Connectivity: Street Art at the Intersection of Rail, Community, & Identity

Connectivity: Street Art at the Intersection of Rail, Community, and Identity. . , The Baltimore based artists selected for this exhibit were asked to reflect on the concept of connectivity as it relates to the railroad, our community, and our own identities. Each artwork responds to this idea from diverse perspectives, but together form a deeper insight into that which binds us all together: our networks, our shared spaces, and our relationships with each other., This street art exhibition, created in 2021, seeks to recognize all the sanctioned , and sometimes unsanctioned , forms of artwork that are an intimate part of railroading culture, as well as harness new perspectives from our local community of creatives., American railroading history and culture is filled with art and creativity. From the ornate decoration applied to Victorian locomotives, to 20th Century wartime images praising the power of rail technology and the American worker, to graffiti art applied to contemporary freight cars that crisscross the nation, the railroad has both inspired the American imagination as well as served as a literal canvas for artists., This project was developed in partnership with the Creative Alliance. Generous support for this project was provided the Gutierrez Memorial Fund, the Maryland State Arts Council, and the MICA Center for Creative Citizenship., It's in Our DNA , Tima Aflitunov , Aflitunov's graphic artwork draws on a strand of DNA as a visual metaphor for railroads as well as connection to community. His work is rooted in the idea of self and our own connection to the greater community. This image speaks to how connections between billions of people from the past led to our current generation and how we are all interconnected in creating the future together. The outstretched hands form bonds between a diverse community of people and highlights how railroading is part of the American DNA that binds us all together., Untitled , Kenneth Clemons and Joshua Olsen , This mural explores the richness and diversity of the Baltimore community by highlighting snippets of life woven together through the narrative and aesthetic structure of a comic book. The artists believe that the true strength of community can be more fully experienced when the pieces in each panel are presented together as one whole. The artists included the locomotive to showcase how transportation is one of the many facts of life that form our sense of community and connectedness with each other., Vagabond Sanskrit , Jaz Erenberg , Erenberg's graphic mural features two hands reaching toward one another, representing how in a thriving community we can reach out to help one another. Behind these hands are two sets of symbols. On the left side of the work are symbols developed by train-hopping wanderers in the early 1900's as a means of communicating to each other. On the right are communication symbols developed by the railroads to ensure community safety and smooth operations. These symbols, much like street art and graffiti, explore how there are both official and unofficial , sanctioned and unsanctioned , methods for creating a sense of community., Untitled , Jennifer Weightman , Weightman, a graffiti artist and member of the all-female art collective Few and Far, was influenced by childhood memories of rail yards and watching the artwork on freight cars change every night as the trains would come and go. Works by friends from a thousand miles away could appear, as could her own artworks from years past. These train cars that wildly roam the country connect time, the people she loves, and the artists she got to know through this artistic community. While graffiti work may be performed covertly, this community of creatives has a rich history of tradition within rail history and the boundaries of their community transcend any one space and extend to the full reach of the railroad network.