Baltimore Tree Partnership: Phase I

Inspired by German artist Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) the City of Baltimore commenced phase I of a major tree-planting project this Fall organized by the Fine Arts Gallery, University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Partnering on this project is the Center for Social Sculpture, Minneapolis, MN.

If you wish to partner with this project or would like further information, please contact Renee van der Stelt at tel. 410-455-3188, fax. 410-455-1596.

In doing this work we plant trees, and the trees plant us, since we belong to each other and we must coexist.

Joseph Bueys

Difesa della Natura, Edizioni II Quadrante, Turin, 1984

Photo: Dieter Schwerdtle

Baltimore Tree Partnership: Phase I began October 2000, when two hundred trees were planted, one hundred each at Patterson Park and Carroll Park with the help of community volunteers. A community ceremony at each site celebrated Baltimore’s efforts in creating a greener, more livable urban landscape.

Phase 1 continues in the Spring with plantings at Wyman Park Dell and the University of Maryland.

Also in conjunction with the plantings there will be a panel discussion and conference: Social Sculpture, Beuys, and Greening Initiatives in Baltimore at the Baltimore Museum of Art featuring regional and international speakers including noted writer David Levi Strauss.

Through this living, breathing social sculpture, the idea of art is expanded beyond its traditional confines and becomes a force in society at large. As Beuys proposed "everyone is an artist". Creativity becomes a life principal.

 

 

SYMPOSIUM April 4, 2001 at The Baltimore Museum of Art

Joseph Beuys and Greening Initiatives in Baltimore: An Idea Takes Root / Get Your Stone in Motion

Organized by: The Fine Arts Gallery, UMBC in partnership with The Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive, Baltimore, Maryland.

Funding for this symposium is provided by:

Goethe-Institut, Inter-Nationes, Washington, The Fine Arts Gallery, UMBC, Center for Humanities, UMBC Interdisciplinary Studies, UMBC, Department of Visual Arts, UMBC, Interdisciplinary Studies, UMBC other contributors to be announced

SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE

Welcome

Helen Moleswoth, Curator of Contemporary Art, Baltimore Museum of Art

David Yager, Director, Fine Arts Gallery, UMBC

9:00 - 12:00 Joseph Beuys in America

George Ciscle, Moderator, Curator-in Residence, Maryland Institute, College of Art, Baltimore, MD

David Levi Strauss, Freelance Writer and Critic, New York, NY, author of Between Dog and Wolf

Ronald Feldman, Director, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, NY

Todd Bockley, Independent Curator, Center for Social Sculpture, Minneapolis, MN

 

1:00 - 4:00 Greening Initiatives and the Arts in Baltimore

Marvin Billups, Jr., Director, Department of Recreation and Parks

Michael Beer, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Jones Falls Watershed Association

Panel Discussion

Cinder Hypki, Friends of Patterson Park

Beth Strommen, Environmental Planner, Baltimore City

Michael Beer, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Jones Falls Watershed Association

Bryant Smith, Urban Arts Institute, UAI

Fran Spero, Department of Recreation and Parks

Gary Letteron, Washington Village Pigtown, Neighborhood Planning Council

Amanda Cunningham, Parks and People

 

Funding for Phase I of the Joseph Beuys Tree Partnership comes from the TKF Foundation, Annapolis, MD.

The mission of the TKF Foundation is to create urban greenspace, sponsor public art, and champion urban agriculture with the goals of nurturing the human spirit and fostering a sense of community.

This project is organized by the Fine Arts Gallery, UMBC in partnership with the following organizations:

• Arundel Corporation
• Baltimore Museum of Art
• Banner Neighborhoods Youth Employment Project
• Butchers Hill Community Association
• Carroll Park Foundation
• Center for Social Sculpture, Minneapolis, MN
• Charles Village Civic Association
• Chesapeake Bay Foundation
• City of Baltimore, Department of Parks and Recreation
• Constellation Energy Group
• Enterprise Foundation
• Fells Point Creative Alliance
• Friends of Maryland Olmsted Park Association
• Friends of Patterson Park
• Friends of Wyman Park Dell
• Goethe Institute, Washington D.C.
• Hands on Baltimore
• Maryland Fund for the Environment of the Baltimore Community Found.
• Millennium Green
• Parks and People Foundation
• Southwest Community Council
• TKF Foundation
• 21^st Century Threshold Project
• Washington Village Pigtown Neighborhood Planning Council
• With additional support at UMBC from:
• Office of the President
• Office of the Provost
• Office of the Dean of Arts & Sciences
• Office of Institutional Advancement
• Department of Visual Arts
• Physical Plant
• Environment and Stewardship Committee
• Shriver Center

Stay tuned for notice of upcoming events and a history of the project as it unfolds.