Marta Sanchez
Lavett Ballard
The raffles, silent auction, and ticket proceeds will go toward acquiring art by two local women artists whose works are now showing in the Great Hall.
It is a our mission to diversify our permanent collection so that we can continue to develop meaningful programming that educates, breaks barriers, and inspires hope.
Help us reach our goal.
- Precious Cargo by Marta Sanchez $15,000
- Still Here by Lavett Ballard $10,000
Artist and Educator
Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Chicana painter Marta Sanchez has been inspired by traditional Mexican folkloric art expressions and contemporary social issues.
Marta’s public art commissions can be seen at the Children’s Hospital in Montgomery, Pennsylvania, a recent sculptural project,"Reclaiming Gurney Street,” located in North Philadelphia was commissioned by the Hispanic Association of Contractors and Entrepreneurs.
Marta’s work is in the collections of The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The State Museum of Pennsylvania, The McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas, The Fine Art Museum of St. Petersburg, Florida, The National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, and the Woodmere Art Museum.
Marta earned an MFA in painting from the Tyler School of Art, Temple University, and a BFA in painting from the University of Texas at Austin. She has taught at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and St. Joseph’s University, and she works at the Brandywine Workshop and Archive as Special Programs Coordinator. She is co-founder of the grassroots organization “Cascarones Por La Vida,” which assists families affected by HIV/AIDS.
Artist, Historian, Curator, and Author
Lavett Ballard is an Mixed Media Visual Artist, Art historian, Curator, and Author. She holds a dual Bachelor’s in Studio Art and Art History with a minor in Museum Studies from Rutgers University, and an MFA in Studio Art from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Ballard’s art has been commissioned as a cover twice for Time Magazine first in March 2020 for their special multi cover edition for the 100th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage and in February 2023 for a cover and interior art for Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson’s essay about her book CASTE: Origins of our Discontent. Among her other accolades is a Yaddo Fellow Artist residency in 2021, in 2023 a NJ State Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship, and in 2018 Pew fellowship nomination. Ballard’s artwork has been used in film, television, and literary publications in addition to being acquired by many private and public institutional collections nationally and internationally.
Some of her private art collectors include the author Roxanne Gay, actor Hill Harper, Grant & Tamia Hill collection, the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection. Her work has been acquisitioned by the Francis M. Maguire Museum, the African American Museum of Philadelphia, the Colored Girls Museum, the U.S. Art in the Embassies, St Joseph’s University, Syracuse Universities- Community Folk Arts Center, and Jule Collins Smith Fine Art Museum at Auburn University Collections among many others.
Ballard views her art as a re-imagined visual narrative of people of African descent. Her use of imagery reflects social issues affecting primarily Black women’s stories within a historical context.
