For Sandy Danielson, It’s All About the Art

For Sandy Danielson, It’s All About the Art

By Louisa Woodville

Sandy Danielson has her work cut out.

As director of the non-profit Artists in Middleburg (AiM), she oversees the juried exhibitions of paintings, sculptures and drawings submitted by Virginia artists. It’s a job with a lot of moving parts: soliciting work, designing exhibition space, selecting a jury to judge submissions, and juggling six to seven exhibitions a year.

Photo by Vicky Moon

Sandy Danielson is the director of Artists in Middleburg.

Courtesy photo

“We change the exhibitions frequently,” Sandy said. “The exhibitions are conceived years before, as the artists need an idea of what to prepare for.”

Located at 102 W. Washington St. in downtown Middleburg, the gallery space once housed a clothing boutique and before that an Irish crystal shop. Its large bay window provides the perfect location to display art, which in turn, draws in countless visitors.

A recent sculpture session at Artists in Middleburg included instructor Goksin Carey with Jennifer MacDonald, Jean Beckman, and Caroline Miller.

Photo by Vicky Moon

Currently on exhibition are artists’ visions of horses, both sculpted, painted, and drawn. Artists who exhibit at AiM generally come from a 50-mile radius and each show features the work of 20 to 30 artists. AiM has attracted some 200 artists to its juried exhibitions since its inception as a tax-exempt nonprofit organization.

Susan McClafferty’s with Grace Adagio Arabesque.

Courtesy photo

Vicky Zhou’s The Turner Farm.

Courtesy photo

A native of Minnesota, Sandy has a long history in the arts and studied photography herself at Washington’s prestigious Corcoran School of Art. She worked for 21 years at the Textile Museum on Kalorama Road in Washington D.C., an institution that is now part of George Washington University. At the time, the museum occupied a building that Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos subsequently purchased.

She left D.C. five years ago, thrilled to help create an art center for Middleburg artists, bringing together both creators and collectors.

In addition to exhibitions, AiM also offers classes taught by artists, including Jim Burns and sculptor Goskin Carey, whose Fox sculpture graces the entranceway of the Middleburg Community Center.

“People really do want to take these courses,” said Sandy. “Next month there will be a two-day session with Stevy Myles.”

Part of Sandy’s mission is to educate not only the general public about art, but especially children.

“Through our educational outreach, we have provided and will continue to provide art and cultural opportunities that are open to all,” proclaims the AiM web site.

Sandy noted that as Covid cases lessen, classes and field trips for children expand. Sandy works to make AiM’s goals happen, and, as stated on the web site, “American communities are strengthened through the arts.”

AiM seeks to join what the NEA describes as “Communities across our nation… leveraging the arts and engaging design to make their communities more livable with enhanced quality of life, increased creative activity, a distinct sense of place, and vibrant local economies that together capitalize on their existing assets.”