The Walters Art Museum on Wednesday opened an exhibit showcasing the work of three finalists competing for the Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize, one of Maryland’s most prestigious art awards.
The three finalists for 2023 — Abigail Lucien, Kyrae Dawaun and Nekisha Durrett – are competing for a top prize of $30,000. The second-place finisher will get a six-week residency at the Civitella Ranieri Center in Italy, and the third-place finisher will get a residency at the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower in Baltimore.
Now in its 18th year, the award is named for two civic leaders who were strong supporters of the arts. The Walters Art Museum presents the exhibit in partnership with the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA); M&T Bank and the Maryland State Arts Council. Award jurors are scholar and curator Kelly Baum; artist and curator Devin Morris and archivist and curator Ingrid Schaffner. Lou Joseph is BOPA’s Prizes and Competitions Manager.
According to BOPA, here is a brief biography of the three finalists:
Abigail Lucien (abigaillucien.com) is a Haitian American interdisciplinary artist. Working in sculpture, literature, and time-based media, Lucien addresses themes of (be)longing, futurity, myth, and place by considering the relationships people have with inherited colonial structures and systems of belief and care. Lucien is based in Baltimore and teaches at the Maryland Institute College of Art.Kyrae Dawaun (dawaun.com) maintains a practice centering on the human dependence on inorganic matter and nonhuman existence and explores these geological transactions as they implicate human relationships. His approach to his work is influenced by his studies, speculation, and experience around architecture, hospitality, and the “fluid and fickle nature of language.” Dawaun is based in Baltimore and teaches at the Maryland Institute College of Art.
Nekisha Durrett (nekishadurrett.com) is a mixed-media artist invested in foregrounding issues of Black life while creating a space where fantasy, imagination, and history converge. Durrett creates both large-scale and intimate installations that aim to make the ordinary enchanting, while summoning subject matter that is often underrepresented or overlooked in day-to-day life. Durrett currently lives and works in Washington, D. C.
The winner will be announced on Aug. 17, and the exhibit runs until Sept. 3 at the museum, 600 N. Charles St. A one-hour “Artist Talk” with the three finalists and Earl Martin, Deborah & Philip English Curator of Decorative Art, Design and Material Culture, will stream live on the museum’s Facebook page and YouTube channel on July 27 starting at 6 p.m.
An exhibit of the work of 11 Sondheim Award semifinalists for 2023 will take place in the Meyerhoff Gallery at the Maryland Institute College of Art, 1303 W. Mount Royal Ave., from Sept. 22 to 24.
Walters Art Museum hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and from 1 to 8 p.m. on Thursdays. Admission is free.
More information about this year’s Sondheim finalists is available by visiting promotionandarts.org and following BOPA on social media (@promoandarts).
