May 2026 Newsletter
2nd Edition of the LAG 57th Art Open Juried Exhibition at Montpelier Art Center.
Dear Friends, Artists, Guests, and Supporters,
Welcome to the Laurel Art Guild 57th Art Open Juried Exhibition at Montpelier Art Center. It is a true honor to gather together in celebration of art, creativity, and the remarkable talent that continues to inspire our community.
For fifty-seven years, this exhibition has represented our shared commitment to the arts and to the important role artists play in society. Art is far more than expression—it is part of the cultural infrastructure of every thriving community. It preserves our stories, reflects our values, encourages dialogue, and brings people together across generations and backgrounds.
Today, we proudly recognize and congratulate all of the artists selected by our juror to exhibit in this year’s show. Your dedication, imagination, and artistic excellence have made this exhibition a meaningful and inspiring experience for all who visit. Being chosen for a juried exhibition is an achievement to be celebrated, and we are honored to showcase your work at this distinguished venue.
We also extend our heartfelt appreciation to Montpelier Art Center, our juror, volunteers, members, and supporters whose commitment makes this event possible.
May this exhibition continue to strengthen the bonds of our community and remind us all of the power of creativity to enrich lives and shape a brighter future.
With gratitude and warmest congratulations,
Efraín Montanez
President, Laurel Art Guild
Laurel Art Guild's Signature Exhibition is On at Montpelier Art Center.
The Laurel Art Guild proudly presents its 57th Art Open Juried Exhibition at Montpelier Art Center, continuing a long-standing tradition of celebrating artistic excellence, creativity, and community engagement. For more than five decades, this annual exhibition has served as an important cultural event, offering artists an opportunity to share their work with the public while strengthening the role of the arts within society.
This year’s exhibition features more than 30 artists, both local and international, showcasing an exciting collection of art pieces that reflect a rich diversity of styles, techniques, and cultural perspectives. The selected works highlight the creativity and talent of artists whose contributions help enrich our communities and connect audiences through visual expression.
The exhibition brings together a dynamic range of visual artworks through painting, sculpture, photography, mixed media, and other forms of expression. Each piece represents dedication, imagination, and artistic vision, demonstrating how art inspires dialogue and strengthens cultural identity.
This year’s juror is Chinedu Felix Osuchukwu, MFA, an accomplished visual artist and educator whose work and leadership have earned wide recognition. He also serves as a Mayoral Appointee for the DC Humanities Council. With his distinguished background in contemporary art, education, and cultural advocacy, Mr. Osuchukwu brings valuable insight and professional expertise to the jurying process.
As juror, Mr. Osuchukwu carefully reviewed submissions and selected works that reflect artistic merit, originality, and strong creative vision. His participation adds prestige to this year’s exhibition and provides meaningful recognition for the artists chosen to exhibit.
The Laurel Art Guild extends its sincere appreciation to Mr. Osuchukwu for sharing his time, knowledge, and commitment to supporting the arts. The Guild also congratulates all participating artists whose works have been selected for this distinguished exhibition.
The 57th Art Open Juried Exhibition is more than an art show—it is a celebration of the essential role artists play in building the cultural infrastructure of society. Art preserves identity, encourages reflection, fosters innovation, and connects people through shared human experience.
Visitors are invited to experience this inspiring exhibition at Montpelier Art Center and celebrate the creativity that continues to shape and strengthen our community.
For more information about Chinedu Felix Osuchukwu, visit www.osuchukwu.com.
