Big money is on the line for six Baltimore-area artists ? $25,000, to be exact. The superior six beat 318 other artists all vying for the third Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize.
The finalists ? Becky Alprin, Melissa Dickenson, Dawn Gavin, Geoff Grace, Maren Hassinger and Molly Springfield ? will exhibit their works June 21 through August 2 at the Baltimore Museum of Art in conjunction with Artscape, the country?s largest public arts festival.
The Sondheim Prize, named after Walter and Janet Sondheim, commemorates the couple?s contributions to Baltimore City. Walter moved to quickly integrate schools after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision and later revitalized the city, championing Inner Harbor developments. Before becoming an educator, Janet performed with the modern dance troupe Denishawn Dancers.
The Sondheim prize is designed to help visual artists from Maryland, D.C., Northern Virginia and Southeastern Pennsylvania further their careers by pursuing options that may not otherwise be possible. While an endowment plan for the winnings is in the works, the Abell Foundation recently secured the Sondheim Prize?s immediate future, donating $125,000 for the next five Sondheim winners.
After applying three years in a row, Dawn Gavin finally earned finalist status. Previously, the Scotland native reached the semifinalist stage but fell short of winning thousands and exhibiting at the BMA.
“Rejection, to some extent, is part of the territory,” Gavin said. “They say the ratio of applying to being selected [for exhibits and awards] is 10 to 1.”
Gavin applies to as many exhibits and awards as possible “Working in the studio is one thing, but you really have to finish the work off by getting it in circulation. Even if you?re not selected for the final award, it?s a valuable opportunity for people to see your work. And quite frankly, showing at the BMA is a prize in it of itself. That opportunity even without the money is fantastic,” she said.
“The Sondheim award generates a stronger, healthier regional art community,” said Gary Kachadourian, visual art coordinator with Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, which selected the jurors. “And if you get the prize, it does help develop your work, but the benefit is beyond a cash amount. Your reputation grows locally and nationally.”
An independent panel of jurors will announce the winner July 12.
2007 SONDHEIM WINNER UPDATE
Tony Shore, an unassuming South Baltimore native, won $25,000, an exhibit at the BMA and all the fan fare that comes with the 2007 Janet & Walter Sondheim Prize for his acrylics on black velvet ? an unforgiving medium with a reputation.
Shore, raised in Morrell Park, graduated from the Baltimore School for the Arts, received a masters of Fine Arts from Yale and is on the faculty at the Maryland Institute College of Art.
With his winnings, Shore brought “quite a bit of paint,” a computer and other supplies for shows such as his “Violence and Tranquility” ? which debuted at C. Grimaldis Gallery in mid-January, he said.
The fight scenes depicted were loosely based on moments he witnessed growing up in Morrell Park, where he directs Access Art, a neighborhood youth art center. He plans to spend the remainder of the grant promoting his work in cities across the country and may build his own studio.
NOTEWORTHYSondheim Prize Finalists Exhibits will be on display at June 21 through August 2 at the Baltimore Museum of Art and July 17 through August 2 at the Maryland Institute College of Art.
Sondheim Prize Finalists will open their studios for free tours on June 28 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Learn about the Sondheim finalists and meet the winner 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. July 17 at the Baltimore Museum of Art.
