BALTIMORE, MD (June 10, 2025)– The Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance (GBCA) and the William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund (Baker Fund) are thrilled to announce the 2026 Baker Artist Awardees, recognizing six extraordinary artists or artist duos whose work exemplifies mastery of craft, depth of artistic exploration, and unique vision.

Erin Fostel (Visual Arts – 2D), McCormack and Figg (Visual Arts – 3D), Kei Ito (Interdisciplinary Art), Alex and Olmsted (Performing Arts), and Don Lee (Literary Arts) will each receive a $10,000 Mary Sawyers Baker Prize, while Lynn Tomlinson has been selected to receive the annual $40,000 Mary Sawyers Imboden Prize, the largest art prize in the region.

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By Elizabeth Hazen

"Fostel’s drawings are gorgeous, almost photographic, forest nightscapes—trees silhouetted in misty light– that evoke a sense of solitude and calm and maybe a little sadness. "

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Baltimore-based artist Erin Fostel reflects on "Window Series," her body of charcoal works that explore human perspective through windows, which are at once a reflection of the world outside and a portal into the world within. Fostel is currently featured in the Frary Gallery exhibition, "Strong, Bright, Useful & True."

Interview with Amy Boone-McCreesh

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Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art continues our investigations of basic human needs with the new exhibition More Than Shelter. Eleven artists received an invitation to participate in this exhibition. We asked each one to consider what the idea of shelter means to them and choose an avenue of investigation. The artists connected with partners who provided unique insight into their area of expertise. Shelter is both a verb and a noun. It can mean a home, a community, or the people and places that makes us feel safe and welcomed. It also means to listen, care, and to support one another, our community, our land, our minds, our society, and our futures.

Known for her Women's Bedroom series of charcoal drawings, artist Erin Fostel knows the importance of having space, especially a temporary space, for some women. For More Than Shelter, she was given access to and allowed to photograph a recently vacated room in one of YWCA's Shelters.

EXHIBITION PARTNER:

YWCA SOUTH HAMPTON ROADS For over 100 years, the YWCA South Hampton Roads has strengthened social movements that eliminate racism, empower women, and promote peace, justice, and dignity for all through advocacy, local programming, and services.

Film by Jeremy Bates Film.

By Rafael Alvarez

"Crawford echoed the observations of Grimaldis and Cozzi, with the consensus that Fostel’s status as an accomplished draftsperson is a given. It’s an intangible – that undefinable “something more” that makes her an artist."

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By Nora Belblidia

"An invisible boundary seems to exist around these spaces, as if Fostel wants to make sure her subjects are kept safe. As viewers, we are allowed a glimpse, but we’re not exactly invited to come sit on the bed. Shadow Series, meanwhile, places the viewer firmly inside the scene (an effect which is no doubt aided by the direct scale). We are left to sort through what is “real”—that is, what are we actually staring at?—and what is an effect of the light. What at first appears to be an intricate scene of bending lines and Rorschach-style abstractions morphs as we notice the water droplets, and then the drain in Kitchen sink (morning). The drawings require—and thus appear to represent—the very act of paying attention. "

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By Lori Waxman

"The bedrooms in Erin Fostel’s tenderly realist charcoal-and-pencil drawings are the antithesis of the minimalist chic trending in shelter magazines. Verdant with potted plants, draped in patterned fabrics, personalized with mementos and art, they appear entirely and unselfconsciously lived in. Indeed, most of the beds are deep in rumpled sheets, quilts and dented pillows, impressed by the forms of the women who sleep there each night. That’s the theme of Fostel’s series, chambers belonging to one woman only, and it was well reflected in the title of her spring exhibition at Baltimore City Hall, A Room of Her Own, with a nod to 'A Room of One’s Own,' the iconic Virginia Woolf essay. Sadly, the show was shuttered due to the pandemic, a closure that feels symbolically related to the even sadder state of the current administration’s attitudes toward women. As Woolf argued back in 1929, women need their own space, both literally and figuratively. Too many today, in the U.S. and elsewhere, don’t even have the safety of a private bedroom for retreat."

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We interviewed charcoal artist Erin Fostel and discussed her creative process and how she found her niche as an artist. Throughout the interview, Erin explained how she found her style. She also broke down her process and inspiration behind her current work on buildings in Baltimore. We explored the city of Baltimore through her art. Erin also disclosed how she used art to deal with the grief of losing her father and how she redirected her grief into masterpieces. This is an insightful interview showing how a talented artist can use art as a therapeutic method to resolve real life issues and while highlighting her artistic abilities.

By Matthew Connelly

"Artist Erin Fostel is still keenly feeling the loss of her father, an architect who passed away in late 2014. Her current exhibition of charcoal drawings at Goucher’s Rosenberg Gallery, accompanied by a curated selection of her father’s personal items, is a haunting experience. The exhibit, titled The Weight of Absence, offers a space for healing and remembrance."

Read the full article here: www.bmoreart.com