Artist Talk with Sean Adams, Luc Fiedler, and Lynda Smith-Bugge
Thursday, June 26, 2025, 5:30pm
RSVP Registration appreciated but Not Required.
Washington Sculptors Group marks its 40th Anniversary in an exhibition at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. Various sculptors will speak about “Looking Back – Look Forward” in four artist talks from June 26 to September 7, 2025.
On June 26, 5:30-7:00 pm, listen to how three sculptors used the library to inspire their works. You will learn about their creations.
Sean Adams will talk about how an oral history in the People’s Archive led to the creation of his metal sculpture A House Divided.
Luc Fiedler will share how the materials from the library’s construction are related to the sculptures East Wing and West Wing.
Lynda Smith-Bugge will explain how the library, as a source of knowledge, is represented in her looping wood sculpture Mobius Redux.
Related Events & Programming
- Thursday July 10, 6:00 - 8:00 pm, Annual Members’s Image Show
- Sunday, July 20, 3pm, Sculptors Salon, hosted by Mary Early & Mitra Lore
- Thursday, July 24, 2025, 4:30 - 5:30pm, Meet up: Bring your artist files for the People’s Archives, The People’s Archive
- Thursday, July 24, 2025, 5:30 - 7:00 pm, Amity Chan, Barbara Liotta, Sally Canzoneri
- Sunday, August 17, 2025, 3:00-4:00 pm. Zoom with Kass McGowan, Eugene Provenzo
- Thursday, August 28, 2025, 5:30 - 7:00 pm, Jeffrey Jenkins, James Mallos, Vienne Rea
Looking Back – Look Forward marks the 40th anniversary of the Washington Sculptors Group (WSG), celebrating the organization’s lasting contributions to the DC arts community. It also honors the DC Public Library’s role as a living cultural archive, preserving the stories and histories of the District through its vast collections of literature, artifacts, and primary source documents.
For this milestone show, WSG members were invited to create works inspired by archival materials held by the Library or to respond to its mission as a vital space for learning, memory, and community. Artists were encouraged to explore The People’s Archive—including the WSG collection—and to reflect on the Library as both a site and symbol of public knowledge. Whether drawing on specific documents or broader concepts, the selected works engage the past while speaking to the present and future of our shared cultural life.
The exhibition includes freestanding and wall-hung sculptures in a range of media and approaches. Each artist brings a distinct voice to the conversation, reflecting the diversity, curiosity, and innovation that have defined WSG over four decades. This anniversary exhibition celebrates not only the legacy of Washington sculptors but also the Library’s enduring role as a catalyst for creativity, civic engagement, and collective memory.
This project is supported in part by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
