Hannah Brancato is an artist + activist who crafts connections through our stories, to experience a more just reality.

Education

Master of Fine Arts in Community Art - 2011, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)

College Art Teaching Certificate - 2011, MICA

Master of Arts in Community Art - 2010, MICA

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fibers - 2007, MICA

Certifications and Continuing Education

2022 - Trauma Informed Practices in Higher Education Certificate, Columbia College - South Carolina

2020 - Integrating English Language Learners Into Instruction, Online Course, MICA (4 CEUs)

2016 - Baltimore Racial Justice Action White Anti-Racism Network training

2011 - College Art Teaching Certificate, MICA

Permanent Collections

Museum Collections

  • Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian

  • Baltimore Museum of Art

  • Reginald F Lewis Museum

University Archives

  • Towson University

  • University of Maryland Baltimore County

  • University of North Carolina Greensboro

University Archives (continued)

  • Ohio University

  • University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

  • Drew University

  • Colgate University

Foundations and Private Collections

  • Robert W. Deutsch Foundation

  • Womankind NYC

  • Blue Mountain Center

Awards

2022

  • Maryland State Arts Council Creativity Grant

  • Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts Creative Baltimore Fund

2021

  • Rubys Artist Grant

  • VisArts Studio Residency

  • Montgomery College Artist Residency

  • Lucas Faculty Development Grant, MICA

2020

  • Brenner Research Grant, MICA

2019

  • La Track Artist Residency

  • Grant for Faculty Research and Creative Development, MICA

  • Curriculum Enhancement Grant, MICA

2018

  • Grantee with FORCE, T Rowe Price Foundation, Baker Foundation, the Krieger Fund, Robert W Deustch Foundation, Baltimore Community Foundation

2017

  • Blue Mountain Center Artist Residency

  • Grantee with FORCE, the Grit Fund, Robert W Deutsch Foundation

2016

  • Janet + Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize

  • Community-Based Learning Grant, MICA

  • Grantee with FORCE, Art Matters Foundation, Baltimore Mayors Office, MECU Neighborhood Arts, Baltimore Community Foundation

2015

  • Open Society Institute-Baltimore Community Fellowship

  • Community-Based Learning Grant, MICA

  • Best Do Gooder, Baltimore City Paper

  • Brenner Grant, MICA

  • Glamour Magazine’s Hometown Hero, Maryland

  • Baltimore Magazine 40 Under 40

  • Grantee w/ FORCE, Harnisch Foundation, PNC Transformative Art Prize

2014

  • Fast Company Top 100 Creative People in Business

  • 30 Under 30, Maryland Art Place

  • Community Engagement Grant, MICA

  • Grantee with FORCE, Research Associates Foundation, Sparkplug Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts Our Town Grant program partner

2013

  • Ralph K. Morris Cooperative Leadership Award

  • Ignition Grant, Ignite Baltimore

  • Community Engagement Grant, MICA

  • Community Service Grant, MICA

2011

  • MA Community Arts Scholarship

  • Community Service Grant, MICA

2010

  • Windgate Fellowship Nominee

  • The Winifred M. Gordon ‘28 International Programs Award

2007

  • Fiber Departmental Recognition Award

  • William Ferguson Merit Scholarship

Teaching Experience

139.5 Total Credits

2011-Present. Faculty, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) Undergraduate and Graduate Courses. Courses taught:

  • Making Art in Community II + III. A graduate level, independent course in which I support students in their pursuit of community-based art forms including site-specific, public, or performance pieces; videos; oral histories; murals; and special events.

  • Forum I and II. A year long, required course, in which students work individually and collaboratively to understand the vast array of ways to be a creative person, with a focus on professional development, the development of skills to engage with social and political issues in art, and the cultivation of a sustainable art practice.

  • Elements of Visual Thinking - First year, 2-semester course introducing critique and studio practice, alongside an investigation of concepts and principles of visual organization and design.

  • Philosophy and Pedagogy of Teaching College Art. A seminar style course preparing MFA candidates to teach, through introductions to theories of education resonant in the college art teaching context today; a study of contemporary issues facing college art educators; the exploration and interrogation of issues of equity and histories of racism in college art settings; and mentorship in the development of a professional teaching portfolio which aligns with their art practice.

