Baltimore’s Rich Public Art Scene

Baltimore, Maryland, is a city with a history of firsts. It’s home to the first post office system in the country, the first telegraph line, the first regular railroad passenger service, and more. It was also one of the first cities in the nation to enact a Percent for Art Law in 1964, which required the city to give 1% of its capital construction costs to public artwork.

This means the city now has hundreds of public art pieces in its collection for everyone to enjoy. To discover some of the most unique pieces for yourself, check out a few of these top public art installations throughout Baltimore.

“Red Buoyant”

The “Red Buoyant” sculpture in the Inner Harbor might be one of the most recognizable pieces of public art in the city. The sculpture was created by local artist Mary Ann Mears and installed in 1978. Mears said she created it to look like a big wave rolling in the direction of traffic. In 1984, Baltimore gifted a similar sculpture to its sister city of Kawasaki, Japan. To show its appreciation, Kawasaki gave Baltimore the lantern garden that’s located near the Maryland Science Center.

Park Avenue and West Franklin Street Mural

One of the most eye-catching murals in the city is located at a parking lot at West Franklin Street and Park Avenue in Mount Vernon. Created by artist Jeff Huntington, who makes art under the name JAHRU, the mural showcases the area’s history with a striking depiction of a dragon and a lion.

At the end of World War II, the area around Park Avenue was home to the city’s Chinatown. When the Chinese population eventually moved on, a sizable group of Ethiopian immigrants moved into the area. Today, if you walk down Park Avenue, you’ll see an unusual combination of Asian architecture and Ethiopian shops and restaurants. The mural on Park Avenue has a dragon, which represents Chinese mythology, merging with a lion, which represents the Lion of Judah that was on the flag of Ethiopia until 1974.

Divine Mural

Another popular mural located in the Mount Vernon area is a large tribute to Baltimore drag queen, singer, and actor Divine, the Hairspray star who was born Harris Glenn Milstead. Homeowners Tom Williams and Jesse Salazar commissioned Gaia, a graduate of Maryland Institute College of Art who has other works of art around the city, to paint the mural on a wall outside of their home.

Since their home is in a historic district and the mural violates the rules on what owners can paint on their houses, the neighborhood’s Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation almost made the homeowners remove it. However, after objections from the city’s residents, the committee made a single exception for the mural. You can now head to Preston Street to view Divine in all of her colorful glory.

Pushpin Bus Stop

It’s easy to see the bus stop at Highland Avenue and Baltimore Street. Located in the Baltimore Highlands neighborhood, this bus stop features a giant red pushpin punching through the roof of the bus shelter. On top of the roof sit the words “Estamos aqui,” which means “We’re here” in Spanish. Artist Rachel Timmins designed the sculpture to pay tribute to the Spanish-speaking residents in the area and to let them know that they matter.

Jones Falls Expressway Murals

Jones Falls Expressway carries Interstate 83 from the northern suburbs to downtown Baltimore. If you head to the open area beneath the expressway at Holliday and Saratoga Streets every Sunday from April to December, you’ll find the Baltimore Farmers’ Market and Bazaar. While you’re shopping for seasonal fruits and vegetables, dairy products, meats, seafood, freshly baked bread and pastries, gourmet foods, handmade crafts, and more, take some time to view the murals painted on the expressway’s columns. Each column has a different design and a plaque with the artist’s information.

“Equilibrium”

You don’t have to visit a museum to see a painting by renowned Baltimore artist Amy Sherald. Instead, check out the wall of the Parkway Theatre to see her “Equilibrium” mural. The mural depicts a woman balancing a pole across her shoulders while she holds a heart dangling from a chain in one hand. The woman’s gray skin tone stands out against the vivid orange and red striped background. While Sherald’s best-known piece, a portrait of former first lady Michelle Obama, hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., this mural is her first large-scale public artwork.

Love Murals

Artists Scott Burkholder and Michael Owen have connected Baltimore’s diverse neighborhoods with four simple letters: love. They call their street art campaign the Baltimore Love Project, and they painted 20 murals around the city with four hands spelling the word “love.” Their murals are located in a variety of neighborhoods so as many residents as possible can feel the love. Since you can find the murals everywhere from the former Northwestern High School in Fallstaff to Holabird Avenue in Dundalk, spending a day trying to find all of them is a great way to see the city.

Remington Avenue and Keswick Street Light Poles

While much of the public art in Baltimore is commissioned as part of its Percent for Art program, not all of it is. You can find several unique examples of non-commissioned artwork in the city if you explore a few blocks around Keswick Street and Remington Avenue in the Hampden neighborhood. Here you’ll find approximately 18 streetlight poles decorated with elaborately hand-painted designs by Peter the Pole Painter. This artist doesn’t have social media accounts, business cards, or ambitions of fame. Instead, his only goal is to embellish the streets where he lives with a little art.

Baltimore has a rich and diverse public art scene with everything from statues to murals. These are a few of our favorite pieces of public art around the city. Did we forget to include one of your favorite pieces? Please be sure to contact Koons Woodbridge Buick GMC and let us know so we can add it to our list!

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*Image via Flickr by bopapublicart

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