BMA exhibit uniquely curated by security guards

Over the past several years the Baltimore Museum of Art has been at the forefront of activating groundbreaking initiatives that inspire people to think differently about art and its impact, and the exhibit “Guarding the Art,” opening today, is a clear example of this. I sat in Director Chris Bedford’s office two years ago and explained I had an idea that I felt was in this groundbreaking category, and I was prepared to stay in his office until he agreed to pursue it. I felt confident that he would see the idea captures the essence of everything the BMA can and should be. And he did. Guarding the Art became official as of that conversation.

The idea itself was born a few days earlier, after I had dinner with the

Asma Naeem, the BMA’s chief curator. Naeem was considering the paradoxical work of the museum guard — to be a constant presence and yet barely noticed by museum goers. I went home that night and continued to think about our conversation and how interesting it would be to hear from the security guards as to what works of art were meaningful and special to them. It occurred to me that others might find the guards’ perspectives compelling as well. After all, during their workdays, the guards live with the art.

Consider this: For every profound encounter a visitor might have with a work of art, somewhere in the background of the gallery is a security guard, quietly observing both visitor and art. Day after day and week after week, there are no other museum employees who spend more time with the works of art on view than the guards. Their perspectives are born out of countless times they’ve spent watching over the galleries and interacting with visitors on weekends, when the museum is bustling with families, tourists, groups of college students, and neighborhood residents dropping in for a quick stroll through a favorite wing. And, on the occasion when the galleries are quiet, they have the time to shift their undivided attention to the art. In essence, the BMA’s collection is a constant for the guards, shifting between backdrop and focal point.

The show is more personal than a typical museum exhibition in which a single curatorial voice educates audiences about a body of work and how it fits into the context of art history. In Guarding the Art, the works have been selected by the 17 guest curators (the security officers) and illuminate the personal histories and motivations of those who selected them.

Take, for example, Ricardo Castro. A three-year veteran of the BMA’s security team, Mr. Castro is Puerto Rican and wanted to find works by Puerto Rican artists in the BMA’s collection. When works by Puerto Rican artists were not available, he instead selected works from the Indigenous cultures of nearby countries. He also asked that one display case in the exhibition remain vacant for Puerto Rico. While Mr. Castro looked to his roots, his colleague Kellen Johnson, a classical voice performance major at Towson University, found inspiration in his professional ambitions. He selected works that connected to music, both pictorially and historically. Michael Jones, on the other hand, let his work as a guard inspire the presentation of the object he selected. After observing visitors attempt to touch sculptural works while roaming the galleries, Mr. Jones — a practicing artist himself — designed a custom case for Head of Medusa (Door Knocker). There are guards like Rob Kempton, who selected pieces he has been drawn to in the galleries over the years. Abstract works by Grace Hartigan,

Alma Thomas and Helen Frankenthaler that have brought him peace and joy at work are what he sought to bring to the show. And there is Joan Smith, who wanted to highlight works she thought beautifully married form and function.

In these ways, the exhibition opens a door for how a visitor might feel about the art or relate to the art, rather than just provide frameworks for how to think about the art. My hope is that Guarding the Art offers visitors a newfound understanding of the personal ways we all can connect to art and a pathway to empathy with the people around us.