The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts is excited to announce the 11th annual Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize. Applications are now being accepted for the prestigious competition which awards a$25,000 fellowship to a visual artist or visual artist collaborators living and working in the Baltimore region. The deadline for submission is Monday, January 4, 2016. The application is available at www.artscape.org/applications. An exhibition of the finalists’ work will be featured in the Thalheimer Galleries of The Baltimore Museum of Art. An award ceremony and reception takes place Saturday, July 9, 2016 at 7pm at The Baltimore Museum of Art, located at 10 Art Museum Drive. The prize is held in conjunction with the 35th annual Artscape, America’s largest free arts festival.
Approximately six finalists are selected for the final review for the prize. Their work is showcased in the Thalheimer Galleries at The Baltimore Museum of Art from Wednesday, June 22 through Sunday, July 31, 2016. Additionally, an exhibition of the semifinalists’ work is shown in the Decker and Meyerhoff galleries of MICA on Friday, July 15 through Sunday, July 31, 2016. An opening reception for the semifinalist exhibition takes place July 14, 2016 from 6pm to 9pm at MICA, located at 1303 W. Mount Royal Avenue.
The fellowship winner is selected from the Baltimore Museum of Art exhibition after review of the installed art and an interview with each finalist by the jurors. Jurors will be announced prior to the application deadline. Artist collaborators, if chosen as the winner or finalist, receive a single $25,000 prize that is equally divided among the members of the group.
Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize Timeline
Application deadline: Monday, January 4, 2016
Announcement of semifinalists: mid-February, 2016
Announcement of finalists: mid-March, 2016
Finalists Exhibition at Baltimore Museum of Art: Wednesday, June 22-Sunday, July 31, 2016
Award announcement: Saturday, July 9, 2016, 7pm (Doors open at 6pm)
Semifinalist Exhibition at MICA: Friday, July 15-Sunday, July 31, 2016
Semifinalist Exhibition opening reception: Thursday, July 14, 2016, 6-9pm
Artscape: Friday, July 15- Sunday, July 17, 2016
Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize
The Artscape prize is named in honor of Janet and Walter Sondheim who have been instrumental in creating the Baltimore City that exists today. Walter Sondheim, Jr. had been one of Baltimore’s most important civic leaders for over 50 years. His accomplishments included oversight of the desegregation of the Baltimore City Public Schools in 1954 when he was president of the Board of School Commissioners of Baltimore City. Later, he was deeply involved in the development of Charles Center and the Inner Harbor. He continued to be active in civic and educational activities in the city and state and served as the senior advisor to the Greater Baltimore Committee until his death in February 2007.
Janet Sondheim danced with the pioneering Denishawn Dancers, a legendary dance troupe founded by Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. Later, she turned to teaching where she spent 15 years at the Children’s Guild working with severely emotionally disturbed children. After retirement, she was a volunteer tutor at Highlandtown Elementary School. She married Walter in 1934, and they were together until her death in 1992.
Artscape
America’s largest free arts festival, attracting more than 350,000 attendees, offers concerts on multiple outdoor stages, art exhibitions, an artists’ market, a full schedule of dance, theater and opera, jazz, classical, folk and experimental music, children’s activities, exhibitors, and an extensive variety of local food and beverage vendors on Mount Royal Avenue and North Charles Street.
The 2016 Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize is made possible through the generous support of the the Abell Foundation, Alex. Brown & Sons Charitable Foundation, Charlesmead Foundation, Ellen Sondheim Dankert, France-Merrick Foundation, Hecht-Levi Foundation, Legg Mason, M&T Charitable Foundation, Amy & Chuck Newhall, Henry & Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation, M. Sigmund & Barbara Shapiro Philanthropic Fund, John Sondheim and The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company.