Smithsonian Exhibition on Innovation Arrives at College of Southern Maryland

Local organization Life Journeys Writers Guild Creates Small Exhibit on Art and Healthcare

(Baltimore, MD) – Maryland Humanities is thrilled to kick off the Maryland tour of Spark! Places of Innovation at the College of Southern Maryland Velocity Center on May 17! The exhibition highlights innovation in rural communities. Both the College of Southern Maryland Velocity Center and Life Journeys Writers Guild serve as the host partners for the tour’s first stop and collaborate with local organizations to create public programming around the Smithsonian exhibition’s themes and ideas from a regional standpoint.

The exhibition tours the state through Maryland Humanities’ Museum on Main Street program, a collaboration with Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). SITES teams up with state humanities councils like Maryland Humanities to bring high-quality Smithsonian traveling exhibitions to museums, historical societies, and other small-town cultural venues across the country. 

“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.”

Spark!—the ninth Museum on Main Street (MoMS) project brought to the state by Maryland Humanities—will remain on view in Southern Maryland through June 29 before it heads to five other locations.

“The College of Southern Maryland is thrilled and honored to partner with the Smithsonian Institution to host the Spark! exhibition at CSM’s Velocity Center in Indian Head,” says Lesley Quattlebaum, Executive Director of College of Southern Maryland Velocity Center.

“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.

Host partners create at least one additional, companion exhibit and develop public programs to complement the Smithsonian’s exhibition and highlight their own region’s story. Life Journeys Writers Guild’s companion exhibits feature the innovative approaches of partnerships between the arts and healthcare.  The organization will host the exhibits at University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center, the Waldorf Senior and Recreational Center, and the St. Charles Towne Mall. 

Life Journeys Writers Guild will also lead a six-part series of writing and mentoring workshops and screen two film shorts. The movies spotlight Charles County’s unsung first responders in healthcare and the Department of Public Works (DPW), who must meet the ever-changing demands and changes in our environment.

“We’re doing what Mother Nature does, but we must do it in a shorter amount of time,” remarked a DPW employee charged to keep Charles County’s water safe.

Yvonne J. Medley, Executive Director of Life Journeys Writers Guild, calls the guild’s involvement in Spark! “an opportunity to 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.”

Quattlebaum says: “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.”

Maryland Public Television is the Media Sponsor for the tour of Spark! in Maryland. The College of Southern Maryland Velocity Center and Life Journeys Writers Guild’s partners include Charles County Arts Alliance, the Charles County Government, Maryland State Arts Council, Southern Maryland National Heritage Area, and University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center.

Spark! runs May 17–June 29, 2025 at the College of Southern Maryland Velocity Center. The Velocity Center is located at 4465 Indian Head Highway in Indian Head.

The exhibition will be on view Mondays through Thursdays, 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.; Fridays, 10:00 a.m.–1:30 p.m.; and Saturdays, 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. (The exhibition will be closed for holidays on May 24, May 26, and June 19.) Learn more on Maryland Humanities’ website.  For more information, contact Robert Forloney, Program Officer, Partnerships, at Maryland Humanities at mailto:rforloney@mdhumanities.org or (410) 463-2293.

The full tour schedule for Spark! in Maryland:

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)

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.