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Bruce Willen Inter- and Multi-Disciplinary Work
$40,000 Mary Sawyers Imboden Prize

Bruce Willen is a multidisciplinary artist, designer, musician, and creator of the Ghost Rivers public art project, which has brought widespread attention to the ecological consequences and forgotten histories of buried urban streams. His Baltimore-based studio, Public Mechanics, focuses on works for public and cultural spaces. Throughout Bruce’s practice he seeks to bring new perspectives to everyday places, objects, language, and histories. His recent work aims to deepen engagement with the landscapes, systems, and symbols around us, fostering moments of discovery and play that open new ways to experience our shared spaces.

Prior to Public Mechanics, Bruce co-founded acclaimed design studio Post Typography where he led high-profile projects that have shaped the visual language of Baltimore and beyond. His work has appeared on the covers of Time Magazine, The New York Times, and ESPN and in dozens of design books and periodicals, including a Post Typography monograph. He is the co-author of the book Lettering & Type and has written for the Washington Post, Design Observer, and other publications.

As part of his interdisciplinary practice, Bruce composes and performs music and sound art, including several new silent-film scores. With the instrumental duo Peals, Bruce has performed in clock towers, museums, and living rooms on multiple continents and has released recordings with legendary indie label Thrill Jockey Records. Prior to Peals, Bruce contributed to Baltimore’s music scene for nine years as a member of the influential post-punk band Double Dagger, subject of the 2013 documentary film If We Shout Loud Enough.

Bruce Willen, looking slightly up and to the right, wearing glasses, and orange baseball hat and black shirt, against a background of sky
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Monica Ikegwu, wearing dark glasses, looking directly at viewer with chin resting on right hand
Monica Ikegwu
Visual Arts
$10,000 Mary Sawyers Baker Prize
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Evan Nicole Bell
Evan Nicole Bell
Music
$10,000 Mary Sawyers Baker Prize
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Lysley Tenorio, clad in hat, glasses, and navy blazer, standing in stairwell, looking directly at viewer
Lysley Tenorio
Literary Arts
$10,000 Mary Sawyers Baker Prize
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Chung-Wei Headshot
Chung-Wei Huang
Film/Video
$10,000 Mary Sawyers Baker Prize
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Lola B. Pierson looking at camera with hair swept to one side in black tank top.
Lola B. Pierson
Performing Arts
$10,000 Mary Sawyers Baker Prize
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  • Artist Portfolios
    • Film/Video
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    • Literary Arts
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    • Performing Arts
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  • Be A Part of the Art
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The Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance (GBCA) is an inclusive and independent organization that believes that arts and culture are essential to the vitality of the Greater-Baltimore region and that the cultural community is stronger together than apart.