Artists

Several artists have participated in the HarborTraces artist exchange over the years:

Kathie diStefano

Theatre artist and educator, Avalanche Arts

Kathie diStefano is a theatre artist and educator in the Heijplaat area of Rotterdam, whose work is dedicated to using performance arts to educate and address environmental issues. Her practice engages youth and seniors in developing creative strategies to recycle, inform the public about the delicate nature of the environment, and make smart consumer decisions that limit various forms of solid waste. She has won an award from the World Wildlife Fund for her educational projects about trash.

Kathie first visited Baltimore in 2009, returned to Baltimore for an artist residency  in December 2013, followed by many more visits to conduct workshops. She is currently conducting cross-cultural workshops and Baltimore-Rotterdam school exchange programs with a trash/recycling theme.

More information about this artist:

  • kathiedistefano.com
  • Stichting Lawine  — This is her Rotterdam-based organization; site is in Dutch language. Her US activities are conducted under the organizational name of Avalanche Arts.

Stephen Bradley

Media artist, educator

Steve Bradley received his MFA from Florida State University and is currently an Associate Professor of Visual Arts at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). He is a trans-media artist performing in the United States and internationally, and founded art@radio based at the UMBC campus.

Bradley is the driving force behind URBANtells, a collective of media artists whose work focuses on the intricacies between the architecture, cityscape and the human and cultural geography found within any city.

Bradley did artist residencies in Rotterdam in 2009 and 2012, and has been engaged in arts practice in Brooklyn-Curtis Bay community for several years, working with students, seniors, and other community residents. He facilitated Kathie diStefano’s December 2013 residency in Baltimore.

More information about this artist:

Jason Reed

Garden educator, Open Society Institute Fellow

Baltimore’s Jason Reed ran the Curtis Bay-Brooklyn Urban-Agriculture and Stewardship Program (CUSP), which focuses on community gardening at the Filbert Street Garden and neighborhood schools. The project uses urban agriculture to improve the health of residents and students in that community, foster community pride, increase awareness of the need for land stewardship and teach participants about good nutrition. Jason also teaches in the Baltimore Urban Gardening with Students (BUGS) program at Living Classrooms.

Jason collaborated with Kathie diStefano in December 2013 to conduct a series of projects and workshops for community residents, teachers, and students.

More information about this artist: