Expectations are high as Amy Sherald, the celebrated contemporary artist and Baltimore resident joins the  Baltimore Museum of Art Board of Trustees. Photo: Christopher Myers

ART NEWS

Amy Sherald, the celebrated contemporary artist, and Baltimore resident who survived a heart disease is the new member of the Baltimore Museum of Art’s board of trustees.

BY ARTCENTRON

BALTIMORE, MD- The celebrated contemporary artist and Baltimore resident Amy Sherald is the new member of the Baltimore Museum of Art’s board of trustees. Sherald who was recently selected by the National Portrait Gallery to paint the portrait of Michelle Obama will officially take her board seat on February 20, joining Board Chair Clair Zamoiski Segal and Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director Christopher Bedford, as well as 39 other active trustees guiding the institution.

The inclusion of Sherald to the BMA’s board is generating great excitement and the hope that she will bring fresh ideas to the museum as the board begins to formulate a new strategic plan for the museum. “The entire board was extremely enthusiastic about having Amy Sherald join us,” said Clair Zamoiski Segal who also notes, “We look forward to gaining her insights as an artist and Baltimore resident as we map the future of this great museum.”

Zamoiski’s views are echoed by Christopher Bedford, the museum’s director who explained that “As we develop a new strategic plan, it is important to have the voice of artists like Amy on the BMA’s Board of Trustees.”  In addition, he expressed optimism that “Amy will bring a unique perspective to museum leadership, one that not only draws on her career as one of today’s most important artists but also on her ties to the city of Baltimore itself.”

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Like the other BMA board members, Amy Sherald is also excited about the opportunity to serve on the board. She notes:

I am thrilled to be joining the board of such an important civic institution like The Baltimore Museum of Art,” said Amy Sherald. “The BMA is pioneering the way for institutions to become more inclusive by championing contemporary artists from all walks of life. I am honored to be able to have a voice in helping move the museum forward.

The inclusion of Amy Sherald on the BMA’s Board of Trustees is another major milestone in the life of the artist who almost died from a heart disease but went on to went to win a prestigious art prize.  Amy Sherald’s portrait of Michelle Obama along with Kehinde Wiley’s painting of Barack Obama will be unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., on February 12. In May, her paintings will be the subject of a solo exhibition—her first at a museum—at the Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis.

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