The art is stunning, colorful, and inspirational in the latest issue of the Council for the Arts & Culture’s art and literary journal. Submissions are now open through Feb. 14 for the next issue.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore’s (UMB) Council for the Arts & Culture is pleased to announce that the fourth edition of 1807: An Art & Literary Journal is now available. This issue tells the story of the past 18 months and shows how art has helped transform grief and isolation into a celebration of healing, renewal, and hope.
“We all know that art is subjective, that we take from it what we want and what we need,” says Jennifer Litchman, MA, senior vice president for external relations, founder and chair, Council for the Arts & Culture, and 1807 editor-in-chief. “Some of the pieces in this issue look and sound as though they are a response to the difficult times in which we are living, attempts to make sense of what oftentimes seems senseless. Other pieces are clearly a celebration of life — an acknowledgment that regardless of the angst, pain, and suffering that we see and experience each day, we know that there is beauty in the world and there are reasons to rejoice.”
This issue’s compilation of artwork continues the arts council’s mission to create annual collections of previously unpublished works that broadly and creatively relate to the themes of social justice, health, healing, the mind, and the body. The journal features paintings, photography, images of varied and visual art, and writing by 63 artists.
Creative director and managing editor of 1807, Dana Rampolla, director of integrated marketing, Office of Communications and Public Affairs, says, “I continue to be amazed at the quality and variety of incredibly creative artwork that is presented for review each year. The submissions come from a diverse group of UMB community members, demonstrating that artistic talent spans many realms including but not limited to age, gender, profession, and ethnicity.”
This year’s cover, “A World Away” by Joan Lee, MD, is a 12-inch-by-12-inch oil portrait that depicts a woman in a Colonial-style pink dress seated at a writing table, lost in her thoughts.
Lee, an affiliate physician and sub-investigator at the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health, has been drawing her entire life and started painting in 2014. Most of her painting is done in oil, typically as plein air landscapes and figurative work. She says she is still learning, finding her style, and taking classes and hopes to expand her expertise to watercolor and pastel.
This also marks Yumi Hogan’s last issue as Maryland’s first lady. However, she will continue in her role as honorary chair of UMB’s arts council.
“Since 2015, Mrs. Hogan has been our advocate, our cheerleader, and our muse as the UMB Council for the Arts & Culture took its first tentative steps and then found its footing and began publishing this award-winning art and literary magazine,” Litchman says. “We are absolutely thrilled that Mrs. Hogan will stay on as honorary chair as she re-enters private life and rededicates herself to her art.”
Hogan said she is looking forward to continuing her role supporting the arts.
“Over the past seven years, I have become connected to more and more people through the arts. Art has no boundaries, and its positive impact is limitless,” she said. “The arts have given hope to people more than ever during these challenging times. As the first lady of Maryland, an artist, a teacher, and an arts advocate, I am so proud of our state’s vibrant arts community and am grateful for every chance to support and empower my fellow Marylanders.”
UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, praised the beauty of UMB’s campus and of the journal. An accomplished metalworker, Jarrell has a work called “Tulips” featured in this issue.
“No matter the season, each day that I walk from building to building on UMB’s campus, I am amazed at the beauty that surrounds us,” Jarrell said. “The art that graces these pages continues to be broad in type and variety, color and texture, mood and feel. And, yes, it even features imagery of some of our UMB buildings, as well as a tremendous amount of other stunning art and literary works.”
You can see the journal, download a PDF, and find out how to buy a copy here.
Submissions are now open online through 11:59 p.m. Feb. 14 for the next issue of the journal. UMB faculty, staff, students, alumni, and retirees as well as University of Maryland Medical Center employees and our West Baltimore neighbors are encouraged to submit their works. Submission does not guarantee publication. Learn more here.