The Baltimore Museum of Art has announced that Baltimore-born multidisciplinary artist abdu mongo ali has been selected as the museum’s first Alice and Franklin Cooley Composer in Residence. The residency began in September and will conclude with a public performance of Ali’s new work, between every breath, there is atmosphere, on January 22, 2026.
Ali is known for work that blends sound, poetry, video, and performance. Throughout the fall, they were invited to use the museum’s collection and exhibitions as creative inspiration. Their upcoming piece is a sonic and visual meditation on Maryland’s southern Atlantic environment and the ways ecological and atmospheric forces shape the lives of contemporary Black Baltimoreans. The title comes from Ali’s own poetry, which explores Blackness, queer identity, and the long legacies of slavery.
The residency is part of the BMA’s Turn Again to the Earth initiative. This multi-year project focuses on ecology, environmental storytelling, and the relationships between people and the natural world. Ali received special access to the museum’s collection, a stipend, workspace inside the building, and the opportunity to create a gallery resource and contribute to an in-depth artist interview for BMA Stories.
BMA Director Asma Naeem said the residency emerged from the cross-genre artistic collaborations that continue to shape Baltimore’s creative culture. She said, “I was prompted to create this residency as a result of some of the cross-disciplinary artistic presentations that have inspired me the most. Baltimore has a rich artistic community that both connects and transcends traditionally defined genres, and I could think of no one more fitting to be our inaugural Composer in Residence than abdu ali, whose life and work creatively crosses boundaries of all kinds.”
Ali has built a national profile through performances and exhibitions at MoMA PS1, the Andy Warhol Museum, the Carnegie Museum of Art, and the Kennedy Center. They have delivered talks at Harvard University, Stanford University, and Towson University. Their writing has been featured in publications such as Art Papers, NiiJournal, and the Little Patuxent Review. Ali is also a recipient of the 2023 USA Fellowship and the 2023 Mary Sawyers Baker Prize.
With this residency, Ali returns to the BMA as both an artist and a storyteller. Their January performance is expected to offer an immersive and reflective journey through sound and image. The work invites Baltimore audiences to consider the landscapes, histories, and atmospheres that shape our collective experience.