BALTIMORE, MD.- The BMA celebrates the eight winners of the Baker Artist Awards 2010 with an exhibition of sculpture, film, photography, drawings, music, and performance videos. On view April 7 through June 27, 2010, the exhibition showcases the talent and diversity of Baltimore’s arts community.

The Baker Artist Awards was created by the William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund to honor individual artists who live and work in Baltimore City and the five surrounding counties. This year 495 artists submitted their work to the competition at bakerartistawards.org, and more than 31,000 visitors from 129 countries voted online for their favorite artists.

The three $25,000 Mary Sawyers Baker Prize winners—sculptor Richard Cleaver, classical musician Peter Minkler, and filmmaker Karen Yasinsky—were selected by a private jury. Visitors to the BMA’s West Wing for Contemporary Art can see an installation of sculpture by Cleaver and a film by Yasinsky, and listen to samples of classical music recorded by violist Minkler. Additionally, Minkler will present “Inner Voice: A Violist's Struggle to be Heard,” a performance and discussion moderated by WYPR’s Tom Hall at the BMA on Saturday, June 26 at 2 p.m.

The $1,000 Baltimore’s Choice Prize winners—dancer and poet Amanda Theresa Fair, illustrator Kaveh Haerian, digital photographer Stephen Parke, beatboxer/vocal percussionist Shodekeh, and painter Kelly Walker—were the five artists who received the most votes cast by people visiting the website. Examples of their work will be featured in the BMA’s McCall Gallery.

An additional prize was added to the Baker Awards this year. The $1,000 Nancy Haragan Award, named after the founder of the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, was given to the Baltimore’s Choice Prize winner who best embodies Haragan’s dedication the area’s cultural community. The winner of the inaugural Nancy Haragan Award is Shodekeh.