  • MFA Community Art, Making Art in Community. An independent course in which I supported graduates students in their pursuit of community-based art forms including site-specific, public, or performance pieces; videos; oral histories; murals; and special events.

  • MFA Community Art, Community Arts Residence. Field experience for collaborative work with graduate students

  • Art Matters. First year, introductory art history course, laying a foundation for methodologies of art history and written formal analysis.

  • Finding Baltimore. First year introduction to community art, and introduction to community based organization addressing a variety of issues throughout Baltimore. A class blog catalogues our journey.

  • Fashioning Culture. 300 level seminar and studio in the Fiber Department, addressing the role of fashion in shaping culture.

  • Cooperative: The Sewing Circle. 300 level seminar and studio. What does it mean to be a citizen artist? What kind of social change can art and design create? In this course, students address these questions through the lens of cottage industry, experiencing cooperative, craft based enterprise as 1) a supportive space for the exchange of ideas, and 2) a means of grassroots development. The course was grounded in an understanding of the history of race, class, and industry in Baltimore, as well as methods of community engagement and social art practices. Critical readings will contextualize these collaborative, participatory modes of production in the broader landscape of contemporary art.

2022-Present. Faculty. Towson University.

  • Art x Resistance: A course of my own design, exploring the essential role of art in resistance to dominant culture, and political organizing against oppression, through artistic practices, field interviews and academic study.

2020-Present. Faculty, University of Maryland Baltimore County.

  • Art x Resistance: A course of my own design, exploring the essential role of art in resistance to dominant culture, and political organizing against oppression, through artistic practices, field interviews and academic study.

  • Ideas in the Arts: This introductory course explores central issues in the visual /performing arts, emphasizing the interrelationships of elements in a work of art, including process, technique, form, subject matter and content.

  • Visual Concepts 1. A foundations course for majors and non-majors, introducing 2-D Design through hands-on exercises.

Pre-College Faculty, MICA - 9 Total Credits - Courses taught:

  • Sculpture

Community Art Experience

2020-2021 - CURRICULUM DEVELOPER, Smithsonian Folklife Festival Tech-Teach Program. Tech-Teach is an eight-week course in which high school and college students in the Washington, D.C., area learn elements of carpentry, drafting, welding, and other building arts. I developed curriculum materials for Tech-Teach that adds reflection, social/emotional learning, collaborative research about Black histories within the trades, and hands on projects with personal relevance to students to technical skills development.

2020 - TEACHING ARTIST, Young Audience of Central Maryland Summer Arts and Learning Academy (SALA) SALA is an annual summer program for Baltimore City youth is grades K-5. As a teaching artist, I developed and delivered arts integrated lessons (online) in Summer 2020 for a group of 5th graders, who created art projects about the impact of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement.

2010-2020 - CO-FOUNDER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR - FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture. FORCE is an artist and activist collective promoting consent and disrupting rape culture through public art and communications campaigns, such as the Monument Quilt, a 6-year long, crowd sourced collection of stories from survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence, which were displayed 50 times across the US and in Mexico; and Gather Together, a survivor collective dedicated to leadership development. As Co-Founder and Creative Director, I coordinated and designed FORCE’s public art events; developed and delivered community education workshops and materials; managed archiving and documentation; oversaw and directed graphic and web design; developed communications strategy and implemented campaigns; and facilitated the strategic planning and development of new projects that were in keeping with FORCE’s goals. I also managed development efforts, including major donor cultivation, crowd- sourced campaigns, grants, & events.

2015-2016 - ARTIST AND COLLECTIVE MEMBER - Luminous Intervention. Luminous Intervention was an artist collective creating public art to bring attention to social justice issues in Baltimore and beyond. As a collective member, I organized and produced large format projections in public venues, notably as part of the United Worker’s Fair Development Campaign, and the West Side Luminous Intervention Tour with the Baltimore Heritage Society.

2011-2013 - MEDIA PRODUCER, United Workers Media Team. United Workers is a worker led, human rights organization leading campaigns to end poverty. As a volunteer member of the United Worker’s Internal Media Team, I filmed and edited video during actions, and collaborated with United Worker’s members to film and edit interviews.

