By The Walter’s Art Museum
The Walters Art Museum, in collaboration with the Baltimore Office of Promotion and The Arts, has proudly presented the 2025 Janet and Walter Sondheim Art Prize Finalists Exhibition. On view through July 20, the exhibition showcases the work of five finalists—Aliana Grace Bailey, Amanda Leigh Burnham, Lillian Jacobson, Jacob Mayberry and Wonchul Ryu—in this prestigious competition, which awards a $30,000 fellowship to assist in furthering the career of a visual artist or visual artist collaborators living and working in the greater Baltimore region.
Aliana Grace Bailey is an interdisciplinary fiber artist, designer, care worker and founder of vibrant grace studio. She was born and raised in Washington, D.C., and lives and works in Baltimore. Bailey weaves layers of interconnection, comfort, healing, and storytelling through fiber. Bailey’s work embraces the vulnerability of artmaking to build intimacy, preserve memories, heal wounds, and create inner peace. Bailey’s work is large in scale, emotional and vibrant in color, encompassing the body and providing viewers with a comforting hug while exploring familial connections, material and experiences that tug at their hearts.
Jacob Mayberry, also known as “Black Chakra,” is a world-traveled spoken word artist and poetry champion. In Baltimore, Mayberry cultivated his legacy by teaching youth how to find the power in their voices through poetry. He has coached eight statewide youth poetry champions and three international youth poetry finalist teams. Mayberry hopes to one day be remembered as an artist who changed the climate of Baltimore through his work.
The Sondheim 2025 Art Prize Finalists Award Ceremony will take place on Thursday, June 26, 6–7:30 p.m. Registration is required. The event will serve as a space to celebrate this year’s winner and mingle with members of Baltimore’s arts community.