Initiatives

Opportunities for mentored research as well as student-initiated learning inside and outside the classroom.

A podcast series of queer oral histories.

Supporting non-extractive research on trans history and cultural production in Baltimore and Washington D.C.

Interdisciplinary artist Nicoletta Daríta de la Brown explored and activated archival materials related to Ethel Ennis, Billie Holiday, and African American real photo postcards by staging the installation Be(longing): Unveiling the Imprint of Black Women Hidden in Plain Sight.

“City People: Black Baltimore in the Photographs of John Clark Mayden” presented over fifty of the artist’s black-and-white street portraits taken since the 1970s, many on view for the first time.

Reflect on the past and envision the emerging future of Baltimore jazz during an evening of inspiring conversation and music featuring Sean Jones, John Fowler, Charles Covington, Tim Green, Brinae Ali, Charenee Wade, Ebban Dorsey, and more.

“See Also” was an immersive theater experience created by Submersive Productions at the George Peabody Library. Participants encountered visual art, soundscapes, and performers portraying characters based on historical women and non-binary people from the collections of the Sheridan Libraries and University Museums.

“Queer Times: A Virtual Exploration of Queer Media” was an interactive online event showcasing the Sheridan Library’s LGBTQ collections and Baltimore’s queer history.

Online engagements with our rare book, manuscript, and archival collections, including a pro-women’s suffrage board game, instructional toymaker cards, and more.

“Baltimore’s Black Arts District: A Creative Archive” was a series of Spring 2020 special collections workshops with young adults in Baltimore City. The project culminated with the creation of “Walking Down the Avenue,” an arts and humanities zine about Pennsylvania Avenue, Baltimore’s historic black arts district.

“Documenting Trans Oral History: Lessons from the Tretter Project” an oral history workshop and public talk in December 2022, featured Andrea Jenkins and Myrl Beamfrom the Minneapolis-based Tretter Transgender Oral History Project.

“Doing Oral History in Baltimore,” a series of three workshops in April 2022, supported individuals and institutions in recording, archiving, and interpreting under-documented histories in Baltimore, with a focus on the city’s Black history.