Baltimore cultural center celebrates the late Tom Miller's bold and colorful artwork

You may have driven past Tom Miller's colorful murals on North Avenue and Harford Road in Baltimore. But this week, three institutions are honoring the late Baltimore artist, and you can learn more about his legacy.

Miller was one of the first Black Baltimore artists to have a solo exhibition at the Baltimore Museum of Art.

The Eubie Blake Cultural Center is showcasing Miller's art and explains how it brings vibrancy wherever it resides. Miller's unforgettable artwork has bold colors with an homage to Baltimore.

"If you choose to go deeper, you'll see what Tom Miller is actually talking about,"  said Deyane Moses, the curator and founder of Tom Miller Week.

The Eubie Blake Cultural Center is participating in Tom Miller Week to keep the breath of his work alive.

"It's simply a reflection of some of the beautiful things in Baltimore," said Derek Price, the executive director of the Eubie Blake Cultural Center.

Tom Miller's legacy

The cultural center will display 70 works of Miller's art and artifacts of his life. This will give people a chance to bond and explore the past of the local artist who died from AIDS in 2000.

In the center, Moses points out an art piece that Chase Brexton Health Care commissioned. Miller was in hospice care at that medical facility after he was diagnosed with HIV in the late 1980s.

"He did this piece while he was sick and what also happened is he started a scholarship for people who had HIV and AIDS," Moses said. "And so that's just the type of man Tom Miller was. He was loving. He was caring. And he always wanted to give back to his community and people who were just like him."

Fighting for social justice

Price said Miller had a strong relationship with the Eubie Blake Cultural Center and one day they found a couple of Miller's art pieces in their basement. They now plan to have them in their archival program. 

"It was unexpected," Price said. "We didn't expect to come across them. But it was exhilarating to see."

His murals, lively screen prints, and unique furniture captivate people's attention as Miller did not shy away from tackling social justice issues.

"Seeing alligator teeth and an alligator painted on a child's chair, he's really talking about children being used as alligator bait," Moses said.

Auctioning Miller's work

This year, one of his screen prints will be auctioned online and it's a piece no one has ever seen before. Moses said an art collector found it while reviewing their collection.

"You think these artists have passed on, but they're not," Moses said.

The proceeds from the auction will then go to Moses' mission to preserve Miller's legacy.

"Right now, those murals on Harford Road and North Avenue are crumbling down," she said. "One of them has also been defaced. So, my goal for next year and for the future is to start the Friends for Tom Miller group. And I want us to preserve his legacy together and restore those murals."

Tom Miller Week

This will be the fifth year celebrating Tom Miller Week.

Tom Miller Day is on Tuesday, Feb 18. The Baltimore mayor declared this day back in 1995. 

The cultural center will host a celebration open to the public from 5 pm to 9 pm. There will be music and testimonials from Miller's family and friends.