Out of the Blocks is an immersive listening experience built from a mosaic of voices and soundscapes on the streets of Baltimore.
A custom-tailored score embroiders this tapestry of stories hidden in plain sight.
Created by Aaron Henkin and Wendel Patrick, this project is supported by PRX and produced with grant funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Cohen Opportunity Fund, The Hoffberger Foundation, Patricia and Mark Joseph, The Shelter Foundation, The Kenneth S Battye Charitable Trust, The Sana and Andy Brooks Family Fund, The Muse Web Foundation, and the William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, creator of the Baker Artist Portfolios. This program is supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council (msac.org).
Presented by the Peale
The Peale is a home for Baltimore stories, based in the first purpose-built museum in the country, opened in 1814 by artist Rembrandt Peale. After 20 years of standing vacant, the Peale Museum building was reopened and renovations began in 2017 to relaunch it as a showcase for Baltimore’s storytellers that honors the importance of their contribution to the city’s cultural heritage.
We work with local storytellers – griots, performers, artists, architects, historians, students, educators, and other culture-keepers – to produce and share their narratives digitally and as live exhibitions, performances, talks and other events, at the Peale as well as at partner sites across the city. By creating a more inclusive cultural record that tells the whole story of the city, we aim to help people everywhere see Baltimore in a new light. In the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of the Peale family, the Peale is a new kind of civic museum: both a laboratory and a teaching museum – not just a treasure house, but also a production house of culture.