The Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts on Monday announced three finalists for the 2022 Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize.
This year’s competition will award a $30,000 fellowship to the winner and two residencies to finalists not selected for the prize: a six-week residency at Civitella Ranieri in Italy and a six-month residency at the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower in Baltimore.
The three finalists – Maren Henson, Megan Koeppel, and James Williams II – will have their work on display in an exhibition at the Walters Art Museum from July 21 through September 18.
Henson’s work examines the role of conspiracy and how it has shaped American culture with videos, drawings, and sound installations that explore how cultural narratives are manipulated and controlled. She received her MFA degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2017.
Koeppel is a fiber artist who lives in Baltimore and works at VisArts in Rockville. Her work has recently been exhibited in the Maryland region as well as in Wisconsin, her home state. Koeppel received her BFA from MICA in 2018, where she studied fine art and curatorial practices.
Williams, who received his master’s degree from MICA and currently teaches there, is a curator and interdisciplinary artist. He works across multiple mediums, including painting, sculpture, and photography, with a focus on social and cultural identity in the United States. Williams is the recipient of the Bromo Seltzer Fellowship and MFA Joan Mitchell Foundation award, and has served as artist-in-residence at School 33 in Baltimore.
The winner will be selected after the panel of jurors – Catherine Morris, Jean Shin, and Kambui Olujimi – conducts a final interview with each artist in their exhibition space at the Walters.
The prize will be announced at an awards ceremony held at the Walters.
