Baker Artist Portfolios

BAKER ARTIST PORTFOLIOS

• FREE Online Portfolio
• $90,000 in annual awards
• Discover other artists in the region
• Be part of the Baker community!

Deadline
The deadline to be considered for one of the 2025 Baker Artist Awards is Monday, January 27, 2025 at 5:00PM (deadline extended!). All artists with an active portfolio at the deadline will be automatically considered for one of this year's six awards totaling $90,000.

Click here for more information about the Baker Artist Awards. 

Please mark your calendars for these Upcoming Events:
Thursday, September 26, 3:30PM: Baker Season Kickoff Info Session
Thursday, September 26, 5:00PM: Arts & Culture Hour at Motor House
Saturday, September 28, 6:30pm: Literary Soiree at Baltimore Book Festival
November 7, 2024 - January 19, 2025: Baker Off The Web Exhibition & Events at The Peale (stay tuned!)

INFO SESSIONS:

• Want to learn more about the Baker Artist Portfolios and associated awards?
• Have questions about the program or website?
• Need help with your portfolio?
• Want to hear tips and pointers? 

Join us for a Baker Info Session!

This year, we are offering a series of both in-person and virtual sessions.

Info sessions are approximately 90 minutes in length, including time for questions.

UPCOMING BAKER ARTIST PORTFOLIOS & AWARDS  INFO SESSIONS

In-Person Sessions:
Thursday, September 26, 3:30 - 5pm, Motor House with special guest Judah Asahi- Happy hour to follow!
Sunday, November 3, 2 - 3:30pm, Black Artist Fair at Coppin State University 
Thursday, November 23, 5:30 - 7pm, The Peale 
Tuesday, December 3, 6:30 -8:00 pm, Manor Mill 
      

Virtual Sessions:
Thursday, October 17, Noon - 1:30pm
Wednesday, December 11, 6 - 7:30pm

RSVP for Info Sessions here!

Interested in creating a portfolio? Have questions about eligibility? Need help with your portfolio? Want to hear tips and pointers? Join us for a Baker Info Session! 

Each Baker Info Session session is  90 minutes in length, and features a presentation from GBCA Staff with detailed program overviews and instructions on using the site. 

This year, we are offering a series of both in-person and virtual sessions.

Virtual Sessions:

• Thursday, October 17, Noon - 1:30p
• Wednesday, December 11, 6 - 7:30p

In-Person Sessions:

• Thursday, September 26, 3:30 - 5pm*, Motor House (120 W. North Ave, Baltimore City) - Happy hour to follow!
• Sunday, November 3, 2 - 3:30pm, Black Artist Fair at Coppin State University (2500 W. North Ave., Baltimore) 
• Thursday, November 21, 5:30 - 7pm, The Peale (225 Holliday St., Baltimore City) 
• Tuesday, December 3, 6:30 -8:00 pm, Manor Mill (2029 Monkton Rd., Monkton)

        *with special guest, 2024 Baker Artist Awardee Judah Adashi !

Additional updates will be added throughout the season!

RSVP here!

DEADLINE: All artists with an active portfolio on Friday, January 17, 2025 at 5:00 pm will be considered for an award.

We have created this detailed instruction manual for those who would like step-by-step instructions on using the Baker website. Click here to download!

Also consider joining us for a virtual or in-person Info Session!

The Curated Collections feature provides curators and artists the opportunity to browse the site, pick compelling individual works of any artist, and save them on a personal Curated Collections page for others to view. Users of this feature can choose different artist works in a random fashion or can choose to take a more curatorial approach by putting together a page of favorite works by theme, idea, discipline, location, etc. 

This feature also allows you to see similar portfolios you may like based on what you and others have previously favorited. 

While you are browsing the Baker Artist Portfolios and are looking at an individual artist's portfolio, under each of their artworks you will see a gray star labeled, “Add to your collection.” Once you click Add to your collection it will now be an orange star labeled, “Remove from your collection.” You can click Remove from your Collection in order to remove it. 

