The chair and founder created the council so UMB could explore the links between the arts and health and science and highlight the many and varied artistic talents of students, faculty, and staff.
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 Jennifer Litchman, MA, chair and founder of the arts council.
What is your name/school/job description at UMB?
Jennifer B. Litchman, MA, Chief External Relations Officer and Senior Vice President, UMB. I oversee three offices: Communications and Public Affairs, Government Affairs, and Community and Civic Engagement. I’ve been at UMB for 26 years!
Why did you join the Council for the Arts & Culture?
I founded the arts council in 2015 because I saw a need to explore the links between the arts and health and science and create opportunities for the UMB students, faculty, staff, and alumni to connect with the community at large through the arts and culture both on campus and in the surrounding West Baltimore area. I also was aware that many of my colleagues are extremely talented artists and wanted to showcase their work in a tangible way, which we did with our award-winning art and literary journal, 1807.
Outside of your work on the arts council, what’s something people might not know about you?Many people might not know that I am a two-time Emmy-nominated executive producer of the documentary series “From West Baltimore,” which chronicles the lives of five students from West Baltimore who took advantage of opportunities presented to them to rise above their circumstances, graduate from high school, and advance to postsecondary education through UMB’s National Cancer Institute-funded CURE Scholars Program. The documentaries follow the scholars from sixth grade and through their first year of college. This series was a way to shed light on the importance of pipeline programs to create opportunities for those who, because of their ZIP codes, might not have an equal chance for success.
Is there an art organization, exhibition, performance, etc., in the area that you would recommend others to attend?
Baltimore is truly a cultural gem. Between the Hippodrome for Broadway shows, Everyman Theatre and Center Stage for spectacular plays, and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and CFG Arena for musical performances, Baltimore is equal to any other city in the United States for the performing arts in quality if not quantity. We also have many award-winning museums in town, from the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Walters Art Museum to the American Visionary Art Museum and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture — plus SO many more. You could go to one museum a week and not get to all of them in a year!
UMB itself is in an arts and culture lovers district — we have four outdoor art galleries on the north side of campus featuring work that has been published in 1807: An Art & Literary Journal, Westminster Hall and Burying Ground with Edgar Allan Poe’s grave, the Smithsonian-affiliated Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry, and, just outside our campus perimeter, there is Edgar Allan Poe’s house and museum, the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum, and the B&O Railroad Museum. I would recommend taking time one weekend to pretend you’re a tourist and see this great city through new eyes — you’ll be amazed at all that Baltimore has to offer!
What is your favorite arts council initiative/event?
That’s like asking which is my favorite child!! I confess that my pet project is our 1807 journal and its accompanying outdoor art galleries. We are currently gearing up to publish our seventh issue featuring the awe-inspiring artistry of the greater UMB community. It’s deeply gratifying that we have submissions from UMB students, faculty, staff, alumni, University of Maryland Medical Center colleagues, and members of our West Baltimore community, and that they have entrusted us with the honor of publishing their work in a simply gorgeous coffee table-style book. Five years ago, we unveiled our first outdoor gallery with art from the first issue, and that led to three more outdoor galleries that provide an oasis in our busy days if we simply take time to stop for a moment, take a breath as we view the art before us, and feel a real sense of community with our fellow travelers.