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Executive Director's Letter - 10/31/23

Happy Halloween!

If you’re not celebrating tonight (or even if you are), get ready for a post-Halloween party at the Waterfront Partnership’s final Baltimore by Baltimore event of 2023, the Baker Artists Extravaganza, this Saturday in the Inner Harbor. This event is brought to you in collaboration with the Waterfront Partnership and the Baker Artists Portfolio, a program of the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance (GBCA). The show and event, curated by the amazing Wendel Patrick, will feature a total of nearly 20 artists from the Baker Artist Portfolios. In case you didn’t know, Wendel Patrick is a Baltimore based professor, composer, producer, beatmaker, pianist, sonic architect, photographer, and videographer. Known for his trailblazing fusion of jazz, hip-hop, and electronic music, he has established himself as a boundary-pushing artist. A winner of the prestigious Baker Artist Awards’ Mary Sawyers Baker grand prize in 2015, Wendel currently serves on GBCA’s Board.

This is also a great way to kick off the 2024 Baker Artist Portfolios “season.” Artists living and working in Baltimore City and its five surrounding counties are invited to create or update their portfolios to be eligible for a 2024 award. Want to know more about the Baker website and its associated awards and events? GBCA is hosting a series of information sessions through January. The first will be held on November 7 at Maryland Hall in Anne Arundel County. The second is a virtual session at noon on November 14. For more information on these and the entire series of informational sessions, visit www.bakerartist.org/sessions. The deadline for the 2024 award program is January 26, 2024.

I was recently invited to join the Host Committee for the annual American Alliance of Museums’ (AAM) conference, which will be held in Baltimore in May of 2024. Museums play an essential role in promoting health and well-being. For the millions of people who visit museums, whether to learn or seek solace and inspiration, our institutions uniquely facilitate social connections, physical and emotional health, and empathy. You can join thousands of museum professionals to dive into the individual, organizational, community, and societal well-being strategies and outcomes that can lead to thriving museums and healthy communities. And if you have time on short notice, on November 1 and 2, AAM is presenting the virtual Future of Museums Summit, which includes some mind blowing speakers and topics.

Become a Member

As a member of GBCA, you will not only gain access to wonderful benefits, but you will also become an active participant in a broader cultural community. Your organization and employees will directly benefit from opportunities to collaborate, connect, learn, network and share with your colleagues in the cultural community. Join our growing constituency of over 300 individual artists and organizations representing the region's extraordinary range of arts, culture, history, heritage, humanities, and attractions.

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