If you are using the site as an artist, you can view your curated collection, by going to your public portfolio page, where it will be featured at the bottom of your portfolio, with the title, "Artist Name's Curated Collection." You can also find it by going to My Curated Collection in the drop-down menu under your name in the upper right of the window when you are logged in. 

If  you are using the Baker site as a curator, when you are logged in you can see your collections by going to the top right corner drop down menu that will say your first name, and clicking My Curated Collection.

You can now edit your collection by clicking on Manage My Collection, which, for curator accounts, will be on the right below your social media when you are viewing your curated collection, and for artist accounts, will be on the right, next to your bio in your artist profile.

You must be over 21 years old and have been a legal resident of the Baltimore region since September 20, 2023 (one year prior to the opening of the current open portfolio season). The Baltimore region is defined as: Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Carroll County, Harford County and Howard County.

You must have a Baker Artist Portfolio that includes a minimum of one “work sample” and one “project.”

You must reactivate your portfolio each year to confirm you remain eligible. If you participated last year,  your portfolio files and text will be saved just as you had left them from last year. To reactivate your portfolio, simply login to your account.

What's new for the 2023/ 2024 Baker Season

NEW FEATURES:

Available For Purchase

• When you upload a piece of media to your portfolio, you now have the option to click a box marking the work as Available for Purchase. 
• When you click this box, you will have the option to add additional information into the Purchase Information field about how someone interested in purchasing this work could do so.  Information could include instructions on how someone should contact you or go about purchasing your work. 
• Note: this feature is currently only available for images, but the information you include is up to you. Non-visual artists might choose to upload an image, and include links or information to purchase tickets, listen to an album, attend an event, etc.
• If you click Available for Purchase, the artwork will be marked as Available for Purchase on your public portfolio.

Customized URLs

• You can customize your URL in your Edit Portfolio Page. At the top of the page, underneath Title, you will see the Preferred URL field. Here, you can enter what you would like as the back half of the URL that links to your Baker Artist Portfolio. For example, to make the address https://bakerartist.org/portfolios/ExampleArt, you would type “ExampleArt” in as your Preferred URL. 
• This feature allows you to personalize the link to your Baker Artist Portfolio, which you can share as you choose. If you choose not to personalize this link, the default URL will be your Username.

Required Alternative Text

• It is no longer optional to include Alternative text when uploading images to your portfolio.
• Alternative text should concisely describe your image, as it will be read aloud by screen readers used by visually impaired users, displayed in place of the image if it fails to load, and indexed by search engines. 
• If your portfolio is not new, consider editing the images currently in it to add Alternative text.  In order to enable the continued visibility of  the existing images in your portfolio, updates to the website automatically populated the Alternative text field with the title of your image.  While this was necessary to update the site, in the long term, it neither supports accessibility nor image SEO.

PDFs Now Display as Graphics

• When you upload a PDF document, the site now creates a graphic image of the PDF.  
• This means that now literary artists can easily display the cover of a book or collection as the image of a work sample.
•  All artists uploading PDFs should be aware that the first page of the sample will display as the image of the work sample.

Editing Your Curated Collection

• It is now easier to edit your curated collection!

1. While you are browsing other Baker Artist Portfolios, under each of their artworks you will notice a gray star button that says Add to your collection. Once you click Add to your collection, it will become an orange star that reads Remove from your collection. This work has now been added to your curated collection!
2. To remove work from your curated collection, you can click the orange Remove from your collection directly under the artwork in the artist’s portfolio or you can do so from your own curated collection, by clicking the blue Manage My Collection next to your bio on your artist profile page.
3. Your curated collection is visible to the public at the bottom of your artist profile.  You can quickly navigate to this page, through the drop down menu  on your name and selecting My Curated Collection.

Add Location / Affiliation

• You can select all the locations and affiliations that apply to you through the Edit Artist Profile page. We will be adding organizations and other affiliations throughout the season, so be sure to check back to see if any apply to you.   
• This feature allows for the ability to search portfolios by location or affiliation.

For more information, download a detailed instruction manual, or consider attending one of our upcoming Baker Info Sessions!

• To edit and add to your portfolio go to the top right corner drop down menu when you are logged in. The menu will say your first name or preferred artist name, and in the drop down menu click Edit Portfolio.

