BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT's mission is to create an equitable space for artists to make, exhibit and sell their art. As an extension of Accomplished Art Services, we create initiatives that uplift Baltimore citizens who come from marginalized communities through training in art handling, museum preparation work, and life skills.

Founded and launched in 2020 by the Peale Museum's Curator in Residence, Jeffrey Kent, the Accomplished Art Apprentices (AAA) program aims to increase equity and inclusion in the arts, creative, and preservation trades with a specific focus on people from marginalized communities in Baltimore. As someone who learned firsthand the value of supporting the fine arts through skills of preservation and installation, Kent sought out a collaboration with The Peale to replicate his experience in the lives of others. 

By contributing to BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT, you are directly supporting artists who are often marginalized and underrepresented. Your donation ensures that these artists have the resources to create impactful work, challenge oppressive systems, and build solidarity across communities of disenfranchised artists. With active members in Baltimore, New York City, Paris, London, and Medellin, BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT's influence is global, fostering intersectional dialogue and celebrating diversity.

BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT is a DIY-built and counter-cultural initiative in Baltimore, MD. Building from founder Jeffrey Kent's decades of work as an artist and cultivator of arts and maker hubs and his budding Accomplished Art Apprentices program, BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT represents Kent's latest spatial venture, offering Baltimore-based artists vital space to construct new installation artworks, produce large-scale art projects, and receive mentoring and apprenticeships through budding collaborations with accomplished and rising artists.

As an extension of the Accomplished Arts Apprentices program, BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT supports the Baltimore community with a blend of art, cultural, and educational offerings with a special focus on supporting the dispossessed and the dreamers. Located on a 15,000 sq ft industrious floor of the historic American Can Company building, BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT utilizes arts programming, workshops, and collaborative events to bring incredibly diverse communities together.

BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT inhabits a recently occupied space by e-commerce giants Yahoo! and Groupon. The transformation of this space from commercial to communal and artistic is a symbolic gesture for the surrounding neighborhood of Canton, which lacks a center of gravity for the neighborhood's arts and culture activities. Working in collaboration with the owners and developers of the property, the presence of BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT is the catalyst for the transformation of the interior American Can Company building and exterior, creating a visual invitation to the public to engage with the art and resident artists.

At Sub-Basement Artist Studios, Jeffrey Kent, founder of BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT, created the largest (13,000 square feet) art gallery in Baltimore at the time of its existence (2004-2014). It served as the launch pad for artists like Amy Sherald who became world-renowned for her portraiture of Michelle Obama. With the BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT, Kent is building on that experience and his decades of work as ‘the king- and queen-maker’ of artists to create a new hub for artistic work and connection in the city’s southeast neighborhood, Canton.

Before the AAA collaboration with The Peale, Kent managed his arts programming and mentorship initiatives agnostic of a physical space. With the acquisition of the American Can Company space, Kent's reach and impact on the lives of nascent and established artists will grow exponentially, transforming the commercial space into affordable studios, maker and practice spaces, and venues for art and performance.

The launch of BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT will build on the hyper-contagious momentum of the city’s current art and culture activity. Kent’s experience and deep network, combined with this palpable tipping point for Baltimore’s art scene, positions BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT and its artists to become a focal point of the US Eastern seaboard art scene.

An infusion of funding in the early months of BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT's launch will serve as an investment into the longevity of the project and its ability to become a permanent fixture in the American Can Company building.

Closing out 2024 and creating momentum for the start of 2025, BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT will implement the following groundbreaking projects and events:

Accomplished Art Apprentices
Founded and launched in 2020 by the Peale Museum's Curator in Residence, Jeffrey Kent, the Accomplished Arts Apprentices (AAA) program aims to increase equity and inclusion in the arts, creative, and preservation trades with a specific focus on people from marginalized communities in Baltimore. Beginning in December 2024, AAA programming will expand to include educational and creative opportunities with the BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT.

LISTENING LOFT
Perched above the northern end of the BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT space on the second floor of the American Can Company building is a spacious loft. Dubbed the 'Listening Loft,' this space will serve as an inviting space for budding and accomplished DJs and other musicians to practice and perform. By introducing an additional discipline to the space, the LISTENING LOFT will create greater visibility of the BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT's resident visual artists' work and avail opportunities for collaboration.

Placemaking
In addition to the programming and collaborations with Baltimore-based artists and apprentices, BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT will work with American Can Company building developers and local community residents to design an inviting and community-friendly atmosphere through creative landscaping and hardscaping projects. By employing an intentional placemaking process, BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT will maximize the communal shared value of the public realm surrounding the American Can Company building, strengthening the connection between local residents and the space.

BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT Inaugural Annual Silent Auction Event

In November 2024, BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT will host its first annual silent auction fundraising event. This event will serve as the formal launch of a creative spatial venture. An invitation-only event, this inaugural gathering under the BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT banner serves as a special preview of the 15,000 square foot space in Baltimore’s historic Can Company Building and the chance to bid on some of my most popular artwork from the last 20 years. All sales revenue from the auction will go toward the build and initial operations costs of the BLIFTD STVDIOS PROJECT.