Baltimore, MD - For the second consecutive year, the UMBC's Fine Arts Gallery's publication series Issues in Cultural Theory has been recognized for excellence in design by the American Associations of Museums. By winning First Prize for Scholarly Journals in the 19th Publications Design Competition for Bruno Monguzzi: A Designer's Perspective (Volume 2 in the series), the Fine Arts Gallery has continued its tradition of excellence with a series of texts that are both scholarly, beautiful, and boundlessly useful.

The AAM's Annual Design Competition acknowledges excellence in the graphic design of museum publications and is the only national, juried event involving publications produced by museums of all kinds and sizes. This year's competition attracted 1,221 entries of which only 26 received a first prize. All winners will be the subject of a special section in the July/August issue of the AAM journal Museum News.

The series' design, developed by UMBC Associate Professor of Design Franc Nunoo-Quarcoo, unites beauty with functionality. According to Symmes Gardner, the Fine Arts Gallery's Director of Programs, Issues in Cultural Theory formats the Gallery's major exhibitions for educational use, reflecting the Gallery's belief that art and society are inextricably linked. This series allows for a dialogue to exist between artists, institutions, and the public.

Future volumes are planned for the following exhibitions: Adrian Piper: A Retrospective, 1965-2000 (Vol.3, October 1999) by adjunct curator Maurice Berger, Senior Fellow at the Vera List Center for the Arts and Politics, New School of Social Research, New York; Paul Rand: A Life in Design (Vol.4, January 2000) by Professor Franc Nunoo-Quarcoo; Hide and Seek: Marcel Duchamp and Post-Modernism (Vol.5, October 2000), to be curated by Mason Klein, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Jewish Museum in New York.

All of the Fine Arts Gallery's exhibitions incorporate educational outreach programs for area school children and many travel to venues across the country and internationally, including major cultural institutions like the Barbican Museum in England, and the Walker Arts Center, Minneapolis.

Fine Arts Gallery hours are 10 a.m. -5 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays. For more information call (410) 455-3188.