The Contemporary Museum has been awarded a $110,000 grant by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, making it the largest foundation grant ever awarded to the museum, said Irene Hofmann, Executive Director of the Contemporary Museum. The Contemporary is the only museum in Maryland to receive a grant in the foundation's current round of giving.
The two-year grant will support artist residency projects that will expand the museum's outreach in the community.
The grant to the Contemporary Museum will be used to support five new artist projects over the next two years including an off-site installation by New York-based collective Not an Alternative; a residency and live performance by performance artist Robert Farid Karimi; and a residency, teen workshop, and installation by Mario Ybarra Jr. and Karla Diaz of the Los Angeles-based Slanguage artist collective. All of the projects are a part of the museum's Project 20 series of exhibitions and projects celebrating the museum's 20th anniversary.
"We are so honored by this recognition from the Andy Warhol Foundation of the work that we are doing in Baltimore," said Hofmann. "With this grant, the museum will be able to present an expanded program in the coming years with new opportunities for our audiences and new opportunities for artists."
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts grant program focuses on the enhancement and development of contemporary visual art in mediums that are unique and challenging to viewers. Developed from Warhol's original will, the Foundation gives grant funding to institutions for exhibitions, research, visual arts programming, and other installations that promote awareness and support of contemporary art.