Artists – The Peale

2022 Grit Fund Recipients Announced!

Congratulations to all the Grit Fund Grant Recipients!

Baltimore Indians, $10,000- Ashley Minner, Tiffany Chavis, Stanton Lewis, Katie Lively, Dare Turner and Sean Scheidt
Invisible Folx, $8,000- Ephraim Nehemiah, Kairo Miles, Kenneth Something, and Jabari Lyles
Puppets, Masks, and Crankies: Shifting the Story, $7,000- Sheila Gaskins, Tara Cariaso, and Maura Dwyer
PalatePALETTE, $7,000- Krystal C. Mack, Matt Freire, Sharea Harris, Émile Joseph Weeks, and Erin Nutsugah
Community Weaving Studio, $7,000- Ọmọlará Williams McCallister and Najee Haynes Follins
Funktopia Nation, $6,000- Petula Caesar, Jonathan Gilmore, Stevanie Williams, Jermeka Warren, Ben Pierce, Myles Gilmore, Phil Thomas, Mary Ellen Mink, Stephanie Edwards aka “Safiyatou.” Tamika Peters, and Chris Ashworth
What The Water Gave Me/Things My Mother Taught Me, $5,000- Alexis Araminta Renee, Kirby Griffin, Nia Hampton, and Alexis Renee
Latin(X)equis | Baltimore, $5,000- Hoesy Corona and Stephanie Mercedes
TERRA: LAND + BODY COLLECTIVE, $5,000- Jonna McKone, Se Jong Cho, and Elena DeBold
HellBond: Dancing with the Spirits, $5,000- Jia Le Ling and Michael Young

Stay tuned for in depth descriptions of the projects and how you can engage with all that they have to offer over the next year.

New! Your Face, Your Place in History

Do you have a heart for Baltimore? Offer your face too!

Baltimore artist and participatory-history specialist Lauren Muney is hand-creating and installing custom silhouette (profile portraits) friezes of Baltimore City, Maryland, residents’ silhouettes for long-term, free public installation at the Peale. These faces will encircle several rooms of the historical Peale walls, giving visitors, residents and guests the opportunity to feel the Baltimore ‘family’ all around them.

All of the faces will be profiles, all in the same color—classic black. The portraits showcase the beauty and dignity of each individual. Each face will be equally represented and equally valued because they are seen for their essence—not their skin color nor social class, nor any weight of society’s judgements.

All #PealeFaces participants receive their own gorgeous, historical-style handmade portrait.

> Sign up to be part of this historic project!

We are especially looking for change-makers and community-enhancers. Forward this to your friends who are making Baltimore a better place!

Read about the project and sign up at the bottom of the webpage: https://old.thepealecenter.org/peale-faces/

Follow #PealeFaces in social media

Accessible Version of Kim Rice: Inheritance Catalogue Available for Download

Hot Off the Digital Press!

Download the fully accessible Inheritance catalogue, exploring Kim Rice’s provocative 2021 exhibition at the Peale. A print version is coming soon too!

Curator’s Foreward:

Inheritance by Kim Rice was scheduled prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and the heinous murders of yet more Black people, some by police, including Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor. In this pivotal historical moment, facing racial divides and the continuous discrimination against black and brown people in America, it is critical to amplify voices around the discussion of equal justice and de-investing in the police in order to invest in real social change in marginalized communities. For years we have seen examples of activism through artwork, but rarely from white artists specifically informed by their privilege as white people. In this exhibit, Rice does not try to tell a story unrelated to her personal experience; instead, she confronts racism by examining the roots of the many opportunities awarded to her.

In her research, Rice discovered documents including the will of her ancestor, William Venable, which identified hundreds of enslaved humans as property. In “Family Values 2,” the Last Will and Testament of William Venable cast a shadow on the wall, as racism and slavery have cast a shadow across generations of United States Americans. Rice’s skin represents a legacy of generational wealth built upon the disenfranchisement of others, as does all “white” skin. From “Naturalization Act of 1790” to works about redlining in the 20th century, Rice lays bare the systems that have been designed to keep white privilege strong.

See Individual Works | Take a Virtual Tour

Emergency Grant Funds to be Distributed!

The words, Grit Fund, in white type on a hot pink background.

The deadline for applications is October 12, 2021, at midnight EDT.

The Peale is thrilled to announce that it will release Emergency Recovery Grants (ERG) for Baltimore City and Baltimore County-based artists, through Grit Fund. With the support of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and as a part of the Regional Regranting Program, Grit Fund-ERG will provide $500 mini-grants to Baltimore City and Baltimore County-based artists whose income and opportunities have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. The ERG Fund totals $60,000 and will provide 120 grants to artists.

