Ceramicist Sam Mack is the winner of the 19thth annual Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize, which will be awarded Thursday evening at the Walters Art Museum.
Mixed media artist Amy Boone-McCreesh took second place and weaver Hellen Ascoli took third place. Their work is on display at the museum, 600 N. Charles St., through Sept. 8.
Mack, who lives and works in Baltimore, will receive $30,000. Mack holds an MFA in Studio Art from the University of Arkansas School of Art and uses contemporary and historic ceramic vessels as the primary material for site-specific sculptures. The artist has exhibited internationally and is currently represented by Galleri Urbane in Dallas, Texas.
Boone-McCreesh will receive a studio space in the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower. Each finalist will also receive a $2,500 M&T Bank Finalist Award to assist in preparing for the Sondheim Finalists Exhibition.
The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA) presents the annual award in collaboration with the museum, M&T Bank and the Maryland State Arts Council.
The award is named for two civic leaders who strongly supported the arts and Baltimore, and is given “to advance the career of a visual artist or collaborating visual artist living and working in the greater Baltimore area.”
Jurors for the 2024 competition were: artist, scholar, and poet Noel W. Anderson; curator, educator, and historian Connie H. Choi; and curator, historian, and lecturer Aaron Levi Garvey. Lou Joseph is BOPA’s prizes and competition manager. Christine Sciacca, curator of European art at the Walters, is the exhibition curator.
The Walters Art Museum is open Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursdays from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Admission is free.
