Arts District

Culture Club: Django Jazz Fest, Poetry Out Loud, and an APAC Art Gallery

Our monthly roundup of openings, events, and news from the art world.
Music
Sixth-Annual Django Jazz Fest

COVID can’t keep this annual celebration at Creative Alliance down. Log on the last weekend in February for an international lineup of celebrated Django jazz artists and a full day of workshops on how to pick all kinds of strings. Be sure to tune in Saturday night when, to close it all out, nine local treasures will put on show live from Eastern Avenue as they celebrate Django Reinhardt’s Django & His American Friends. Feb. 26-27. Online.

Visual Art
Second-Annual Asian Pasifika Arts Collective Virtual Art Gallery

The Asian Pasifika Arts Collective’s Virtual Art Gallery returns this month with works inspired by their 2021 theme, “Crossing Borders.” Launching in conjunction with the Lunar New Year, this online gallery will feature pieces that explore the question of what it means to start over in new places among the unfamiliar. Begins Feb. 8., Online at baltimoreapac.org.

Poetry 
Poetry Out Loud Regional Competitions 

Poetry lovers will have two chances to watch talented performers from counties across Maryland recite verse in this competition sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation. Catch the 24 regional finalists from Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Baltimore City, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Washington counties on Monday before the remaining competitors from Calvert, Caroline, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Howard, Kent, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Queen Anne’s, St. Mary’s, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico, and Worcester counties take the stage on Wednesday. Only eight will move on to recite for a chance to be 2021’s Maryland State Champion in March. Feb 8 and 10, 4-6 p.m. Online.

Literature
Art of Reading ft. Barbara Bourland

Books have been a blessing during these long months indoors. Before this virtual talk at the end of the month, be sure to pick up Barbara Bourland’s Fake Like Me, a twisting tale of intrigue in the art world. Then join Bourland and Walters Art Museum Curator Joaneath Spicer for a discussion of the book, art history, and the museum’s extensive collection via Enoch Pratt. Feb. 25, 6 p.m. Online.

Theater
Everyman Offers New Virtual Field Trip Program

With stages still primarily closed off to visitors, Baltimore’s students have been without one of the city’s best resources: its local theaters. Luckily, Everyman Theatre has pivoted their educational programming online, offering new virtual field trip options for classrooms. Streamed productions, educational materials, pre-show workshops, and post-show discussions are all on offer, with prices flexible according to school resources and need. Inquire about dates and program options at [email protected] or call 443-776-8580.

Hippodrome Announces Return of Broadway Series this Fall

Audiences eager to get back in the theaters can mark their calendars. The Hippodrome announced Feb. 1 that the popular Broadway Series will return beginning in September, with seven out of eight previously postponed shows on the schedule. Season ticketholders will be able to count on their seats for corresponding performances on the new schedule, but new subscriptions are also on sale now for the eight show season, which includes Pretty Woman: The Musical, Tootsie, The Prom, Dear Evan Hansen, Ain’t Too Proud, Hairspray, Mean Girls, Hamilton, and Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. For subscription information, visit BaltimoreHippodrome.com/season or contact [email protected]