Winner of the LAG 57th Art Open Juried Exhibition
First Place Kenneth L. Bachman Into the Plaza - Oil
Second Place Professor Mo Bilbeisi Washington DC Wharf 27 Watercolor on Watercolor Paper, 12"x18"
Third Place Ahmed Alkarkhi Finding the Home - Oil, 28x36
About the Juror
Chinedu Felix Osuchukwu
Master Artist and Instructor Chinedu Felix Osuchukwu spent his early years between his birthplace DC and Nigeria. Osuchukwu graduated from Duke Ellington School of the Arts, received his BFA from Corcoran College ofArt and Design (Washington DC), and his Masters of Fine Arts at Maryland Institute College of the Arts (MICA) in Baltimore, Maryland. Much of Osuchukwu’s work welds two cultures (Igbo and American) into one life. You can find Chinedu’s work in permanent galleries
featured in museums, galleries, esteemed personal collections and periodicals worldwide such as the: the Biggs Museum of American Art (Delaware), Rochini Gallery (Italy) , Studio Museum of Harlem (NY), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Wash, DC), Oprah Winfrey’s O Magazine, Washington Post, New York Times, and in art connoisseur Peggy Cooper Cafritz’s Collection including her book “Fired Up And Ready to Go!”. In 2021 Chinedu was featured as an artist in the Netflix film “Really Love”, which he can now add to his accomplishments.
His current studio is located at the Jackson Art Center in Georgetown which is a prominent non profit and studio space committed to community growth in the arts with connections to the Phillips Collection, Hirshorn and many more prominent art spaces and museums. Osuchukwu’s work varies from sculptures (metal,wood, stone), paintings (oil, mixed media), printmaking, drawings, murals, installations, and live performance art. Additionally, his murals have been funded by Murals DC, and commissioned by Kaboom and former First Lady Michelle Obama. In 2016 Chinedu’s artwork was selected to be a part of the DC Commission of the Arts “Washingtoniana Collection “ putting a stamp on his contributions to the DC Art community. In 2016-2020 he was the first Nigerian appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser as Ward 7 Commissioner of the DC Commission of the Arts and Humanities. In 2020 he was appointed by the DC Mayor to Humanities DC Council, which is a non-profit organization that works on people keeping the history alive of DC past, present and future and is on his 3rd reappointment. Chinedu has been teaching Visual Art in Washington DC area institutions for over twenty years with students attending top Art colleges such as Rhode IslandSchool of Design, Cooper Union, just to name a few. He finds his strength being active in the community through church as a Eucharistic minister and by sharing his art in different spaces. He has also been an invited artist, speaker, and judge to conferences on the arts by the NAACP ACT-SO and Congressional Black Caucus. His reach has also had him collaborate with pharmaceutical giant Genentech on the launch of a painted shoe for Hemophilia, and he has partnered with the NationalHemophilia Foundation where he has also inspired kids who have a bleeding condition in therapeutic arts. Using his art, voice, and story he inspires audiences wherever he goes nationally or internationally where he has pieces in Italy, Senegal, Nigeria. In Senegal Thiadiaye Village named their Visual Arts Department after him. In Nigeria, he was appointed to the board of theNational Hemophilia of Nigeria and as Chief in Abuja and his home state in Igboland. In 2023 Chinedu became Ambassador of Arts and Culture in Abuja, Nigeria and was given the Lifetime Achievement award from President Joe Biden for his work in the Arts and Education.In addition to being an accomplished artist he is also a master teacher who won in 2022 the Mayor’s Arts Award for Arts Education.
Osuchukwu has dedicated over three decades to visual arts education, inspiring students who have gone on to attend top art colleges like the Rhode Island School of Design. He is the founder of a private home gallery, and an arts education and portfolio development program. The mission of his programs is to empower disadvantaged students by providing them with the skills and techniques needed to succeed in competitive art programs and exhibitions.
Currently, he teaches at Washington Studio School and is a professor at the University of the District of Columbia. He believes that art is a powerful vehicle for social change, and he is committed to passing his knowledge on to future generations. He sees himself as a vessel for the arts in the city of DC and beyond to pass on to multiple generations how to use Visual Arts as a vehicle to grow and change lives.
