March 2025 Gallery photo 8

The Art Gallery is Open Through May 2025

“Further and Again: Sustainability in Visual Culture” and “The Millport Artists Project”

Millport Conservancy and North Museum ask, how do sustainability practices shape visual communications?

the art gallery at north museum logo

The Art Gallery on the third floor is open! Works of art from 11 Lancaster county and regional artists will be on display and available for purchase through the end of May.

Art and science come together in simultaneous exhibits “Further and Again: Sustainability in Visual Culture” and “The Millport Artists Project,” both on display in The Art Gallery at North Museum from March 13—May, 2025. All members of the public are invited to the exhibit opening March 13 at 6:30pm, followed by a conversation with the artists at 7pm. Enjoy fellowship and light fare as we discuss how sustainability practices shape visual communications.

  • Take the steps or elevator to the third floor
  • Sign the guest book
  • Reach out to our Art Gallery and Visual Arts Program Coordinator, Sheri Hansen, to purchase

Further and Again” asks artists, when we create with repurposed materials or ideas, how do those materials or ideas carry forward their prior purpose into these new works? Does literal and figurative reuse have the potential to reveal a rich depth of meaning and connection that would otherwise remain undiscovered? Seven artists explore their relationship to the lifecycle of materials, process, and meaning in their works. Participating artists include: Bonnie Mae Carrow, Paula Cahill, Kirstin Fisher, Sheri Hansen, Katherine Hess, Mimi Shapiro, and Dganit Zauberman.

millport north museum logoThe Millport Artists Project” began with a visit by participating artists to the Millport Conservancy in Lititz, PA, in Autumn, 2024. They were asked to make artwork about what they discovered there. This experience produced a combination of works made in response to their time spent at Millport working indirectly through sketches, or en plein air. Shown alongside each artist’s existing studio works to provide context, some pieces are still in production. Come back often to uncover what the Conservancy has unleashed in these artists’ everyday practice—from the studio to the open air! Participating artists include: Doug Anderson, Stacy Caldwell, Sheri Hansen, Marisa Smith Alberts, and Jason Ward.

 

The Art Gallery is always open to the public when the museum is operating, Wednesday-Sunday at 400 College Ave. Part of North Museum’s A.L.E. (Adult Learning and Engagement) program, works of art from 11 Lancaster county and regional artists will be on display and available for purchase through the end of May.

Interested in participating in our gallery events, or purchasing art? Contact Sheri Hansen, Art Gallery and Visual Arts Program Coordinator at SHansen@NorthMuseum.org.

a.l.e. logo


the art gallery at north museum logo

Two Exhibits Open in The Art Gallery

The Art Gallery Hosts Two Simultaneous Exhibitions in March

Millport Conservancy and North Museum ask how sustainability practices shape visual communications.

the art gallery at north museum logo

(LANCASTER)—March 13, 2025

Art and science come together in simultaneous exhibits “Further and Again: Sustainability in Visual Culture” and “The Millport Artists Project,” both on display in The Art Gallery at North Museum from March 13—May, 2025. All members of the public are invited to the exhibit opening March 13 at 6:30pm, followed by a conversation with the artists at 7pm. Enjoy fellowship and light fare as we discuss how sustainability practices shape visual communications. 

“Further and Again” asks artists, when we create with repurposed materials or ideas, how do those materials or ideas carry forward their prior purpose into these new works? Does literal and figurative reuse have the potential to reveal a rich depth of meaning and connection that would otherwise remain undiscovered? Seven artists explore their relationship to the lifecycle of materials, process, and meaning in their works.

Participating artists include: Bonnie Mae Carrow, Paula Cahill, Kirstin Fisher, Sheri Hansen, Katherine Hess, Mimi Shapiro, and Dganit Zauberman. 

Art Gallery and Visual Arts Program Coordinator Sheri Hansen says,

“Artists are resourceful thinkers, constantly recontextualizing what they know with something new to evolve their ideas forward. Reuse and sustainability have been present in conversation in the arts for decades now, making artists natural leaders on experimenting around this topic. Imagining something discarded with fresh eyes is an endlessly fun and hopeful lens through which to view our everyday world. To transform something with only your action and intention is a very primal way to express oneself to others.”

