Featuring Heidi Fowler, Katherine Cox, Joe Karlik, Zemma Mastin White, Julia Clift, Blake Conroy, Jacqui Crocetta, Simma Liebman, Grace Mitchell, and Kathryn O’Grady.

Summer at MassoniArt is a celebration of new work by gallery artists. Virtually all the work featured deals with the challenges of climate change and our connection to the natural world.

This show will be on view at MassoniArt Gallery, 113 South Cross Street, Chestertown, MD, from July 15 – August 15, 2025.

Grace Mitchell ‘s attached essay contends that “contemporary artists rapple with this situation in different ways. Leading some to conclude that simply “bearing witness” is probably the best bet. Bearing witness involves simply observing, documenting, comprehending, and even adapting to the situation at hand.”

Katherine Cox’s graphite drawing “In the Wind Last Night” captures the delicacy of wind through trees, while “The Sea Within” overwhelms with the sheer power of water. Heidi Fowler committed to using recycled materials in her work over twenty years ago and her new body of work depicts her meditations on the 23rd Psalm. “Through the Valley, Still” references her ongoing journey “through the valley” with materials ranging from security envelopes as the substrate and painted designs inspired by garments fashioned by the wives and grandmothers of Japanese fisherman, sailors, and firemen for their loved ones.

Newcomer to the gallery, Julia Clift, incorporates her residency in the Shenandoah region to reflect on our separation from nature via ICT devices in her large scale oil paintings. Using metal as his medium Blake Conroy captures the intricacy of the briar patch and crabapple branches in

his multi-layered hand cut and etched copper and brass reliefs. While Kathryn O’Grady’s oil on board landscapes drawn from sojourns in her backyard are fierce explosions of color and texture. The abstract repeated patterns and confetti colors of Zemma Mastin White’s “Cherry Blossoms” signal the joy of spring and Simma Liebman’s collaged landscapes of winter trees created from multiple photograph images on transparencies mounted on canvas overlayed with oil and wax all ask us to bear witness to inherent strength and complexity of creation.

Grace Mitchell’s landscape paintings have long sought to be harbingers of the challenges facing our planet due to man-made climate change. Her new paintings continue to depict the damaged quality of the environment but do so in bright, celebratory colors and are meant to show a joy in what remains of our magnificent world. In her essay, Birds after a Storm, she reflects on the 250th anniversary of our nation, our national identity and spiritual well-being. I encourage you to read it in full and plan a visit to the gallery to “delight in whatever sunlight remains.”

Hours during the exhibition are Thursday – Friday, 11am – 4pm, Saturday, 10am – 5 pm and Sunday 11-2. Private appointments may be scheduled at any time by contacting either Carla Massoni (410-708-4512) or Kate Ballantine (410-310-0796) in advance.

In addition to featured exhibitions, MassoniArt continues its tradition of showcasing a diverse selection of works by represented gallery artists throughout the year. Visitors are encouraged to explore the full breadth of the gallery’s offerings during their visit.

 

Birds After A Storm by Grace Mitchell

If it’s true, as the Pulitzer Prize winning American historian Perry Miller believed, that our national identity and the spiritual well-being of our citizens are inextricably entwined with the terrestrial environment of the country, what do the degradation and increasing threats to that environment suggest about the national identity and spiritual well-being of the citizens/country today?

The artists of the 19 th century Hudson River School, recognized as creating the first uniquely American art, portrayed and celebrated the terrestrial environment of a very new country that was vast, beautiful and rich in resources, offering new opportunities for freedom, progress, and wealth no longer available in the old world. Artists who painted this majestic landscape thought of it as a manifestation of the divine and saw themselves as spiritual teachers, bringing the word of God to the world. All was great and good.

Unfortunately, of course, the world was also receiving another divine message in the form of the doctrine of Manifest Destiny, which used Biblical quotes to show that Americans had been chosen by God to populate the continent. A major expansion was on its way west, running roughshod over much of this magnificent land and encouraged, as it turns out, by enormous paintings of the wilderness created and put on public display by some of the Hudson River School artists.

So there was a potential conflict all along, and the putative father of the Hudson River School, Thomas Cole, feared that untrammeled development would throw off the moral compass of the nation and lead to societal decline.

