This project is collecting stories about Baltimore culture

While walking to a meeting about a new mobile platform, a fellow pedestrian struck up a conversation with me. I was thinking about the forthcoming interview and the other events of the day, while he wanted to talk about the Orlando shootings.
He immediately noticed that I was half paying attention to him (perhaps half is generous), and called me out as not being from here (I’m not, originally). In Baltimore, he said, people have these random conversations, and engage in them.
I chalked my aloofness up to low caffeine intake and shifted gears to the interview as I turned into the coffee shop. But it soon struck me that this street-level interaction is exactly what my interview subjects are looking to tap into, with a focus specifically on Baltimore culture.
The MuseWeb Foundation is looking to fund audio story projects for a new effort called Be Here: Baltimore. Partnering with izi.TRAVEL, the foundation is looking to fund 20 projects at $1,000 each. Another $5,000 is available to several standout projects.
Apply by July 10
The audio-based stories are set to be posted on platforms like SoundCloud, YouTube and izi.TRAVEL, a Holland-based open platform which curates city guides and museum tours.
Organizers want the projects to be immersive, but are open to varying forms, whether it be an audio tour or scavenger hunt. MuseWeb Foundation Executive Director Nancy Proctor, an entrepreneur who recently moved into the role following two years as Deputy Director of Digital Experience at the Baltimore Museum of Art, described the project as an effort to highlight cultural stories as equally valuable to artifacts on display in a museum.
The idea is to “hand the microphone not to institutions directly but to other kinds of creators who have really interesting things to say about cultural heritage and history of Baltimore,” she said.
Baltimore is the first city for Be Here. Proctor, who is joined in the effort by Selwyn Ramp and former Smithsonian digital specialist Dixie Clough, said they picked Baltimore because of its vibrant creative community and desire for a “greater visibility for a greater range of narratives about the city.”