America at 250 Through the Lens

First Place Jurors’ Award ($1,000)  

Kameron Ross (Hagerstown)  

A Robin’s-Egg Blue Trailer Sits Beneath a Northern Catalpa Tree

As Washington County and the United States celebrate their semiquincentennial, the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts presents the 2026 Cumberland Valley Photographers Exhibition, a juried display featuring contemporary photographic perspectives on the American experience.  

Second Place Jurors’ Award ($500)  

Sandra Chen Weinstein (McLean, Virginia)  

Black Lives Matter

The exhibition was organized around the theme of America’s 250th birthday and invited photographers to respond to four thought-provoking themes: Unfinished Revolutions, Power of Place, Tell Everyone’s Story, and American Experiment. The resulting exhibition offers a compelling exploration of national identity, community, history, and hope through the eyes of artists from across the region.  

Third Place Jurors’ Award ($250)

Mark Youngblood (Hagerstown)  

Nobody’s Right if Everyone is Wrong

Forty-eight artists submitted 107 works for consideration. From these entries, jurors selected 39 photographs by 28 artists representing Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.  

The selected works reveal artists grappling with the complexities and contradictions of the American story. While many photographs examine issues of justice, memory, identity, and change, they also speak to resilience, connection, and the enduring possibility of progress.  

Jurors recognized four outstanding works with exhibition awards. 

Washington County Arts Council Award ($250)  

Justin Artz (Hagerstown)  

The Community’s Living Room