Writer and multimedia artist Pamela Woolford is artist-in-residence at the new Capitoline Center in the former Ellicott City Courthouse. Photo by Tracy Chiles McGhee

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In a moving exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art three years ago, visitors walked through a visual and audio landscape featuring intimate, large-scale black-and-white photographs of Pamela Woolford, an artist who lives in Columbia, Maryland. At the same time, they listened to her narration, which told the story of the fictional romance between Woolford and the photographer who took her pictures.

Woolford, now 58, reached a broad audience with her intimate multimedia installation, “Antoine and Me,” exhibited at the museum from 2022 to 2023.

Woolford continues to weave her background as a writer, filmmaker, performer and dancer into mixed-media work with a mission.

The Renaissance woman doesn’t work solely with paint and canvas. Instead, she’s more apt to participate in storytelling events, live performances and film screenings.

Her vision, she said, is “to create new forms of narrative work about Black people and others whose joy, imagination and inner life are underexplored in American media and popular art.”

Resident artist

Woolford was recently named one of nine artists-in-residence at Howard County’s new Capitoline Center in Ellicott City. In addition to artist studios, the newly renovated building is the headquarters of the Howard County Arts Council, which hosts gallery exhibits and events there throughout the year.

The Capitoline Center opened in March in the former Courthouse Building, which was remodeled into a hub for Howard County’s arts and culture. Visitors can view resident artists’ works-in-progress.

“It is quite lovely to have a space outside my home to work,” said Woolford, who is grateful for Maryland’s commitment to artists. “I live in one of the states in America that pours the most money into the arts.”

Like other resident artists, she also has access to a dance studio, workshop rooms and a theater. Fellow artists can collaborate easily in the new space.

Works in progress

Woolford is currently working on a new theater piece called Bound Waters. After she performed as Harriet Tubman in a show that featured a monologue written by D.C.-area author and writing instructor Marita Golden, Woolford wanted to delve deeper. As Golden did in her production, Woolford aims to humanize individuals in a way she says traditional historical portrayals and descriptions have not always done.

“I’m using the words of Black Americans who were formerly enslaved, from autobiographical writings, interviews and other historical documents,” Woolford said.

Bound Waters will feature four performers, choreography, freedom songs, spirituals and protest songs. Woolford is currently looking for a theater to premiere the piece.

Woolford is also writing a memoir about her experience growing up in Columbia, one that will tell a story of liberal racism, which she says is part of the community’s untold history.

Her identity is central to many of her works. “I center my own Black, womanly, middle-aged body or voice … to convey intimate moments and memories,” Woolford said.

She juggles multiple projects while also completing time-consuming applications for arts residencies and grants.

“I do everything myself, including the website,” said Woolford, who used to work in PR and marketing. She left that field to pursue her artistic projects.

After all, she said, “It’s hard to do art if you have a full-time job doing something else, even if it’s in the arts. You need space to breathe.”

Mother as muse

Woolford’s instinct to dive full-time into her art proved worthwhile. Her work has earned national and international recognition through residencies, fellowships, grants and awards. She has received 11 Maryland State Arts Council Awards and a Changemaker Challenge Award.

Additionally, she was awarded a residency at Baltimore’s The Last Resort Artist Retreat and received an Official Citation from the Maryland House of Delegates.

While Woolford receives many accolades and honors, including some grants of up to $15,000, they don’t add up to a living wage, she said, so she lives in the family home she shares with her mother.

“I have a mother who understands the importance of the art,” she said.

In fact, Woolford says her mother, Reverend Sadie A. Woolford, an artist who will turn 90 this year, is her muse. She has drawn on her mother’s life growing up in the rural American South for several of her works.

Her mother’s work as a published writer and a storyteller has influenced her life in many ways. The two have collaborated, with Pamela scripting pieces they have performed live and on film.

“We inspire each other,” she said.

To learn more about Pamela Woolford, visit pamelawoolford.com. To learn more about the Howard County Arts Council and the Capitoline Center, visit hocoarts.org.

Correction: The print version of this article misrepresented the exhibit Antione and Me. This article has been updated to reflect that it is a work of fiction about a “character who is in love with the photographer,” as Woolford’s website states.