Festival Overview
The Walters Art Museum exhibition Maps: Finding Our Place in the World is the impetus and the centerpiece of a citywide celebration of all-things mapping during the run of the exhibition, March 16 through June 8, 2008. 34 area arts and cultural organizations will present activities exploring the rich history and contemporary interpretations of maps and the mapping process – while offering Baltimore residents and visitors a wonderful invitation to discover city neighborhoods and their exciting institutions.
Organized by the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, the Baltimore Festival of Maps will feature a plethora of engaging public programs and educational experiences through an array of important exhibitions, interactive workshops and seminars, and engaging special events. Festival programs will range from one-day workshops and demonstrations to ongoing processes for the duration of the festival; some will challenge our assumptions and deconstruct the purpose of mapping through community-based programs, while others will explore our unique cultural heritage, including Baltimore jazz, historic neighborhoods, and tradition of painted screens. Among the many museums offering map-related exhibitions during the Baltimore Festival of Maps, The Contemporary Museum has invited international artists Kianga Ford and Arnold Schalks to reinvent the concept of maps with an interactive project tracking the minutiae of everyday life. Visitors to the Maryland Science Center’s exhibition Gunther von Hagens’ BODY WORLDS 2: The Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies, can see a map of the human body with more than 250 real human specimens. The Historical Electronics Museum will present a series of maps derived from radar, and the Maryland Historical Society will display a rare 1768 map of “the boundary between the provinces of Maryland and Pennsylvania” – now known as the Mason Dixon line.
Some of Baltimore’s educational and cultural organizations are using the Baltimore Festival of Maps as the catalyst for interactive activities, performances, and the creation of original maps. The Baltimore Jazz Alliance will enhance it’s Where’s The Jazz? map series and will host a free concert combining “old” and “new” jazz talents. Students from the Maryland Institute College of Art will create an installation in the Mount Vernon Parks designed to offer new perspectives on nature, history and connections to familiar places. The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of African American History will host a series of events in the spring, including live jazz music by Friete, mapping the Underground Railroad with author William J. Switala, and historical discussions.
The Baltimore Festival of Maps will be celebrated throughout the entire city – from driving tours to observe painted screens to walking tours of Historic Jonestown and to visit the homes of Mount Vernon luminaries. Other institutions hosting programs include the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Port Discovery, and the Park & People Foundation.
The complete schedule of Baltimore Festival of Maps events is available at www.BaltimoreFestivalOfMaps.com.