Maps: Finding Our Place in the World
Sponsor Organization: The Walters Art Museum
This spring the Walters will host engaging programs in conjunction with Maps: Finding Our Place in the World. This rare exhibition of the world’s greatest maps features over 100 exquisite original maps, globes and artifacts. ADULT PROGRAMS: To register or for more information, visit www.thewalters.org or call 410-547-9000, ext. 238 (unless otherwise noted).
Maps: Finding Our Place in the World
Through June 8
From historical expeditions and scientific discoveries to imaginary towns and different world views, maps tell us much more than how to get from where we are to where we want to be. They help us visualize the places we inhabit, see and study the unknown and understand our place in the world. This rare exhibition features over 100 of the world’s greatest maps, globes and artifacts. It is the most ambitious North American exhibition devoted to maps since an exceptional show mounted in Baltimore over 50 years ago. The exhibition will include maps created by American historical figures like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, by scientists like Leonardo da Vinci and Ptolemy, by writers like J.R.R. Tolkien and William Faukner, and by explorers like Charles Lindbergh and Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.
Mapping the Cosmos: Images from the Hubble Space Telescope
Through July 27
Since 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has enabled scientists to look deeper into the universe than ever before, producing pictures of astonishing beauty and tremendous scientific value. Through these images, researchers can discover new facts about the cosmos and track its evolutionary history over billions of years. These panoramas of time and space are “maps” of scientific data, but they are also aesthetic objects of striking power. This is the first exhibition dedicated to Hubble imagery at a major art museum, providing an excellent opportunity to contemplate these works from a different perspective.
The View from Above: What Satellites Reveal About Human Influences on the Landscape
Sunday, May 11, 2pm.
Ruth DeFries, Professor, Department of Geography, University of Maryland
Price: Members free; non-members $10
Location: Graham Auditorium
For the last few decades, satellites have provided images of the Earth from a new vantage point. This view reveals transformations on the landscape as societies alter consumption of energy, food and other resources. Several examples from tropical regions illustrate the dynamic changes underway and their implications for sustainable resource use in the future.Professor Ruth DeFries is a 2007 recipient of a MacArthur “genius” fellowship and a professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. In 2006, she was elected to the National Academy of Science.
Teaching Geography is Fundamental
Saturday, May 31, 2pm
Gilbert M. Grosvenor, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, National Geographic Society
Price: Free
Location: Graham Auditorium
Geography is the fabric around which other disciplines are woven. It examines the physical systems of the Earth and overlays how those systems impact our lives. Gilbert Grosvenor from the National Geographic Society will speak on the importance of knowing and understanding geography in today’s world. The lecture is sponsored by the Master of Liberal Arts Program at the Johns Hopkins University. Grosvenor is chairman of the National Geographic Society’s Board of Trustees, its education foundation and its wholly owned subsidiary National Geographic Ventures. He retired in 1996 as president of the society, the fifth generation of his family to serve in that position.
Lunch and Learn
Thursday, June 5, 12:15–1:15pm
Price: Free
Bring your light lunch to the Walters’ auditorium and hear a lecture by William Noel, curator of manuscripts and rare books on Maps: The World Re-encompassed.
MAPS ON PURPOSE COMMUNITY SYMPOSIUM
Saturday, May 10, 11 a.m.–3pm
Price: Free
Locations: Graham Auditorium and Sculpture Court
Maps on Purpose, featuring community-made maps from and about Baltimore, serves as the point of departure to consider issues that matter most to Baltimore residents. The symposium will focus on great ideas with citywide implications from the Maps on Purpose project. Community leaders will explore the creation of an online, community-defined Baltimore Neighborhood Treasure Map. The symposium has been organized by Art on Purpose—a community arts organization that uses art to bring people together around issues and ideas. For more information, e-mail ecoughlin@artonpurpose.org or call 410-243-4753.
ENTERTAINMENT: Fridays at the Walters
March Fridays, 5–8pm
Price: Varies (for performances only)
It’s Friday, and you want more than just another happy hour. Visit the Walters for exciting live music and special guided tours as well as beer, white wine and light refreshments available for purchase. In conjunction with the Maps exhibition, musicians will perform with global influence and local flair.
Friday, March 28
Highlight Friday Event
Price: Free
Tours will be offered for Maps: Finding Our Place in the World as well as artist-led tours for MICA’s exhibition Beyond the Compass, Beyond the Square. Enjoy performances by Nancy Romita and her dance collective as part of a Maps on Purpose Neighborhood Reception.
CHILDREN & FAMILY PROGRAMS
HOMESCHOOL WORKSHOP: Maps: Finding Our Place in the World
Thursday, May 22, 1:30–3:30 p.m.
Ages 5–12
Price: members $6; non-members $12, pre-registration required
Join us for a fascinating tour of the art of mapping. Explore works created by artists, statesmen and explorers from Leonardo da Vinci and Thomas Jefferson, to Hernán Cortés and J.R.R. Tolkien. Learn about creating and using maps while making your own cartographic masterpiece in the studio.
DROP-IN ART ACTIVITIES
Saturdays, 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
Price: Free
Museum educators will help families create artful projects related to the special exhibition. A new activity is offered each week. No registration required.
March
Sky, Stars and Space
After viewing the exhibition, Mapping the Cosmos, we will construct telescopes, make celestial star creations and design our own galaxies.
April
Spot it, Plot it, Map it!
Visit our special exhibition Maps: Finding our Place in the World and learn to sculpt three-dimensional maps and create maps of imaginary worlds.
ARTKIDS PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS
Ages 3–5 and their favorite adult
Price: Free, pre-registration required
This 90-minute, hands-on experience combines a story, a short tour and an art activity.
Members First! Tuesday, April 1, 10:30 a.m.–noon
Wednesday, April 2, Sunday, April 13 or Saturday, April 19, 10:30 a.m.–noon
There’s a Map on My Lap! by Tish Rabe
TEACHER PROGRAMS
To register, visit www.thewalters.org (unless otherwise noted).