The Contemporary Museum in downtown Baltimore is hosting an open-house this Sunday, May 14 for its "Headquarters" project, which looks at the U.S. prison system, how it has evolved, and how it is interlinked with urban blight. Unlike traditional museum exhibits that prioritize paintings and photographs, this museum "project" features artwork, discussion, dialogue, and attempts at artistic intervention into everyday life.
The stated goal of the Headquarters project is to examine the rise of the private-sector prison industry. According to the Contemporary Museum's literature for this show, the U.S. prison industry is now a $50 billion annual market. Massive prison privatization began in the early 1980s under President Ronald Reagan, reports the exhibit
This exhibit / project attempts to explore how the "prison industrial complex" works in conjunction with urban "ghettos,” in so many words how these two function as a working economy.
Who benefits? Who does this hurt? Is the million-plus U.S. prison population the best or only way to ensure a safe environment in our cities and towns? How does prison-spending relate to educational spending? These are just some questions that could be asked and explored.
Participants in this project include local Baltimore artistic group CampBaltimore, the Baltimore Free Store, the United Workers Association (UWA), Los Angeles-based artist Ashley Hunt, Chicago-based artist Emily Forman, and Baltimore chapters of Food Not Bombs and Critical Resistance, among others.
The opening for “Headquarters: Investigating the creation of the ghetto and the prison industrial complex” was on Sunday, May 14. In general, the Contemporary Museum always accepts suggested donations of $5 for adults and $3 for students when visiting.
Headquarters lasts from May 14 – August 27, 2006. It mixes local and national talents, obviously as a way to create interaction and impact here in Baltimore.
In addition, the museum will host Thursday night workshops, free and open to the public, on the subject of "Examining Social Justice.” Every Thursday at 7 pm, Headquarters workshops will offer skill shares, discussions, and film screening engaging issues of social justice in Baltimore.
The Thursday nights are on May 18, 25; June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; and July 6. More information is available at the museum and likely will be online once the show opens.
Baltimore's Contemporary Museum is located at 100 West Centre Street, and online at
www.contemporary.org.
Museum hours are Wednesday though Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. On Thursdays, noon to 7 p.m. For this exhibit, Thursday workshops begin at 7 p.m.
Headquarters is organized by curator Cira Pascual Marquina with David Sloan. It certainly seems a new take on what an exhibit is--or could be--and worth a visit.