ART EVERYWHERE in BALTIMORE
GBCA released a Web site and pamphlet to highlight the economic impact of the local Arts e and to celebrate emerging artists and organizations. Help promote the local arts, contact GBCA to receive (Free!) pamphlets for your organization. We have plenty!

2010 BAKER ARTIST AWARDS WINNERS

The 2010 Baker Artist Awards were announced on Maryland Public Television on Wednesday March 3, 2010. Encompassing some of the regions best artistic talent, three $25,000 Mary Sawyers Baker prizes were awarded, along with five $1,000 Baltimore's Choice awards.

Selected by private jury, the three Mary Sawyers Baker prizes were awarded to film-maker Karen Yasinsky, classical musician Peter Minkler, and sculptor Richard Cleaver.

The five Baltimore's Choice winners were those artists receiving the most votes through the Baker Artist Awards website. The winners of the Baltimore's Choice prize are dancer and poet Amanda Theresa Fair, painter Kelly Walker, avant beat-box musician Shodekeh, computer manipulated photo illustrator Steven Parke, and graphic designer Kaveh Haerian.

To view artist nominations and to watch the awards show visit the Baker Artist Awards site at: http://www.bakerartistawards.org/

To see behind the scenes photos of the winners taken at the MPT awards show visit the Baker Artist Awards blog at:
http://www.bakerartistawards.org/blog/2010/03/the-2010-baker-artist-awards-announced/

An executive director — at 25
Buck Jabaily of Single Carrot Theatre to run the Cultural Alliance

By Tim Smith

Read the article in the Baltimore Sun.

January 11, 2010—The Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance (GBCA) announced today the appointment of J. Buck Jabaily as the organization’s second executive director. Jabaily, who will assume the position as of January 19, 2010, will succeed Nancy Haragan, who served in the position for ten years as the organization’s founding director.

“Buck Jabaily will be an excellent leader for the cultural community. The combination of his entrepreneurial skills and dedication to multiple forms of the arts make him an ideal candidate to lead the collective community,” said Tom Hall, Chair of the Board of GBCA. “He has a very tough act to follow, but will work closely with his predecessor Nancy Haragan—indeed she will serve as his mentor in the months to come—to assure a smooth transition.”

Jabaily, who has served as artistic director of the Single Carrot Theatre since 2005, arrived in Baltimore after graduating in just three years from the University of Colorado with a BA in Theatre Arts. He led a group of like-minded young artists from Boulder to Baltimore—the city that they believed to be the ideal location for their ensemble to thrive. In the course of four short years, they established the innovative Single Carrot Theatre, which has become a driving force for theatrical innovation in the city, championing new, diverse, and socially significant works. Since its arrival, it has staged over 33 productions.

“The world has changed dramatically in the last number of years and we are witnessing a paradigm shift that changes the way we approach everything,” notes Doreen Bolger, director of the Baltimore Museum of Art.  “Buck will bring great leadership and vision to our organization. We are fortunate, indeed, to have someone who has lived so deeply the collective spirit of ensemble theater—he understands the power of collaboration and consensus that have been hallmarks of the GBCA. Buck is the ideal person to guide us as we cultivate a new generation of art appreciators for the region!”

Paul Meecham, President and CEO of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and a member of the GBCA Search Committee said, “We are delighted that Buck will be our next executive director. His demonstrated creativity and freshness of thinking are the perfect attributes for this organization that is recognized for bringing new ideas and innovation to the cultural community and to connecting it to the region it serves.”

As the GBCA moves forward into this next decade, it will undergo a strategic planning process and continue building partnerships to strengthen the sector and to add richness and vitality to the region.

Since it was launched in 2001, GBCA has served as a unifying voice and bridge-builder for the arts and culture community. With a membership base of over 81 organizations, coalitions and individual artists, GBCA acts as a convener, providing information and services that benefit arts organizations in Maryland and beyond.

It promotes cultural offerings and has implemented focused services in support of artists and arts organizations, among them, BaltimoreFunGuide.com, Online Events Calendar, Weekly Fun Saver Emails, RADARREDUX.com, Jobs Plus, and Partner Scoop. GBCA has also sponsored and co-sponsored both symposia and the annual Mayor’s Town Hall Meeting, and offered a number of community convenings. GBCA has coordinated sector-wide participation in ambitious citywide arts festivals, such as VIVAT! (2003), Tour de Clay (2005), Free Fall Baltimore (2006, 2007, 2008), and the Maps Festival (2008), and completed several important sector-wide studies, including a Collaborative Arts Marketing Study (2003). The GBCA also disseminates relevant information and critical analysis regarding arts and culture to a broad section of the community. Significant new initiatives launched over the past three years include: Maryland Cultural Data Project (2007), the Wealth Analysis (2007), and the Baker Artists Awards (2008, 2009).

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MARYLAND CULTURAL DATA PROJECT

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