Art-Full Life

Recent art world news causes me to reflect about just how lucky we are here in Baltimore—not only to have such a vibrant art scene, but to have visionary leaders who have made it a priority to recognize living artists by awarding prizes to artists in our community.  The deadlines for both prizes—the Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize and the Baker Artists Awards—are rapidly approaching, so I am hoping to encourage any artist who meets the requirements for these awards to get going on your nomination.  Of course, the prizes are most welcome—what artist would not welcome financial support, whether $25,000 or $1,000—but it’s the recognition and visibility that have a huge enduring impact long after the grant is won and spent—or even if it isn’t!

 You can’t win if you don’t nominate yourself!  And even if you don’t win, you’ll likely get your work in front of a larger audience.  Taking the two different awards into account, that audience will range from expert judges, some named, some anonymous, to exhibition visitors to media to a worldwide list of viewers on the Baker website.

MICA exhibits the Sondheim Semi-Finalists every year, and in recent years, the BMA has been privileged to partner with the organizers of both prizes—the Baltimore Office for Promotion & the Arts (BOPA) and the William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund—exhibit work by the winners of both contests. Imagine how thrilled I was that last month, two extraordinary artists in our midst, already award-winners at home in Baltimore in 2011, received much deserved national attention in the final days of the year. 

Filmmaker Matthew Porterfield, the 2011 Sondheim winner, was invited to participate in the 2012 Whitney Biennial.  Curated by longtime Whitney curator Elizabeth Sussman and former dealer Jay Sanders, this much-anticipated New York event opens in March.  This year, there is a special emphasis on film—documentary filmmakers Werner Herzog and Frederick Wiseman are also participants—and so it is an incredible opportunity for Matt and for Baltimore. 

So many of his films involve a wide range of talent from our own community—a scene from I Used to be Darker, for example, is set in the Station North Arts & Entertainment District and features Baltimore band Dope Body. Of course, his films have been lauded worldwide at festivals, but in some way, his recognition here in Charm City is likely to have helped move things along. (I admire Matt’s steadfast determination almost as much as his creativity! He was a Finalist in 2010, submitted the next year, and then won.)

Also last month, 2011 Mary Sawyers Baker winner Gary Kachadourian was awarded a $25,000-Painters & Sculptors Grant from New York’s Joan Mitchell Foundation.  You cannot seek this award: they seek you!  Its outcome is determined by an anonymous jury that includes artists, curators, and art educators, who clearly were impressed enough with Gary to include him among the 25 artists chosen nationwide.

How terrific that Joan Mitchell would leave an estate that benefited a future generation of artists. An important abstract painter in the generation after Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, she lived as an expatriate in France, where she died in 1992. 

So, our artists’ prizes sometimes have delightful but unexpected outcomes—exponential recognition of the talent they highlight.  We should thank those who created and support these wonderful opportunities. 

For Sondheim, we’re extremely grateful for Bill Gilmore and his colleagues at BOPA, as well as the admirers of civic leader Walter Sondheim, Jr. and his wife Janet, a dancer and teacher.  Many came forward generously to fund the prize—The Abell Foundation, Alex. Brown Charitable Foundation, The Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation, Charlesmead Foundation, the Sondheim’s daughter Ellen Dankert, France-Merrick Foundation, Willard Hackerman, Hecht-Levi Foundation, Legg Mason, and an anonymous donor.

The Baker Artist Awards emerged as the Trustees of the Baker Fund, under the leadership of photographer Connie Imboden, decided to dedicate their resources to the arts in 2007, making this the largest private funder of the arts in the Baltimore region.  Executive Director Melissa Warlow and the late Nancy Haragan, Founding Director of the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, cooked up the brilliant idea for an online nomination process, taking this competition decisively into the 21st century. The William G. Baker, Jr. Fund generously covers the expenses of its prizes, as well as the exhibition at the BMA.

So, if you’re an artist, submit your material to both competitions; Sondheim closes January 9th and Baker, January 15th.  And if, like me, you’re a viewer, click through the nominations on Baker Artists Awards or read about this year’s Sondheim jurors  to warm up for the two great exhibitions that await us in the year ahead!