The Baltimore Museum of Art will reopen its education center Dec. 3 with a new “Wall of Wonder,” new and refurbished classrooms, and installations commissioned from artists Derrick Adams, Mary Flanagan, and Pablo Helguera.
The Patricia and Mark Joseph Education Center was established in 2015 with a $3 million gift from its namesakes. The Josephs have contributed an additional $2.5 million for the center’s renovation, which “recognizes the evolving ways people learn, enables digital learning and enhanced global connectivity, and establishes more unified areas for intergenerational learning through interactions that prompt surprise, socialization, creativity, and further artistic inquiry,” according to a news release.
The renovation of the 5,625-square-foot center involved the enlargement of the Experience Gallery, connected to the BMA’s primary entrance. The gallery features newly commissioned art installations by Adams, Flanagan and Helguera, which will be on view for about three years.
At Adams’ installation, “Dew Drop Inn,” visitors can play a card game in which they match pairs of 20 artworks by Black artists.
Flanagan created two large-scale reimaginations of Baltimore landmarks: “Topophilia (Tunnel)”, a freestanding sculpture comprising seven-foot steel rods representing the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel; and “Topophilia (Hill)” which uses topographical lines of Baltimore’s Federal Hill landscape.
Helguera’s “Flor de Juegos Antiguos (Flower of Ancient Games)” features five petal-shaped wood tables. The tabletops incorporate games boards from five parts of the world: mancala from Africa, patolli from Meso-America, backgammon from Iran, chess from India, and nine men’s morris from Europe. Visitors can play the games with help from instructions, and learn about each one’s origins and social contexts.
Also part of the renovation was the creation of a new “Wall of Wonder” architectural feature inside the Wurtzburger School Entrance to the museum. Designed by artist Danielle Nekimken and created by local fabricator Mark Ward, the wall includes digital displays of artworks and artists, discovery drawers, and other interactive elements.
The education center features new and refurbished classrooms for dry and wet artmaking.
Among the spaces is the Insight Lab, where the BMA plans to host school students and other tour groups. The room can also be used for evaluation, visitor response, dialogue, quiet contemplation, and reading, museum officials said.
There is also a studio which can be used for drop-in artmaking. It also features high-quality video and sound technology to support live streaming and distance learning programs, such as virtual tours and studio sessions, according to the news release.
Baltimore philanthropist couple Mark and Patricia Joseph have been major donors to the BMA for more than three decades, museum officials said.
“Patricia and I are delighted to experience the many new and exciting elements of the center that will certainly enhance learning and we hope also encourage a life-long interest in the arts,” Mark said in a statement. “It has been our pleasure to continue to support education at the BMA and we look forward to the many programs and opportunities that the center will help facilitate for students and visitors of all ages.”
Mark is the founding chairman of The Shelter Group, a multi-family housing developer. He previously served as Baltimore’s deputy housing commissioner, a founder of the Baltimore School for the Arts, and several other roles.
Patricia is the Shelter Foundation’s current chair. Before retiring, she was a faculty member, a division chair, and a dean at Stevenson University. She is also an active board member of the Baltimore School for the Arts, where she was previously a chair of the school’s Board of Trustees.
“The dynamic experiences created by Derrick Adams, Mary Flanagan, and Pablo Helguera offer new ways of connecting with art and ideas. Their works, along with the wide range of other interactives in the Joseph Education Center, reflect our commitment to creating opportunities for learning and catalyzing creative engagement,” said Asma Naeem, BMA Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director. “We are grateful to Patricia and Mark Joseph for their generosity and vision in providing a welcoming space for families and helping us make the education center an even more vital space within the museum.”
Quinn Evans was the project architect. Whiting Turner was the contractor.
There will be an opening celebration Dec. 3 from 1 to 5 p.m., where attendees can meet the artists and participate in hands-on artmaking.
