21st Annual Kinetic Sculpture Race: Wheel-ality TV
Saturday, May 4, 2019
9:30am - Opening Ceremonies
10am-6pm - Race throughout Baltimore
Start and Finish: American Visionary Art Museum
The American Visionary Art Museum presents its 21st Annual Kinetic Sculpture Race on Saturday, May 4, 10am. Held on the first Saturday of May every year, the event is the culmination of the museum’s yearly challenge to the public, both adults and students: Build a work of art—a moving land/sea-worthy original sculpture—that is totally human-powered and engineered to travel 15 miles through Baltimore streets and neighborhoods to cheering crowds, bravely traversing all obstacles of sand, mud, and deep harbor waters. The race teams, aka “Kinetinauts,” are asked to problem solve, think green, and work as a team, while maintaining abundant good humor as they vie for the Grand Mediocre East Coast Champion Award, in recognition of the team that finishes dead middle of the pack. Click here for more information on the race. And for high resolution images, click here.
Saturday, May 4th Race Schedule
9:30–10:00 Opening ceremonies with Blessing of Da Feet and Le Mans start at AVAM
11:15–1:00 Splashdown at Canton Waterfront
1:15–3:00 Patterson Park Obstacle Course: Sand, Mud, & Pagoda Pit Crew Challenge
6:00–7:00 Awards Ceremony at AVAM
Theme
This year’s theme is “Wheel-ality TV,” inspired by the museum’s current mega-exhibit "PARENTING: An Art without a Manual." The late Kinetic Race Founder, Hobart Brown, also preached, "Adults are obligated to have fun so that children will wish to grow older."
Teams as of 4/3/19
| Sculpture Name | Sponsor |
| Cafeteria Food Boys | Creative Labs |
| Egg Sistential Crisis, The Cutlery, Grillax, and Wasssabi | Jemicy School |
| Fake Gnus | N/A |
| Humnan Centipede | N/A |
| I Dream of Fifi | American Visionary Art Museum |
| NoVa LabsMobile | NoVa Labs, NoVa Maker Faire |
| Pandora’s Hell Bent Kitchen | The Soda Quackers |
| Park School Bachelorette | Park School of Baltimore |
| Shark Tank | CapKinetic |
| Shark Tank (Friends) | Friends School of Baltimore |
| Mr. Trash Velocipede | Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore |
Educational Mission of the Race
Our Kinetic Sculpture Race supports the American Visionary Art Museum’s founding educational mission to champion unsung, intuitive genius and to empower the flowering of the extraordinary out of the everyday. This most loving race is a visual, Fellini-esque, feast taken to the streets of Baltimore that nonetheless demands McIver-ish engineering skills, problem-solving galore, and costumed imagination on steroids. A non-pollutant caravan at its best, all ages and abilities are encouraged to participate, with many school teams including their race entry construction as a key part of their year-round curriculum. Part Huck Finn in spirit, AVAM's land/sea race event promotes a level playing field for intergenerational fun and has consistently drawn extensive coverage from media the world over. AVAM's race is offered up in the spirit of the late James Rouse who believed, "Cities are meant to be gardens in which to grow beautiful people."
About the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) is a Congressionally-designated national museum and education center for creative, intuitive and self-tutored artistry in all its manifestations. AVAM is dedicated to the exhibition, study, collection, preservation, and promotion of visionary art and to increasing the public's awareness, knowledge, and understanding of this manner of artistic expression and creative, compassionate thinking.
