ART + ARCH
Every event we host is designed with intention, from the atmosphere we create to the way each session flows.
Welcome to Art + Arch 2026
An event for architecture and sustainably-created art.
Note from David Bell, FAIA
I have been involved with art and creativity all of my life. In high school, I was counseled not to become an artist, and that’s where my path into architecture began. But I haven’t turned my back on art. It has been a thread in my private and professional life for over 50 years.
In the late 1980s, I became a Docent at the Hirshhorn. An appreciation for contemporary art blossomed at that time. In the early 2000s, I was actively involved with the Downtown Artists Coalition and their efforts to keep artists in the 900 Block of F Street. Through those connections, I have had the honor of featuring art and custom furniture in our offices since 2008. Many of our past and ongoing projects integrate art into architecture. Artists inspire our creativity and remind us of the importance of materiality, craft, and meaning. I hope you get a chance to talk to the artists and learn more about their inspirations and humanity.
We are proud of artistic collaborations and excited about bringing people back together by showing meaningful artwork with a sense of resilience, reuse, and sustainability. To sustain the arts and culture in our great city, we encourage you to take home some art, which will not only support the artists but also the Hill Center. Thanks to all of the talented people involved, including Beth Higgins, Diana Ingraham, and Marilynn Mendell.
Sincerely,
David Bell
Curator’ Statement | Beth Higgins
This exhibition celebrates artists who transform discarded materials into works that challenge our assumptions about value, beauty, and responsibility. We are choosing to use upcycled material in our art as a quiet response to the problem of a global landfill problem. Each piece demonstrates how creativity can redirect the life of an object, revealing a new appreciation in what we often overlook.
We cannot solve the problem, but we can bring awareness. The show invites viewers to slow down, reconsider their relationship with consumption, and see how renewal can emerge from what was once deemed waste. By gathering these diverse voices and practices, the event becomes a living conversation about sustainability, imagination, and care for our shared planet. The variety of art and creative reuse shows the possibility—proof that transformation and change is always within reach.
Thanks,
Beth
Meet the Artists
Beth Higgins, Curator
Mixed-media artist exploring nature, renewal, and creative reuse. She transforms discarded materials — including upcycled wires and consumer remnants — into textured works that reveal unexpected beauty. Based in Woodbine, Maryland, she has been a full-time artist since 2020.
Beth Schwartz
Baltimore-based mixed-media artist and retired pathologist. Her work combines collage, found objects, and paint, often inspired by travel and visual storytelling. She has exhibited regionally since 2018, with a portion of sales supporting Health Care for the Homeless.
Sandra Davis
Sandra Davis is a Maryland-based multidisciplinary artist whose collage-driven work addresses identity, heritage, and social justice. Using repurposed materials and textiles, she creates works that often extend beyond traditional formats. She is also an active curator and arts leader.
Erwin Timmers
Erwin Timmers is an eco-artist and co-founder of the Washington Glass School. Working with recycled float glass, he creates sculptural works exploring transformation, waste, and sustainability. His work has been exhibited nationally and commissioned publicly.
Marc Salans
Marc Salans is a self-taught artist based in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and a recently retired U.S. Department of Justice attorney. Working with discarded wood, metal, and debris, he creates abstract sculptures, transforming overlooked materials into ordered, expressive forms — responding to chaos through creation.
Joanathan Bessaci
Jonathan Bessaci creates portraits and sculptures from cut road maps and recycled cardboard. His work explores memory, geography, and material transformation, and has been exhibited internationally.
Linda Popp
Linda Popp is a former art educator and assemblage artist working with narrative and found objects. Her sculptural works combine vintage materials into evocative compositions. She exhibits widely and continues to teach and lead workshops.
Nichole Leavy
Nichole Leavy is a mixed-media artist creating meticulously crafted sculptures from repurposed materials. Her work explores themes of mysticism, family, and shared cultural imagery, transforming overlooked objects into intricate visual narratives.
Altan Ergikoc
Altan Erginkoc creates intricately carved gourd lamps using Spanish, African, and Mediterranean gourds. Inspired by global traditions, he transforms each gourd into a unique illuminated sculpture through carving, drilling, and painting.
Sandi Wilson
Sandi Wilson is a trained photographer who blends photography with encaustic, cold wax, oil, and metallic gilding. Her textured works embed organic materials and luminous surfaces, and have been exhibited and commissioned internationally.
10 Artists
37 Pieces of Art & Sculpture
Artwork will be available for purchase on February 26th at the BELL Architects, PC office in Washington, DC, with proceeds benefitting the artists and The Hill Center.
Purchases may be made during the event with Hill Center staff on-site. For next-day sales (February 27th), please contact Diana at diana@hillcenterdc.org or call 202-549-4172 (main) or 202-499-6446 (direct) for your purchase.