2011-2013 - CO-FOUNDER AND COOPERATIVE MEMBER, Mother Made Baltimore. Mother Made Baltimore was a social enterprise in which women co-created reusable grocery bags, and participated in skill building workshops about entrepreneurship and financial management. I cofounded Mother Made and led/organized workshops, trainings, our website, and sales.

2009-2013 - COMMUNITY ARTIST, Paul’s Place Outreach. Paul’s Place is a community center in Southwest Baltimore. Over 3 years, I was a facilitator of a healthy relationships program and grief community art workshops with middle, high schoolers, and adults

2011-2012 - COMMUNITY ARTIST, Beyond Bars, Girls Scouts of Central Maryland (GCSM). Beyond Bars is a GCSM program in which girls with incarcerated mothers visit Jessup Women’s Detention Center together. As part of the program I facilitated a multi day project where the troop created banners, which were displayed at the Baltimore City Circuit Court, about the family’s hopes and dreams for the future. I also facilitated healthy relationship and art workshops at Waxter Detention Center, a juvenile facility for girls.

2008-2010 - ARTIST IN RESIDENCE, House Of Ruth Maryland/AmeriCorps. As the founding Artist in Residence at House of Ruth Maryland, an emergency shelter for women and children victimized by domestic violence, I created an arts program for adults and children to create art to heal, and to spread awareness about domestic violence through public displays. Our work was exhibited at Jubilee Arts Center and the Enoch Pratt Central Library in 2009 and 2010.

Lectures and Workshops

2022 - Colgate University, Artist Talk, Hamilton, NY

2022 - Inheritance of White Silence Workshop, VisArts, Rockville, MD

2022 - Trauma Informed Teaching to Resist Oppression, 2-part training for Community Arts Collaborative, MICA

2021 - Trauma Informed Teaching in a Time of Transformation, AICAD Annual Conference (online)

2021 - Trauma Informed Teaching in a Time of Transformation, MICA Center for Teaching Innovation & Exchange

2021 - Artist Talk, Montgomery College, Rockville, MD

2021 - Inheritance of White Silence, Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Kitsap and Baltimore chapters

2020 - Boundaries and Vulnerability: Trauma Informed Teaching, MICA Center for Teaching Innovation & Exchange

2020 - Lessons from the Monument Quilt, Guest speaker for Women,Gender and Law course, UMBC

2019 - American University, Artist Talk, Washington, DC

2019 - Panel Presentation, The Feminist Art Project at the College Art Association Conference, New York. NY

2019 - White Supremacy and Rape Culture are Linked, Georgetown Day School Summit, Washington, DC

2018 - Decriminalize Survival Workshop, NC Coalition Against Sexual Assault Prevention Summit Greensboro, NC

2018 - Keynote Presentation, Maryland Art Educators Association Conference, Towson, MD

2018 - Moderator, Social Fabrics: Textiles, Collective Action, + Social Movement, Maryland Institute College of Art

2018 - Park School Artist Residency: Artist Talk and Workshop, Baltimore, MD

2017 - Visiting Artist: Artist Talk and Studio Visits, Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, OH

2017 - Artist Talk and Consent Workshop, Ohio University, Athens, OH

2017 - Artist Talk, Towson University, Towson, MD

2017 - Consent Workshop, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY

2016 - Trainer, Army Sexual Harassment/Assault Response Prevention, Online

2016 - Keynote Speaker, Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence, Nashville, TN

2016 - Panelist, Maryland Citizens for the Arts, Baltimore, MD

2016 - Consent Workshop, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD

2015 - Artist Talk and Studio Visits, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD

2015 - Artist Talk, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD

2015 - Trainer, North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault Training, online

2015 - Trainer, Native Alliance Against Violence, onlineWorkshop, Planned Parenthood Generation Action Conference, Washington, DC

2015 - Workshop, Johns Hopkins University Digital Media Center, Baltimore, MD

2014 - Freshmen Orientation Consent Workshop, MICA, Baltimore, MD

2014 - Consent Workshop, Ohio University, Athen, OH

2014 - Artist talk and Workshop, University of Illinois Women’s Center, Champaign, IL

