Maryland’s Eastern Shore has many beautiful vistas of sandy beaches and bucolic farm land, but it is also filled with suburban sprawl, strip malls and chicken houses. The art depicting our area often captures our picturesque beaches, birds, barns, and boats but rarely do we see images of the forgotten and overlooked spaces which are equally a part of this place. HERE/NOT HERE called on artists to capture, explore, and depict those unscrubbed and often unseen places. We were looking for artwork that tells the stories not often told about the landscape and architecture that have shaped this place we call here. The liminal spaces, the tension zones, and the hap-hazard, slap-dash, crap-laps.

In the midst of this call to artists, a global pandemic struck and what it means to be present suddenly shifted. In practical terms, this has meant that some of the artworks selected by the judges were not able to be physically part of the exhibition. In other ways it has given new meaning to personal and public space. Covid-19 has forced us all to spend time in isolation, to more heavily rely on digital spaces to communicate and connect with others, and to re-evaluate how we interact with the outside world. Much of the work in this show feels quiet and peaceful. There is a palpable absence in many of these images that makes an "empty" place feel full of expectation of what is to come. As we head towards an uncertain future here and everywhere, this exhibition refers to the pause in between where we have been and the unknown ahead.