Washington County Museum of Fine Arts has celebrated art for more than 90 years.
But did you know we also like a good party or lively discussion? We have two events coming up in February that celebrate creativity while upending many expectations about what museums do.
Get ready for Amazing Tablescapes
One of our favorite museum fundraisers, Amazing Tablescapes, returns in early February. It challenges designers to come up with over-the-top fun and whimsical designs for a table setting. Last year, we had roosting chickens, SpongeBob SquarePants and a “boat,” just to name a few.
This year, 28 designers will decorate 18 tables with elaborate themes. Tablescapes will be on display in the museum’s Kaylor Atrium Tuesday, Feb. 6 through Sunday, Feb. 11 during regular business hours.
A special reception and an opportunity to meet and mingle with the designers is set for 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8. Guests will be able to view and vote on the Amazing Tablescapes and enjoy an elegant catered “apéro dinatoire” (substantial hors d’oeuvres) menu. Cost for the reception is $100 per person.
Those who attend the reception are encouraged (but not required) to dress to match a table’s theme —information on this year’s tables is below. To reserve a spot, contact Donna Rastelli at 301-739-5727 or drastelli@wcmfa.org. Or to purchase online, go to wcmfa.org/amazing-tablescapes. Deadline for reservations is Thursday.
Designers fight for bragging rights to be named the People’s Choice Award winner. Using dollars to vote, fans can go online Feb. 6-29 and select their favorite designer and/or table. Last year’s winner was Dayne Gregory for her entry “Buzz Worthy,” which featured a bee colony.
Here are the 2024 entries:
- Octopus Art Garden by Hana Malone and Michelle Day
- The Flying Boxcar — Giving Wings to Hagerstown’s Yesterday and Tomorrow by John “Ed” Sneckenberger and Priscilla T. Matheny
- For the Pleasure of Your Comedy, A 19th Century Dining Disaster by Renfrew Museum and Park; designers are Executive Director Becky LaBarre, Manager of Visitor Experiences Steve LaBarre, and Kirsten Lamb, visitor experiences representative
- The Garden Party Afterparty by Sukey Rankin
- At the Wise Woman’s Table by Laura Chalupka
- Dragon Slayers … You Missed One by Cindy Roberts Downs
- The Endless Table by Sarah Wolfe
- Our Favorite Things by the Weavers’ Roundtable.
- Up, Up and Away by John D. Miller, Miller Interiors, and Susan Mills
- Prost! by Naomi Byler
- Dinner at Christiana Campbell’s Tavern by Denny Warrenfeltz
- Miss Winter’s Wild Ride by Donna Staley and Tammy Staley
- Ozian Elegance by Harmony Goetz and JoDee Westfall
- Name That Terror (A tribute to Edgar Allan Poe) by Patricia A. Stine and Wanda Dittmann
- The Hunt by Bob Morgan
- A Track in Time by Roger Fairbourn, Chris Chaney, Skyler Chaney and Sherry Plank
- Le Bayou du Mort Vivant by Heather Holman
- Réviel Papillon (Butterfly Awakening) by Breanne M. Lamb
Go online to read the descriptions of each table and find inspiration for what to wear to support a table. We’re looking forward to how our guests dress up.
Admission to Tablescapes is $10 (while the museum exhibitions are free as always). Reservations are not required.
More than Muses weekend
Over the history of art, women have often been seen as objects (usually by male artists). Either they are “mothers” and givers of life, idealized vessels of virtue, dangerous temptresses or simply bodies for aesthetic pleasure. Artists (like Picasso, currently the subject of a major exhibition at the museum) have built careers around the female muses who inspired their work.
But women’s contributions to art are more than providing beauty and inspiration for the work of men. Women artists have long contributed to the art world, but for every Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keeffe or Louise Bourgeois, there are thousands of female artists whose names we don’t recognize or, sadly, whose names have been lost to history.
In acknowledgement of Picasso’s long career objectifying the women in his life, we present our “More than Muses” weekend Friday, Feb. 23 through Sunday, Feb. 25.
This three-day event celebrates women artists from all disciplines and backgrounds and how they balance the demands of everyday life while still being able to focus their creative energies. Here’s what’s on tap:
- Author Talk, Friday, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. — Award-winning biographer Julie Phillips will discuss her book, “The Baby on the Fire Escape: Creativity, Motherhood and the Mind-Baby Program.” Phillips’ book is considered one of the best art publications of 2022, and explores, through intimate case studies, the real-life stories and often tragic challenges facing creative women in the first half of the 20th-century. (Alice Neel, Doris Lessing, and Ursula Le Guin are just three of the women she profiles.) The event is free, but registration is required.
- Celebrate Creative Women Day, Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. — Our Kaylor Atrium will be filled with the work of local creative women from varied disciplines, with work available for sale to the public. (The museum does not take a percentage of sales.) Admission is free.
- Local Creative Women’s Power Brunch, Sunday, 2 to 3:30 p.m. — Listen to a panel discussion by local female artists on how they balance their creative work with motherhood, education and more.
- The panel will include Hagerstown Mayor Tekesha Martinez, guitarist and lecturer Candice Mowbray, artist Margaret Yaukey and author Cherish McMillan. Enjoy brunch (catered by creative woman and local Chef Carol Crosby of Harambee54) and a mimosa (for 21 and older). Cost is $20 for museum members and $25 general public. Registration for the brunch is required in advance by contacting Donna Rastelli at 301-739-5727 or drastelli@wcmfa.org, or go online at wcmfa.org/more-than-muses-weekend
We have a lot more exciting things coming up this year, so be sure to visit our website at wcmfa.org, or go online and follow us on Facebook and Instagram for events.
Crystal Schelle is director of marketing and communications at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts. The museum is open 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. The museum is closed Mondays. Go to wcmfa.org or follow the museum on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
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