As we approach the 250th anniversary of our nation, it appears that his fear was well founded. Contemporary artists are faced with a less than majestic landscape and an existential crisis founded in that untrammeled development. They grapple with the situation in many different ways and some have come to the conclusion that simply “bearing witness” is probably the best bet. My current paintings were motivated by that approach. Bearing witness involves simply observing, documenting, comprehending, and even adapting to the situation at hand. There’s no great expectation of its making any big change in the situation. But it is recorded. Plus it’s good for the spiritual well being of the artists and, one hopes, the people who have the opportunity to see the work.

The new paintings continue to depict the landscape, while the technique of sanding, scraping and repainting relates to the damaged quality of the environment. But they are painted in bright, celebratory colors and are meant to show a joy in what still remains of our magnificent world. The birds that one may recognize in the paintings are really part of a centuries long tradition in art of both the West and the East that sees birds as symbols, as links between heaven and earth, as harbingers of peace and hope and transcendence. They were not planned by me. They flew in during the process of sanding and were most welcome. But seeing them inspired two of the titles I used: “After a Storm” and “Birds Sing After a Storm”, are derived from a quote attributed to Rose Kennedy, who, speaking of grief and great loss at the time of the assassination of RFK, said “Birds sing after a storm” and suggested that we should “continue to delight in whatever sunlight remains.”

 The Academy Art Museum is thrilled to announce the appointment of Matthew Moore as its new Director of Education. An accomplished artist and dedicated educator, Matt brings a unique blend of creative vision, academic leadership, and deep community engagement to this important role.

As Director of Education, Matt will guide the strategic direction of the Museum’s education programs, overseeing K–12 initiatives, adult education offerings, and public programs designed to ignite and sustain curiosity for art throughout our community.

Matthew Moore’s own artistic practice reflects his thoughtful approach to exploring history, place, and collective memory. His photographic work examines patterns in the built environment that reveal the ways in which historical narratives are constructed and remembered. His recent series, Post-Socialist Landscapes, has been the focus of solo exhibitions at the Gormley Gallery in Baltimore, Blue Sky Gallery in Portland, and right here at the Academy Art Museum. His work has been featured in Time Magazine, The Daily Mail, Atlas Obscura, Musee, BmoreArt, Lenscratch, Deep Baltic, and more.

Matt holds a BFA in Photography from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit and an MFA in Photography from Georgia State University. He is currently a tenured Professor at Anne Arundel Community College and has built a reputation as an innovative educator and mentor who inspires students to think critically and creatively about art and its role in the world.

“Matt’s deep commitment to both teaching and artistic practice makes him an exceptional fit for this role,” said Charlotte Potter Kasic, Director of the Academy Art Museum. “His experience in higher education, passion for fostering meaningful connections with our diverse audiences, and his ties to the Eastern Shore community will be invaluable as we continue to grow and expand our impact.”

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About Academy Art Museum

As the premiere art museum on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the Academy Art Museum presents high-quality exhibitions and a full range of art classes for visitors of all ages. Past exhibitions have featured artists such as James Turrell, Robert Rauschenberg, Mark Rothko, Pat Steir and Richard Diebenkorn. The permanent collection focuses on works on paper by American and European artists from four centuries including recent acquisitions by Graciela Iturbide and Zanele Muholi. Arts educational programs range from life drawing lessons to digital art instruction, and include lunchtime and cocktail hour concerts, lectures and special art events. AAM also provides arts education to school children from the region and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. To continue the institutional movement of offering free public programming and to give barrier-free access to art, AAM eliminated admission fees in 2023.

On Friday, August 1 Joe Holt, the Mainstay’s resident impresario and piano accompanist welcomes vocalist Sharon Sable and guitarist E. Shawn Qaissaunee for a concert evening of The Great Songwriters of The Twentieth Century. Selections from their playlist will include familiar favorites from Gershwin and Hoagy Carmichael, to Carole King and Bob Dylan, The Beatles and Stevie Wonder. This “First Friday” show will have something for everyone.

Sharon Sable, based in Wilmington DE, performs regularly with the region’s finest jazz musicians. Her repertoire includes both popular and lesser-known gems of the Great American Songbook and other timeless music from the 20th century. Her newest album, recorded with pianist Joe Holt (“Once Upon a Summertime, the Music of Blossom Dearie”) has been called “mesmerizing” and “exquisite” by regional music critics, and has received generous airplay on local and national jazz radio programs.

E. Shawn Qaissaunee has been in demand as a multi-instrumentalist and composer/arranger in the Delmarva area for over thirty years. Sought out for his talents on guitar, bass, piano, percussion and the rubab and dutar (two instruments from his native Afghanistan), Shawn is known for his musical virtuosity, sensitivity, lyricism and spirited creative energy in the jazz tradition.

