Press Release
Baltimore Museum of Art is giving a platform to the creative exhibition by Mickalene Thomas on November 24, 2019. The exhibition titled “Mickalene Thomas: A Moment’s Pleasure” will be located in the most accessible area of the museum – the two-story East Lobby. The artist will provide the audience with a transformed living room for Baltimore. In particular, Mickalene Thomas will engage all aspects of the location into transformation, including wallpapers and furniture and accompany the modified area with paintings, prints, and exterior design elements (Baltimore Museum of Art). The goal of the artistic process is to define the new aesthetic and a change in a communal experience for the viewer.
The overall goal of the museum in initiating this solo exhibition is to honor the anniversary of women’s suffrage. It should be noted that the Baltimore Museum of Art has planned an entire series of events for the 2019-2020 season during which female-identifying artists will be exhibited. The institution intends to transform the Western art-historical canon and bring to the forefront the accomplishments of female artists. Through the Mickalene Thomas exhibition, the museum will attempt to implement its mission in terms of acknowledging the contribution of women in the development of art. In her artistic narration, the artist will explore such fundamental concepts as power, identity, gender, and sexuality (Baltimore Museum of Art). The exhibition is the mutual effort of the artist and the museum to remedy race and gender gaps. The exhibition will be on view until May 2021 and will attempt to bring scholars and the general public into a dialog regarding the contribution of women to art history.
Media Targets
The first media target to whom the exhibition will be pitched is the arts media. This media was chosen due to the fact that they reach vast audiences to which the core messages of the artist and the museum may be delivered. In particular, one of the main goals of the exhibition is to encourage a scholarly examination of women’s contribution to art history. Arts media have the tools to push this dialog and discussions through thoughtful coverage. It may be assumed that such elements of the exhibition as layers and media will interest them the most, including enamels and acrylics used and the composition of photographs and installations.
The second media target encompasses local and regional mass media such as magazines, radio, and television. The importance of pitching the exhibition to this media lies in the fact that they interact with a large number of people, and communication with the general audience is a tool for shaping public opinion. This target may be interested in the core messages of the artist and that of the institution and the strategy employed by Mickalene Thomas to convey these historically important statements (Baltimore Museum of Art).
The third priority media target is local and regional bloggers. It is a well-known fact that social media influencers are becoming increasingly popular among younger people and their impact on the population in the long-term should not be underestimated. They should be targeted to raise the awareness of younger generations regarding the contribution of women to the Western canon and spark their interest in art and history (Baltimore Museum of Art). Bloggers may be interested in the artistic expression of Mickalene Thomas, the scale of the exhibition, and the vocabulary used in the artist’s narration, which ranges from furniture and prints to mixed-media installations.
Work Cited
Baltimore Museum of Art. “BMA to Unveil Mickalene Thomas’s Largest Commission to Date in November 2019, Completely Transforming the Museum’s East Lobby.” Artbma. 2019, Web.