  Top: Hae Won Sohn; Bottom: “Consolidation” Artist Statement and artwork available for download here. | BALTIMORE, JULY 8, 2021 – The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA) is proud to announce that Hae Won Sohn is the winner of the 2021 Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize. The coveted $25,000 prize was presented at this evening’s virtual award ceremony, streamed on BOPA’s Facebook and YouTube pages. “I was definitely surprised,” said Sohn in an interview with BOPA Arts Council Director Jackie Downs. “I would say that everyone would be surprised to know that they’re selected for any kind of competition or prize. Even though I do have confidence in my work, I think the artists that were showing with me, their work, it’s amazing.” Hae Won Sohn (Baltimore, MD) is a visual artist and craftswoman from Seoul, South Korea. In her practice, the artist utilizes studio artifacts such as broken molds or material remnants; further incorporating the action of de-/reconstruction in her (re)development of form and object history. While her process metaphorically references the archeological procedures and geographical phenomena, her studio practice |
| incorporates conscious improvisation and the autonomy of material as a structural and conceptual foundation; further proposing a system built upon failure as a parallel model to success. Being selected as a finalist for the inaugural Galerie Emerging Artist Award (2019) by Galerie Magazine, Sohn’s most recent body of work was exhibited at Emmanuel Barbault Gallery (New York, NY) as part of Monologue aside (2020), her gallery solo. Her work also has been exhibited nationally and internationally at venues such as Emmanuel Barbault Gallery, New York, NY; Gray Contemporary, Houston, TX; MONO Practice, Baltimore, MD; Next Step Studio & Gallery, Ferndale, MI; Zahoorul Akhlaq Gallery of National College of Arts, Lahore, Pakistan; and Kyung-In Museum of Fine Art, Seoul, South Korea. Originally from Seoul, South Korea, Sohn earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the College of Design at Kookmin University located in Seoul, South Korea, and her Master of Fine Arts degree at the Cranbrook Academy of Art located in Bloomfield Hills, MI. The four remaining finalists – Hoesy Corona, Tsedaye Makonnen, Jonathan Monaghan, and Lavar Munroe – each received an M&T Bank Finalist Award of $2,500. Works of art by the winner and finalists are on view at the Walters Art Museum through Sunday, July 18, 2021. Due to the ongoing Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) crisis, the Sondheim Artscape Prize was adapted to maintain the core of the program and to provide funding for artists and enable them to focus on their practice during this challenging time. The virtual ceremony featured remarks from each finalist as well as appearances from Donna Drew Sawyer, CEO of Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, and Julia Marciari-Alexander, Andrea B. and John H. Laporte Director of the Walters Art Museum. Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize The Artscape prize is named in honor of Janet and Walter Sondheim who were instrumental in creating the Baltimore City that exists today. Walter Sondheim, Jr. had been one of Baltimore’s most important civic leaders for over 50 years. His accomplishments included oversight of the desegregation of the Baltimore City Public Schools in 1954 when he was president of the Board of School Commissioners of Baltimore City. Later, he was deeply involved in the development of Charles Center and the Inner Harbor. He continued to be active in civic and educational activities in the city and state and served as the senior advisor to the Greater Baltimore Committee until his death in February 2007. Janet Sondheim danced with the pioneering Denishawn Dancers, a legendary dance troupe founded by Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. Later, she turned to teaching where she spent 15 years at the Children’s Guild working with severely emotionally disturbed children. After retirement, she was a volunteer tutor at Highlandtown Elementary School. She married Walter in 1934, and they were together until her death in 1992. The 2020 Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize is made possible through the generous annual support of presenting sponsor M&T Bank. Additional funds come from an endowment established with the support of the Abell Foundation, Baltimore Community Foundation, Amy and Chuck Newhall, Brown Advisory, Caplan Family Foundation, Charlesmead Foundation, Ellen Sondheim Dankert, France-Merrick Foundation, Greater Baltimore Committee, Hecht-Levi Foundation, Legg Mason, Rollins-Luetkemeyer Foundation, Henry & Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation, Rosemore, Inc., Rouse Company Foundation, Sigmund & Barbara Shapiro Philanthropic Fund, John Sondheim, William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, and Patricia and Mark Joseph/The Shelter Foundation. BOPA would additionally like to thank the more than 40 individuals who contributed to the Sondheim Prize Endowment Fund in 2017 in honor of former BOPA CEO Bill Gilmore. For more information on the Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize, visit www.artscape.org, www.promotionandarts.org, or call 410-752-8632. Media Contact: Lauren Green Director, Marketing and Communications lgreen@promotionandarts.org 443-263-4310 |