Traveling with a group of nine students we set off for Baltimore early Saturday morning. Our goals were to go to the American Visionary Art Museum and The Book Thing, a free book shop, but the trip became so much more!
After parking we decided, or rather our inability to follow directions, had us walking through some gorgeous streets in Baltimore and through Freedom Park on our way to the museum. It was a great little adventure to start out our day. We had a beautiful view of the harbour and all of the movement down in the city. From the park we were able to see the museum and almost sprinted down the hill in excitement.
The museum was filled with wonderful art collections and pieces that are made by self-taught artists. These artworks range from funky, cool, vibrant, scary, and beautiful pieces that captivate the viewer into another world. Even for some of us, who know little about art, it was captivating and amazing to see. We didn’t want to leave.
Pauline Mulin, a Fulbright teacher’s assistant for French, stated, “This day in Baltimore was a blast. The Visionary Art Museum was like entering an awaken dream, colorful and unexpected. Once you walk in, it’s another temporality.”
After seeing the first building of art work, we walked outside to discover there were two more buildings, one with a huge installment piece on the ceiling! We walked out into a garden with a wooden tree-house like structure.
After we finished with the museum, our group walked down three blocks to get lunch at an outdoor shopping center. After walking around for most of the morning, we were glad to get something to eat and sit down!
Once we were done, we tried to navigate through the one-way streets of Baltimore to get to The Book Thing. Their mission is to take unwanted books and give them to people who do want them. The volunteers worked hard to get their donations out on the shelves, because it was busy that day. The store sectioned the books off into categories: Cooking, Sports, Film, Music, Classic Literature, Poetry, Foreign, Children, and more! Everyone in the group was able to find something special to take home with them.
When we were done, we decided it was time to come home– we were all tired. Everyone agreed the day had gone well. We drove off into the sunset, literally. We were able to see the sky turn from a light blue and pink to a fiery red. Once the sun went down, the students fell asleep, happy that their day was so productive and fun!
Written By: Allison Clayton and Adriana Rossel – IE Office Student Employees