If you've been following along, you know that as a curator at the Baltimore Museum of Art I directed the last three iterations of its print fair (2012, 2015, 2017). You also likely know that I'm thrilled to be bringing a new print fair to Baltimore over the weekend of April 29-May 1, 2022. (With me on this adventure are Brian Miller and Julie Funderburk. We make quite a team. Details are at baltimoreprintfair.com.)
But you may not know that the BMA print fair ran from 1990 to 2017, and that curators Jay Fisher and Jan Howard started the fair because the museum had shuttered its beloved Sales and Rental Gallery. That was a project run by the Women's Committee in which people were able to rent framed works of art (usually prints) that had been brought down from various New York galleries. It was a rent-to-own deal, and many collectors in town will tell you they purchased their first works of art from the BMA's Sales and Rental Gallery.
All of which is to say, Baltimore is a serious print town. In addition to the many years that the museum fostered print collecting in town through its support group, the Print, Drawing & Photograph Society, and the print fair, both MICA and Towson University have robust printmaking departments, and print publisher Goya Girl Press is here along with multiple small presses. Also, let's not forget the rare books full of prints to be found at Evergreen Museum & Library, the George Peabody Library, and the Enoch Pratt Free Library.
On Platemark, Tru Ludwig and I recorded a bonus episode about why Baltimore is ripe for a print fair. We talk about the Sales and Rental Gallery, the Print, Drawing & Photograph Society, the BMA print fairs I worked on, and all all sorts of other stuff. It was a great reminder for me about why we're doing this. I can't wait. You can find the episode at platemarkpodcast.com
It's been five years since the BMA's final print fair. We are jonesing for a print fair!