    Title: This is where it will read "your name's portfolio" or you can change it to be your alias, etc.

Work Samples

• Everyone must include a minimum of one and up to four work samples to display at the top of your portfolio. These should be your four best works that you would like the public and jurors to see first.
• Pick what type of media you want to add from the drop down menu, then click Select Media to add a work sample, you can always go back later and edit.
• Be sure to click not only the blue Save within the select media window, but also the green Save in the bar at  the bottom of the page, before navigating away from the page, or your uploads will not be saved.
• Use the blue cross hairs to rearrange the order of your work samples display by dragging each work sample right or left.
• Up to four work samples of varying length may be submitted but must not exceed a limit of ten minutes or 15 pages in total. For example, (5) two minute samples, (1) ten minute sample, (3) five page samples, (1) 15 page sample, etc., would all fit within the criteria.
• If you want to include video, once you click Select Media, please click Add Remote Video, and enter a Vimeo or YouTube URL link. (For video, you must upload your sample onto a third party provider and use an embed code. Note, the Baker site cannot clip the sample for you.)
• Be sure to add thoughtful descriptions to all of your work samples. You can talk about process, medium, project, etc.

Projects

• You can add up to 10 projects to your portfolio. Each project can have up to 10 pieces of media within it. You can use the blue crosshairs to rearrange the order of your projects display by dragging them up and down.
• When you click Add New Project you will be prompted to include a title and a description of your project. Below the body/description is where you can upload your 10 pieces of media.
• You have the option to mark each project by discipline in a drop down menu. Even if your portfolio is labeled as one specific discipline, each project can be a different one. For example, your portfolio may be "Visual Arts" but you can have a project labeled as "Film/Video."
• You may indicate style, medium, or create your own tags in the Tag field. Using these features helps make your portfolio and projects easier to search for.
• Make sure to click  the blue Create Project to save. You can always go back and add and edit later.
• Before navigating away from this page, click the green Save in the bar at the bottom of the page, or your newly created projects will not be saved.

Adding images/media to your projects

• Add up to 10 pieces of artwork for this project. Use the blue crosshairs to rearrange the order of your artwork display.
• Images should be at least 600px tall in order to look good on the website. Uploading smaller images will result in the image being upsized, which could cause pixelation in your image.
• If you want to include video, once you click Select Media, please click Add Remote Video, and enter a Vimeo or YouTube URL link. (For video, you must upload your sample onto a third party provider and use an embed code. Note, the Baker site cannot clip the sample for you.)
• As you populate your project with media, you will be prompted to add Title, Description, and Alt text for each piece of media.
• Be sure to click the blue Save within the select media window, AND before navigating away from this project, click either the blue Create Project or Update Project at the bottom of the project window.

• On the homepage of the Baker Artist Portfolios, scroll down until you see a big blue bar. On the left side, under where you see "Become a Baker Artist," click Start Your Portfolio.
• A form will appear with prompts to fill out information to create your New Artist Account.
• Required information is indicated by a red asterisk, and includes things like Email, Username, First name, Last name, Birthdate, Location, Artistic discipline, and Bio.
  • You should only pick one artistic discipline that best describes the majority of your practice: visual art; film/video; literary art; music; performing arts; and interdisciplinary (inter- and multi-disciplinary work means that one particular body of work combines elements from multiple different disciplines.)
  • You  will later be able to choose different disciplines for each separate project that you add. 
• There is additional non-required information that will help make your profile stronger and more searchable, such as: Location / Affiliation,  Picture, Site-Wide Representation, Resume, and URLs to link to your website and social media accounts.
• You are also offered the option to keep your portfolio private and not viewable to the public. If you wish to hide it until you are finished building it, check Keep my artwork private so that others can not view it. If you choose to keep your portfolio private, you can later uncheck this box.
• Once you have entered the information, be sure to check the terms of service and privacy policy boxes then click Create New Account. 
  • You will be emailed with a verification link. Check the email inbox associated with your Baker Artist Portfolios account to find the verification link. 
  • The email should be sent by [email protected]. Your email will contain a verification link with instructions.
  •  The link will navigate you to a page where you can set your password.
  • Once you’ve set your password, you will now be able to log in using either your username or email address, and the password you just created. 
• You are now ready to begin to build your portfolio, browse other artists' portfolios, and add your favorite artworks to your very own personal curated collection. ​

Why is my portfolio not showing up when I search it?
Portfolios will not show up in search results until at least one work sample has been uploaded, as well as one project with at least one piece of media.

