Sandy Spring Friends School Students Celebrate Culture and Family Traditions Through Art

Inside/Outside: Expressions of Identity: A Student-Led Exhibition and Workshops at the Sandy Spring Museum

Throughout the 2024-25 school year, Upper and Middle School art students at Sandy Spring Friends School (SSFS) explored the theme of cultural and family traditions in their artistic work. The resulting art exhibition, "Inside/Outside: Expressions of Identity," premiered at the Sandy Spring Museum on Sunday, September 28, and showcased the remarkable talents of student artists as they reflected on the meaningful intersections of culture, identity, and tradition. Through a wide range of mediums that included painting, photography, ceramics, digital art, weaving, and mixed media, these young artists invited viewers to reflect on the customs, values, and practices that shaped their identities and communities.

The idea for the exhibition started with a field trip in April 2024. SSFS Art teachers Shellie Marker and Michelle Puhl-Price took their Studio Arts students to see an exhibition centered around the theme of the environment and nature. After a conversation with museum staff, the concept for a student-led exhibition emerged. The partnership was a natural fit, as both institutions share missions grounded in equity and community-building.

The exhibition offered an inspiring glimpse into the diverse backgrounds of the artists, celebrating both the richness of their unique stories and the common threads that unite us all. The exhibit also providing a unique hands-on opportunity for a dedicated group of Upper School students who got real-world experience curating and implementing a museum exhibit. Over the course of a year, these students explored different museum roles: curation, education, marketing, and preparation. The students crafted the exhibition theme, wrote introductory text and artist statements, designed promotional materials, selected and framed artworks, and spoke at the opening reception in September.

As a complement to the art exhibition, Upper School students also led two family workshops in October and November that complemented the exhibition:

• Little Figures, Big Stories: A Workshop in Clay, Culture & Creativity
• Stamped Stories: A Printmaking Workshop

During the clay workshop, families engaged in a hands-on exploration of identity through art and storytelling. Students facilitated activities including a reading on culture and identity, an interactive bingo game, and a sculptural project where participants created miniature self-representations using clay, wire, and mixed materials.

The printmaking workshop offered another opportunity for creative expression. Participants learned about diverse cultural experiences through literature, then designed their own prints inspired by selected children’s books. Using foam stickers, cardboard, and string, families brought their personal stories to life in vibrant, tactile form.

Through this year-long project, students gained a comprehensive understanding of what it takes to conceptualize, organize, and present an art exhibition. Supported by SSFS art educators and professionals from the Sandy Spring Museum, students developed valuable skills in collaboration, leadership, and creative problem-solving—culminating in an exhibition and workshops that truly reflected the students' vision and voices.