Showtime for the live concert event is 8 pm. Tickets are $20 in advance of the show and can be purchased online at mainstayrockhall.org. Phone reservations are accepted by calling (410) 639-9133 (tickets reserved by phone are $25 when paid at the door). The Mainstay is located at 5753 N Main Street in Rock Hall, Maryland. Its regular calendar of local, regional, and nationally touring artists features a live performance every week of the year (February through December) in a variety of music genres.

The programs of the Mainstay are supported with funds from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Kent Cultural Alliance.

 

Church Hill Theatre is delighted to announce the cast for its September production of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express.  The script is an adaptation by the hilarious Ken Ludwig, who was asked by the Christie estate to bring this favorite novel to the stage. Director Kat Melton, who put together last year’s hit Ride the Cyclone, has assembled a stellar cast and will use her tech magic to hurtle audiences through the snowy alps as Hercule Poirot solves yet another mysterious death. The Guardian praised the play as being “a first class ride all the way.”

We can assume that Poirot himself is innocent. But what about the odd mix of passengers?  And can we rule out the railroad executives and staff? Even if you have read the book or seen a film version, figuring out “who done it” may be a challenge. Make sure to reserve tickets to find out!  The show will run weekends from September 12 to 28.

Hercule Poirot, the master detective, is played by the very versatile Howard Messick. While on the train, his friend Monsieur Bouc, a former police official and now the director of the Compagnie Wagon Lits, asks him to undertake the case. Oric Geist brings some comic relief to this part. Pierre Michel, the train conductor, is played by Michael Casey, who is usually seen directing the CHT orchestra. Michel has a deeper connection to the case than we expect.  Joseph Diggs plays two parts: the head waiter and a father. Could he have other ties to the victim?  And what about Dr. Constantine, played by Chelsea Clough? Was the doctor on board by coincidence—or on purpose?

And what do we really know about the victim, Samuel Ratchett, an abrasive American businessman, played by Jon Hodgson. He of course has enemies but doesn’t expect to be brutally murdered.  His personal secretary, Hector MacQueen, played by Cory Palmer, seems to be a loyal employee but certainly is hiding something

As in all Christie tales, there are plenty of suspects, with false identities, strange back stories, and hidden motives. Christie leaves a trail of clues, but which of them are red herrings? Which of these passengers is a murderer?

Because this is Europe, there are of course titled people on board. Countess Elena Andrenyi from Hungary is rich and beautiful, almost out of a fairy tale.  Kaya Ricketts makes us wonder if she might also be a killer. The exiled Russian, Princess Dragomiroff, is an imperious battle-axe played by Laura Kaufmann. How could she even know someone like Ratchett?  

Other passengers include two admirable young women, a British governess, Mary Debenham and a Swedish nurse/missionary, Greta Ohlsson. We know the governess, played by Steffi Ricketts, has a terrible secret and the Swede, played by Jenny Weiske, is just plain odd. But surely—not killers. Another strong female presence is the tough as nails American widow, Helen Hubbard. Colleen Minahan soon lets us know that there is more to Mrs. Hubbard than we expect. The most logical suspect could be the upright military man, Colonel Arbuthnot, played by James Diggs. Obviously in love with Mary Debenham, would he be willing to kill for her?

Kat Melton has made room for several smaller parts that enrich the plot and the production. These other passengers, the ensemble, help move along the action—and the scenery. Michelle Spain, Chrissie Yoxall, Joshua Hansen, Laura Weeks, Eddie Vance, and Isabella McCauley travel with us on the train. Athena Melton appears as Daisy Armstrong, who is not on the train.

As always, a strong production team began work months before rehearsals started. While some argued that having a steam locomotive encounter an alpine blizzard on the CHT stage was impossible, just come and see. The entire cast and crew know this could be your “favorite-ever” show. It runs from September 12-28, with shows at 7:30 on Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 pm on Sundays. Tickets are available now online at churchhillltheatre.org or by calling the box office at 410-556-6003.

Many know the story of Bernard Pomerance’s play “The Elephant Man.” In 1880s London, John Merrick or, as some called him at the time, the Elephant Man, is a horribly deformed young man – a victim of rare skin and bone diseases. Under the care of celebrated physician Frederick Treves, Merrick slowly evolves from an object of pity to an urbane gentleman, desperate to be recognized as a man like any other.

