Lou Cortinahe University of Maryland, Baltimore’s (UMB) first piece of public art stands proudly at the corner of Baltimore and Pine streets, a 30-foot-tall kinetic sculpture by artist Eric Peltzer titled “Stochastic Interactions.”
The striking piece, located in front of Health Sciences Research Facility III, is but one fruit of the labors of UMB’s Council for the Arts & Culture, which sponsors programs, events, and groups that promote the history of the University; celebrates the creative talents of its students, faculty, and staff; and allows the UMB community to experience arts and culture through a variety of avenues.
Collaborating with the Maryland Commission on Public Art and the Maryland State Arts Council, UMB’s council endorsed, supported, and promoted “Stochastic Interactions” in addition to hosting an October 2018 reception for its unveiling. The UMB council’s honorary chair, Maryland First Lady Yumi Hogan, spoke at the event, saying the sculpture is in the perfect spot to inspire “people of all ages, including students.”
Hogan is an artist as well, and she also had the idea to have UMB’s council commission murals at its partner city public schools in West Baltimore. “Art brings all of us together,” says Mrs. Hogan, who last fall exhibited her own artwork at Weise Gallery in the Health Sciences and Human Services Library. “It doesn’t matter your background because it’s something we can all appreciate together.”The council also sponsors tours of Davidge Hall and the Westminster Hall Burying Ground and Catacombs; offers the UMB community members discounts to plays at Baltimore theaters; and helps boost the University’s community engagement efforts by co-sponsoring the annual Neighborhood Spring Festival in West Baltimore. In May, it launched a new literary magazine, 1807.
