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2025 Exhibition Schedule
Support YOUR Museum
Serving the community through the many educational, cultural, and fulfilling opportunities requires assistance from a range of resources. To maintain free admission to our museums, we need your support! Thoughtful donations by members and patrons help us keep our five museums in Altoona, Bedford, Johnstown, Ligonier, and Loretto open to the public free of charge.
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Read about the upcoming exhibitions at each SAMA site and donate to help support an exhibition that interests you! Please contact the SAMA site of your choosing if you would like help or more information about sponsoring an exhibition.
Altoona
Artists of the 21st Century
artwork by grade-school students in the six counties SAMA serves
in the Wolf and Pechter Galleries and Detwiler Education Center
January 31, 2025 – April 6, 2025
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The Museum’s twenty-seventh annual student art exhibition will be displayed at Altoona, Ligonier, Bedford, and Johnstown. Held in conjunction with National Youth Art Month, the exhibition is open to schools that participate in SAMA’s Arts-in-Education or Artist-in-Residence program. These programs serve six counties: Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fayette, Somerset, and Westmoreland. Through the programs, SAMA educators and professional artists travel to public and parochial schools to provide lessons designed to enhance students’ understanding of art creation, technique, history, critique, and aesthetics. SAMA’s award-winning education initiative is the largest of its kind in the Commonwealth.​
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A Journey to Wonderland
artwork by Jessie Luke
in the Paul I. Detwiler Education Center
April 23, 2025 – July 6, 2025
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Jessie Luke is recognized for her incredible photographs created with the Holga plastic toy camera. Luke has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Her exhibition, "A Journey to Wonderland," visually displays the narrative of the timeless classical children's novel, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by English author, Lewis Carroll. It is a theatrical pictorial adaptation that reflects Alice’s long journey down the rabbit hole. There she discovers an extraordinary world of unusual characters and encounters unforeseeable challenges.
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Gravitas of the Sycamore
artwork by Judith Peck
in the Shirley and Fred A. Pechter Galleries
April 23, 2025 – July 6, 2025
A solo exhibition of oil paintings by Virginian artist, Judith Peck. The series depicts a singular sycamore tree she discovered while walking near the Potomac River. What follows is a series of oil paintings which serve as rich, artistic meditation on the themes of resilience, and the stabilizing ground around which our souls gravitate, as we attempt to live our lives amidst a chaotic and ever changing world.
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Poetry of the Earth: Edward Glannon
selections from the Permanent Collection
in the George A. and Herbert T. Wolf Gallery
April 23, 2025 – July 6, 2025
Bedford
SLOW / FAST / IN BETWEEN
artwork by Val Rossman
in the Titelman Galleries
November 1, 2024 – February 2, 2025
Val Rossman’s career as a professional abstract artist, creating drawings and paintings in her studio, has spanned over 40 years. In addition to her studio practice, she currently teaches at Wayne Art Center and Woodmere Art Museum. Her work is a "blend of careful planning and unpredictable interruptions."
Birds of Flight
selections from the Permanent Collection
in the Paula and Dean Lemley Gallery
November 1, 2024 – February 2, 2025
A curated selection of exquisite works from SAMA’s permanent collection, highlighting the talents of several artists. Each piece offers a unique perspective on the theme of birds, capturing their elegance and freedom through various artistic mediums. Visitors will experience a range of vibrant paintings that evoke the thrill of flight, as well as delicate sculptures that embody the grace and subtlety of these magnificent creatures.
Life in Motion
selections from the Permanent Collection
in the Ashe Gallery, Jerry & Joan Hawk Gallery, and Children's Discovery Gallery
​November 1, 2024 – February 2, 2025
Explores Sue Severson’s profound connection to urban environments. The exhibition will be displayed across three of SAMA’s second-floor galleries including the Joan and Jerry Hawk Gallery and Ashe Gallery, creating a comprehensive showcase of Severson’s intricate and vibrant portrayals of urban life. Her paintings feature dynamic scenes where figures, though omnipresent, play a secondary role to the shared spaces they inhabit; the true focus of her work lies in the communal areas of city life, illustrating how these spaces are essential to the human experience.
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Visions of Autumn
selections from the Donald M. Robinson Permanent Collection
in the Donald M. Robinson Gallery
​November 1, 2024 – February 2, 2025
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Donald M. Robinson is a Pittsburgh-based internationally acclaimed photographer who has traveled the world in search of compelling images. Numbering in excess of 800 objects, the Robinson collection includes documentary and nature photographs taken on six continents and in more than 60 countries. View selections from the Donald M. Robinson photography collection of the SAMA permanent collection featuring the landscapes of Autumn in Pennsylvania and the wider United States.