The play by Pomerance came before the celebrated film version of Merrick’s story, but the film was written by Director David Lynch and two screenwriting partners instead of Pomerance. The play is widely considered a more interesting and electrifying achievement, due to its reliance on the actor playing Merrick to physically embody the various conditions and diseases that have ravaged his body. Rarely produced, due to the incredibly transformative demands on the title character actor, it provides astounding tour-de-force performances and is universally seen as a modern stage classic.

Interested actors are strongly encouraged to view director E.T. Wilford’s instructions and character descriptions prior to auditions. That information will be found here: www.garfieldcenter.org/gcaevent/open-auditions-the-elephant-man/all/
(on that page, click any of the dates shown to read the notes)

 

Directing “The Elephant Man” is E.T. Wilford, who has previously served as the Executive Director of The Groove Theatre in Cambridge. It runs in performance on weekends October 3rd through October 19th.

At its annual members’ meeting on June 17, Church Hill Theatre reviewed a successful year, elected four new board members and announced an exciting roster of productions for the 2026 season. And, in an exciting new twist, the meeting concluded with live performances of several songs from the current and upcoming season.

Board Chair Kathy Jones and committee representatives shared lots of good news about financial vitality, the near completion of a major campaign for new stage lights, growing audiences, an incredibly strong youth program, and plans for ongoing improvements. The Volunteer of the Year Award was presented to Carrie York for years of dedicated service and outgoing board members Rory Flood, Shelagh Grasso and Christopher Wallace were thanked for their many contributions.  All will be recognized with nameplates on the new theater seats.

Four new and very talented members were then elected to the board for three-year terms: Tom Blackiston, Sharon Herz, Tess Jones and JW Ruth.  All have strong backgrounds in multiple aspects of on-stage and back-stage theatre experience. Since CHT has only two part-time paid employees, all the board members serve on several committees and share front-of-house assignments. As always, willing volunteers are encouraged to become part of the immediate Church Hill Theatre family.

The main event of the evening was the revealing productions for the 2026 season followed by the surprise of short musical performances.

January          A star-studded cabaret fundraiser

February        A commemoration of the 1963 March on Washington and Black History Month

March            Lend Me A Soprano, a mad-cap comedy about an opera performance gone very, very wrong

April               A 2-weekend musical show featuring our teen performers

June               Chicago, the high-energy, much-loved musical

September     Something’s Afoot, a witty musical spoof of a classical British mystery in a remote British mansion

November      The Transylvanian Clockworks, a terrifyingly spooky vampire tale set in the time of Jack the Ripper

December      A Christmas Carol, a classic CHT holiday offering

 

The annual meeting concluded with short performances by Erin Bradley and Matt Rein from The Bridges of Madison County, by Jane Copple from next year’s Something’s Afoot, and by JW Ruth, who brought the house down with “When You’re Good to Mama,” from Chicago.

Allegro Academy invites all to attend its annual Summer Sing Choir Festival, July 26, 2025 at 7pm.  Each year, nearly 100 community musicians alongside professional soloists and instrumentalists come together to present a major choral work for this highly attended event.  This year’s performance will take place at Easton’s Waterfowl Festival building, 40 South Harrison Street, and will feature Dan Forrest’s Jubilate Deo — a global, celebratory setting of Psalm 100. 

“Dan Forrest’s Jubilate Deo brings to life the global aspect of the traditional Psalm 100 text, “O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands,” by setting it in seven different languages and drawing from a wide spectrum of musical influences. Each movement combines some characteristics of its language-group’s musical culture with the composer’s own musical language. Movements include liturgical Latin, intertwined Hebrew and Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Zulu, Spanish, Song of the Earth (untexted), and a closing movement combining several of these languages with English. The result is a stunning global celebration of joy, as all the earth sings as one, “omnis terra, jubilate!””

The Summer Sing Choir Festival welcomes singers from across the Mid-Shore area to join the non-auditioned choir and participate at no cost. Conducted by Allegro Academy’s founder and Artistic Director Amy Morgan, performances are typically met with a full house.  Audience members are not required to pay, but encouraged to give a suggested donation of $20, as it is the mission of Allegro Academy to make superior music performance and education opportunities available to all.  

Other programs of the Academy include the Allegra! Women’s Chorus, Allegro Youth Choirs, private music lessons, group classes, and the student scholarship fund.  Thanks to generous support from the community, the Academy is able to provide scholarships for lessons and student ensembles, host superb free or low-cost performances, and foster a welcoming environment where musicians from all backgrounds can thrive. 

