Art has been a lifelong pursuit for the School of Social Work project coordinator, who was trained as a paper-based artist but lately is “obsessed with the ... moving power of installation art.”
As part of its 10th anniversary celebration, the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s (UMB) Council for the Arts & Culture is featuring Q&As with its members on The Elm. This week, we shine the spotlight on Erin Barry-Dutro.
What is your name/school/job description at UMB?
Erin Barry-Dutro, Project Coordinator, University of Maryland School of Social Work.
Why did you join the Council for the Arts & Culture?
I was happy to accept an invitation to represent the School of Social Work on the arts council after having been associated with several other arts-related events at UMB.
What inspired you to become involved with the arts?
Art has suffused my life in so many ways! My mother was an art teacher in the public school system, and my father paints, so I was raised in and inspired by the arts from a very young age. I then went on to get my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, and I am now a Master of Fine Arts degree candidate at Towson University.
What’s your favorite type of art or artistic medium?
In terms of artistic mediums, I have two great loves: I was trained as a printmaker, so paper-based art still holds a special place in my heart, but I also have been totally obsessed with the immersive, emotionally moving power of installation art, which involves large-scale, mixed-media constructions that are often designed for a specific place or a temporary period of time.
A lot of folks haven’t had much ability to experience installation art for a number of reasons, including because as a medium it’s still being explored more deeply by artists. The other issue is that it’s harder to show installation art to the public, especially because many smaller galleries and arts institutions are more equipped to display traditional art. But the number of places specializing in exhibiting installation art is only increasing, and the growing accessibility of installation art in the future is very exciting to me.
What do you see as the role of the arts at UMB?
Art, science, and medicine have a long, rich history of knowledge and cultural exchange, and the disciplines speak to each other in so many important ways. Many scientists have made breakthroughs by working out problems artistically and creatively, and I think that encouraging creativity for everyone facilitates novel ways of thinking about our world. At UMB, I see the arts not only as an essential part of this scientific process, but also as a means of talking about science and medicine to a broader audience in approachable, understandable ways.