Once these steps are complete, if your Baker Portfolio is not showing up in the search results, please contact us immediately. Don't worry, we'll get it fixed right away!

Please email us at [email protected]

Can I create a portfolio and be eligible for an award if I am still a student?
Yes, you can.  As long as you are at least 21 old and meet the residency requirements, you are welcome to create a Baker Artist Portfolio.

What is the difference between a work sample and a project?
Work samples will show at the top of your portfolio.  These are examples that you feel best represent your work as an artist, as they are what viewers will see first. These will likely be pieces of media that are also included in various projects within your portfolio. Those in Film/Video, Music, Literary, and Performing Arts will want work samples to be excerpts from a full-length project included in their portfolio.  Visual artists may want to think of a work sample as a piece or image that is representative of one of their projects.

Projects, on the other hand, are the bulk of your portfolio.  They are the larger piece of work, series, or framework that your work fits within.  Artists are encouraged to think of projects like larger containers or buckets used to organize your work. 

Still have questions?
Please email us at [email protected]

1. On the homepage of the Baker Artist Portfolios, scroll down until you see a big blue bar, where it says "Become An Online Curator." Click Start Curating.
   
2. A small form will appear with prompts to fill out information to create your New Curator Account.
   Required information is indicated by a red asterisk. This includes Email address, Username, First name, Last name, and Birthdate. You also have the option to personalize your account by adding a Picture and URLs to link to your social media accounts. 
3. After filling out the above information and checking Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, click  Create New Account in the bar at the bottom of the page.
4. You will be emailed with a verification link. Check the email inbox associated with your Baker Artist Portfolios account to find the verification link. 
   The email should be sent by [email protected]. Your email will contain a verification link with instructions. 
5. The link will navigate you to a page where you can set your password. 
6. Once you’ve set your password, you will now be able to log in using either your  username or email address, and the password you just created.
7. You are now ready to browse artists' portfolios and add your favorite artworks to your very own curated collection.

Are you ready to start digging around to find what Baltimore's artists are working on this year? As you make your way through the artist portfolios, you can create exhibitions of your own by creating your Curated Collection for personal use or to share with the public. Also, we encourage you to share your questions or comments about the work on view by commenting on portfolio pages.

There are a few different ways you can begin to browse all of the portfolios and search for specific artists, mediums, keywords, etc. 

On the Homepage:

• On the homepage there is a search bar where you can type in whatever you are looking for. You can search an artist's name, an artistic medium, a keyword, and just about anything. Examples of possible searches are visual art, literary art, photography, painting, landscape, violin, film, etc. You can also use the blue drop-down menu to the right of the search bar field to filter your search by artistic discipline 
• If you are looking to browse ALL of the portfolios on the site, and not just a narrowed search, you can click the magnifying glass button or Browse next to the search bar field, and this will take you to the full browsing/search window. Each page will show sixteen thumbnails of artist portfolios, and you can continue to see more pages by clicking the blue  Next button above all the thumbnails or at the bottom of the page.

Browse page:

• While on the main browse page, you can filter your search by discipline by clicking through the various disciplines in the orange tab above the portfolios. 
• You can also filter your search by location and affiliation by using the black drop-down menu on the left, below where it says, “Filter portfolios by.” The search results will update with portfolios that only fit the selected criteria. If you wish to clear this search, just select Choose in the drop-down menu. 
• While on the browse page, you can also sort any of your search results and filters by either Recently Updated, which is the default setting, Last Name (A-Z), or Last Name (Z-A). 

The Baker Artist Portfolios are a program of the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance. 

The best way to reach us is at [email protected].

Our phone number is 410-230-0200.