The Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance and the William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund have announced the finalists for the 2025 Baker Artist Awards. Selected by an anonymous jury from over 800 artists with an active Baker Artist Portfolio, these 36 finalists exemplify excellence in three areas: mastery of craft, depth of artistic exploration, and a unique vision.
“The work of this year’s finalist pool exemplifies the myriad creativity of the artists in the Baltimore region,” commented William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund President Connie Imboden, who also noted that for the first time over the Baker Artist Awards’ 17 years, the finalists in the visual arts category are all female.
Baker Artist Award finalists are divided equally amongst the website’s six artistic disciplines: visual, literary, interdisciplinary, film/ video, performance and music. 2025 finalists include artists who are new to the site; those who have had portfolios for years; previous nominees; and past awardees, who remain eligible for an additional award.
Since 2009, the Baker Artist President has distributed $90,000 in annual prize money, awarding over $1.4 million to over 156 artists. The 2025 Baker Artist Awardees will be announced in May, with one artist from each of the six artistic disciplines receiving a $10,000 Mary Sawyers Baker Prize. One of the six selected artists will also receive the additional $30,000 Mary Sawyers Imboden Prize, for a total prize of $40,000—the largest art prize in the region.
Baker Artist Finalist Showcases are planned throughout April and May, inviting Baltimore audiences to familiarize themselves with the work of many of these incredible artists in this free series of public performances, events, screenings, and exhibitions. While all finalists are invited to showcase, participation in these events is entirely optional for all artists and has no impact on the outcome of the awards.
The finalists, and all of their portfolios can be viewed here.
