Category: Storytelling

Praise Song by Mama Linda Goss

A woman in a bright pink shirt and white necklace.A woman in a bright pink shirt and white necklace.PRAISE SONG FOR THE GARDEN AT THE PEALE
Dedicated at the Reopening of the Peale on August 13, 2022
by Mama Linda Goss

My Bells are Ringing!
My Soul is Singing!
In the Center of the Universe
In the Center of Charm City
In the Middle of Baltimore
is a place called The Peale Center.

I want to go to the Garden at The Peale.
I want to go to a Garden of Ideas.
I want to go to the Garden at The Peale.

I WANT TO GO TO A
GARDEN OF LIVING DREAMS!

I AM THE SUN.
I AM THE WIND.
I AM THE BOBCAT.
I AM THE MUSKRAT.
I AM THE RAINBOW.
I AM THE SKY.
I AM THE CHECKERSPOT BUTTERFLY!

There is so much Education.
You can use your Imagination.
There is a Path of Talking Bricks.
Let’s wonder then have a picnic.

I want to go to the Garden at The Peale.
I want to go to a Garden of Ideas.
I want to go to the Garden at The Peale.

I WANT TO GO TO A
GARDEN OF LIVING DREAMS!

I AM THE RAVEN.
I AM THE RAIN.
I AM THE ORIOLE.
I AM THE SQUIRREL.
I AM THE SUNFLOWER.
I AM THE BEAR.
I AM A SYCAMORE FROM BALTIMORE!

In the Garden
You can be your favorite flower.
You can become your favorite bird.
You can become your favorite tree.
You can be whatever you want to be!

I want to go to the Garden at The Peale.
I want to go to a Garden of Ideas.
I want to go to the Garden at The Peale.

I WANT TO GO TO A
GARDEN OF LIVING DREAMS.

I AM A TERRAPIN.
I AM A DEER.
I AM A BULLFROG.
I AM A BULLDOG.
I AM A DIAMOND.
I AM A BEE.
A GARDEN IS A JEWEL
IN THE COMMUNITY.

Garden walls tell ancient stories.
Architectural Discoveries.
Revealing Histories.
Uncovering Mysteries.

I want to go to the Garden at The Peale.
I want to go to a Garden of Ideas.
I want to go to the Garden at The Peale.

I WANT TO GO TO A
GARDEN OF LIVING DREAMS.
I AM A CHIPMUNK.
I AM A FOX.
I AM A COTTONTAIL.
I AM A SNAIL.
I AM A BLUECRAB.
I AM A BLUEJAY.
HAVE A HOLIDAY ON A STREET
CALLED HOLLIDAY.

My Bells are Ringing!
My Soul is Singing!
I am dancing in the
Garden at The Peale!

(Aside) I am a Tiger.
I am a Hawk
I am a Sea Hawk.
I am the Sea Gull.
I am the Sea.
I am me.
I am a Gopher.
I am a Greyhound.
I am an Eagle.
I am the Chesapeake Bay Retriever.
I am a Gator —
See you later
at The Peale!

Mama Linda Goss
Copyright © 2022 by Linda Goss

 

New Grant for the Peale!

Peale Awarded Grant to Help Gather Stories about Vaccination and Increase Vaccine Awareness

Two teal-colored bandaids in the shape of a heart.

Last week, a coalition of national museum and library associations announced the recipients of the second round of funding for Communities for Immunity, and the Peale was among the awardees.

Supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Communities for Immunity provides funding awards and support to museums and libraries engaging their communities to boost COVID-19 vaccine confidence. As trusted community partners, museums and libraries play a critical role in building vaccine confidence and fighting the pandemic.

“Through this unprecedented partnership, Communities for Immunity is providing nearly 100 museums, libraries, and tribal organizations across the country with over $1.6 million over two rounds of funding to help their community members make well-informed decisions about COVID-19 and vaccinations,” said Laura Lott, President and CEO of the American Alliance of Museums. “These organizations are linchpins in helping bring an end to the pandemic and leading their communities into a brighter, healthier future.”

We will be working with a host of community partners to do our part! Stay tuned!

Collaborate with us!

A man stands in front of a crowd of onlookers in a gallery space at a museum.

Calling Baltimore’s Communities!

We are all about community, and we want to host your events and showcase YOUR work! The Peale can:
  • Present your performances, talks, exhibitions, and more
  • Rent our historic galleries for your special event
  • Sell your items in our shop
  • Display your artwork
  • Collaborate. Collaborate. Collaborate.

Want to join our Community Advisory Team? RSVP for our September 20th planning meeting!

Email: Events@ThePeale.org
Call: +1 667-222-1814

> Fill out a quick survey to let us know what you’re interested in collaborating on!

Blues/Lamentations for George Perry Floyd, Oct 14, 1973-May 25, 2020

From Mama Linda’s Chapbook, 29 June 2020

O MY LORD!
Did you see what
They did to George Floyd?

O MY LORD!
Did you see what
They did to George Floyd?
They put pressure on his neck
With their knee
Poor George went on to Calvary.

O MY LORD!
Did you see what
They did to George Floyd?

PAIN & TRAUMA!!!
George called for his
Angel Mama.

PAIN & TRAUMA!!!
George called for his
Angel Mama.
She opened up her arms
“No more hurt! No more harm.”