Prof. Osuchukwu Resume
Education
2018 M.F.A Studio Art, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) Baltimore, MD
2001 B.F.A Painting, Corcoran College of Art and Design Washington, DC
Experience
2025- Professor of Visual Arts at UDC
2025- VIsual Arts Instructor (Georgetown Library with IONA Senior Services)
2021- Master Artist and Professor at Washington Studio School (Printmaking, Drawing, Painting, Meditation in Ink)
2023 Nigerian Center Visual Art and Art Education Liaison
2022 Printmaking Workshop with Project Create DC
2022 The Phillips Collection Project: David Driskell and Alma Thomas
2021 CEO of I Live to Create Studios Inc
2020- present CEO of Gallery Osuchukwu
2017-2020 George Washington University ArtReach Program
2018-2020 Visual Arts Instructor Brentwood Art Exchange
2018-2020 DCPS Visual Art Teacher (Tubman Elementary School)
2018 Graduate Teaching Assistant- Maryland Institute College of Art
Professor Rael Salley – Art Matters
2015-2018 Visual Arts Teacher- Meridian Public Charter School (Department Chair)
2013- Artist in Residence /Art Therapy – Georgetown University Hospital (Lombardi
Cancer Center and Infusion (NW)
2014-2015 College Bound Site Coordinator Beacon House Edgewood (NE)
2009-2014 Visual Arts Teacher Chair / Character Education Chair– Imagine Southeast Public Charter School
2008-2009 Fourth Grade Teacher – William E Doar Jr. (WEDJ) Public Charter School 2007-
2009 Visual Artist (Art Creates Life)
2001-2007 Visual Arts Department Founder and Chair/Visual Arts Teacher – Cesar Chavez PCS
1998-2001 Visual Arts Workshops – Children’s Studio School, Martha’s Table; YMCA
1998-2001 Corcoran Visual Arts Outreach Program ( Georgetown University and Martha Table)
Solo Exhibitions
2025 In the Moment Chinedu Felix Osuchukwu Works on Paper (Woolley Mammoth Theater)
2025 Transformer Collector View
2022 “The Future is Igbo” Featured Artist (Fashion Collaboration) Arlington, VA
2021 Gallery Osuchukwu DC
2018 Lazarus Building, Maryland Institute College of Art, Third Space: Nigeria America (Thesis
Exhibition) , Baltimore, MD
2018 Art Hop, Takoma Park Beverage Company , The Life of Chinedu Felix Osuchukwu Exhibition, Takoma Park, MD
2017 Vivid Solutions Gallery, Facing Reality, Washington, DC
2017 Genetech Conference, Hemlibra Outdoor Exhibition, Las Vegas, NV
2017 National Hemophilia Conference, Bleeder Exhibition, New York, NY
2015 National Hemophilia Foundation Conference , What is Art?, Dallas, Texas 2014
Georgetown University Hospital, Artist of the Month Exhibition, Washington, DC
2012. Crown Republic, Solo Exhibition, Washington, DC
2011 Bohemian Caverns, Chinedu Felix Osuchukwu Exhibition, Washington,
DC 2007 Galley O, New Work Exhibition, Washington, DC
2006 Gallery O, Chinedu: Transitions, Washington, DC
2005 Watergate Gallery, Living to Create, Washington, DC
2004 Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Following the Force, Washington, DC
2002 Thurgood Marshall Building, Black History Month Celebration Exhibition, Washington, DC
2001 Corcoran Thesis Exhibition Class of 2001 at the HymCycle
1999 University of Maryland, Celebration of Black Art: The African American Experience, Hyattsville,
MD 1996 B. Smith Restaurant, B.Smith Exhibition, Washington, DC
Group Exhibitions
2025 “Everything is Everything” Transformer Gallery Gala Washington DC
2025 Annual Open Studios at Jackson Arts Center
2025 DC Print Fair with East City Art Washington DC
2025 “Order and Chaos” with Reacles and the Embassy of Portugal Washington DC
2025 Project Create 30th Anniversary Gala
2025 Resistance, Revolution, and Still I Rise Adam Calyton Powell Jr State Building NY, NY
2024 Redefining Afrofuturism Washington DC
