BMA Names Ultra Naté as the Second Alice and Franklin Cooley Composer in Residence

BALTIMORE, MD (June 17, 2026)—The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) is proud to announce that Ultra Naté, the renowned Baltimore-based singer, songwriter, DJ, producer, and globally celebrated music icon, has been named the Alice and Franklin Cooley Composer in Residence. With a career spanning more than three decades, Ultra Naté has been a defining force in electronic, dance, and pop music since emerging in the late 1980s. Ultra Naté is the second composer in residence, following abdu mongo ali, who gave a riveting performance of their environmentally inspired music in January.

As Composer in Residence, Naté will draw on her expansive musical vocabulary—spanning house, soul, disco, electro-pop, R&B, hip-hop, and rock—to develop new work inspired by the BMA’s collection that reflects her legacy as both an innovator and connector across musical communities. It has already inspired production of her forthcoming album, Voyeur, buoyed by the global impact of Naté’s current #1 smash collaboration, “Movin’ To The Sun” with HUGEL and Imael Angel. The residency will culminate with two events: a conversation moderated by Charm City Cultural Cultivation operations manager and writer Teri Henderson with Ultra Naté, and other key people in the industry at Charm City Cultural Cultivation on Wednesday, August 12, from 6 to 9 p.m. The second event is Ultra Naté’s “Deep Sugar Transmutation Voyeur” (DSTV) in the BMA’s Wurtzburger Sculpture Garden on Friday, August 28, from 7 to 11 p.m. DSTV is an immersive production based on Naté’s long running Baltimore dance event, Deep Sugar, and inspired by artist Wangechi Mutu’s Water Woman sculpture and the colorful beaded figures Raúl de Nieves’ created for the BMA’s lobby. Tickets are $30 for the general public and $20 for BMA members.

The artist describes the event as “a portal to our higher selves, and a celebration of transmuting into something mystical through music. I want to encourage people to discover their own metamorphosis, evolution, and divinity through the presentation of DSTV at the BMA and Voyeur the album.” The event also celebrates Naté’s singular voice, songwriting, and impact on contemporary music culture.

There is a long history of visual art influencing musicians and writers, and the BMA is committed to creating more opportunities for transdisciplinary connections. Selected composers are given a stipend for their participation, special access to the collections, and a space within the museum to write or work, if they choose. The residency culminates with a public presentation/performance of the artist’s completed work, an in-gallery resource for visitors to access the collection-inspired work, and a BMA Stories interview with the artist sharing their residency experience.

“The BMA’s Composer in Residence program is about roots and interconnectivity—roots in communities and interconnectivity between different histories, forms of expression, and worlds,” said Asma Naeem, the museum’s Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director. “Ultra Naté’s work has long bridged genres and brought people together, locally and globally, and her commitment to continuing to live and create in Baltimore underscores the deep relationship between her artistry and this city. We are thrilled to welcome her into this role and to celebrate her impact with a live performance this August.”

Ultra Naté debuted in 1989 with the underground favorite It’s Over Now, followed by her influential 1990 album Blue Notes in the Basement. Among the first house artists to sign a major-label deal with Warner Music UK, she went on to build an acclaimed catalogue of dance-floor classics including Twisted, Automatic, Party Girl, Found a Cure, How Long (Ultra Flava), and the international Top 10 hit If You Could Read My Mind. Her enduring anthem Free—celebrated for its message of liberation—marked its 25th anniversary in 2022 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest Pride and Ibiza anthems of all time.

Ultra Naté has performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages, from international festivals and Pride celebrations to New York City’s Lincoln Center, Wembley Stadium, and the Ibiza Classics tour with Pete Tong, Jules Buckley, and the Heritage Orchestra. Named one of Billboard magazine’s Greatest of All Time Top Dance Artists, she also holds three entries among the publication’s Greatest of All Time Top 10 Dance Club Songs. A trailblazing cultural figure and beloved icon of the global Dance and LGBTQI+ communities, her music continues to resonate across generations.

Founded in 1914, the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) inspires people of all ages and backgrounds through exhibitions, programs, and collections that tell an expansive story of art—challenging long-held narratives and embracing new voices. Our outstanding collection of more than 97,000 objects spans many eras and cultures and includes the world’s largest public holding of works by Henri Matisse; one of the nation’s finest collections of prints, drawings, and photographs; and a rapidly growing number of works by contemporary artists of diverse backgrounds. The museum is also distinguished by a neoclassical building designed by American architect John Russell Pope and two beautifully landscaped gardens featuring an array of modern and contemporary sculpture. The BMA is located three miles north of the Inner Harbor, adjacent to the main campus of Johns Hopkins University, and has a community branch at Lexington Market. General admission is free so that everyone can enjoy the power of art.