Contemporary Museum Baltimore

The Contemporary
Established	1989
Website	http://www.contemporary.org

In 1989, Baltimore curator George Ciscle founded The Contemporary in order to foster meaningful exchanges between artists, institutions, and diverse audiences. This nomadic institution quickly developed a reputation for delivering unexpected, challenging, and inspiring encounters with contemporary art by notable artists such as Willie Cole, Alison Saar, and Fred Wilson.

During its first decade, The Contemporary was “dedicated to redefining the concept of the museum.” It moved around the city of Baltimore, sponsoring exhibitions and projects in a variety of borrowed venues such as warehouses, car dealerships, and bus stations, as well as collaborating with partnering institutions such as the Baltimore Museum of Industry, Maryland Historical Society, Peabody Conservatory, and Walters Art Museum.

Because of the variety and ambition of its projects, programs, and operations, The Contemporary’s mission was continuously reviewed, adapted, and reinvented under various directors: Gary Sangster, Thom Collins, Irene Hofmann, and Sue Spaid. Thus the organization’s profile has continuously evolved in its 24-year history.

In 1999, The Contemporary rebranded as The Contemporary Museum and moved to 100 W. Centre Street, one block from the Walters Art Museum in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of downtown Baltimore. It organized exhibitions and related programming in that location for nearly ten years and worked with artists such as Dawoud Bey, Chris Burden, Dara Birnbaum, Louise Bourgeois, Futurefarmers, Ellen Gallagher, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Isaac Julien, Christian Marclay, and Soledad Salamé. In 2011, the museum moved out of the W. Centre Street space and returned to the process of facilitating projects in neighboring institutions and buildings.

At a critical juncture, and consistent with the belief that the mission should be subject to review, the Board of Trustees suspended operations in May of 2012. An intensive reassessment process followed, ultimately leading to the reinstatement of the institution’s original vision of redefining the museum and the creation of a bold new organizational model.

Today, The Contemporary is a museum that willfully operates without a permanent collection or a building. Instead, it commissions site- and situation-specific art projects that engage, challenge, and awe the people of Baltimore. The Contemporary collaborates with different institutions, organizations, and individuals to offer dynamic programming that is tailored to both artists and the general public. Their work is inspired by three guiding principles: artists matter, collaboration is key, and audience is everywhere.

References

Coordinates: 39°17′47″N 76°37′04″W / 39.2964°N 76.6179°W / 39.2964; -76.6179

Museums in Maryland

Art	Academy Art African Art Museum of Maryland American Visionary Art Art Gallery at the University of Maryland Baltimore Museum of Art Brooke Whiting House of Art Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture Charm City Art Space Contemporary Havre de Grace Decoy Museum Janus Museum Maryland Art Place Maryland Institute College of Art Galleries Ratner Museum Strathmore Walters Art Museum Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art Washington County Fine Arts

Aerospace & Aviation	College Park Aviation Museum Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum Goddard Visitor Center Hagerstown Aviation Museum Patuxent River Naval Air Museum

Entertainment	Chesapeake Children's Museum Geppi's Entertainment Port Discovery Radio & Television Museum Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum

History & Historic houses	Adkins Historical Museum Baltimore Museum of Industry Banneker-Douglass Museum Barbara Fritchie House and Museum Beall-Dawson House Belair Mansion Belair Stable Museum Benson–Hammond House Bowman House Button Farm Living History Center Clara Barton National Historic Site Carroll County Farm Museum Carroll Mansion Costen House Cray House Darnall's Chance Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum Evergreen Museum & Library Flag House Furnace Town Girdletree Barnes Bank Government House Great Blacks in Wax Museum Hager House Hammond–Harwood House Hampton National Historic Site Hancock's Resolution His Lordship's Kindness Historic London Town Historic St. Mary's City Homewood Museum J. Millard Tawes Historical Museum Jerusalem Mill Village Julia A. Purnell Museum Kennedy Farm Ladew Topiary Gardens La Grange Plantation Laurel Museum Marietta House Museum Maryland Historical Society Maryland State House Miller House Museum Montpelier Mansion Mother Seton House Mount Clare Museum House Mount Harmon Plantation Oxon Cove Park and Oxon Hill Farm Pemberton Hall National Colonial Farm Poplar Hill Mansion Riversdale Rose Hill Manor Park & Children's Museum Schifferstadt Architectural Museum Smallwood State Park Sotterley Plantation Star Spangled Banner Flag House and 1812 Museum Steppingstone Museum Surratt House Museum Susquehanna State Park Taylor House Teackle Mansion Thomas Stone National Historic Site Tudor Hall (Bel Air, Maryland) Tudor Hall (Leonardtown, Maryland) Union Mills Homestead William Paca House & Garden

Maritime	Annapolis Maritime Museum Calvert Marine Museum Capt. Salem Avery House Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum Concord Point Lighthouse Cove Point Light Havre de Grace Maritime Museum Historic Ships in Baltimore Joppa Wharf Museum Maryland Dove Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum Point Lookout Light Richardson Maritime Museum Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse Tilghman Watermen's Museum Turkey Point Light Station Upper Bay Museum U.S. Naval Academy Museum Waterman's Museum

Military	Airmen Memorial Museum Antietam National Battlefield Bainbridge Naval Training Center Museum Fort Frederick State Park Fort George G. Meade Museum Fort McHenry Fort Washington Park Maryland Museum of Military History Monocacy National Battlefield National Cryptologic Museum Point Lookout State Park

Railway	B&O Railroad Museum Baltimore Streetcar Museum Boonsboro Trolley Museum Brunswick Heritage Museum Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum Huntington Railroad Museum La Plata Train Station Marion Station Railroad Museum National Capital Trolley Museum Perryville Railway Museum Queponco Railway Station Stevensville Train Depot The Train Room and Museum Walkersville Southern Railroad Museum Western Maryland Railway Historical Society Museum

Science, Natural History & Medicine	Baltimore Public Works Museum Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge B. Olive Cole Pharmacy Museum Cylburn Nature Museum Deep Creek Lake Discovery Center Discovery Station Eden Mill Nature Center Lamar Heritage and Culture Center Maryland Science Center National Electronics Museum National Museum of Dentistry National Museum of Civil War Medicine National Wildlife Visitor Center at Patuxent Research Refuge Stonestreet Museum of 19th Century Medicine University of Maryland School of Nursing Living History Museum William P. Didusch Center for Urologic History

Sports	Babe Ruth Lacrosse Sailing Sports Legends

Transportation	Bob's Vintage Museum Canal Place C&D Canal Museum Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park Queen City Transportation Museum Thrasher Carriage Museum Wheels of Yesterday

Heritage	Banneker-Douglass Museum Jewish Museum of Maryland Latvian Museum National Slavic Museum Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture

Miscellaneous	Anne Arundel County Free School Christian Heritage Museum George Alfred Townsend Museum Mt. Zion One Room School National Museum of Language National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton St. Martin's Episcopal Church Museum Phoenix Shot Tower Sturgis One Room School Wye Grist Mill

Authority control	VIAF: 172215258 GND: 5551853-9

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