Maryland Humanities Announces Host Sites for Statewide Smithsonian Exhibition Tour: SPARK! Places of Inspiration
(Baltimore, MD) – Maryland Humanities is delighted to announce the host partners for Spark! Places of Inspiration, a traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibition highlighting innovation in rural America from the perspective of the people who live and lived there. Spark! will tour six communities throughout Maryland from May 2025 to March 2026. Photographs, interactive features, objects, videos, and augmented reality bring a multilayered experience to explore technical, social, cultural, or artistic innovation.
The leading partners selected to host the tour of Spark! are College of Southern Maryland with Life Journey Writers Guild, Garrett County Historical Society, Captain Avery Museum, Accokeek Foundation Kennard Alumni Association, and University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
Each host partner creates its own exhibit to complement the Smithsonian’s exhibition and highlights their own region’s story. Spark! will be the springboard for diverse local programming in the humanities, sciences, and the arts. This exhibition will be an opportunity for community members to come together in conversation around their community’s history, present, and future with innovation.
Spark! is the ninth Museum on Main Street (MoMS) project brought to small communities throughout the state by Maryland Humanities. Each site will host the exhibition for six weeks and develop a complementary exhibit highlighting their community’s heritage and histories.
“The value of Museum on Main Street is how far-reaching it is to a wide variety of Maryland communities,” says Lindsey Baker, CEO of Maryland Humanities. “I’m looking forward to seeing how our partners show off their region’s innovation, as well as seeing the long-term effects of how hosting the exhibition will help grow their organizational capacity.”
Tour Schedule:
| May 17, 2025 – June 29, 2025 |
College of Southern Maryland Velocity Center with Life Journeys Writers Guild, Indian Head (Charles County) |
| July 5, 2025 – August 17, 2025 | Garrett County Historical Society, Oakland (Garrett County) |
| August 23, 2025 – October 5, 2025 | Captain Avery Museum, Shady Side (Anne Arundel County) |
| October 11, 2025 – November 23, 2026 | Accokeek Foundation, Accokeek (Prince George’s County) |
| November 29, 2025 – January 11, 2026 | Kennard Alumni Association, Centreville (Queen Anne’s County) |
| January 17, 2026 – March 1, 2026 | University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne (Somerset County) |
Here’s what the host partners are saying:
Lesley Quattlebaum, Executive Director of College of Southern Maryland Velocity Center, says: “The College of Southern Maryland is thrilled and honored to partner with the Smithsonian Institute to host the SPARK! exhibition at CSM’s Velocity Center in Indian Head.”
“We serve a vibrant and multi-faceted student population and community that demonstrates a rich tapestry of perspectives and ideas that must be engaged in problem-solving, innovation and ideation to shape our ‘now,’ and our future,” Quattlebaum continues. “By hosting this Spark! exhibition, College of Southern Maryland will highlight how community colleges harness these strengths to drive economic growth and educational excellence as well as inspire and nurture future innovators and inventors.”
CSM co-hosts the exhibition with Life Journey Writers Guild, founded by Executive Director Yvonne J. Medley. Medley calls the guild’s involvement in Spark! “an opportunity come true!” Medley says that The Life Journeys Writers Guild “has long awaited an opportunity to vividly and interactively showcase the creative self-expression and healing powers of the literary arts—how the wealth and act of writing and sharing can break down barriers, build healthy relationships and communities, and how the fun of it all is accessible to everyone.”
Karen White, Curator at Garrett County Historical Society, says: “This opportunity is a tremendous honor and invaluable opportunity for the community. Nestled in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, the region’s story begins with those of many Indigenous cultures, including the Youghiogheny band of the Shawnee tribe, and the Massawomeck tribe of the Iroquois Confederacy,” White says. “This history is crucial to understanding the foundations of the community, and GCHS aims to honor and celebrate it.”
“The Captain Avery Museum is proud to bring the cache of the Smithsonian to Southern Anne Arundel County and share the history of the African American, Jewish and other communities who have lived, worked and played in our area despite economic hardship and the challenges of racial and religious discrimination,” says Elaina Lill Uhl, Executive Director.
Anjela Barnes (Piscataway), Executive Director of the Accokeek Foundation, says: “We are thrilled to be selected as a host organization for the Maryland Humanities Spark! Places of Innovation capacity building program. This opportunity will significantly enhance our efforts to educate and engage the community,” Barnes continues, “particularly by highlighting the rich cultural and historical narratives of the Piscataway and Black communities that have often been overlooked.”
Clayton Washington, President of Kennard Alumni Association, says: “Kennard’s mission has always been to share the history and culture of the African American Community. The Spark! exhibit will allow us to share our story of how we used hard work and invention to help make QAC the ‘place of innovation’ that Kennard’s exhibits will portray. What makes Kennard special is our central location in the area and the fact that we’ve done this before, having brought local organizations together to tell their stories of our shared experiences.
Museum on Main Street is a partnership with Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). Maryland Public Television will serve as the Media Sponsor for the Maryland tour of Spark!
About Museum on Main Street
Museum on Main Street (MoMS) is a Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service program that teams up with state humanities councils to bring high-quality Smithsonian traveling exhibitions to museums, historical societies, and other small-town cultural venues across the country. These exhibits boost civic pride, as residents young and old, from diverse backgrounds come together to share and celebrate their heritage.
About Maryland Humanities
Maryland Humanities creates and supports bold experiences that explore and elevate our shared stories to connect people, enhance lives, and enrich communities. For more information, visit www.mdhumanities.org. Maryland Humanities is generously supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities; the State of Maryland; the Citizens of Baltimore County; private foundations; corporations; small businesses; and individual donors. Connect with Maryland Humanities on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.