“The Millport Artists Project” began with a visit by participating artists to the Millport Conservancy in Lititz, PA, in Autumn, 2024. They were asked to make artwork about what they discovered there. This experience produced a combination of works made in response to their time spent at Millport working indirectly through sketches, or en plein air. Shown alongside each artist’s existing studio works to provide context, some pieces are still in production. Come back often to uncover what the Conservancy has unleashed in these artists’ everyday practice—from the studio to the open air!

Participating artists include: Doug Anderson, Stacy Caldwell, Sheri Hansen, Marisa Smith Alberts, and Jason Ward. 

Hansen continues, 

“This [Millport] show allows the viewer to discover the differences in ways of thinking from one artist to the next. All started with the same intention to make work inspired by this beautiful and wild place, but the variety of the works collected here foreground the creativity and individuality of each maker’s studio conversation.”

The Art Gallery is always open to the public when the museum is operating, Wednesday-Sunday at 400 College Ave. Part of North Museum’s A.L.E. (Adult Learning and Engagement) program, works of art from 11 Lancaster county and regional artists will be on display and available for purchase through the end of May, 2025.


Shallow seas exhibit

North Museum’s Shallow Seas Available for Traveling Exhibit

North Museum’s Shallow Seas Available for Traveling Exhibit

First exhibit fully curated from North Museum’s collections

Shallow Seas Exhibit(LANCASTER) SEPT 29, 2024—From the North Museum’s 250,000+ objects in its collections, a new main exhibit brings forward its cache of marine-based treasures as Shallow Seas, now through May 31, 2025. Highlighting animal and plant life found in the sunlit waters around the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, the 1,500 square-foot exhibit includes informational panels, collections’ objects, and opportunities to repurpose existing exhibit fixtures that combine to be an exhibit that the North Museum is offering as a traveling exhibition.

Through the exploration of three marine habitats—the Caribbean Sea, Coastal Atlantic, and Arctic Ocean—specimens of sea life, shells, and plants depict life that is present in each ecosystem, and how each has evolved traits to survive and sometimes thrive in their environments.

“There are over 100 different marine species represented in this exhibit across a wide span of the animal kingdom, making Shallow Seas a great entry point to the interconnected nature of our marine habitats, appealing to all students who have an interest in our oceans,” said Molly Wolanski, North Museum’s exhibits and collections manager. “While visitors will be more familiar with species like hermit crabs, sharks, and corals, they will also encounter lesser-known species like the arrow crab or blood olive (related to a cowrie).”

The self-directed exhibit features signage and bold graphics presented in both English and Spanish. Dozens of items such as the jaws of a Great White Shark, a Narwhal tusk and walrus skull add the three-dimensional experience to the dynamic panels.

"Designing these panels has allowed us to share North Museum’s treasured collection in a fun, engaging way,” said creative director Jon Derk. “By embracing bilingual storytelling, we’re excited to connect with every visitor and invite them to experience the rich stories of our oceans and how we are connected to them. The way this exhibit is designed to travel will allow other museums the ability to customize the panels to fit their own unique collections and floor space.”

Inquiries regarding the traveling exhibition should be directed to Jon Derk at jderk@northmuseum.org or 717.358.4149.

“Shallow Seas marks a new milestone in exhibition development as North Museum’s first exhibit that is curated entirely from its collections,” said CEO Andrea Rush. “We are excited to share this experience with other museums’ visitors, as they will be immersed in the fascinating ecosystems of sunlit waters from the Caribbean to the Arctic and learn how we can work together to limit further damage to these resources.”

Visitors explore how these ocean habitats are connected through ocean currents and migratory species, as Shallow Seas explores the fragility of these systems and the threats they face in a changing world and warming ocean. An optional collaborative artwork project allows visitors to lend their creative touch to the exhibit by enhancing an ever-evolving coral reef with underwater life that can be colored and added, making the experience informative and appealing to all ages.

Now in its 72nd year, the North Museum of Nature and Science impacts thousands of central Pennsylvania students and their families annually through its education initiatives in the Museum, in the community, and at home. Programs include field trips, early childhood education programs, summer camps, STEM Sisters, the Science and Engineering Fair for middle and high school students, and many other educational programs designed to create access to free and reduced-cost STEM learning opportunities and strengthen the foundation of youth in the Lancaster community and beyond. For more information on Sponsorships and Giving, please contact Scott Downs, Director of Development & Strategic Partnerships at sdowns@northmuseum.org or 717-358-7188.
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