By Ali Halloum
AFRO Intern
Readers of Baltimore Magazine have recently selected Tom Miller Week as 2025’s Best Arts and Culture Tradition. The weeklong celebration celebrates the life, legacy, and work of Tom Miller, a Baltimore artist known for his iconic painted furniture, screen prints and murals.
Held annually since 2021, this year’s celebration was held Feb. 15-22 to coincide with the day of recognition designated by the City of Baltimore back in 1995 on Feb. 16. Miller was the first Black Baltimorean to have a solo exhibit in the Baltimore Museum of Art.
Director of programs and partnerships at AFRO Charities Deyanne Moses saw Miller’s work while sifting through the AFRO’s archives, and wanted to honor his legacy. She told the AFRO that she was “so grateful” to Baltimore Magazine’s readers for recognizing Tom Miller Week.
“It really touches my heart; I really am truly blessed,” Moses said. “It’s a huge honor, and I couldn’t do without every single person who’s ever supported me or I’ve ever reached out to – the collectors, the museums, his family especially his friends.”
Tom Miller was a Baltimore artist who was known for his “Afro-Deco” style of painted furniture. His works often explored history, stereotypes and race through his designs. An openly gay man, Miller’s later works touched on his struggle living with HIV, finding healing in creating art. He died of complications relating to AIDS in 2000 after an 11-year-long fight with the disease.
This year’s festivities were the largest Tom Miller Week celebrations to date, with several events hosted across the city. The largest of these was held at the Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center, where a large exhibition of Miller’s work was garnered from several private collections and museums.
“There was artwork that was created by Tom Miller all around the city that people may not see because it’s in private homes,” Moses said. “And it also featured archives as well, archives from Maryland Institute College of Art, archives from the AFRO Archives, and then also archives from his family who live in Baltimore. So it was a huge exhibition, it was a two month- long exhibition.”
Moses told the AFRO that the future goal of Tom Miller Week was to raise awareness and funds for the preservation and restoration of a pair of murals facing each other on the intersection of Harford Road and North Avenue in Baltimore.
“They are falling down, and they’re losing their color, and they’ve also been vandalized,” she said. “And so one of my passions for next year, my goal is to get that mural restored to its former glory.”
Anyone wishing to assist in Tom Miller Week or in the restoration of his work can reach out to Deyane Moses at hello@blackives.org.
Great Job Ali Halloum & the Team @ AFRO American Newspapers Source link for sharing this story.
