About 3 — The Guardians of Baltimore

“The Guardians has provided a platform for women like me that give a voice to the communities that we serve. It’s nice to get that recognition [to show] what we’re doing on a small scale, and then once we expand it’s like, hey this is what we’re doing in our city, this is what we’re doing for our state. There are a lot of people doing this work and they don’t get the recognition.”

- Guardian Markia Beckwith

What happens when voices are heard?

Mayor Brandon M. Scott, Lead Artist Whitney Frazier, and Guardian Tayler Mugar

In the fall of 2021, over 200 people from Baltimore City and beyond gathered to celebrate the Guardians and their work at The Peale Center, Carroll Mansion. We’ve raised over $30,000 for the first cohort of Guardians ($21,000 through grants and sponsorships, the remainder from individual donations). We are continuing to partner with The Peale Center.

The community is also energized by The Guardians; at the November 6th opening reception, the statement, “This needs to be an annual event.” was expressed by many attendees. For the sustainability of the movement and to fulfill the community’s expectations, we plan to make this happen. We are working towards doing formal assessments and research on how The Guardians has and will make measurable social change in Baltimore City and beyond.

Further funding for the expansion of The Guardians cohort in Baltimore will lead to the implementation of the project in other US cities and provide a positive national spotlight for Baltimore.

Impact

“The Guardians made me consider, what am I doing for my community? How can I fulfill my civic duty in a more meaningful way?”

— Gina Corso, Baltimore City resident

“In a city so marked by its apparent lack (of political conviction, funding, equity, resources, etc.), it is worth knowing who is constructing and building, who is advocating for and with their communities and neighbors.”

- Rebekah Kirkman, Bmore Art

“People (non profit organizations & representatives from the Mayor’s office) are now coming to me asking, what do you need?... That’s never happened before.”

— Audrey Carter, Guardian

“When Whitney brought the project to me, I was like, ‘This is exactly the reason that I became an artist.’ These are exactly the projects that I would love to create, and have been trying to create, so I thought it was just a perfect spotlight for the city.”

— Kirby Griffin, Photographer for The Guardians

“I felt encouraged after the opening event. I’d like to see more of how not just us, but the larger “We” can show up in support of the community and one another.”“I felt encouraged after the opening event. I’d like to see more of how not just us, but the larger “We” can show up in support of the community and one another.”

— Sheree Briscoe, Guardian

“One moment that stood out to me was when we were hanging the banner on Carroll Mansion, someone walked by and said, “Who are they?” And that’s exactly what we wanted: Who are these beautiful women, and why are they being honored, and they look like me? And people often just said, “thank you.” The Guardians said thank you, people that weren’t guardians said thank you. Not, to me, but I think just for the project and for the work.”