New directors, new visions: BMA, MD Center for History & Culture

By Tom Hall,

Teria Rogers, Rob Sivak, Malarie Pinkard-Pierre

Published April 18, 2023 at 12:00 PM EDT

Derrick Adams' "Heir to the Throne" (2021. Private Collection. Courtesy of the Artist.) , The work is part of the Baltimore Museum of Art's exhibition, "The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century," open April 5 – July 16, 2023. (image courtesy BMA) — Derrick Adams' "Heir to the Throne" (2021. Private Collection. Courtesy of the Artist.) The work is part of the Baltimore Museum of Art's new exhibition, "The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century," open April 5 – July 16, 2023. (image courtesy BMA)

Today, it’s Midday at the Museum. Two museums, to be exact. The Baltimore Museum of Art and the Maryland Center for History and Culture have each named new directors within the last several months. Asma Naeem took the reins of the BMA in February. Katie Caljean assumed the top job at the Maryland Center last fall.

They join us today on Midday to talk about their plans for their respective institutions, and to share their reflections on the changing roles of museums in Baltimore and beyond.

(L-R) Asma Naeem is the director of the Baltimore Museum of Art; Gamynne Guillotte is the BMA's Chief of Education. (photo credits: Christopher Myers)

Asma Naeem was born in Pakistan. She moved to Baltimore as a two-year-old. She is the first person of color to lead the BMA in its 109-year history. Her career as an art historian and curator was preceded by a career as a lawyer, including a tenure as a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in New York.

Asma Naeem joins us on Zoom from her office at the museum.

We are also joined by Asma’s BMA colleague, Gamynne Guillotte, the museum's Chief of Education and co-curator of a new exhibition at the BMA that celebrates Hip Hop, during the 50th anniversary of the influential genre.

Katie Caljean is the president and CEO of the Maryland Center for History and Culture. (photo courtesy MCHC)

The Culture: Hip Hop & Contemporary Art in the 21st Century is being co-curated with two colleagues from the St. Louis Art Museum.

This exhibition is a ticketed show, but there are a few days when admission to the exhibition is free. The next one is Sunday, May 21st. The exhibition closes July 16th.

In the final segment of the program today, Tom's guest is Katie Caljean, the president and CEO of the Maryland Center for History and Culture. She was appointed to the top job last fall, after serving at the Center for about 10 years, most recently as its senior vice president of education and strategic engagement.

Katie Caljean joins Tom in Studio A…

Jim Henson with puppets from “Fraggle Rock”. (© The Jim Henson Company. Courtesy The Jim Henson Company / MoMI). From May through December 2023, the Maryland Center for History and Culture is hosting the traveling show "The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited." Developed by Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI), this 5,000-square-foot, Muppet-filled multimedia exhibition is full of hundreds of objects, including puppets, character sketches, storyboards, scripts, costumes, and film and television clips. — The late puppeteer Jim Henson, with puppets from “Fraggle Rock.” From May-December 2023, the Maryland Center for History and Culture is hosting the traveling show "The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited." Developed by Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI), this 5,000-square-foot, Muppet-filled multimedia exhibition is full of hundreds of objects, including puppets, character sketches, storyboards, scripts, costumes, and film and television clips. (© The Jim Henson Company. Courtesy The Jim Henson Company / MoMI).

The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited opens at the Maryland Center for History and Culture on Memorial Day weekend, on Friday, May 26. It will be at the Center until December.

[Audio Player Image: Artist Joyce J. Scott: "Hip Hop Saint, Tupac" (2014. The Baltimore Museum of Art: Women's Committee Acquisitions Endowment for Contemporary Prints and Photographs, BMA 2020.61. © Joyce J. Scott and Goya Contemporary Gallery)]