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Programs

Gallery Exhibitions

Sitar Arts Center’s Cafritz Gallery celebrates not only the artwork of our students, faculty, and staff, but our community as well. The Gallery Series aims to educate the Sitar Arts Center community about the visual arts from both the artist and viewer’s perspective, while giving young emerging artists the opportunity to exhibit professionally.  

Operating for more than 15 years, the Cafritz Gallery is an intimate space that exhibits a variety of mediums and styles of 2D and 3D work. With six showcases a year, we offer young artists opportunities to feature and sell their work through solo and group exhibitions. Additionally, young artists can learn from more seasoned artists through juried exhibitions, faculty showcases, and artists talks. 

Each year the Cafritz Gallery hosts a juried exhibition that is open to the public. This juried exhibition presents artists with a new theme and a new group of jurors to review the work. Jurors are practicing visual artists and arts professionals working in various organizations and positions within the DC community.  

For questions about how to exhibit or interest in being a juror, please contact Gisselle Cardona at gisselle@sitarartscenter.org or by phone at (202) 797-2145, ext. 120


Current Exhibition

14th ANNUAL PATRICIA SITAR JURIED EXHIBITION 

We’re pleased to present our 14th Annual Patricia Sitar Juried Exhibition. On display in our Cafritz Gallery from February 26 to April 24, 2024, the exhibition features over 30 curated works from local, national, and international artists, including entries from California, Florida, Illinois, Portugal, and Switzerland. This year’s theme, “Life in Color,” invited artists to explore emotion, play with dimensions and reimagine daily life with color.

Artists featured in the Juried Exhibition compete for cash prizes, and the first-place winner in the adult category wins the opportunity to exhibit at Sitar Arts Center’s Cafritz Gallery in the fall. A variety of artistic media, ranging from photography to painting will be on display. 

Artists and jurors will be present at the opening reception on Thursday, March 7, 2024. Some artworks will be available for purchase.

The gallery will be open Monday through Friday, from noon – 6:00 p.m., and Saturdays, from 10:00 a.m. – noon.   

Come and immerse yourself in the colorful shades of “Life in Color.”   

EXHIBIT OPENING RECEPTION AND AWARDS CEREMONY 

Thursday, March 7, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. 

Jurors for 14th Annual Patricia Sitar Juried Exhibition 

We are excited to announce the jurors for this year’s Annual Patricia Sitar Juried Exhibition! 

JOHN DEARDOURFF

J.D. is a muralist and screen print artist native to Washington, DC. Inspired by comic books, his works take on traditional genres of landscape, still-life, and portraiture but utilize the artificial color, exaggeration, energy, and movement of comic books to create a world that is both optimistic and apocalyptic. Previously, his works have showcased around the world, including Paris, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington DC. In addition, his collaborative works are numerous with partnerships at Apple, Microsoft, and DC Comics, and more. Learn more about J.D. by visiting his website here

KELLY RICHMAN-ABDOU

Kelly is an Art Historian and Writer who currently works as a Museum Educator at the Phillips Collection, America’s first museum of modern art. She is also a PhD candidate at the University of Birmingham, UK, where she studies art history, curating, and visual studies. Prior to her current position, she was a Staff Writer at My Modern Met and educated families in France as a guide at the Notre Dame Cathedral. Her expertise in the field was a trusted source for BBC World News America and France 24 following the Notre Dame fire. In addition to her rigorous work life, Kelly is the mom to two adorable girls who are actively studying the arts through classes here at Sitar Arts Center. Explore her website here to catch up on her most recent research findings!  

MARTINA LONCAR

Martina is a multi-media artist best known for her collage works, focusing on the connection between humans and the environment. She uses imagery of nature and trees to create captivating works of art with messages meant to teach you valuable lessons. In addition, she writes and displays poetry in conjunction with her artwork. Loncar’s artistic endeavors have even garnered attention from the Washington Post. Earlier this year, Sitar Arts Center held its 13th Annual Patricia Sitar Juried Exhibition, Unity and the Environment, where she won first place with her lithographic crayon on mixed media collage, “Hold My Hand”. As the winner of the 13th Annual Juried Exhibition, she was awarded the opportunity to display a solo exhibition, In the Company of Trees, at Sitar Arts Center’s Cafritz Gallery.

MARIA-VICTORIA CHECA

Maria-Victoria (Checa Art) is an abstract and impressionist artist who uses color contrast and dynamic composition to speak to the ideas of freedom, liveliness, and transformation in her paintings. Born and raised in France, she didn’t begin her painting journey until 2018, after a career of teaching math at American University and Montgomery College. She learned the art of painting independently using YouTube and has since cultivated her unique artistic style. Her artwork has been featured in numerous magazines and exhibitions, including Modern Luxury Magazine and Baltimore Magazine. Stay up to date with Checa Art and visit her website!  


Previous Exhibition 

In the Company of Trees, Martina Loncar  

Opening Reception: Thursday, November 9, 2023 from 7:00 – 9:00 pm  

Exhibition Dates: November 8 – December 2, 2023

Sitar Arts Center is proud to celebrate artists of various backgrounds and communities. Join us as we showcase the marvelous work of Martina Loncar. Winner of the 13th Annual Patricia Sitar Juried Exhibition. Her work explores the connection between trees and humans to their environments through deep-rooted networks of care. Loncar describes her series as an ode to our silent companion citizens. We encourage you to explore the roots of her solo exhibition, In the Company of Trees

Multi-media artist, Martina Loncar explores themes revolving around the intricate relationship between trees and humans within their environments, described as a “deep-rooted network of care.” Specifically, her work uses the quiet interdependency of roots as a model for how humans may better support one another through times of hardships and uncertainty.  

Martina Loncar, Hold My Hand, 2022, 50 x 50 inches,
Lithographic crayon on mixed media collage
 

Over the last few months, she has dedicated the time to further refining her series In the Company of Trees. Loncar views nature as a nurturing and humbling force from which humans can learn valuable lessons. Her expansive practice includes sculpture, paper-cutting, drawing, collage, video, and installation. In addition, Loncar writes and displays poetry in conjunction with her artwork. When asked about her initial spark and fascination for trees, she explained, “I am drawn to trees due to their tendency to live in communities and ability to support one another through their root systems” 

Loncar obtained her undergraduate degree from Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, and completed her Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art at the American University in Washington, DC. Previously, her work has been exhibited at Clifford Art Gallery in Hamilton, N.Y., Goodwin House in Alexandria, VA, DC Arts Center, and the Anacostia Arts Center in Washington, DC. Loncar’s artistic endeavors have even garnered attention from the Washington Post. You can also find her work in the permanent collection of the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center. 

In the Company of Trees by Martina Loncar 

This exhibition is an ode to our silent companion citizens. Like humans, trees form deep and intricate bonds with one another and thrive in community settings. Their rooted networks, concealed beneath the ground, can serve as a model for how humans can better support one another through times of hardship and uncertainty. Created through a laborious process of cutting, tearing, and repairing paper, the collages capture quiet scenes of interdependency and encourage us to reflect on how we, too, can nurture the bonds that tie us together.   

To learn more about Martina Loncar and her upcoming shows be sure to check out her website. 

The exhibition “In the Company of Trees” displayed at the Sitar Arts Center’s Cafritz Gallery from November 8 through December 2, 2023.