Betty Mae Kramer Gallery & Music Room
The Betty Mae Kramer Gallery and Music Room in the Silver Spring Civic Center serves as living tribute to the former First Lady of Montgomery County who devoted her energy to supporting the arts and humanities in Montgomery County. The 1,200 square foot gallery occupies a unique place in Greater Washington’s arts community. It is the first and only art gallery dedicated specifically to showcasing Montgomery County’s professional visual artists. Managed by AHCMC, the Kramer Gallery hosts three to four exhibits each year. If you have questions, please e-mail kramer-gallery@creativemoco.com.
Location: Silver Spring Civic Building, One Veterans Place, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (at the corner of Fenton Street and Ellsworth Drive in downtown Silver Spring)
Hours: The gallery is open Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM
Parking and Metro access: Available in the parking garage across the street on Ellsworth Drive (free parking on weekends, holidays and after 8 PM on weekdays). The closest Metro station is the Silver Spring station on the red line.
Quick Links: Current Exhibition | About the Kramer Gallery and Music Room
View the Kramer Gallery Policy Statement
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Past Exhibitions
2012
Seeing Food
Community Reflections
Fragility
Bookmarks
Abstract Visions
Geometry Transformed
History & Other Dreams
Assembled
2011
Figures Seen & Unseen
On the Edge
Free Forms & Faces
Between Fences and Good Neighbors: Fences in Montgomery County
Mixing it Up
About the Betty Mae Kramer Gallery and Music Room
The new Betty Mae Kramer Gallery and Music Room in the Silver Spring Civic Center serves as living tribute to the former First Lady of Montgomery County who devoted her energy to garnering support for the arts and humanities in Montgomery County.
Mrs. Kramer, who passed away in March 2010, led the volunteer efforts to establish the Executive's Ball for the Benefit of the Arts in 1986 when her husband, the Honorable Sidney Kramer, was elected County Executive. Since then, the Ball has raised more than $1 million to benefit a variety of nonprofit arts and humanities organizations.
An endowment fund has been established by AHCMC for the management of the gallery and music room in perpetuity. Mr. Kramer and his family have given a generous leadership gift to begin the fund. Additional donations are being sought from others who wish to honor Mrs. Kramer's contribution to Montgomery County during her lifetime. Click here to donate.
The gallery and music room is 1,200 square feet and will feature a wide variety of work from Montgomery County artists and musicians as well as special exhibitions. AHCMC is planning four to six exhibits and performances each year.
"The opening of the Betty Mae Kramer Gallery and Music Room," said AHCMC CEO Suzan E. Jenkins, "helps us implement a recommendation outlined in the 2001 Cultural Plan, Creative Montgomery, prepared by AHCMC. This recommendation called for the County to build or support the development of at least one visual art exhibition space to display works by county artists. We are honored that we can meet this important community need and simultaneously celebrate one of the county's most avid arts patrons."
In 2007, Mrs. Kramer received the Montgomery County Executive's Excellence in the Arts and Humanities Special Lifetime Achievement Award. Mrs. Kramer, an avid singer, also was known for contributing her vocal talent to community events. She was an active volunteer in numerous community groups and received an Honorary Degree of Associate in Arts in public service from Montgomery College in 1997 due solely to her commitment to community service.
To make a donation to the Betty Mae Kramer Gallery and Music Room please contact Suzan Jenkins, CEO of AHCMC, at 301-565-3805 ext. 23. To make an online donation click here.
Many thanks to the following individuals and organizations for their financial support of the Gallery
Major Donors
The Kramer Family
GEICO
Montgomery County
Gifts
Fran and Hillel Abrams
Joseph Adler
Ike and Catherine Leggett
Senator and Mrs. Laurence Levitan
Lawrence Rosenblum
Bobbi and Larry Shulman
Sami and Annie Totah
As of December 10, 2010