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Artists of the 21st Century
artwork by grade-school students in the six counties SAMA serves
in the Titelman Galleries
February 14, 2025 – April 27, 2025
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The Museum’s twenty-seventh annual student art exhibition will be displayed at Altoona, Ligonier, Bedford, and Johnstown. Held in conjunction with National Youth Art Month, the exhibition is open to schools that participate in SAMA’s Arts-in-Education or Artist-in-Residence program. These programs serve six counties: Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fayette, Somerset, and Westmoreland. Through the programs, SAMA educators and professional artists travel to public and parochial schools to provide lessons designed to enhance students’ understanding of art creation, technique, history, critique, and aesthetics. SAMA’s award-winning education initiative is the largest of its kind in the Commonwealth.
Inspired by and In the footsteps of Donald M. Robinson
in the Paula and Dean Lemley Gallery
February 14, 2025 – April 27, 2025
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These exhibits celebrate the works of Donald M. Robinson. The exhibition is the result of two workshops led by artist Recie Dolan and photographer Skip Allen, in which artists of all mediums were invited to create an artistic representation, reaction or response to pieces in the Donald M. Robinson collection ahead of the Donald M. Robinson Photography Biennial. The exhibition and workshops were sponsored by the Donald & Sylvia Robinson Family Foundation.
Wild Realms: A Global Journey in Animal Photography
selections from the Donald M. Robinson Permanent Collection
in the Donald M. Robinson, Ashe, Jerry & Joan Hawk, and Children's Discovery Galleries
February 21, 2025 – June 29, 2025​
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See a collection of photographs centered on exotic animals and wildlife from around the world, including Africa, South America, and Antarctica taken by Donald M. Robinson while traveling the globe.
Echoes of Summer
selections from the Donald M. Robinson Permanent Collection
in the Titelman Galleries
May 23, 2025 – July 13, 2025
View selections from the Donald M. Robinson photography collection of the SAMA permanent collection featuring landscapes and floral photographs, perfect as the summer months approach.
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Donald M. Robinson Photography Biennial 2025
juried art exhibition in all eight galleries of the museum
July 25, 2025 – October 19, 2025
The Donald M. Robinson Photography Biennial is a juried exhibition occurring every two years attracting photographers from across the nation.
Johnstown
​Artists of the 21st Century
artwork by grade-school students in the six counties SAMA serves
January 17, 2025 – March 30, 2025
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The Museum’s twenty-seventh annual student art exhibition will be displayed at Altoona, Ligonier, Bedford, and Johnstown. Held in conjunction with National Youth Art Month, the exhibition is open to schools that participate in SAMA’s Arts-in-Education or Artist-in-Residence program. These programs serve six counties: Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fayette, Somerset, and Westmoreland. Through the programs, SAMA educators and professional artists travel to public and parochial schools to provide lessons designed to enhance students’ understanding of art creation, technique, history, critique, and aesthetics. SAMA’s award-winning education initiative is the largest of its kind in the Commonwealth.
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Inside Out, A Collection of Artists' Point of View
April 11, 2025 – July 27, 2025
Artists are expertly skilled in showing the world as they see it, creating images that draw us in and remind us of places we have visited or would like to visit. Artwork from artists Charles Biddle, Edgar Imler, David Hopkins, Bradley Shoemaker and Robert Kipniss give visitors the opportunity to see how indoor and outdoor light can and does affect color, mood and environment. Take a few minutes of your day to enjoy a walk through the exhibition and view the world through the artist’s eyes.
Ligonier
Exhibitions in The Elizabeth Shaw Gamble Gallery
Southwestern Pennsylvania Council on the Arts
​artwork by artists from the 19 southwestern counties of Pennsylvania
November 15, 2023 – February 2, 2025
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The SPCARTS exhibition features work by artists from the 19 southwestern counties of Pennsylvania. Featured works will span a variety of media, including acrylic, oil, photography, pastel, watercolor, wood, masonry, and many others. Since its inception, the exhibition has become known for its freshness and energy in the art of emerging young artists and for the dazzling presentations of established artists who are developing a new direction with their art.​
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Artists of the 21st Century
artwork by grade-school students in the six counties SAMA serves
February 14, 2025 – April 20, 2025
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The Museum’s twenty-seventh annual student art exhibition will be displayed at Altoona, Ligonier, Bedford, and Johnstown. Held in conjunction with National Youth Art Month, the exhibition is open to schools that participate in SAMA’s Arts-in-Education or Artist-in-Residence program. These programs serve six counties: Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fayette, Somerset, and Westmoreland. Through the programs, SAMA educators and professional artists travel to public and parochial schools to provide lessons designed to enhance students’ understanding of art creation, technique, history, critique, and aesthetics. SAMA’s award-winning education initiative is the largest of its kind in the Commonwealth.
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Spirit of Place: Fallingwater Paintings
by Ron Donoughe and workshop artists
May 2, 2025 – August 3, 2025
This exhibition showcases the stunning work of Ron Donoughe and talented workshop artists, capturing the iconic architecture and natural beauty of Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece. Through vibrant landscapes and thoughtful interpretations, the exhibition explores the profound connection between Fallingwater and its surrounding environment. Visitors will experience unique artistic perspectives that celebrate the harmony of art, architecture, and nature.