2023 “Homage” Friendship Heights Community Center alongside Sam Gilliam
2023 Art of Africa the Marriott Ven Hotel ( Dupont Circle) Washington DC
2023 Washington Studio School Faculty Exhibition
2022 Visions and Voices: Biggs Museum of American Art
2022 Art All Night
2020 Busy Bee Art Fair DC
2020 “ Q the Music: Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Quincy Jones, Children’ s Hospital
2020 Black History Month Exhibition
2019 Martha’s Table Live Performance Paint
2019 Salon Exhibition DC
2018 Duke Ellington Teachers Art Show
2018 John Hopkins University (SAIS School), Ties that Bind Us(Black History Month) 2016 FOLX Bloodwork
2016 Prince and Other Departed Legends (Civilian Arts Project) Curated by Jayme McClellan
2016 Carnival with selected work of David Driskell, Pepco-Edison Gallery
2015 What Is Art? National Hemophilia Conference
2015 August Art , Friendship Heights Village Gallery, Curated by Lew Berry
2015 Pyramid Atlantic 10×10 Invitational Art Show
2015 Why War? Busboys and Poets: 5th and K Streets
2015 At War With Ourselves , Brentwood Arts Exchange
2014 Emergence 2014: Artist To Watch Internationally
2014 Howard University Alumni Club: The Art of Interpretation, Washington, DC
2014 Prince George Arts and Humanities Council “Our Roots”
2013 Teached Art and Wine Auction and Fundraiser at Gallery O
2011 –2018 Live Group Performance Exhibition CAIR Coalition Jones Day Building Wash, DC 2012 Sacred Roots
2012 It’s A Small, Small World, New York, NY Curated by Hennessey Youngman
2012 Love, Hope, and Art Frederick Douglass & Isaac Myers Maritime Museum Baltimore, MD
2008 Art Expo New York, New York, NY
2007 Erotic Blue, The Graham Collection, Washington, DC
2007 Pulling Together: The Art of Teachers, Duke Ellington School of the Arts,
Washington, DC 2007 Children’s Studio School Gallery Exhibition with David Driskell
2006 Here We Stand, Black Artist in DC, Washington, DC
2003 Artist in Retrospect, The Graham Collection, Washington, DC
Curated Exhibitions
2025 In the Moment Works on Paper (Woolly Mammoth)
2018 Takoma Art Hop (Takoma Beverage Company)
2017 Collaboration with Curator Carol Dyson on Science and Art at Howard Science Building (Permanent Collection)
2012 Harlem Renaissance and Black Broadway
2008 Bill and Melinda Gates Teacher and Student Show
Residencies, Awards, and Accomplishments
2024 Reappointed Mayoral Appointee Humanities DC
2023 Lifetime Achievement Award from President Joe Biden
2022 Appointed Ambassador of Arts and Culture of Abuja, Nigeria
2022 Mayors Art Award for Art Education
2022 Nominated for the Mayor’s 37th Annual Arts Awards : Excellence In Visual Arts and Excellence in Art Education
2021 Teaching Artist/ Practitioner Fellowship Institute
2021 NAACP ACT-SO Committee
2020-2021 COVID Residency
2020-2021 202 Creates Entrepreneurial Fall Residency Program
2020 Mayoral Appointee for DC Humanities Council
2020 Appointed National Hemophilia of Nigeria Board Member and Trustee
2019 Mayoral Appointee on Selection of DC Poet Laureate
2018 Boochever ( Third Round of Competition)
2017-2020 Mayoral Appointee for DC Commissioner of the Arts Ward 7
2015, 2016 Selected Works for Washingtoniana Collection (DCCAH)
2015 FOLX Panelist Speaker and Radio Interview ( Texas)
2015 Elected as Chief Judge for NAACP ACT-SO Competition
2012-2013 DC Commission of the Arts Art Bank
2010-2013 Character Education Excellence Award
2011 Imagine Southeast Excellence in Teaching
2006 21 st Annual Mayor’s Arts, Outstanding Emerging Artist Finalist-Visual Arts
2005 DuSable Museum Showcase (Chicago, IL)
2000 Bill Newman Painting Award (Corcoran)
2000 Academic Merit Award (Corcoran College of Art + Design)