Since 2015, Baltimore’s artists have found support for their projects through Grit Fund. Ranging from out-of-school time programs that connect our youth to STEAM opportunities, and art-meets-journalism projects that communicate hidden stories of Black Baltimore, to community festivals that recapture and remind us of the strength of our city’s diversity, Grit Fund has been a dynamic, accessible, and much needed funding source in Baltimore City. Ever responsive to the community it serves, Grit Fund pivoted in 2020 to offering need-based support to artists.

Emergency Recover Grants will be available starting September 14, 2021. We anticipate a large number of applications will be submitted. Grit Fund-ERG will close when all funds are exhausted.

The deadline for applications is October 12, 2021, at midnight EDT.

Key Facts and Dates

Grit Fund will disperse $60,000 in emergency funding
Applications are open September 14 – October 12, 2021
Application deadline is October 12, 2021, at midnight EDT
Applications will be reviewed as a batch
These unrestricted $500 mini – grants may be used for Baltimore City and Baltimore County based artists’ immediate needs such as housing, utilities, food, childcare, healthcare, etc.

About the Andy Warhol Foundation

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Regional Regranting Program aims to support vibrant, under-the-radar artistic activity by partnering with leading cultural institutions in communities across the country. The program allows the Foundation to support informal, non-incorporated artist collectives and to support their alternative gathering spaces, publications, websites, events and other projects. For more information about the Andy Warhol Foundation visit its website.

About the Peale

The Peale is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, non-profit corporation established to restore the historic Peale Museum building as a center to celebrate the unique history of Baltimore, its people, and places. By creating a more inclusive cultural record of the city, the Peale aims to help people everywhere see Baltimore in a new light. For more about the Peale, visit its website.

Thomas Jefferson to Rembrandt Peale

On the left, a portrait of American artist Rembrandt Peale who wears small spectacles, and on the right, a facsimile of an original ticket to the museum in 1815.

Rembrandt Peale to Thomas Jefferson
Philadelphia, July 13, 1813

Dear Sir

In a Box of Books which general Armstrong presented to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine-Arts there were packed up several articles belonging to himself which he requested me to take charge of, It was a long time after I had them before I remarked a small package for you, containing 3 Stones which you were desirous of possessing, accompanied with a letter from the gentleman who purchased them for you. The small piece which he mentions having cemented, I found again loose—but no other damage. Dr marks & afterwards a near neighbour of yours promised to take charge of them but they failed giving me notice of their departure, and I now remit them by Mr Correa for whom they have been long waiting.

Having purchased the museum in Baltimore, I mean to form a handsome establishment in that City, the general plan of which will differ from my fathers museum, it being my intention to render it more properly a museum of Arts & Sciences, and, without neglecting any branch of Natural History to bestow my chief attention to the formation of a Picture Gallery & Depository of the course and products of Manufactures.

I still hope some fortunate leisure will enable me to pay a Visit to Monticello. In the meanwhile believe me Sir

Your friend.
respectfully,

Rembrandt Peale

Thomas Jefferson to Rembrandt Peale
Monticello, VA, August 11, 1813

Dear Sir

I duly recieved by mr Correa your favor of July 13 and with it the peices of agate & Madrepore sent me thro’ Genl Armstrong & to your care. the transaction stated in the letter accompanying them had so entirely escaped my memory, that the name being subscribed in illegible characters, I am not able to ascertain from whom it comes. I am not however the less obliged to one who recollects to do a kind office when I had forgotten the having requested it. I sincerely wish you success in the establishment of your museum. these things kindle a thirst for knolege, and often draw to useful objects those who would otherwise employ themselves frivolously. should any circumstance ever lead you within striking distance of Monticello I should be very happy to recieve you. Accept the assurance of my great esteem & respect.

Th: Jefferson

A Tribute to George Floyd

Today, and every day, we honor George Floyd. A loved one whose life was so much bigger than the oppression that killed him. We send our condolences to his family as they continue to grieve his unjust murder.

Here are some tributes from the Peale team and friends:

Mama Linda’s Chapbook: Blues Lamentation for George Perry Floyd, A Poem and Interview
Recorded in the immediate wake of George Floyd’s killing, Mama Linda performs a song she wrote about Floyd and the “rallying cry that was hurled all over this world.” In a companion interview with Baltimore fillmmaker Myles Banks, Mama Linda also reflects on her own history and the hardships of life in 2020.

Artist Loring Cornish sits out the window of Fells Point studio. Photo by Daisy Brown. — Photo by Daisy Brown, 2020.

“Stoop Shoots” by Daisy Brown, Episode 2 with Loring Cornish
The Peale’s storytelling ambassador Daisy Brown talks about her friend Loring Cornish, a Baltimore artist who spoke out about the injustice of George Floyd’s murder last May by displaying a series of poignant paintings outside his studio.

