPal on the WSG website. Artists who are already WSG members must be current on their dues through 2026.

Question about your membership? Contact membership@washingtonsculptors.org

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Applicants must make submissions through EntryThingy (www.entrythingy.com). ARTINA 2026: Ripples of Ten Years will be juried from digital images submitted through the EntryThingy site. There is a $5 processing fee for each entry. No entries will be accepted by mail or email.

  • Artists may submit an application individually and as part of a team.  Artists or teams may submit up to three (3) works or proposals, with at least two and up to four images per work (maximum of 12 images) Not all work has to be for sale.
  • Submissions MUST be anonymous. All identifying labels from titles, file names, images, etc. must be removed.  Submissions that are not anonymous will be disqualified.
  • Entries may include images of finished works or written proposals Each written proposal is treated as one piece.
  • Accepted work must be delivered, installed, and picked up in accord with the schedule in the Exhibition Calendar. All work accepted and exhibited must remain on display for the full duration of the show, even if it has been sold.
  • All applicants will receive ‘accepted’ or ‘not accepted’ notifications via email.
  • When preparing your submission, be prepared to: 1) state where you think your piece should be placed; and 2) provide a brief explanation of how the project relates to the subject and whether there is light, sound, or movement that may interfere with the ability of others to experience nearby artworks.
  • You will be asked for this in drop down questions when you upload your images.

Image/Attachment Guidelines

Submit all images with a resolution of 300 dpi and a maximum of 4MB each. Video files must be smaller than 50MB each (maximum running time: 5 minutes).

  • To submit several views of a piece and detail shots, use the “add views” option. Note that the “add views” option does not appear until after you have entered the primary image of your artwork and other information.  After you click “save details”, you will see the image of your piece with a link to “add views” below it.
  • Files should be named with only the title of the work (no first or last names). Use the actual title for each work. Example:

Title 1- view 1.jpeg

Title 1 – view 2.jpeg (optional)

Title 1 – view 3 (jpeg)(optional)

Title 1 – view 4 (jpeg)(optional)

  • If you are submitting a proposal for an installation, describe it in a one page (250 words maximum) pdf document and upload that in the same way that you would upload an image. DO NOT state your name or the names of your team in the written proposal. You will need to answer the same questions for the proposal as you would for an image (e.g., dimensions, material, price and year) before the portal will let you upload the file.

Submission Steps:

  1. Go to the WSG EntryThingy page  https://app.entrythingy.com/washingtonsculptors.org/  to find the Artina 2026: Ripples of Ten Years listing.
  2. Create a login account to www.entrythingy.com if you don’t have an account. If you do, login to your existing account.
  3. If you need to create an account, you will be able to enter personal information into your profile. You are not required to enter your postal mailing address, but it can be helpful to WSG if you do so.
  4. If you already have an EntryThingy account and profile, the portal will give you the opportunity to update your profile at the end of your submission. If you do so, you can get back to the submission by using the back option on your browser.
  5. You do not have to complete your submission all at once. Until the submission deadline, you can save your work, sign out of EntryThingy and sign in again later to add to or edit your entry.

 

SALES & COMMISSIONS

All purchases during the exhibition will go through the museum. The museum charges a 30% commission fee.

 

INSURANCE

As its grounds are open to the public, the museum cannot ensure the security of outdoor artworks and, accordingly, does not provide insurance coverage. Artworks are displayed at the artist’s own risk. The artist agrees not to hold the Sandy Spring Museum and the Washington Sculptors Group responsible for any loss or damage to the artwork. The artist understands the potential for loss or damage and must take such measures as are reasonably necessary to protect their artwork, and artists are encouraged to obtain their own insurance. It is advisable for artists to consider obtaining liability insurance, even if they do not insure the artwork.

In the event the artwork is damaged, Sandy Spring Museum staff will notify the artist within two days regarding the damage. The artist agrees to repair, replace, or remove the artwork. Artists are responsible for any maintenance of their artwork.

 

ARTIST AGREEMENT: 

To participate in the exhibit, artists must sign an artist agreement provided by Sandy Spring Museum.

EXHIBITION CALENDAR

Exhibition Dates: Sunday, September 20 – Sunday November 8, 2026

Exhibit manager on site for applicant visits: Sunday, June 14, 2026 (12-4pm)

Submission Deadline: Tuesday, July 14, 2026  (received by 11:59 pm EST)

Artist Notification: by Monday, July 27, 2026

Drop off & Installation: Sunday, September 13 (Juror on site 12-4pm), and Monday, September 14, and Tuesday, September 15, 2026 (12-4pm)

Opening Reception: Sunday, September 20, 2026 (1–4pm)

Deinstallation/Pickup: Sunday, November 8, 2026 (after 4pm), Monday, Nov 9 – Wed, Nov 11, 2026 (12–4pm)

Submission Deadline: July 14, 2026

Enter your Submission

Sandy Spring Museum

Sandy Spring Museum, located in Sandy Spring Maryland, serves as a catalyst for community building by providing opportunities for creative engagement in a range of cultural arts. The museum offers the environment and inspiration for artists and community members to create and host events, performances, activities, and exhibits, which engage, stimulate, and bring people together. The museum is located on more than seven acres of land, three of which are heavily forested. The remainder is naturally landscaped with mature trees. The museum grounds are open daily. Many special events and programs are offered throughout the year, as are private rentals. For more information about the museum please visit www.sandyspringmuseum.org.

HOURS: Museum grounds are open to all from dawn to dusk. Free admission.

17901 Bentley Road, Sandy Spring, Maryland 20860