Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery

10/16/2026

Renowned art historian and Bethany College graduate, Dr. Randall Griffey will do a presentation at the Sandzén Gallery on Sunday afternoon, October 18, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. The title is "Stayin’ Alive: Art in Lindsborg and Beyond in the 1970s" and is being held in conjunction with the Lindsborg ‘70s Show that is currently on view at the Smoky Valley Art and Folklife Center, Prairie Sea Gallery, Bethany College’s Mingenback Gallery, and the Sandzén Gallery.

Dr. Griffey is the program director for American Art at the Henry Luce Foundation in New York City. A native of Edmond, Kansas, Griffey earned a BA in Fine Arts at Bethany College before completing his MA and PhD at the University of Kansas, where he focused his doctoral studies on American modernist Marsden Hartley (1879-1943). Griffey began his curatorial career at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City and was subsequently appointed Curator of American Art at Amherst College’s Mead Art Museum in Massachusetts. He then served as a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington DC before joining the Luce Foundation.

Sandzén Gallery is located at 401 North First Street in Lindsborg. There is no charge for the presentation. For further information, please call the Gallery at 785-227-2220 or email [email protected].

09/22/2026

South Carolina pianist and Wichita native Kevin Ayesh will be performing selections by Beethoven, Chopin, and Aaron Copland at the Sandzén Gallery on Sunday, September 27, 2026, at 2:00 p.m.

Ayesh has presented concerts and master classes throughout the United States – performing in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, as well as Canada, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, and Hong Kong. As a North Carolina visiting artist for four years, he appeared before thousands across that state, performing as many as 50 recitals in a season.

Ayesh is the recipient of many prizes, including the Naftzger Piano Award, Baltimore Music Club Award, and winner of both the JCC Baltimore Piano Competition and the Maryland State Music Teachers' Elizabeth R. Davis Memorial Piano Competition. He has judged Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) auditions for the state conventions of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, and has been a featured clinician at both the Georgia and South Carolina Music Educators Association state conventions.
He is retired after 29 years as head of the music department and Artistic Director of the Concert Series at Blue Ridge Community College in Flat Rock, North Carolina and currently teaches applied piano at Spartanburg Methodist College in South Carolina. A native of Wichita, Kansas, he received his Bachelor of Music degree with highest honors from the University of Texas at Austin; his master’s and doctorate degrees are from the University of Maryland.

The Sandzén Gallery is located at 401 North First Street in Lindsborg. There is no charge for the concert, however, donations are appreciated. For further information, please call the Gallery at 785-227-2220 or email [email protected].

09/14/2026

Join saxophonist Anna Marie Wytko and pianist Amanda Arrington for a Celebration of Saxophone Expressions at the Sandzén Gallery on Sunday, September 20, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. The concert is a part of Anna Marie Wytko’s San Francisco Herbst Theatre Recital Tour.

Dr. Wytko is University Distinguished Professor of Saxophone within the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance at Kansas State University. She has performed as concerto soloist in such venues as Carnegie Hall and the historic National Theatre of Costa Rica with the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica.

Amanda Arrington is Senior Professor of Practice and Faculty Collaborative Pianist at Kansas State University, where she performs in numerous performances each year with faculty, students, and guest artists.

The concert will begin with William Grant Still’s lush Romance, the first known concert piece for saxophone by an African American composer. Next, will be the haunting melodies of Retorno (Return) by Costa Rican composer Federico Molina Campos. Jindrich Feld’s substantial Sonate pushes the boundaries of sonic and technical virtuosity. The Kansas premiere of Karen P. Thomas’ When night came reflects the horrors of the war in the former Yugoslavia and, in particular, the atrocities committed against the women of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Partly a lament, the piece is also a tribute to the strength and resilience of these women. Lastly, the concert will feature the three movement festive Concertino by French composer Jeanine Rueff.

There is no charge for the concert, however, donations are appreciated. For further information, please call the Gallery at 785-227-2220 or email [email protected].

09/03/2026

New, short video on Birger Sandzén's painting at the Appleton Museum of Art at the College of Central Florida, which has a Sandz:

Learn more about this early 20th century landscape by Swedish-born ...

08/13/2026

We have the show up until October 18th!!! Admission is free as well!

08/07/2026

The Gallery's summer intern, Claire Brown, is now interning with the Hays Med Center's Hadley Collection!

07/29/2026

Look At Us Now opens this Sunday, August 2nd with an opening reception from 2 to 4 p.m.. It features over 140 regional artists and will be open until October 18th!

07/18/2026

Thank you, Explore Kansas!

Kansas has a small town where charm and heritage set the tone and a gallery packed with bold color, sweeping landscapes, and world-class talent makes sure the visit ends on a note nobody saw coming.

06/02/2026

Pianist Po Sim (F***y) Head from Kansas City will perform works by composers from Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela at the Sandzen Gallery on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at 2:00 p.m.

Dr. Head is a pianist and musicologist dedicated to uncovering and promoting the works of lesser-known composers, especially from Latin America. Her recordings include music by Peruvian composer Francisco Pulgar-Vidal and Ecuadorian composer Blanca Layana Gomez. She has performed both nationally and internationally, including a recent guest appearance at the Musicantes Festival in Lima, Peru.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, she earned her degree in Music Composition from Hong Kong Baptist University. She holds master’s degrees in Piano Performance and Musicology from the University of Missouri–Kansas City, and a doctorate from the University of Kansas. She is an adjunct instructor at Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City, runs a private studio, presents at national conferences, and writes articles for journals and magazines.

05/20/2026

The Smoky Valley Chamber Music Festival’s Faculty Artist Recital will take place this Thursday evening, May 21, 2026, at 7 p.m. at the Sandzén Gallery and feature a concert of “European Threads.” The performers will be playing works by Robert Schumann, Bela Bartok, Edvard Grieg, and Lukas Foss.

Participating musicians include Joseph Genualdi on violin, Michael Mermagen on cello, Karen Hsaio Savage on piano, and more. The festival will take place from May 18th through the 23rd and includes a variety of events in Lindsborg.