MoCo Then & Now: A Montgomery History Art Exhibit
Montgomery County is celebrating its 250th anniversary on September 6. September 2026 also marks Montgomery History’s move to its new home, the 1930’s Art Deco Farmers Banking and Trust Co. building in Rockville.
To celebrate the Montgomery History Center and the County’s 250th, we invite Montgomery County artists to submit their work to our inaugural art exhibit titled, “MoCo at 250: Then and Now.”
We encourage artists to reflect on 250 years of our people and our places to submit work that will be displayed in our History Center exhibit hall. We seek art that highlights our flora, fauna, landscapes, and communities – and work that meditates on where we’ve been and where we’re heading.
What local people, events, stories, and places inspire you? We encourage you to use our library, collections, and oral history databases.
This art exhibit is in dialogue with our “Unfinished Revolution” publication which uplifts the stories and perspectives previously excluded from Montgomery County’s historical record. You can use available published issues for inspiration as well.
Key Dates
- Submission Deadline: Sunday, August 2, 2026 11:59pm EST via Jotform
- Artist Notification: by Friday, August 21, 2026
- Art Drop-off: Tuesday, September 1 (in Rockville)
- Exhibit: September 6, 2026 – November 15, 2026 (subject to change due to construction timelines)
- Artist Reception: Saturday, September 12
- Note: Art must be available for the duration of the show.
Exhibit Guidelines
- Artists must reside in Montgomery County.
- High school students, college students, hobby and professional artists are all welcome to submit.
- Artists may enter up to three works. You must submit each piece individually.
- Art must be 2-D (e.g., prints, photographs, paintings, collages, and quilts).
- We may close submissions earlier than August 2 if we receive entries.
- For ease of installation: clip frames are not allowed. Art must have hanging wire (no sawtooth) that is attached to the frame, not the backing.
- Montgomery History and select support staff will install art.
- Canvasses may be gallery wrapped with no visible staples.
- Work must not weigh more than 15 pounds. If an existing piece weighs more, please contact mocoart250@MontgomeryHistory.org to see if an allowance can be made.
- Dimensions must not exceed a sum of 52 inches (width + height), with the longest dimension not exceeding 32 inches. If an existing piece is larger, please contact mocoart250@MontgomeryHistory.org to see if an allowance can be made.
- The exhibit will be viewed by all ages so we ask artists to refrain from nudity and profanity.
- Montgomery History will not sell art on artists’ behalf but will include artist contact details in the label so that visitors may inquire directly if artists wish to sell.
- Work will be selected based on its 1) adherence to theme and 2) dialogue with other pieces.
- Use of generative AI is not allowed for this submission.
Questions? Please email mocoart250@MontgomeryHistory.org
We will accept submissions via this Jotform (which includes liability information). We look forward to receiving your work!