O MY LORD!
Did you see what
They did to George Floyd?

People came together & marched.
They shouted & they torched.

People came together & marched.
They shouted & they torched.

“NO JUSTICE! NO PEACE!
STOP THE SYSTEM OF
RACIST POLICE.”

O MY LORD!
Did you see what
They did to George Floyd?

They rallying cry was hurled
All over the world.

The rallying cry was hurled
All over this world.
Thousands gathered in
Cities & towns,
And some statues
Came tumbling down.

O MY LORD!
Did you see what
They did to George Floyd?

SOMEHOW! SOMEWAY!
WE SHALL OVERCOME SOMEDAY?

SOMEHOW! SOMEWAY!
WE SHALL OVERCOME SOMEDAY?
A change has got to come
From the heart,
Or this country will fall apart.

O MY LORD!
Did you see what
They did to George Floyd?

– Mama Linda
Copyright 2020 by Linda Goss

> Find a complete interview with Mama Linda about the creation of this poem

Now listening. We’re gathering stories about this historic moment.

Two people wearing face masks and sweatshirts stop to pick up food.
East Baltimore residents pick up takeout lunches. Photo by Daisy Brown

In a nutshell, 2020 has been momentous. From the pandemic to the protests, this year has been so historic, so unprecedented that it can be difficult to make sense of everything that’s happening in real time. Have you stopped to really assess how you are feeling?

How are the people in your life or in your neighborhood coping with isolation, economic uncertainty, social unrest, etc.?

It’s our mission to listen.

The Peale remains committed to outreach, even as we work remotely, away from the museum building at 225 Holliday Street.

We want to hear from you. The Peale invites YOU to share your experience⁠—at this moment in time⁠—with us and with the rest of Baltimore. Tell us what are you doing to cope, how you’ve been affected, and what your outlook is for the future. Your story will be included in our story archive for future historians and may be included in an online or onsite exhibition. In addition, we publish most stories on the Peale’s SoundCloud Channel, Be Here Stories.

It’s easy to share a story. There are three ways you can record your thoughts. Choose the one that’s easiest for you:

*Please note that you DO NOT have to be professional storyteller, public speaker, or historian to participate. We welcome everyone’s stories, and we want to help make sure the whole story of Baltimore is told. Check out a sample story from a previous project.

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?

Mama Linda Goss
Copyright © 2020 by Linda Goss

 

Holiday Shopping Made Easy! Out of the Blocks Cards

You don’t need a radio show or podcast to have meaningful conversations. Get to know strangers, neighbors, and even friends and family better with your very own deck of questions asked by Aaron Henkin for Out of the Blocks on WYPR. This standard deck of playing cards is an interview toolkit, tried and tested in hundreds of interviews across Baltimore and beyond. Available online here or at the Peale Center for US$10.00 each + shipping!

Learn more about Interviewing Neighbors and Strangers in this video with Aaron Henkin and find more resources for storytellers here.

If you missed the Peale’s 2018 Storytelling Showcase and Fundraiser…

You can still watch the incredible stories told live on November 28th on our Facebook page (Set 1 & Set 2), and make your contribution to our Fall 2018 Capital Campaign initiative today!

The historic “Picture Gallery” at the Peale.

ONLY $1,111 TO GO

to our $50,000 goal, thanks to the generosity of our participants and supporters. With your help, we will be able to add a secondary exit and staircase to the Peale’s Picture Gallery: the room that makes the building architecturally unique and serves as our main events space, hosting ground-breaking theater, dance, music, film, talks, storytelling, and exhibitions.

Thank you for your support!

“Pealed Every Which Way” Projects

On view earlier this spring, the Pealed Every Which Way exhibition was created by by Goucher College students and featured site-specific individual works, sounds, performances and stories that responded to the Peale Museum building and history.

Not only did students have an opportunity to create installations, they also produced digital publications and stories. Check them out!

An illustration showing the interior of what the Peale Museum may have looked like in the 19th century, juxtaposed with a drawing of Charles Willson Peale, lifting a curtain to reveal his museum.
An illustration from “Flip Me,” a Goucher College student project.

Scary Story
By Tia Resham Cheema, Katie Chen, Marissa Grant, Dina Diani
An interactive website and digital ghost story!

Camera Obscura
By Will Kirby
A comprehensive photobook showing Camera Obscura techniques as employed at the Peale

Flip Me
By Alexis Liszewski
A beautifully drawn custom flip book, featuring the Peale and its patrons

Peale Center Project
By Maddy Romberger
A combination of drawings and photographs, covering the Peale’s long history and impressive architecture

(Peale)ing Pictures
By Camryn Agostino
Coming Soon!

Story of the Floor
By Melina Albornoz
Coming Soon!

Perspectives
By Vela Culbert
Coming Soon!

BootPrints: Immersive Performance 30 June 6pm

An African American woman in a purple shirt sits in a chair in a dark room, speaking to the audience.Join us at the Peale on Saturday, June 30 at 6pm for the final live performance of BootPrints, including a staged reading with chorus and the immersive exhibition, followed by a conversation between the playwright, Latonia Valincia-Moss and Angela Carroll of BmoreArt Magazine. A vegan tasting is included in the ticket price, and drinks can be purchased additionally during the event.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.