The William King Museum in Abingdon, Va., a member of the state museums of Virginia has scheduled an exhibition focusing on the “Americana Paintings” that I have been working on for the past three years. The exhibition will be open from July to September 2026.

Marsha Hammel, Artist’s Statement and Proposal

Americana Collection
A Visual Narrative of American Music Tradition

The best of the American cultural experiment has produced new music traditions that have resonated around the world. Perhaps this is because music traditions came to the new country from around the world.

American music has always reflected the sorrows as well as the joys of life. The musical traditions of our (relatively recent) ancestors have come to us bearing personal stories that illuminate history and foster an understanding of who we are, where we come from, and what we have experienced.

Art, after all, is the reflection of the human psyche. Because I feel that music, the universal language, can reflect the best of ourselves I intend to create a collection of paintings to bring a visual narrative to that experience.

The musical genres that make up “Americana” were not created in “silos”, to use a contemporary term. The work songs of enslaved and indentured people diffused into European melodies which merged into popular tunes which morphed into Blues, Jazz, Country and Western blended into Rock and Roll and Hip Hop.

My collection will illustrate this beautiful blending of the best of ourselves.

An exhibition of the paintings, with an emphasis on musicians with a North Carolina connection, along with an exhibition of handmade string instruments created by a North Carolina luthier ( I’m thinking of EJ Henderson of Asheville) would make an interesting proactive program for a North Carolina Museum. Music, played live at the Opening and understanding and delight to the visitors.