The Contemporary is an itinerant museum of

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, in the United States. It does not collect artworks. It was started as the Contemporary Museum by George Ciscle in 1989. During its first decade, it had no fixed home, but instead was "dedicated to redefining the concept of the museum". It sponsored exhibitions in a variety of non-traditional spaces around Baltimore, as well as borrowing space in partnering institutions such as the

Baltimore Museum of Art The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) in Baltimore, Maryland, is an art museum that was founded in 1914. The BMA's collection of 95,000 objects encompasses more than 1,000 works by Henri Matisse anchored by the Cone Collection of modern art, ...

, Maryland Historical Society, Peabody Conservatory and

Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum is a public art museum located in the Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded and opened in 1934, it holds collections from the mid-19th century that were amassed substantially ...

. In 1999, the Contemporary Museum moved to 100 W. Centre Street, one block from the Walters, in the

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

neighborhood of downtown Baltimore, where it organized exhibitions and related programming for nearly ten years. In 2011, the museum moved out of the W. Centre Street space and organized projects in neighboring institutions and buildings. The museum suspended operations in 2012, but in September 2013 announced that it would re-open under a new name, The Contemporary, after a year spent "reimagining the organization's mission, vision and operating structure".https://web.archive.org/web/20130907115419/http://www.contemporary.org/ The Contemporary, accessed 09/07/2013

References

Downtown Baltimore Art museums and galleries established in 1989 Museums in Baltimore Art museums and galleries in Maryland Defunct museums in Maryland 1989 establishments in Maryland {{Maryland-museum-stub