2024
The Greatest City of America
Middendorf Gallery
Curated by Ara Koh, Maggie Wei
Architecture shapes the identity of a city. The Baltimore Rowhouse tells the 200-year story. Found in neighborhoods across the city, they span from richly ornamented three-story mansions in Bolton Hill to narrow alley houses in Fell's Point. The evolution of the rowhouse from its origins as speculative housing for laborers and merchants in the 1790s and for newly arrived immigrants after 1850. Practical, cozy, and attractive, these old homes were fuel-efficient and made a wonderful nest for Baltimorians. Job loss, suburban growth, and racial segregation encouraged abandonment and vacancy of these row houses throughout history. Today, the Baltimore rowhouse is of interest for stylistic reference and as a local building genre. This show “The greatest city in America?” features 30 student artists from CE200.01 and CE200.03 Introduction to Ceramics; Handbuilding instructed by Ara Koh. Inspired by the historic Baltimore Rowhome, each student took their own unique spin on what ‘home’ means to them. For one it was their dream house filled with sunlight and plants, for one it was a confrontation of abandonment, and for one it was a bakery filled with nostalgia from their own memories. They built homes and created a street, a city, and a community for you. What does "home" mean for you?