The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA), in partnership with the Walters Art Museum and supported by the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC), announced that the 20th annual Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize has been awarded to Amanda Leigh Burnham.
This year’s jurors, Jaqueline Cedar, Mike Cloud, and Jennie Goldstein, pointed to Burnham’s incorporation of a variety of materials, styles, and techniques to create three-dimensional collages that “leap off the walls.” Her compositions include large, site-specific installations that call to mind “a comic book crossed with a stage set,” according to the press release announcing the $30,000 prize.
The 2025 Sondheim Finalists Exhibition was curated by Ani Proser, the Walters’ Chief Curator and Curatorial Chair. Burnham’s work will remain on view at the Walters through July 20, 2025, as will that of her fellow finalists.
“Partnering with the Walters Art Museum for the Sondheim Finalists Exhibition offers an incredible opportunity for the artists,” said Lou Joseph, Director of the Baltimore City Arts Council. “Not only does it elevate the visibility of the artists in a world-class setting, but it also allows their work to be considered within a broader historical art context. It’s a powerful platform that affirms the value and relevance of contemporary art in Baltimore.”
Burnham has been a Sondheim semifinalist six times and is a four-time MSAC Independent Artist Award winner. She has also been a Creative Baltimore Fund awardee and Rubys Grantee. Her work has been shown all over the nation and world, including in such esteemed venues as the Volta Art Fair (Basel, Switzerland), the Delaware Contemporary, the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum, the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, the Berman Museum of Art, the Phillips Museum, the Toledo Museum of Art, Artisphere, the Urban Institute of Contemporary Art, the Cranbrook Institute of Art, Benrimon Contemporary (NYC), Bridge Gallery (NYC), Christina Ray Gallery (NYC), Dorsch Gallery (Miami) and GV/AS Gallery (Brooklyn, NY).
Closer to home, Burnham’s work has been seen at the Creative Alliance, School 33 Art Center, the Silber Gallery, the Julio Art Gallery, the Gormley Gallery, MICA, the Stamp Gallery, Maryland Art Place, Hamiltonian Gallery (DC), the Arlington Contemporary (DC), Visarts (Rockville), Hillyer Art Space (DC), and Transformer (DC).
Burnham is a graduate of Harvard University (BA) and Yale University (MFA), and she is a professor at Towson University. To learn more about her work, please visit this link. To see more about the Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize and the 2025 finalists and semifinalists, please click this link.
