Photo by Theresa Keil
Anthony Terranova, Andy Rubin and Eduardo Rodriguez
The 2011 Baker Artist Awards launch party brought out over 250 artists and some of the most charming men in Baltimore last Wednesday night including artist Anthony Terranova, Cyclops Bookstore owner Andy Rubin and Gallery 788 owner Eduardo Rodriguez.
Since 2009 the William Baker Jr. Memorial Fund has granted much needed support to Baltimore artists by first giving them a forum for which to promote their work and second by bestowing large sums of money to select artists each year. Bohemian or not, I’ve yet to run across an artist who couldn’t put large sums of money to use.
Photo by Theresa Keil, story by Justin Allen.
Photo by Theresa Keil
Aldo Pantoja, Melissa Talleda, Christy Barnes, Sarah Weissman and Erin Hartz
What many of us have known for some time, without the aid of research, is that a rich and vibrant culture makes for a more satisfying lifestyle. The assertion that the arts play a major role in the Quality of Life Index of a community should be a no-brainer but is still not factored into many surveys.
Photo by Theresa Keil, story by Justin Allen.
Photo by Theresa Keil
Winner of the 2010 Baltimore’s Choice award and the Nancy Haragan award, beatboxer/vocal percussionist Shodekeh is an excellent example of how an artist can fuse cultures that would otherwise remain separate. Shodekeh’s exploration of human vocal expression embodies the ongoing evolution of an art form. He is without a doubt one of the most versatile and accomplished musicians in the city and is sure to be in the running for this year’s Mary Sawyers Baker Prize.
Photo by Theresa Keil, story by Justin Allen.
Photo by Theresa Keil
Mary Sawyers Baker Prize award winner for 2009, Carl Grubbs, shared the stage with Shodekeh in what was an amazing set of individual and collaborative improvisation. Grubbs’ creative lineage can be traced back to John Coltrane, who mentored him, and his accomplishments read like a resume for someone applying for the super-human jazz ninja position down at the Office of Artistic Magnificence. The Baker Prize was but one of many prestigious awards Grubbs has collected over the years.
Photo by Theresa Keil, story by Justin Allen.
Photo by Theresa Keil
Monica Mirabile accepted one of six one thousand dollar b-grants from, Connie Imboden, on behalf of the Copycat Theatre. This year Baker will award eighteen b-grants total in an effort to inspire artists to profile their work on their website and recognize “the quality and depth of the region’s art scene.”
Photo by Theresa Keil, story by Justin Allen.
Photo by Theresa Keil
Dancer, choreographer and director Naoko Maeshiba also received one of the b-grants in recognition for her contribution to performing arts. Her most recent work, Paraffin, received rave reviews in the Washington Post, Baltimore Theatre Journal and Baltimore City Paper.
Photo by Theresa Keil, story by Justin Allen.
Photo by Theresa Keil
Jack Livingston of The Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance and Radar Redux, writer Joseph Young and Jed Dodds of the Creative Alliance.
Photo by Theresa Keil, story by Justin Allen.
Photo by Theresa Keil
Photographer Connie Imboden and b-grant winner, writer Fernando Quijano III.
Photo by Theresa Keil, story by Justin Allen.
Photo by Theresa Keil
Anne Cantler Fullwiler, Director of the Theatre Project, Melissa McC. Warlow, Executive Director of the William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, and J. Buck Jabaily, Executive Director of the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance.
Photo by Theresa Keil, story by Justin Allen.
Photo by Theresa Keil
MICA students Kyle England and Virginia Rohr.
Photo by Theresa Keil, story by Justin Allen.
Photo by Theresa Keil
Alexander d’Agostino, Skeleton Beuy and a rat with no name.
Photo by Theresa Keil, story by Justin Allen.
