BMA to Open LaToya Ruby Frazier’s Acclaimed Installation More Than Conquerors in November 2024

This is the first time the artwork celebrating Baltimore’s community health workers will be shown in the community that inspired it

BALTIMORE, MD (August 14, 2024)—The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) announced today the November opening of LaToya Ruby Frazier’s acclaimed installation More Than Conquerors: A Monument for Community Health Workers of Baltimore, Maryland 2021-2022. Featuring a series of portraits and related narratives mounted on 18 socially distanced, stainless-steel IV poles, the large-scale installation captures and celebrates the essential work of community health workers in Baltimore during the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine. Powerful and evocative, the installation monumentalizes the community health workers’ efforts and offers an alternative approach to monument-making that challenges us to consider the nature of how and who we honor. The work was originally commissioned for the 58th Carnegie International, where it won the Carnegie Prize.

The BMA acquired More Than Conquerors: A Monument for Community Health Workers of Baltimore, Maryland 2021-2022 in spring 2023, with the generous support of the Glenstone Museum, and its forthcoming presentation marks the first time that it will go on view at the museum and in Baltimore. Open from November 3, 2024 through March 23, 2025, the installation is part of Turn Again to the Earth, a series of initiatives unfolding at the BMA focused on modeling commitments to sustainability and fostering dialogue about environmental issues. Turn Again to the Earth includes 10 exhibitions, the development of the BMA’s sustainability plan, and a Baltimore city-wide eco-challenge.

“We are thrilled to launch the exhibition portion of Turn Again to the Earth with the presentation of LaToya Ruby Frazier’s compelling and deeply resonant installation More Than Conquerors. The presentation is a singular opportunity to honor some of Baltimore’s most important and under-sung heroes in our museum and to consider the complex relationships between environment, health, and social inequities,” said Asma Naeem, the BMA’s Wagner Wallis Director. “We look forward to engaging our audiences with LaToya’s incredible artistry, to celebrating the everyday stories in our community, and to spurring conversations about timely issues that impact our lives.”

More Than Conquerors is an outgrowth of Frazier’s long-standing relationship with Dr. Lisa Cooper, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health and Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity. The two first connected during a 2015 conversation hosted by The Contemporary and the Baltimore School for the Arts that explored the power of art, science, and medicine to address environmental racism. Frazier was awarded a commission for the 58th Carnegie International during the pandemic and when she experienced an incident of medical injustice while trying to obtain a COVID-19 vaccination, she became inspired to develop a project that both revealed the depth of healthcare inequity and celebrated those individuals on the frontlines working for change.

Since the 1970s, community health workers (CHWs) have served as an essential resource to underserved communities, helping individuals overcome challenges to healthcare access and providing advocacy in discussions with those working in healthcare systems and state health departments. CHWs played a critical part in the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, sharing information, encouraging acceptance of the treatment, and providing access and support. Despite their importance within communities in Baltimore and cities across the country, CHWs were among the unsung heroes of the pandemic and their daily efforts were necessary to ensure medical justice and healthcare equity. With the support of practitioners and educators at Johns Hopkins University as well as other healthcare advocates, Frazier connected with Tiffany Scott, co-founder and Chair of the Maryland Community Health Worker Association, and a group of CHWs actively involved in vaccination efforts between 2020 and 2021. More Than Conquerors reveals their portraits, stories, and voices, creating a poignant monument to their tireless efforts and recognizing their invaluable contributions to the lives of countless people and the health of many communities.

The exhibition is curated by Jessica Bell Brown, BMA Curator of Contemporary Art, with Antoinette Roberts, BMA Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art.

The exhibition is sponsored by Johns Hopkins University & Medicine and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. Additional support provided by John Meyerhoff, M.D. and Lenel Srochi Meyerhoff.

Collaborators

LaToya Ruby Frazier

Turn Again to the Earth

About the Baltimore Museum of Art

Founded in 1914, the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) inspires people of all ages and backgrounds through exhibitions, programs, and collections that tell an expansive story of art—challenging long-held narratives and embracing new voices. Our outstanding collection of more than 97,000 objects spans many eras and cultures and includes the world’s largest public holding of works by Henri Matisse; one of the nation’s finest collections of prints, drawings, and photographs; and a rapidly growing number of works by contemporary artists of diverse backgrounds. The museum is also distinguished by a neoclassical building designed by American architect John Russell Pope and two beautifully landscaped gardens featuring an array of modern and contemporary sculpture. The BMA is located three miles north of the Inner Harbor, adjacent to the main campus of Johns Hopkins University, and has a community branch at Lexington Market. General admission is free so that everyone can enjoy the power of art.