The Public Art Grant for Baltimore City Schools awards up to $5,000 for 2-4 Baltimore City Public Schools who implement an outcome based art project that will have a long- term educational impact on their students and the surrounding community.
The Arts Every Day Public Art Grant for Baltimore City Public Schools is the only grant exclusively for Baltimore City Public Schools with the intention of supporting large scale, permanently installed projects that connect individual schools to local artists or organizations and their surrounding community. These projects serve as a source of pride and foster an appreciation for the arts and its influence on communities.
Since the start of the program in 2014, this initiative has grown to a competitive funding opportunity open to all Baltimore City Public Schools. To date, AED has awarded over $97K for 21 projects. Thanks to the generous support of the M&T Bank Charitable Foundation, the Creative Baltimore Fund, and the Maryland State Arts Council, the Public Art Grant for Baltimore City Schools supported three more inspiring projects for the year 2023.
It helps students:
• Connect to the larger world, improving community cohesion;
• Learn more and score higher on standardized tests;
• Experience more community and family involvement globally.
Public Art Grant for Baltimore City Public Schools Awardees for School Year 2023
Francis Scott Key Elementary Middle School: Bringing Action, Joy & Color to the Outdoors
Awarded $5,000
An exterior wall mural project as a part of a larger revitalization of the outdoor space at Francis Scott Key Elementary Middle School in collaboration with mural artist SolRaya Public Space. The project will be helmed by a student working group composed of interested middle school students who will collaborate with the artist and students from other grades to engage in designing, planning, and creating the mural. According to the school, “the mural, along with additional seating, shade, and play structures, will help transform the area to a much more active, positive environment that encourages movement and social interaction.”
Roland Park Elementary Middle School: Building an Equitable Foundation
Awarded $5,000
An exterior wall mural project at Roland Park Elementary Middle School in collaboration with artist LaToya Peoples that will engage students, staff, and the broader community in creating a space where all students are loved and protected. The mural will function as a piece of a larger school-wide arts integrated project where students are given space and support to write about their experiences with race and equity within the school community. These writing and literacy connections will serve as inspirations to the design process of the mural. The mural unveiling will include a community event showcasing student performances of poetry and more.
Elmer A. Henderson: A Johns Hopkins Partnership School: A Walkway Through Our History
Awarded $5,000
An exterior ground plane mural project at Elmer A. Henderson: A Johns Hopkins Partnership School in collaboration with artist Jordan Lawson that will serve to bring a sense of community and fun to the school. Located on the front entrance walkway leading to the school’s main entrance, this mural will welcome students and community members into the school and broader neighborhood. Working in collaboration with the artist, students will engage in the design process to create a mural that tells and celebrates the varied and shared stories of the community.
1. Western High School: The Dove Project
Awarded $3,000
The students will create mosaic doves that will fly across the facade of Western High school. Two art classes of students will be taught how to conduct workshops in creating the mosaic doves by the artist partner, Toby Rivkin, so they can then conduct workshops with teachers, parents, alumnae and students.
3. Reginald F. Lewis High School: Baltimore Album Peace Quilt
Awarded $5,000
Students from Reginald F. Lewis High School English and Visual Arts classes will collaborate with community partners including: Reginald, F. Lewis PTO and alumni families, Hannah Brancato of FORCE, The Y of Central Maryland, North Barclay Green development, and Towson University art education department to create a quilt in response to the loss of two students within the span of just a couple of months. The memory of these students will be captured in the quilt as students, families and community members work together to create quilting squares that will not only serve as a moment for everyone involved to connect and heal, but also a chance for student to express how violence has affected their lives. Upon completion, the quilt will be displayed at the North Barclay Green Community Center prior to being permanently installed on the walls of the high school.
5. Dorothy I. Height Elementary: The HEIGHT of Achievement
Awarded $3,000
The HEIGHT of Achievement is a mural and family paint project honoring Dr. Height, the school’s namesake, in collaboration with Creative Nomads, whose mission is to “enhance the professional development of arts entrepreneurs and to provide access to art, music, and cultural education and programming for youth and families.” Together, Delta Sigma Theta (the sorority Dr. Height belonged to), 5th grade students, families and teachers will work on a mural that will emphasize the excellence of character, achieving goals, and leaving a legacy. As 5th graders transition to middle school, they will have the opportunity to leave something behind that will live in the halls of the school and remind them that, as they move through life, they will always have the opportunity to leave behind a legacy.
2. Mergenthaler Vocational Technical High School: Inclusion Mosaic
Awarded $5,000
Sue Stockman in collaboration with the students of MERVO will create a small welcoming space where the extended community can sit and contemplate, finding their inner calm as they observe and meditate on color and form of the sculptural mosaic designs.
4. Excel Academy: Black Magic Art Show 2.0
Awarded $5,000
Black Magic Art Show 2.0, presented by Luvs Art Project & Excel Academy is a collaborative art project that includes art students of Excel Academy at Francis M. Wood High School, art instructor Anthony McKissic, and Troy Staton, President of Luvs Art Project, housed at New Beginnings Unisex Barbershop. The show opens a new dialogue into the realm of music and social media platforms, pushing their expressive energies with oral traditions and paintings. By collaborating with Luvs Art Project, students under the direction of their art instructor, Anthony McKissic, will discuss social themes around the academic work of Dr. Lawrence Brown’s “White L” and “Black Butterfly.” Students have the opportunity to curate and show their work in an exhibit that will introduce leadership and team building skills, foster a connection to their communities, as well as establishing them as exhibiting artists.
6. Creative City Public Charter: Be Creative: A Place-Based Community Mural
Awarded $3,000
The school community will participate in a collaborative process to design a building mural that reflects their core philosophy of Place-Based Education – the idea that students learn best when learning is authentically tied to real-life experiences and the places with which students are most familiar. Students in grades K-5, their families, their teachers, and nearby Park Heights neighbors will participate in 3 design workshops to bring the ideas of Place-Based Education to life on an exterior mural.