2014 - Workshop, Allied Media Conference, Detroit, MI

2014 - Artist Talk and Workshop, Millersville University, Lancaster, PA

2014 - Consent Workshop, St Michael’s College, Colchester, VT

2014 - Speaker, North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault Training, Charlotte, NC

2013 - Communications Workshop, Louisiana Conference on Sexual Assault & Family Violence, Baton Rouge, LA

2013 - Artist Talk, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD

2013 - Artist Talk and Consent Workshop, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH

2013 - Artist Talk and Consent Workshop, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI

2013 - Artist Talk and Consent Workshop, South Puget Sound Community College, Olympia, WA

2013 - Artist Talk, George Washington University, Washington DC

Exhibitions

2022 - Move Slowly: Dreamseeds, collaborative solo exhibition, Gallery CA, Baltimore, MD

2022 - Inheritance of White Silence, solo exhibition at VisArts Center, Rockville, MD

2021 - The Art of Healing, Keswick Wise and Well, Baltimore, MD

2021 - Pyramid Atlantic Art Center 10x10 Invitational, Hyattsville, MD

2021 - Out of Order Auction + Exhibition, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD

2020 - La Track, Galerie B-312, Montreal, Canada

2020 - La Track, Galerie B-312, Montreal, Quebec

2019 - La Track, Institute of Contemporary Art, Baltimore, MD

2019 - Final Monument Quilt Display on the National Mall, Washington, DC

2018 - Monument Quilt Display at University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD

2018 - International Women’s Day, Rothko Chapel, Houston, TX

2018 - Honoring MMIW, Two Rivers Gallery at the Minneapolis American Indian Center, Minneapolis, MN

2018 - Dusk and Dawn, Maryland State Arts Council, Baltimore, MD

2018 - Community! Here and Now, Montpelier Arts Center, Laurel, MD

2018 - Waving and Wavering, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD

2018 - Worth Of Belief Protest, University of Baltimore, MD

2017 - FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture, Park School Gallery, Baltimore, MD

2017 - Take Back the Fight: Resisting Sexual Violence from the Ground Up, New York, NY

2017 - Monument Quilt Displays: Okmulgee, OK; Fort Hood, TX; Phoenix, AZ; San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, CA; Santa Barbara, CA; San Francisco, CA; El Paso, TX; Ciudad Juarez, Mexico; Athens, Ohio

2017 - We Will Not Be Silent, Projection in collaboration w/ Luminous Intervention + DISCLOSE, Washington, DC

2016 - Sondheim Artscape Prize Finalist Exhibition, Baltimore Museum of Art

2016 - Not Alone Baltimore: A Monument Quilt Display on North Avenue, MD

2016 - Monument Quilt Display: National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, DC

2016 - No DAPL Protest and Banner Drop, Union Station, Washington, DC

2015 - Monument Quilt Tour: Sundance, Park City, UT; Free Marissa Now, Jackonsville, FL; Walk for Justice, DC

2015 - Artist Run Art Fair, Artscape, Baltimore, MD

2014 - Monument Quilt Tour: Arden, NC; Birmingham, AL; Quapaw, OK; Des Moines, IA; White River, SD; Fox Valley, WI; Chicago, IL; Pittsburgh, PA; NYC, NY; Durham, NC; Baltimore, MD; Middletown, CT

2014 - Shades of Impact, Worth Ryder Gallery, Berkely, CA

2014 - Ripple, VisArts, Rockville, MD

2014 - Gutsy, Gallery CA, Baltimore, MD

2013 - Congregate, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD

2013 - From Joy to Terror, Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts, DE

2013 - Down Through the Needle’s Eye, EMP Collective, Baltimore, MD

2013 - I Can’t Forget What Happened, But No One Else Remembers, Lincoln Memorial, D.C.

2012 - PINK loves CONSENT, social media + Victoria’s Secret stores

2012 - Rape Is Rape, The Capital Building, D.C.

2012 - Water Sonettos, In/Flux Gallery, Baltimore, MD

2012 - Protest Through Art, Brickhaus, Baltimore, MD

2012 - Power Play: Recent Work by Hannah Brancato, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD

2011 - CART, Current Gallery, Baltimore, MD

2011 - Roots Festival, Load Of Fun Gallery, Baltimore, MD

2011 - Pedestrian Service Exquisite, Transmodern Festival, Baltimore, MD