SPARK IV: A New World?

UMBC and Towson University present the fourth installment of the collaborative SPARK pop-up exhibition — SPARK IV: A New World? — in partnership with Maryland Art Place (MAP) and through the generous sponsorship of PNC Bank. The exhibition will be held in MAP’s main gallery space from April 29 through June 26, with opportunities to experience the exhibition and programs virtually.

De-coupled this year from the annual Light City festival, SPARK IV expands beyond a focus on light-based artworks to embrace the notion of art’s power to illuminate and trigger reflection and dialogue. In A New World?, artistic work is considered through the lens of the significant modifications to life during the pandemic alongside longstanding concerns such as systemic racism and the climate crisis. What have we been through and what happens next? After experiencing the chaos, upheaval, and uncertainty that dominated this past year, how do we see the world, and how do we cope, adapt, and persevere.

The exhibition will feature artwork by Towson and UMBC faculty and student artists. A list of participating artists will be announced, and special public programs will also be announced.

An opening reception will be held virtually on Thursday, May 6, at 6 p.m.

SPARK is curated by Catherine Borg, a Baltimore artist tracing shifting narratives in American culture in photo and video-based artworks. Her work has been presented in many venues; highlights include screenings at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art, a solo exhibition at the Contemporary Art Center Las Vegas reviewed in Art in America, and public art projects for the Southern Nevada Regional Transportation Commission, the City of Las Vegas, and Scottsdale Public Art. She holds an MFA degree in visual arts from Rutgers University, a BA degree in broadcasting from San Francisco State University, and has received fellowships from the Nevada Arts Council, the MacDowell Colony, and the Jentel Foundation. As a curator, Borg has presented the work of dozens of artists in film and video screenings, solo, two-person, and group exhibitions in venues as varied as traditional gallery spaces, empty storefronts, hotel rooms, a seven-story rotunda, and the Columbus Center (SPARK III).