Crafting Connections: Empowering Artistry with Shane Prada and Elliot Keeley from the Baltimore Jewelry Center
S6 #81

Crafting Connections: Empowering Artistry with Shane Prada and Elliot Keeley from the Baltimore Jewelry Center

About the guest


Shane Prada came to Baltimore in 2004 as a Teach For America corps member. After receiving her Master of Arts in Teaching from the Johns Hopkins University in 2006 and completing her TFA tenure, she helped start one of the first charter schools in Baltimore city. In 2010, Shane began taking evening classes at the Maryland Institute College of Art’s Jewelry Center, then a continuing studies program. She fell in love with art jewelry and metalsmithing and the community fostered by the Jewelry Center. In the fall of 2012, MICA announced that it would discontinue the 22-year old Jewelry Center program in 2014. In the spring of 2013, a leadership team comprised of the core faculty and three students from the program was formed. Shane took the lead as the team created a new organization that would continue the legacy of the MICA Jewelry Center, the Baltimore Jewelry Center. In her role as director of the BJC, Shane oversees the administration and strategic plan of the organizations, steers the programming, raises funds through grant writing and fundraisers, manages the organization’s finances, and manages community outreach. In her spare time, Shane is an avid equestrian, training and competing in the Olympic sport of eventing.

About Elliot Keely


Elliot Keely is an artist and metalsmith from Raleigh, North Carolina. Elliot completed my BFA with a concentration in metalsmithing and jewelry design from Appalachian State University. From 2017-2019, Elliot participated in the two year Core Fellowship at Penland School of Craft. Elliot explores different processes, often incorporating ceramics, drawing, painting, and collage into my work, while maintaining and specializing a practice in metal. Elliot is currently based in Baltimore, Maryland. where he works to manage the Baltimore Jewelry Center, a non-profit jewelry educational space.

About the Baltimore Jewelry Center

The Baltimore Jewelry Center is an educational nonprofit building a vibrant creative community for the study and practice of metalsmithing and art jewelry. We educate and inspire new and established artists, as well as promote metalsmithing and art jewelry to the general public through exhibitions, community and educational outreach.

The Truth In This Art
The Truth In This Art is a podcast interview series supporting vibrancy and development of Baltimore & beyond's arts and culture.

This episode is brought to you by a partnership with Station North Art's District

Located in the heart of Baltimore, Station North was the first area in Baltimore to receive the State designation as an Arts & Entertainment District in 2002.

Spanning the neighborhoods of Charles North, Greenmount West, and Barclay, Station North is a diverse collection of artist live-work spaces, galleries, rowhomes, and businesses, all just steps away from Penn Station, Mount Vernon, Charles Village, the Maryland Institute College of Art, the University of Baltimore, and Johns Hopkins University.

There are now 22 Arts & Entertainment Districts in Maryland, and similar programs in dozens of states. Station North continues to serve as a national model for Arts & Entertainment Districts.

Mentioned in this episode
Baltimore Jewelry Center

To find more amazing stories from the artist and entrepreneurial scenes in & around Baltimore, check out my episode directory.

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Creators and Guests

Rob Lee
Host
Rob Lee
The Truth In This Art is an interview series featuring artists, entrepreneurs and tastemakers in & around Baltimore.
Elliot Keeley
Guest
Elliot Keeley
Elliot Keeley contributes to the BJC as a versatile artist and metalsmith with a background in metalsmithing and jewelry design.
Shane Prada
Guest
Shane Prada
Shane Prada, a dedicated educator and advocate for arts education, co-founded the Baltimore Jewelry Center (BJC) in 2013 to offer accessible learning opportunities in metalsmithing and jewelry to the Baltimore community.