Natural Dye Initiative

Partners and Collaborators

The Baltimore Natural Dye Initiative brings together a diverse network of collaborators and funding partners.

 The project, funded by the State of Maryland, is providing a combined $350,000 to support the pilot project over the course of two years. Partners include the Maryland Department of Commerce through the Maryland State Arts Council, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (providing $100,000 through the Baltimore Regional Neighborhood Initiative), the Maryland Agricultural and Resource-Based Industry Development Corp. (MARBIDCO), and the Baltimore Development Corp. Additional key partners include the Parks and People Foundation, which is serving as the host site for the farming operation, and the Natural Dyeing Culture Center in Naju, South Korea.

 MICA, as one of the project partners, is convening a network of collaborators to develop and deepen local expertise around the cultivation, processing and use of natural dyes within a context that honors the complex histories of natural dyes and the contemporary social and economic realities of Baltimore. Collaborators include Baltimore-based artists and artisans, designers, cultural workers, organizers and urban farmers, as well as natural dye scholars and practitioners from the United States and other countries.