Abbey Alison McClain is a DC-based arts professional and travel enthusiast. She serves as the Executive Director of Touchstone Gallery and Touchstone Foundation for the Arts. She is also the founder and managing director of Art Roving, where she has led and organized initiatives such as the Art Roving Studio Residency, Playhaus Community Supported Art initiative, and curation of Hotel Nell (formerly Selina Union Market).
She is the lead curator and co-founder of the Queer Art Salon, an annual initiative that received a 2025 Arts Exhibition Grant from the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities. Abbey also curated the 2025 Land Form exhibition for the Delaware Contemporary’s ArtSource Radius Invitational, and has served as a program site supervisor for the Bloomberg Arts Internship since 2022. Other 2025 collaborators and project partners include the Arlington Artists Alliance, Multiple Exposures Gallery, Arcadia University, and 114 Ocean Arts on Fire Island.
An active leader in the DC visual arts community, Abbey is a frequent contributor and advisor on arts programming. She’s always excited to support and promote new artistic endeavors (so feel free to reach out). Sometimes, she also works with trains.
email: abbey@lisonmcclain.com