Baltimore, Addressed: Baker Artist Awards unites works by five recent awardees who respond to the past, present, and imagined future of the city. Laura Amussen (interdisciplinary, 2020); David Page (visual arts, 2019); Ernest Shaw Jr. (visual arts, 2022); Susan Waters-Eller (visual arts, 2020); and Pamela Woolford (interdisciplinary, 2022) have each created works that speak to their geographic or social experiences in Baltimore. Some delve into the city’s complex histories and challenges, while others celebrate the city’s rich natural and intellectual resources, painting the future leaders of this American metropolis. The exhibition is on view on the third floor of the BMA’s Contemporary Wing from November 13, 2022, through March 12, 2023.
Baltimore, Addressed encompasses a variety of multimedia installations, paintings, drawings, video, photography, and archival materials. Laura Amussen is presenting a 40-foot immersive installation of artificial trees, stumps, fungi, and ferns, as well as a projection inspired by her pandemic lockdown hikes in Loch Raven Reservoir. David Page is suspending historical Singer sewing machines and fabrics to highlight the individual expertise of each textile worker lost or suppressed by global industry and capitalism. Ernest Shaw Jr. is displaying large-scale paintings of West Baltimore Black youth beside African diasporic role models as well as drawings of people he knows who are healing from sexual trauma. Susan Waters-Eller’s triptych and diptych paintings and recent works on paper visualize human divisions caused by systemic racism and environmental exploitation. Pamela Woolford’s site-specific installation features digital photographs with overlaid audio clips portraying the surreal love story of a middle-aged Black woman and her boyfriend, the photographer, in everyday urban settings.
Established by the William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund and managed by the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, the Baker Artist Portfolios and associated awards were launched in 2009 to recognize Baltimore’s talented artists and engage the public in supporting their work. One artist per discipline (visual, literary, film/video, music performance, interdisciplinary) is adjudicated each year to receive a $10,000 Mary Sawyers Baker Prize and one of those awardees is selected to receive the $40,000 Mary Sawyers Imboden Prize, the largest art prize in the region. An anonymous jury selects awardees from up to 900 Baltimore-region artists who have created a free, online portfolio at www.bakerartist.org. Selected artists exemplify a mastery of craft, depth of artistic exploration, and a unique vision generated in Baltimore’s unparalleled creative community.
Baltimore, Addressed: Baker Artist Awards is curated by Brittany Luberda, BMA Anne Stone Assistant Curator of Decorative Arts.
This exhibition is generously funded by The William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund.
More information: https://artbma.org
