Days of City's Cultural Arts Program Recalled in Special Exhibit, Feb. 15
February 11, 2016
Contact: University Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
An exhibit on Baltimore's Cultural Arts Program, which introduced Baltimore children to dance, music, drama and painting after school until funding was stopped in the early 1990s, will debut at the University of Baltimore on Monday, Feb. 15 begining at noon. It will be held in Room 317 in the University of Baltimore's Learning Commons, 1415 Maryland Ave. The event is free and open to the public.
The exhibit, created by the Division of Legal, Ethical and Historical Studies and the staff and student workers in Special Collections at UB's Langsdale Library, brings together art, photographs, video and other artifacts from the C.A.P. era. It also tells the story of Norman Everett Ross, the longtime director of the C.A.P. and organizer of the AFRAM festival. Ross is credited with making a huge impact on children's lives by bringing professional dancers, artists, and singers to teach them about the fine arts in schools across the city. He died last year.
"[Ross] was a strong advocate for retaining arts in the schools," UB President and former Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke said in Ross's obituary in The Baltimore Sun. "His voice was persistent and loud. He strongly felt that the arts could unify the community."
Schmoke will be on hand at the Feb. 15 opening of the exhibit to reminisce about his days as mayor while C.A.P. was ensconced in city schools.