Art Experience
In its 48th year, the American Craft Made Baltimore, sponsored by the American Craft Council, is the largest juried craft fair on the east coast featuring nearly 400 accomplished artists and makers.
Located at the Baltimore Convention Center, it took place from February 21-23. Bel Air High School art students spent around 4 hours wandering the stalls, which included new booths interspersed with old favorites. They looked at creations with such mediums as clay, wood, fiber, metal, glass, and more.
There were hands-on exhibits, “showcasing the process and skill that goes into crafts.” These experiences allowed one to quilt, make a clay vessel on the wheel, carve wood, and several others.
The event also partners with college students to create a ‘School-to-Market’ area. This allows for students to participate in a professional marketplace early in their careers, “giv[ing] them practical insight and exposure they need to launch a successful practice after graduation,” according to the American Craft Council’s website.
Mrs. Kathryn Humphrey, BAHS arts teacher, has been taking field trips to this event since 2016 (minus the COVID years that prevented such trips). “It’s important for my students to realize that they can make a living- a good living- by being an artist,” explained Humphrey, “I know that the artisans are very encouraging to my students.”
One thing that everyone takes away from the show is how inspirational it is. “It’s so inspirational as an artist, as a teacher; I get so many ideas,” expressed Humphrey. Chloe Bang, an Advanced 3-D student, commented, “I really enjoyed all the different ways people expressed art and I left feeling very inspired and I have a lot of new ideas I wanted to try. Overall, the art and artists were very inspiring.”
Another takeaway is learning how the artisans got to where they are today. Mitch McEvoy, Advanced Photo and Advanced 3-D student, remarked, “[I liked] meeting a bunch of talented artists and [getting] to learn their process, upbringing, and overall story.”
Meera Rakes, an Advanced 3-D student, revealed “I love seeing new things. It’s good to see different people and things they’re passionate about. I loved meeting people and hearing about what inspired them and their process when it comes to making things.”
Reginal F. Lewis Museum in Baltimore
The Smithsonian-affiliated Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture houses more than 10,000 items dating from 1784 to modern day including objects, documents, artworks, and photographs. It claims to be the “premier experience and best resource for information and inspiration about the lives of African American Marylanders” by “document[ing], interpret[ing], and preserv[ing] the complex experiences, contributions, and culture of Black people.”
Reginald F. Lewis was a lawyer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, “one of the richest African American men in the 1980s, and the first African American to build a billion-dollar company, Beatrice Foods.” After his death in January 1993, his foundation donated $5 million to help create the museum.
The AP African American History class spent the day observing the exhibits.
“We chose the Reginald F. Lewis Museum because of its rich offering and display of African American history and culture,” explained Mr. Andrew Austing, social studies teacher and AP African American studies teacher. “especially, local history tied to Baltimore and the surrounding counties. Also, the museum supplements a large part of the curriculum guide for the AP course that is taught here at the school, enabling students to see primary source artifacts that they have learned about during class. Such an amazing way to bring history to life.”
‘Lynching in Maryland’ is the newest permanent exhibit at the museum. Having opened on October 32, 2024, it seeks to honor the 38 documented cases of racial lynching in Maryland between 1854 and 1933. “The lynching memorial was extremely difficult and terribly sad,” Austing voiced, “ but also very important to understand as well as be informed of, since it is a factual occurrence in our nation’s past. Something we all must strive to never see happen again.”
‘iWITNESS: Media & The Movement’ is a temporary display commemorating the 60th anniversary of the monumental Civil Rights Act of 1964. From August 8, 2024, to September 1, 2025, the exhibit will show how the media impacted the Civil Rights Movement. “[The exhibition was] very powerful,” explained Austing, “because it analyzed the modern civil rights movement through the lens of technology and the media, including radio, television, print journalism, and photography. Demonstrating how success occurred because of the reach of millions of people through different media facilitated the passage of many laws that worked to protect the rights of African Americans.”
“It was a good trip,” confirmed AP African American History student Katherine Efeyini, “and I learned a lot.”
Both trips were a ton of fun. Both groups will have another combo field trip to visit museums in Washington, D.C. on March 3.