Works for Public and Private Viewing
Permanent Collection Studio Museum of Harlem (NY, NY)
Marriott Ven Hotel Dupont Circle ( Washington DC)
Collection of the Biggs Museum of American Art Dover, Delaware
Ronchini Gallery Permanent Collection (Umbria, Italy)
Artbank Collection: Special Washingtoniana Collection , DC Commission of Arts and Humanities (Washington,DC)
Georgetown Hospital Infusion Clinic (Washington, DC)
Thiadiaye Villiage Arts School, Chinedu Felix Osuchuwku Visual Arts Department, (Dakar,
Senegal) DC Department of Health: Vital Records, (Washington, DC)
Imagine Southeast Mural Sponsored by KABOOM! And Michelle Obama (Washington, DC)
Immaculate Conception Church (Washington, DC)
(3) Cultural Tourism Callbox Restoration (Washington, DC)
Metro Center Mural with Byron Peck (Washington, DC)
Evolution Mural, 13 th and U Street, LAYC and DC Commission of the Arts (Washington, DC)
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ( Washington, DC)
Children’s National Medical Center (Washington, DC)
DC Superior Courthouse (Washington, DC)
Featured Press and Books
2025 Reacles Exhibition Gallery (Portugal)
2021 Feature in Netflix Film “Really Love”
2021-2022 Genentech feature at HFA
2021 Mayor Murial Bowser 202 Creates Cable TV/ Youtube Interview
2018 Grad Show:IV Bmore Art Magazine
2009 Take A Tour of Peggy Cooper Cafritz’s Home Oprah Winfrey’s O Magazine, August Edition
2017 Chinedu Felix Osuchukwu: The Power of Art Hemaware
2017 Washington Post Review in the Arts Section
2017 Vivid Solutions Gallery Presents Chinedu Felix Osuchukwu: Facing Reality , East City Art
2019 Fired Up And Ready to Go! (Collection of Peggy Cooper Cafritz)
2019 Studio Museum in Harlem and DC Arts High School Receive Historic Gift of Over 650 Contemporary Works
2018 An Artist Vision and A Man With A Mission: Chinedu Felix Osuchukwu “I Live to Create” Biomatrix
Elegies for New York Avenue
Reflections on Mr. Bill Harris and the Coming of Age at Duke Ellington
Building a Bridge to Legal Street Art
First Lady Michelle Obama Visits Old Congress Heights School: to build a playground
Prince and Other Departed Legends Washington Post
The Big Picture John Hopkins University
How Art Reach GWU Changes Lives East of the River Washington City Paper
Public Speaking
2025 Artist Talk for Solo Show “In the Moment” at Woolley Mammoth
2025 Art +Community Leveraging Art to Reimagine a Just World Washington DC
2025 The Artist Path Artsier Exclusive Masters Class
2024 Curating A Visual Arts Portfolio
2024 Chinedu Felix Osuchukwu Artist Talk presented by Washington Studio School & Friends of Jackson
2021 Haemophilia of Nigeria Conference
2021 HFA Conference with Genetech
2020 ACTSO (NAACP) Judge Speaking
2018 MICA Senior Thesis (Lazarus Building)
2018 National Hemophilia Foundation
2017 Marion Barry Summer Youth Program-live to create speaker
2017 Banneker Senior High School Programs
2017 Duke Ellington School of the Arts presentation to Seniors in the Visual Arts Program
Delia Mychajluk
Scratchboard etching has been awarded third place by the jury panel for our Year of the Horse art contest. Your etching deftly conveys the mystery and power of horses as they gallop toward us, layer upon layer, from the shadows of the forest.
Anouncements
Laurel Art Guild Board meeting
Saturday May 16th, 2026
3:00 PM
LAG and the 2026 Festival of Herbs, Teas, and the Arts
Pauline Clatterbuck
LAG Board Members
President:
Efrain Martinez
Vice President:
Obed Díaz
Co- Vice President
Josué Martínez
Immediate Past
President:
Mary Ellen Simon
Appointed Officers
Exhibits Chair:
Kobina Ahoto
Plein Air Chair:
Carol Leo
Scholarship Chair:
Margaret Kohn
LAG Liaison
Margaret Panebianco