Join BmoreArt’s Jeffrey Kent and Cara Ober for a conversation on Zoom with artist Ernest Shaw Jr. and BOPA curator Kirk Shannon-Butts about the importance of authentic visual storytelling, as well as Shaw’s contributions as a mentor, muralist, and educator in Baltimore.

One of Shaw’s works was recently acquired by the Baltimore Museum of Art and he just opened a new solo exhibit of paintings hosted by Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA) at the Top of the World Observation Level in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, “Continuous Line,” up through April 17, curated by Kirk. In this exhibition, Shaw examines the uninterrupted, unremitting connection between continental African traditional culture and Africans dispersed throughout the diaspora, with a particular lens focused on the United States of America. Through his layered images, Shaw dispels the myth that the Black American has been totally separated and stripped of their name, culture, language, and history.

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Panelist Biographies:

Artist Ernest Shaw, Jr. was born and has lived most of his life in Baltimore, Maryland. He is a graduate of the Baltimore School for the Arts. He obtained his Bachelors Degree in art from Morgan State University, and his Graduate degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C. Mr. Shaw is now a teacher in Baltimore City, and an adjunct professor at Maryland Institute College of Art.

Currently serving as the Public Art and Curation Manager at BOPA, Kirk Shannon-Butts is a filmmaker, curator and video essayist. The curator holds a bachelor of arts in marketing from the American College, Atlanta, and a master of fine arts in film/TV production from Chapman University, Orange, CA. His works have received critical acclaim and have been screened at the Cannes International Film Festival, the Sundance Film Festival, and The Kennedy Center. Shannon-Butts has been in special features in L’Uomo Vogue, Out magazine and Uptown magazine.