For Curator Night, The Arc Baltimore hosts a panel of prominent art leaders on Wednesday, October 4, at 7 p.m. for a discussion ensuring that access is always part of the DEAI (diversity, equity, access & inclusion) conversation, particularly in the art community.

Panelists will expound on their curated artwork for The Arc’s Art in the Round event featuring works created by artists with disabilities planned for Friday, October 13, at 6:30 p.m. In addition, they will share the DEAI initiatives at their respective institutions and their connection to The Arc Baltimore and the disability community in Baltimore.

The pre-recorded event video will include closed captioning and ASL interpretation.

PANELISTS

Rhea Beckett

Rhea Beckett is an artist, curator, and arts administrator with an extensive performing and visual arts background. She co-founded the Black Artist Research Space (BARS), a Baltimore-based creative collective and incubator. Beckett has served as a Legislative Affairs and Grants Specialist at the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, where she played an integral role in supporting the creative community of Washington, D.C., through policy and grant-making. She has served as Registrar of the Howard University art collection and gallery manager of C. Grimaldis Gallery (Baltimore, MD). Rhea earned her BS in Art from Fisk University, where she sang soprano in the Grammy Award-winning Fisk Jubilee Singers. Rhea received her MFA in Curatorial Practice from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Rhea Beckett is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Headshot credit: Faith Couch

Schroeder Cherry

Originally from Washington, D.C., Schroeder Cherry is now a Maryland-based artist and 2019 Sondheim competition finalist who captures everyday scenes of African diaspora life. He earned a bachelor’s degree in painting and puppetry from The University of Michigan, a master’s degree in museum education from George Washington University, and a doctorate in museum education from Columbia University. His works are found in private and public collections across the US. He has also performed puppetry in museums, cultural centers, libraries, and schools across the US.  In 2020, he was awarded the Municipal Art Society of Baltimore City Artist Travel Prize for research in Bahia, Brazil.  In 2021, he received an Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council.

Over a span of 40 years, Cherry has worked in seven US museums, including The Art Institute of Chicago, the Smithsonian Institution’s Anacostia Museum, the Studio Museum of Harlem, the J.Paul Getty Museum, The Baltimore Museum of Art; and the Maryland Historical Society.  He has held senior grantmaker positions at Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, first as Deputy Director of Museums and later as Counselor to the Director. He taught graduate museum studies at Morgan State University and, in 2021, was appointed Curator of the James E. Lewis Museum of Art.

George Ciscle

George Ciscle has mounted groundbreaking exhibitions and taught courses in the fine arts and humanities for nearly 50 years. He was the founder and director of The Contemporary, an “un-museum,” which challenges existing conventions for exhibiting art in temporary non-traditional sites.

From 1997 - 2017, he served as Curator-in-Residence at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), consulting on developing community-based and public programming, concentrating on exploring new models for connecting art, artists, and audiences. At MICA, Ciscle also founded and directed the Exhibition Development Seminar, Curatorial Studies Concentration, and MFA in Curatorial Practice.

Since retiring from MICA in 2017, Ciscle has volunteered with The Arc Baltimore, developing and coordinating gallery tours and hands-on workshops at BMA, The Walters, Baltimore Clayworks, and School 33, an artist mentorship program and MICA Arc/CP Fellowship.

Tyrone Weedon

Tyrone, an artist affiliated with Make Studio, recalls developing his artistic talent in elementary school. Television, cartoons, movies, and comic books strongly influenced his current artwork. He often reflects on his childhood in his work but likes to keep things topical, often creating celebrity “tributes” and statements with a political or public message. He particularly likes to make art about superheroes and people he sees in Baltimore and “thinks up in my head.” “My favorite thing about art is working hard and having commitment. I want to be the best artist possible, learn from my mistakes, and become stronger.” Aside from art, his main interest, he enjoys going to the movies and the library, playing video games, researching the internet, and spending time with his family. Tyrone is a graduate of Clifton Eastern High School.