A PWAS Look Back and What's Ahead 2026
An email from the Prince William Art Society (PWAS) Interim President, Sandra McClelland Lewin and the PWAS 2024-2025 Board reviewing the activities and successes of the art group. Let's have a look at some of the art shows and events.
January 2026 PWAS
The current outgoing members of Prince William Art Society's Board of Directors have compiled a report of the major activities and accomplishments during the past two years. WOW! It has been an extremely active and productive time for PWAS. We encourage you to review the report and think of ways you can get involved. It is important that our members participate as PWAS board members. Elections are planned for the January 26th meeting. Most of the current board members will not be running for re-election, so there is plenty of room for new voices. New board members will be able to call on the experience of the outgoing board whenever needed, so you won't be going it alone.
See a History of the Prince William Art Society
PWAS 2024-2025 Review
🎨 PWAS Member Update: A Look Back & What’s Ahead!
It has been an incredible journey since the current PWAS Board began work in January 2024! As our 2024–2025 board term ends, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate everything we’ve accomplished together.
Over the past two years, PWAS has experienced an exciting period of growth, change, and creative energy. The Board has worked thoughtfully to guide the organization forward, opening the door to new opportunities and collaborations. Members came together in early 2024 for the GoWell Exhibit and celebrated the creation of our Plein Air group (PWAS Plein Air Posse), giving artists new ways to connect, paint, and share their work.
PWAS 2024
The momentum continued throughout 2024 with a full calendar of engaging events. PWAS artists participated in art gatherings such as the Bluebell Festival in April, the Artist Inventory Sale in Manassas, the Bee Festival, and ArtsAlive 2024. We had successful juried exhibits at the Sunshine Ridge Winery and the ArtFactory. We used grant money to provide a memorable field trip to the National Gallery of Art in October. We wrapped up the year with well-received exhibits at Montclair Library and Three Fox Vineyard & Brewery, capped off by a joyful Holiday Party 2024 that brought everyone together to celebrate the season and our shared accomplishments.
PWAS 2025
In 2025, PWAS continued to expand its presence and deepen member connections. From the Bull Run Library Show in January to spring and fall shows at Tall Oaks, our artists stayed busy and visible. Highlights included the juried exhibit for PWAS members at the ARTFfactory followed by our first PWAS sponsored Best of Region Show that was also held at the ArtFactory. This was the first Best of the Region show that had been held in several years and brought in artists from all around the Northern Virginia area. We participated in the Bluebell Festival at Merrimac Farm in Nokesville, the Maker Faire at Bull Run Library in June followed by favorite events like ArtsAlive at the Hylton Center and Art in the Garden at Montclair Library. November brought the newly renamed Autumn Art Market at the ArtFactory. I should note that none of these pop-up art shows would be possible without our members volunteering to organize, bring and return art stands and equipment from our storage facility, and run the sales. Once again, the year concluded with a festive Holiday Party 2025 that celebrated another successful year.
Encouraging the artistic growth of our members is a major objective of PWAS. For the past two years we have expanded our offerings of classes and workshops under the direction of our Member at Large, Tom Payne. Classes have included watercolor, collage, framing, marketing, gilding, and plein air painting just to name a few. We often have guest speakers at our meetings who share their techniques and introduce new materials. (Guest Speakers include Mike Flynn, Christine Dixon, Jessica Pidcock, Charles and Holly Todd, Valerie Larson, M. Jane Johnson, Janet Stoeke, Delwyn Elizabeth, Robert Dew, Patty Gutledge, Elena Jochum, and Michele Frantz)
We also make time to get to know each other better through activities like “Get to Know Your Fellow Artists” and popular Show & Tell evenings, where members share their work and stories.
PWAS continues to support our Jewell Pratt Burns Scholarship Program, providing a $1000.00 scholarship to one or more Prince William high school seniors who plan to major in art. In 2024 the awards went to Allyson Burke from Colgan High School and Zeenat Ameri from Battlefield High School. In 2025 the award went to Faith Garcia Young from Saint John Paul the Great High School. These scholarships are made possible through donations and the hard work of our scholarship committee, led by Emily Hawes.
Behind the scenes, important foundational work has also taken place. PWAS updated its By-Laws and established a solid 2026 budget. Thanks to our webmaster, Larry Burch, we are now able to take payment and register for classes and events online. The PWAS Artistry Spin Blog, written by our Social Media chair Donna Liguria, provides helpful information about the business of art and upcoming exhibits.
What’s in store for the coming year? We have an exciting, juried art show coming up in July at the ArtFactory—a month-long, well-publicized exhibit designed to draw art lovers and collectors from around the region. Who knows? One of them may fall in love with your work! We’ll also continue our popular pop-up shows while exploring longer-term exhibit opportunities. With the recent closure of the Prince William County Arts Council (PWCAC), there may be an opportunity to help form a new county-wide collaborative group focused on visual artists. That effort could eventually lead to a dedicated gallery space for exhibits, meetings, and classes year-round—and it will take enthusiastic volunteers like you to help make it happen.
All of this reflects the friendly, creative, and forward-looking PWAS community we’re so proud of—and we’re excited about what’s still ahead.
Thanks for being part of the PWAS journey,
Your 2024-2025 PWAS Executive Board
Sandra McClelland Lewin, Interim President
Eric Nodofor, Treasurer
Bettie Sperty, Secretary
Tom Payne, Member at Large
Staci Blanchard, Community Arts Liaison
🎨🎨And from me, Donna Liguria, I want to thank this Executive Board for a job well done. I've been to nearly every PWAS Meeting and PWAS Board Meeting the last 2 years and have been impressed with this team of artists (and friends). Every single person has worked diligently and professionally at all times to ensure that the Prince William Art Society is successful in all of our activities and projects. It does indeed take a village and those willing to help make the PWAS art group known and ongoing for the PWC artists.
Author: Sandra McClelland Lewin Interim President and artist member.
Author: Donna Liguria is the Blogmaster for the PWAS Artistry Spin Blog and Donna's Cave Paintings Blog, and an artist member of the Prince William Art Society (PWAS) in Woodbridge, Virginia. And she takes on the PWAS social media duties as well (help me!) Donna specializes in acrylic painting of landscapes, seascapes, historic locations, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com and her Donna's Esty site to shop her art.
Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm (typically, but check the website in case of any changes).
Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership
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