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ABOUT. Artwalk is a community public art project bringing grand

scale art to the walls of exterior buildings using the city of Annapolis

itself as an open air gallery. The purpose of Annapolis the Beautiful, Inc.,

a non-profit corporation doing business as Artwalk is to add beauty and

interest to our historic community. Artwalk hopes to expose a diverse

and broad population of residents and visitors alike to public art outside

the normal venues of museums and art galleries within Anne Arundel

County and currently the city of Annapolis MD.

Artwalk’s current large scale public art exhibition is sponsored in part through a grant

from the City of Anappolis’s Art in Public Places Commission highlighting the 300th

anniversary of the signing of the Charter of Annapolis . In conjunction with the of

Annapolis, Homestead Gardens, Loews Annapolis Hotel, the Merril Lynch office of

Annapolis, Retirement Planning Services, Inc., and Severn Savings Bank have

generously contributed to the production and installation of (13) original

pieces of art created by 5 internationally acclaimed but locally residing artists at six

different sights around the city.


Artwalk has been led by the two founders, Chuck Walsh, the chairman of the Artwalk

Board of Directors and Sally Wern Comport, the curator for Artwalk's First Exhibition and

one of it's artists. This exhibition is unprecedented in bringing public art to the city in and

around the historic district through approval by the Historic Preservation Commission for

a period of three years with the possibility of extension.

A combination of technology and creative insight has allowed Artwalk to bring public art

to everyone in a very accessible and lasting way using the most up to date digital

processing and printing technology to turn the original works into large scale digital

reproductions that are mounted onto hard substrates affized to the exterior walls of site

specific locations .

The installation of Sy Mohr's, “Annapolis City Collage” at the Harbormaster House

occurred in May, 2007. Greg Harlin’s, “John Paul Jones Ranger”, at the Craig Street

Pedestrian Gate of the USNA was installed in June 2007. The Sean Donlon’s Parking

Alcove at 37-45 West Street features the late Marion Warren’s brilliant photographic

images. The portrait by Sally Wern Comport entitled "Catherine Anne Green", was

unveiled in September 2007 at the Severn Savings Bank on Westgate Circle.

George'Lassie' Belt and children from the Stanton Center celebrated the installation of

their work "Community Rising" on the Attman Glazer Building in February 2008. The final

work, Sally Wern Comport's "Shaping a City," was completed and installed in June 2008.

Artwalk has identified other buildings, walls and courtyards and talented artists with

whom to coordinate future Artwalk exhibitions. These future pubic art projects will involve

more sites including those outside the historic district in diverse community locations.

Artwalk hopes to continue to build private interest in public art, and to be working to a

greater extent with private building owners. This exhibition has inspired and continues to

inspire lively discussion regarding the indispensability of public art to a city as rich in

culture and history as Annapolis, Maryland.