Going up! The Peale’s elevator reaches new heights

The Peale’s new elevator shaft reach the third floor last week! It will have an accessible, single occupancy restroom next to it when complete, one of five such restrooms that will be available to visitors in the fully renovated Peale.

You might recognize this room as Submersive Productions’ lab at the Peale in 2019. In Rembrandt Peale’s day, it served as a painting studio, and still has the extra tall doorway that allowed for massive canvases, like his The Court of Death (1820, Detroit Institute of Arts), to be moved into and out of the studio.

Introducing Mama Linda’s Chapbook

Mama Linda holds up a vintage photo. — Photo by Glenn Ricci, 2018.

“Ring A ling Ling! My bells are ringing.

“Well O Well Well,” My Heart is singing.

Welcome To Mama Linda’s Chapbook. Twice a month, I will share a poem with you. May & June have been emotional, frightening, and heart-wrenching months for me. The Coronavirus is infecting people and claiming human lives from all walks of life. Human beings from all over the world are walking in protest exercising their right to proclaim that “BLACK LIVES MATTER.” People are speaking out from behind their masks. They have taken to the streets. George Floyd was killed on May 25th, Memorial Day. June 17th was the 5th anniversary of the massacre of 9 Black people at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC. Six Black men have been founding hanging from trees in different locations in 4 States.

Juneteenth on June 19th represents the day Black people in Texas were told about the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865. Since then, 49 States including DC have declared Juneteenth a State Celebration. Every year the third Sunday in June is designated as FATHER’S DAY. I didn’t buy a Father’s Day for my husband, Clay or our son, Jamaal. Instead, I wrote this poem for them and all Black Men of America.

ASANTE SANA! Thank you.

Peace & Blessings, Mama Linda

Black Men of America
A Father’s Day Card

Oh Black Men of America!
I pray every day that the Creator continues to show you the way.
Show you the light as you continue to fight for equal rights.
Your Ancestral Mothers and Fathers were Stolen
Forced to work and toil
On stolen land
That was not your native soil.
You have fought in wars for the USA.
The American Revolutionary War—you were there.
The War of 1812—you were there
The Civil War—you were there.
The Spanish American War—you were there
World War I—you were there.
World War II—you were there.
The Korean War—you were there.
The Vietnam War—you were there.
The Persian Gulf War—you were there.
The War in Iraq—you were there.
The War in Afghanistan—you are still there, yet
You are whipped, bruised, beaten, burned, raped, lynched, shot, stabbed and wrongly incarcerated—bodies spreading across the American landscape EVERYWHERE!
Where are the statues that represent your bravery?
Where are the statues that represent your endurance?
Where are the statues that represent your protest?
You have tried to do your best, yet
Police brutality is a reality.
Many of you are police officers, many of you are fire fighters.
You have proven over, and over again your allegiance to the USA
And yet you cannot have a say.
You cannot kneel quietly and protest, yet
A white police officer can kneel on your neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
I have lost the rhyme to this poem.
I cannot unsee what I have seen.
I cannot protect the children from what they are seeing and hearing.
When my father died They placed the American flag in Momma’s lap at his gravesite
Yet over and over again this country takes away the right for Black men to give their insight.
The USA needs Black men to defend this country, but what about the fight against bigotry.
It doesn’t matter whether or not some Black men are scholars and have PhDs.
It doesn’t matter if they become the President of the USA.
They are still maligned and scorned.
They are still denied the right to be reborn.
Oh Black Men of America!
When will you feel that life, liberty and happiness apply to you?
When will you truly be a part of the red, the white and the blue?

The Peale is a home for Baltimore stories and aims to be a safe space for the voices of the city’s diverse communities to be heard. As the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “a riot is the voices of the unheard.” It is the Peale’s mission to listen to and amplify the voices of the unheard, so that Baltimore’s soundtrack is inclusive and represents the city’s full diversity.

In this time of pandemic we are temporarily unable to serve as a physical platform for sharing Baltimore’s stories, but we continue to help the city’s storytellers be heard online and across the digital divide as well. Today – and every day – if you have an authentic Baltimore story to tell, we are here to help you share it. You can record your story and hear others’ via our iPhone app, website and Storytelling Hotline: 1-833-TEL-STRY (833-835-7879).

Our staff photographer and storytelling ambassador, Daisy Brown, is recording the voices and portraits of people she encounters around Baltimore during the pandemic; if you see her out and about in your community, she’d love to hear from you. You can also share your story, and we’d love to hear your thoughts on how we can help amplify Baltimore’s voices right now.

Category: Artists

2022 Grit Fund Recipients Announced!

Congratulations to all the Grit Fund Grant Recipients!

New! Your Face, Your Place in History