Sam Holden, the man who got up close and personal with Baltimore, will be resurrected by friends and peers today. The exhibition “Sam Holden: City Paper Black and White Prints,” aims to honor the late local photographer. The show will feature black and white photography that Holden shot for City Paper during the late ‘90s through the early 2000s.
When Holden died suddenly two years ago at the age of 44, “he left a big hole in the community,” says Joe MacLeod, the show’s curator and former City Paper art director—who is currently a designer for Mid-Atlantic Media.
While cleaning out the studio Holden used to operate from in Little Italy with friends and family, MacLeod came across boxes upon boxes of Holden’s personal archives.
“I’d been sitting on all of these for a while now, waiting for the right opportunity.” When word broke that a space was opening on Franklin St. temporarily, MacLeod seized the opportunity. “[These photographs] shouldn’t just be sitting in boxes. They should be out in the world,” MacLeod says.
With the added help of area artist Paige Shuttleworth and photographer Noah Scialom, the thoughtful exhibition will run for today only. Patrons can take a piece of Holden and a piece of City Paper history home with them, for roughly $25. All of the items are for sale, with contributions going to Holden’s endowment at Towson University.
“People are going to see someone they know. They may even see themselves,” MacLeod says of Holden’s photographs.
MacLeod has a few ideas in the works for future shows—like Holden’s Polaroid collection. Though, in all actuality MacLeod concedes, “the man needs a museum.”
Sam Holden: City Paper Black and White Prints runs tonight only from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 510 W. Franklin St.
