Resources for Educators
GRAY
in Black and White
About the Exhibit
On the fifth anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising that followed Freddie Gray's death in police custody in April 2015, the Jewish Museum of Maryland is proud to host a collaboration between two Baltimore photographers, J.M. Giordano and Devin Allen. Through this collection of photographs from the Uprising, Giordano, who is white, and Allen, who is black, collaborate to shed light and insight on their fellow Baltimoreans.
At JMM we believe that people, place, things, learning, and actions all matter. We feel strongly that we are not just located in Baltimore, but we are also integral to the fabric of the city and the state. If we're going to be true to that notion, we must do what we can to respond to or amplify the voices of our neighbors.
About J.M. Giordano
J.M. Giordano is an award-winning photojournalist based in Baltimore and co-host of the photojournalism podcast, 10 Frames Per Second. His work has been featured in GQ, The Observer New Review Sunday Magazine, The Guardian, The Telegraph, Washington Post, The Baltimore City Paper, i-D Magazine, Discovery Channel Inc., Rolling-Stone. His work, from the Struggle series is in the permanent collections at the Reginald Lewis Museum. In 2015 he was short-listed for the National Gallery's Outwin Boochever Portrait Prize.
About Devin Allen
Devin Allen was born and raised in West Baltimore. Allen gained national attention when his documentary photograph of the Baltimore Uprising was published on a Time Magazine cover in May 2015 – only the third time the work of an amateur photographer had been showcased there. Allen has turned his attention towards arming the youth of Baltimore with cameras, not guns. The mission of his Through Their Eyes project is to spread “hope and love through art” by training students from districts where arts education programs have been underfunded on how to use photography to express themselves. Through crowd-sourced fundraising, Allen provided students with cameras, donated his time holding youth photography workshops, and organized an exhibition of the students’ work. Allen is dedicated to empowering young people to tell their stories and the fellowship will support the continuation of his Through Their Eyes project.