14 October 2009

Joan Gaither Public Quilting Sessions

In 2008, Dr. Joan Gaither created the quilt Journey to the White House (J2WH), chronicling President Obama's life story and rise to the White House. The fifth installment of her My American Series, J2WH garnered much attention when she opened up the quilt to members of the public to come and add their own messages and images to the border of the quilt.

Dr. Gaither is now working on the latest quilt in the American Series entitled "Black Watermen of the Chesapeake." The quilt documents the lives of the many African American men and women living and working on the Chesapeake. As part of this quilt, Dr. Gaither is once again inviting the public to come out and add their own stories to the quilt. People are invited to come add a message to the quilt, bring family photos which may be scanned and added to the quilt, and tell their story or that of their family in oral history interviews that will be conducted on site.

Quilting and sewing experience are not required. Registration is not required. This program is free to the public. For more information, contact us at 410.216.6186 or at BDMPrograms@goci.state.md.us.

The public quilting sessions will take place four times at various locations in November. The dates, times, and locations are listed below.

November 12, 2009
10:30 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Bates Legacy Center
1101 Smithville St.
Annapolis, MD 21401

November 14, 2009
10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Banneker-Douglass Museum
84 Franklin St.
Annapolis, MD 21401

November 20, 2009
2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Meredith's Seafood and Carry Out
3227 Main Street.
Grasonville, MD 21638

November 21, 2009
Captain Salem Avery Museum
1418 East West Shady Side Rd.
Shady Side, MD 20764

13 October 2009

HIDDEN TREASURES UNCOVERED



25th Anniversary Exhibit Artifact Highlight
Artist: JOYCE SCOTT, 1948 -

Joyce J. Scott, one of the most significant artists living and working in Baltimore today, was born in Baltimore and still lives in the Baltimore neighborhood where she was raised. A sculptor, jeweler, printmaker, installation artist, performance artist, and educator, Joyce J. Scott draws from influences as wide-ranging as her media: from African and Native American experiences to comic books, television, popular American culture sources and the contemporary culture as it exists on the streets of her urban Baltimore neighborhood. For more than three decades, this multi-talented artist and provocateur has created objects of exceptional skill and beauty while offering her own distinctive commentary on social issues such as stereotyping, violence, and other forms of social injustice. Joyce Scott specializes in weaving, quilting, beadwork and glass. Scott received a B.F.A. degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art and a M.F.A. in crafts from Institute Allende in Mexico, with further study at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine. -Maryland ArtSource

09 October 2009

The Making of an Artist

From Dr. Joni Jones:

Last night, Genevieve Kaplan and I attended the 1st Annual Performing and Visual Arts Gala at the Wiley H. Bates Middle School & MD Hall Integrated Arts Campus. This evening of students and the arts marked the re-opening of the site as an arts magnet school. Their performing and visual arts magnet program with focus on three areas: dance, visual arts and music. In addition to the arts-integrated core classes, there will be artists-in-residence to work with the students.

After the opening remarks, remarks by dignitaries (who were primarily introduced by the BMS students—a job well done, I might add), and ribbon cutting, the large crowd was treated to performances, art installations, and talks throughout the integrated campus. Genevieve and I focused on the African drumming, the string ensemble, and then the works by Paint Annapolis. The Commission and the BDM will definitely work to partner with this campus, so stay tuned.

05 October 2009

Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture Annual Meeting

Interested in learning more about Maryland's African American history and culture? Want to be a part of the effort to better preserve and share that history and culture? Then come to the Maryland Commision on African American History and Culture's Annual Meeting to find out how you can get involved!

Thursday, October 15, 2009
10:00 a.m.
Wiley H. Bates Legacy Center
1101 Smithville St.
Annapolis, MD 21401
Free
Registration not required.

Field Trips

Remember when you were in school and how exciting it was when the class got to go on a field trip? One of the great things about my job is that not only do I to get to host several field trips every year, but I am also still able to go on on field trips. The only difference is that field trips are now called "professional development days." During professional development days, we visit museums in the area and learn about how and why these museums do what they do and see if we can use this information in our institution. This is pretty much like professional development days for anyone else, however given the nature of what we do, our trips are always to museums.

Last week, the entire staff of the Banneker-Douglass Museum went on a professional development day trip to two museums in Washington, DC - the Newseum and the National Museum of American History. We went to the Newseum to look at their temporary exhibit G-Men and Journalists in order to get ideas for two exhibitions we will install in 2010 on law enforcement themes. While there, we received a great tour of the museum from Patty Rhule, a Project Editor at the Newseum and one of the writers for the G-Men exhibit. She walked us through the exhibit pointing out some of the key artifacts and giving us an insider perspective on how the exhibit was put together. I would definitely encourage people to go check this exhibition out. It is on temporary display at the museum through the end of 2009.

While at the National Museum of American History, the staff saw the The Scurlock Studio and Black Washington: Picturing the Promise in the National Museum of African American History and Culture Gallery on the second floor of the museum. The tour was led by exhibition co-curators Michelle Delaney, associate curator of the Photographic History Collection at the National Museum of American History and Paul Gardullo of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. This exhibition was a collaborative effort between two museums to display images of black Washington, DC during the 20th century from the Skurlock Studio. After the tour, the BDM staff met with Deborra Richardson, David Haberstich, and Vanessa Broussard Simmons from the Archives Center at the museum and talked about the exhibition and how they process their collections. This exhibit will be on display at the National Museum of American History through 28 February 2010.
Quite a field trip, er, professional development day, if I do say so myself.