For more information about the Summer Sing Choir Festival and other programs, please visit www.allegroacademyeaston.com or call 410-603-8361. Programs of Allegro Academy are funded by generous community members, Talbot Arts, the Mid-Shore Community Foundations, The Women and Girls Fund, and the Maryland State Arts Council.

On Friday, July 25 the Mainstay in Rock Hall welcomes a return appearance by the “soul music sax-man” Eddie Baccus Jr. Baccus came to the attention of a Mainstay audience last September at the Mainstay’s annual outdoor Gala.  The enthusiastically received 11-piece soul group Motown and More provided the entertainment, but Eddie’s solos as he left the stage and paraded through the guest tables stole the show.

From 1995 to 2010 Baccus recorded and toured with the famed urban jazz ensemble Pieces of a Dream. Since that time, he has been recording and performing live with a powerful group of professional musicians who live in the Beltway region (Maryland and Northern Virginia). He describes his sound as “lush, soulful and funky.” Like his hero Grover Washington Jr, Baccus Jr switches artfully between soprano, alto, tenor and baritone. His music is driven by the simple desire to connect with audience: “I always want to make music that is fun but that is also timeless and heartfelt.

During his career Baccus has had the privilege of performing with a virtual Who’s Who in the traditional jazz, urban jazz and R&B worlds: Luther Vandross, Grover Washington Jr, Regina Carter, Dianne Reeves, David Sanborn, The Average White Band, and Stevie Wonder.

On a national and international scale, Baccus Jr has shined on the stages of many noteworthy venues including: The World Trade Center-NYC; Blue Note-NYC & Tokyo; Sydney Opera House-Sydney, Australia; The Village Vanguard-NYC. He has also played the national and international jazz festival circuit to include but not limited to: the Montreux Jazz Festival, the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival, and the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival.

Showtime for the Mainstay concert event is 8 pm. Tickets are $20 in advance of the show and can be purchased online at mainstayrockhall.org. Phone reservations are accepted by calling (410) 639-9133 (tickets reserved by phone are $25 when paid at the door). The Mainstay is located at 5753 N Main Street in Rock Hall.

Mixed-media artist Caryn Martin will be presenting her work in the solo exhibition Unanchored from July 1–August 29, 2025, at the Adkins Arboretum Gallery. The public is invited to a reception on Saturday, July 12, from 2–4 pm, with the artist in attendance. Martin’s works on panel, made from unused and repurposed artworks by the artist, as well as paper and acrylic paint, explore the transient and vulnerable elements of nature. The layered textures and shifting nuances in color seek to capture the momentary essence of these elements, such as water, fire, mist, and air. Martin’s practice employs diverse mediums, spanning from large-scale site-specific sculptural installations made from paper materials to monotypes. In her practice, the artist often uses the remnants of these monotypes to create new works, churning previous explorations into new forms. The artist approaches mark-making as a process rather than a gesture, changing the traditional structure of paper and pulp over time and in cumulation.

In her works on view at the Adkins Arboretum Gallery, Martin harkens to forces of nature, both soft and hard, nurturing and shaping – all of which can be observed just beyond the Arboretum’s Visitor Center. Martin states that her interest in dualities, whether found in weather patterns and shifting pressure or the very process she uses to create her works, drives her aesthetic and compositional decisions. The resulting pieces contain contrasting elements that draw the viewer in and invite a close look at the individual currents, which make up the composite whole. Martin’s subtly-percolating colors and forms represent interesting reprises to a wide variety of experiences in nature. The artist encourages us to think not only of serene moments that ground us but also the more complex reality of climate change and human and industrial impact.

Martin is a Baltimore-based artist, educator, and creative coach. She received her MFA and MAT degrees from Maryland Institute College of Art and her BA in Studio Art from University of Maryland College Park. Her work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions at Creative Alliance Baltimore, Kohl Gallery at Washington College, Delaplaine Arts Center, Institute of Contemporary Art Baltimore, Maryland Art Place, the Mitchell Gallery at St. John’s College, and others. She is represented by Catalyst Contemporary in Baltimore.

This exhibition is part of Adkins Arboretum’s ongoing series highlighting regional artists whose work engages with natural themes. The Arboretum is located at 12610 Eveland Road in Ridgely, Maryland. For gallery hours or more information, contact Adkins Arboretum at 410-634-2847, or visit adkinsarboretum.org. A 400-acre native garden and preserve, Adkins Arboretum provides exceptional experiences in nature to promote environmental stewardship.