Dan Bailey, professor of Visual Arts and director of the Imaging Research Center, was interviewed by WYPR’s Sheilah Kast on Wednesday, September 3. Bailey, along with Kristin Schenning of the Maryland Historical Society, discussed the UMBC/MHS collaborative project entitled “BEARINGS of Baltimore Circa 1815.” The on air interview is available online here.

Combining historical research with cutting-edge effects technology, the Bird’s Eye Annotated Representational Image/Navigable Gigapixel Scene (BEARINGS) of Baltimore, Circa 1815 provides a detailed rendition of the burgeoning city and conveys Baltimore’s prominence as a seaport and a commercial hub for the young country. By 1815, Baltimore was the third largest city in the United States; the IRC’s work recreates a view of its streets and buildings in significant detail. The IRC’s project is on view in the exhibition Full Glory: Maryland during the War of 1812 at the Maryland Historical Society (201 W. Monument Street, Baltimore). General information about BEARINGS of Baltimore Circa 1815 can be found here.

Additionally, Tamara Peters, faculty research assistant in the IRC, who has been the research lead on the project for two years, will speak at a TEDxUMBC event on Saturday, September 13. More details are here.

BEARINGS of Baltimore Circa 1815 was funded in part by the Maryland Department of Tourism and the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation.

Niels Van Tomme, Visiting Curator of the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, has been named a 2014 Vilcek Curatorial Fellow by the Foundation for a Civil Society.

The Vilcek Curatorial Fellowship was established as part of the Foundation for a Civil Society’s Young Visual Artists Awards (YVAA) program. It is awarded annually to U.S.-based curators with demonstrated experience and excellence in engaging with international contemporary art. The fellowship provides curators with an opportunity to travel to one or more of the YVAA countries in Central and South East Europe to serve as guest jury members for the national awards as well as conduct short-term independent research, develop curatorial projects and expand their professional networks.

The Foundation notes that Van Tomme was chosen for his noted curatorial achievements, commitment to artists and publics alike, and potential to make important future contributions to the field of contemporary art. He will be traveling to Prishtina, Kosovo in mid-October to select the winners of the Artist of Tomorrow Award, as well as visiting Belgrade, Serbia; Bratislava, Slovakia; and Bucharest, Romania. He will also be conducting studio visits with artists, meetings with colleagues and presenting his curatorial practice at public events. As a Vilcek Fellow, Van Tomme will continue to be the agent of artistic exchange, creative collaboration and understanding between the United States and the YVAA countries.

The Young Visual Artists Awards is an international network of 10 national awards in Central and South East Europe and a New York residency program. First established with President Havel and a group of artists in Czechoslovakia in 1990, this highly successful program has grown to 10 countries and has to date awarded and presented in the US over 100 artists.

Winter Session Student Ambassador

The Office of Summer, Winter & Special Programs seeks an energetic and outgoing junior or senior to serve as an ambassador for Winter Session 2015. The ambassador will assist with on-campus events and other tasks with the goal of connecting with the student population. The ambassador would work closely with the Division of Professional Studies’ marketing team for approximately 4-8 hours per week in the fall. 

The ambassador will:

• Represent Winter Session regularly at in-person events (such as tables in the Commons or athletic events). During events, engage with students about winter session and be able to answer and/or direct their questions.
• Assist with posting flyers across campus and chalking various areas on campus.
• Contribute ideas for how to engage students and spread the word about winter session via in-person events, social media, or through other tactics.
• Assist with gathering student feedback about winter session through polls, surveys and face-to-face interaction.

For consideration, please submit your resume and cover letter to juliem@umbc.edu by Sept. 10.  Students who plan to attend Winter Session 2015 are encouraged to apply, and will be given first priority in the review and selection process.

IMDA alumnus and adjunct professor Gary Kachadourian interviewed by UMBC Visual Arts Professor Mark Alice Durant.

From the introduction to the interview:

Laconic is a word that comes to mind when not only speaking with Gary Kachadourian but also when engaging his artwork. He is eminently likable and articulate but seemingly allergic to self-promotion, Gary could be a charter member of Understaters Anonymous. As an arts administrator, curator, and now active visual artist himself, he has been a constant and vital presence in Baltimore cultural life for most of his adult life.

His drawings are an index of the urban quotidian, dumpsters, utility boxes, weeds, empty lots, port-o-potties, jersey barriers, and parking booths, rendered precisely without a trace of subjectivity or editorial comment.  His largely black and white installations are as funny and familiar as they are ambitious and labor intensive. To step inside one is an experience in quiet disorientation; suddenly the world of color and three-dimensionality somehow seems alien, as if we have been living in the wrong dimension all along.

              - Mark Alice Durant

GE Aviation is hosting their 5^th annualFemale Diversity Recruitment Leadership Summit from October 31^st–November 1^st at their headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. During the Summit, a selected group of 35 top minority female students will get have the opportunity to learn more about GE Aviation’s technology, executive leadership, and career opportunities. Attendees will network with GE employees and leaders and attend professional development workshops. They will be able to have candid discussions with professional women of all ages on GE’s work environment and work-life balance while getting to know more about what we do at GE Aviation. Candidates will be selected from top universities around the country and will interview for an internship position at the end of the Summit. If selected, GE will cover all travel, meal, and lodging expenses for the Summit.