Cathy Byrd
Sculpture Project Baltimore 2011
Sculpture Project Baltimore 2011
How can Baltimore articulate its position as a destination for contemporary art? Can one design a sustainable urban art project to intersect with Baltimore's cultural terrain and physical geography in a way that increases interest in contemporary art while stimulating support for artistic production? Answering these questions presents an opportunity to construct a more significant presence for Baltimore in the contemporary art world. Sculpture Project Baltimore is a multi-faceted contemporary art project to be premiered in 2011. Community partners will facilitate a multiple-month exhibition of innovative urban art installations and performances that promote a unique experience of the city for pedestrians and public transit riders. Supported by public and private funding sources, the project will be produced collaboratively with artists and curators, cultural and business partners, art venues, traditional and non-traditional cultural sites, and communities.
Becoming identified as the producer of innovative urban art projects, Baltimore can establish a critical gravity for contemporary art in Baltimore's public spaces that will expand the city's identity as a cultural destination.
Vision
· To provide new opportunities for education and public art production to regional, national and international artists
· To capitalize on Baltimore's identity as a city of neighborhoods by connecting artists and communities in mutually beneficial partnerships
· To establish an expandable platform for new genre public art in Baltimore
· To explore changing perspectives on art, public space, and the urban environment
· To encourage a pedestrian and public transit experience of art in the city
· To compel public and private investment for new genre public art
· To give contemporary art in Baltimore a greater national and international presence · To draw 500,000 art world visitors to Baltimore for Sculpture Project
To provide a global context for Sculpture Project Baltimore, this presentation will 1. show examples of parallel projects in New Orleans and Muenster, Germany 2. provide a brief history of public art in the city and 3. introduce a series of upcoming urban art initiatives that will engage the community.
About Cathy Byrd:
Cathy Byrd is Executive Director of Maryland Art Place, Baltimore.
A cultural activist, Cathy Byrd believes that public art and performance optimize communal encounters with contemporary art. She's invested in collaborative artistic interventions and works to engage communities in the creative process.
From 2001 to 2009, Cathy directed the Georgia State University Ernest G. Welch School of Art and Design Gallery, Atlanta, where she conceived and organized programming that extended beyond the gallery walls and into the city.
Site-specific curatorial projects in Atlanta: Return of the Native Garden (2007 to present), by Atlanta artist Pandra Williams in Hurt Park, Ukrainian-French artist Kristina Solomoukha's Mind the Gap Fountain (2008) and Le Flash, Atlanta (2008, 2009). Upcoming in Baltimore: Public art performance with Susan Lee-Chun, March 2010; and public installation with Jacqueline Tarry and Bradley McCallum.
