BLACK ARTISTS
As the world has begun to pay closer
attention to the works of African
American artists, some of Baltimore’s
cultural institutions have followed
suit, installing much-needed diversity
programs and measures aimed
at improving representation and
inclusion. Read on to hear about
some of the city’s efforts at museums,
in arts education, and in grassroots
advocacy and historic preservation.
The Museum
in Transformation
The Baltimore Museum of Art is shaking up the canon of
art history—and leading the museum world toward a more
inclusive future.
In 2016, the museum installed new director Christopher
Bedford, who immediately began an ambitious overhaul of the
museum’s collection and programming, aimed at diversifying
its representation. By 2018, the museum deaccessioned seven
works by white male artists (including Andy Warhol, Franz Kline
and Robert Rauschenberg) and used the auction proceeds to
acquire new works by Black artists including Charles Gaines,
Amy Sherald, Mark Bradford, Jack Whitten and Senga Nengudi.
Recent programming has expanded to include discussions with
Baltimore native and acclaimed writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, art talks
with the likes of Sherald and Bradford, and an Afrofuturismthemed
art party headlined by Baltimore musician Abdu Ali.
And then there’s the exhibitions. In the fall, the museum
presented an exploration of African American contributions
to contemporary abstract art and a showcase highlighting
the work of abstract steel metal sculptor Melvin Edwards.
Currently on view in the museum’s two-story East lobby is
a large-scale installation by Black visual artist Mickalene
Thomas, who was inspired to create an on-site “living room
for Baltimore.” The installation includes a new exterior facade
meant to resemble the city’s rowhomes, and interior surfaces
decorated with wallpapers, furniture and carpeting that nod to
the vivid prints and patterns typical of American Black culture
during the ‘70s and ‘80s. Thomas also curated a presentation of
artists with ties to Baltimore. Included were works by Derrick
Adams, Zoe Charlton, Theresa Chromati, video performances
by Abdu Ali and Karryl Eugene, Devin N. Morris, TT the Artist
and others, and costumes for the BMA lobby staff designed by
Dominican-born fashion designer José Durán.
MAXIMILIAN FRANZ MITRO HOOD PHOTO/THE BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART
The Avenue Getting Its Due
The diagonal strip of Pennsylvania Avenue that runs through
Baltimore’s West side holds a special place within the city’s
Black cultural history. It’s home to the Arch Social Club,
a 107-year-old private club for Black men. It’s also where
a marker notes the location of the now-demolished Royal
Theater, in its heyday a 1,000-seat performance venue that
hosted some of the biggest stars in jazz and blues, including
Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Etta James,
The Temptations and The Supremes. The Avenue, as it was
and is still known, was once lined with thriving performance
venues, historic African American churches and other
community institutions. Today, many of the buildings have
been demolished—and of those that remain, few have been
marked for preservation. But last year, a campaign led by arts
advocates (including Brion Gill, a local spoken-word artist
known as Lady Brion) made headway in the quest to preserve
and advance the neighborhood’s role as an important cultural
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