Light City Baltimore Ideas Session- Art
Location: Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Falvey Hall
Date: April 11, 2015
Organized by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA)
Presentation and Moderation–
Bill Gilmore, Executive Director, BOPA
Randi Vega, Director of Cultural Affairs, BOPA
Kathy Hornig, Festivals Director, BOPA
Brooke Hall, What Weekly Studios
Jamie McDonald, Co-Chair, Light City Baltimore Steering Committee
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Jamie McDonald opened the info session with a presentation about Light City Baltimore, its vision, potential areas of impact, and long-term goals. Baltimore has a rich history of innovation tied to light: In 1816, Baltimore was the first American city to illuminate its streets with gas lanterns, thus transforming the city with light and revolutionizing the urban landscape forever. It’s with this spirit of innovation and transformation that 200 years later, Light City will paint Baltimore with light and bring together the brightest thinkers.
Throughout the course of the discussion, several comments were made that are not included as questions below. We received excellent feedback from different members of the community, mostly relating to topics of inclusivity and diversity. History organizations, such as the Peale Museum and the Jewish Museum, expressed a particular interest in including Baltimore’s local history as a key focal point within the festival. Other comments focused around diversity, and expressed concern about the segregation of people of color from participation in the arts. There were excellent points raised about where the physical location of events before and during the festival could occur to be more inclusive of different neighborhoods within the city, as well as different homegrown creative expressions that take shape and are visible in different neighborhoods.
Click through to read full notes from this Light City Baltimore Idea Session.
