Monthaven Art and Cultural Center

Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center
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SANDRA KANDROS NAMED MONTHAVEN ARTS AND CULTURAL CENTER’S TEACHER OF THE YEAR

Media Inquiries:

Tonya Mirtes: admin@monthavenarts.org
(615) 822-0789

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (May 7, 2026) – Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center has named long-time Hendersonville art educator Sandra Kandros as its 2026 Teacher of the Year. Tonya Mirtes, the MACC’s deputy director, and Eva Rabin, the MACC’s arts education coordinator, announced the award at the MACC’s Moonlight and Magnolias Gala Fundraiser on May 2, 2026. In recognition of her service, Kandros received a custom-made sculpture created by the MACC’s Healing Arts Director Val Adams.

“Sandy has played a key role in the success of the MACC’s art classes,” says Mirtes. “As one of our most experienced teachers, she has provided us with guidance in everything from developing curriculum to training new teachers. She has been an inspiration to generations of students and to everyone at the MACC. Naturally, we are thrilled to present her with this award.”

Kandros has been inspiring Hendersonville arts students for more than 40 years. In 1985, she began teaching art classes at Hendersonville High School, where she remained until her retirement in 2022. From the outset, she never limited her creative activities to her day job. In the mid-1970s, she joined the newly formed Hendersonville Arts Council and continued her involvement when the organization moved to Monthaven Mansion in the 1990s.

Today, she continues to work with students through classes at the MACC and other programs, including art outreach at Pope John Paul School. Through her dedication, she has helped make Sumner County a more art-minded place. At Monthaven, she is held in the highest regard and is greatly appreciated for the countless ways she has enriched the MACC’s programs, mentored students, and helped build the strong and vibrant school Monthaven has today.

For this teacher, teaching has never been just a profession—it has always been a calling, and her impact will be felt for generations to come. “I love teaching,” says Kandros. “Working with Hendersonville’s gifted young artists has been the blessing of a lifetime.”

Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center (MACC) is a jewel-box art museum and education facility housed in one of Tennessee’s most spectacular antebellum mansions. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the MACC has staged exhibitions featuring everything from the ceramic art of Pablo Picasso to the evening gowns of Princess Diana. The artwork of local artists and military veterans are also on frequent display. As an art school, the MACC offers classes to more than 1,200 children and adults each year. The MACC also provides free arts outreach and healing arts to underserved children, families and military veterans. For more information, visit www.monthavenarts.org or call (615) 822-0789.

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Robin Willis

HEALING ARTS COORDINATOR

Robin Willis is the MACC’s Healing Arts Coordinator. She also works as the Exhibition and Events Manager and Director of Outreach. Robin has a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Clemson University with a minor in Entrepreneurship. She is a multi-discipline artist with emphasis in writing, mixed media abstract painting, alternative process photography, collage, and book arts and binding. In addition to her art practices, she holds several healing modalities certificates, such as extensive kundalini yoga teacher training and education, Reiki master, systemic family constellation facilitator, and depth psychology-based therapy trainings. As an avid learner, she explores and encourages others in their exploration in art, psyche, and our relationship to the micro and macro worlds within and around us. Influenced by John Muir’s quote, When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe, she fuses art, healing, and organization throughout her work and personal life as a creative-scientist minded person.

Kaylin Warden

Creative Design and Operations Manager

Kaylin Warden serves as the MACC’s Creative Design and Operations Manager. In this post, she oversees the organization’s graphic design work for exhibitions, events and special projects. She also coordinates the MACC’s arts outreach activities and assists with bookkeeping, among other duties. Kaylin, above all, is passionate about the arts. It comes as no surprise, then, that she is now pursuing a master’s degree in art history. When she’s not at the MACC, you can find her reading her favorite books (especially ones dealing with maritime mysteries), cooking, gardening, playing with her cat and two dogs, and cheering for the Nashville Predators.

Ruth Chase

Regional Arts Director
Ruth Chase is the Regional Arts Director of Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center, joining the team in 2023. For Ruth, the job is all about community, bringing people together to uplift and educate artists and art lovers alike. Her role at Monthaven is to strengthen the local artist community and build connections that will enrich Hendersonville and our surrounding communities through art exhibitions, art education, and opportunities for regional artists.
 
Prior to joining Monthaven, Ruth worked in the arts for over 30 years and is a multimedia artist and graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute. Her artistic practice is inquiry-based and engages in community bridge-building. She was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the City of Los Angeles, curated and juried exhibitions, and has taught at the Crocker Art Museum.
 
Ruth was awarded an Artist-in-Residence for Artist Activating Communities through a grant from the California Arts Council for three consecutive years. Her film Belonging screened at both the 18th Annual Nevada City Film Festival and Wild & Scenic Film Festival. She has received the Legendary Female Artist of Venice award, and she has exhibited in The Crocker Kingsley, the Museum of Northern California Art, and the Diego Rivera Gallery at the San Francisco Art Institute. Ruth also continues her work as a Curatorial Consultant and Art director for the Californian Indigenous Research Project, where she has worked with the local tribe since 2018. 
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