Open the door at Bohemian House, an eclectic art gallery and gift shop on Main Street in historic Ellicott City, and you’re bound to see owner Tiffany Brown Averill standing at the till, her signature rockabilly style on full display.

She’ll flash her big smile and before you know it, you’re sharing your life story and she’s helping you pick the right crystal to get your aura back on track or she’s describing each artist in the shop like a proud parent.

“I love people. I love making connections. I love people’s stories,” says Averill, who first opened in 2020 on lower Main Street closer to the railroad tracks. She wanted her store to encompass all the things that made her happy. “I really just wanted to do it for me and do what I’m good at and obviously be part of this awesome street.”

When the opportunity arose, she moved up the hill closer to more high-end boutiques like Su Casa and Sweet Elizabeth Jane. “This is my happy hole,” she says, with her trademark throaty laugh, of her 800-square-foot brick-and-mortar.

Her shop is funky, wide-ranging, and accessible. “I want people to touch the art or pick up a sculpture or something handmade, and I want them to connect to the community,” says Averill, who fills her store with locally sourced original artwork, home décor, oddities, repurposed vintage, candles, jewelry, and healing oils.

“Every artist that I have is local, so I’m not sourcing paintings from, like, an art dealer in L.A.,” she says. “Art should be accessible. It shouldn’t be serious and stuffy.” (Averill herself is a fine-arts painter.)

Her take on art comes from growing up in a culturally rich environment. Averill was raised in Baltimore—the PR powerhouse Edie Brown is her aunt—and attended Garrison Forest before finishing high school at Seton Keough. (“I was the only Jewish girl,” Averill recalls. “Which was interesting.”) Her father was a doctor and her mother a nurse. But both parents also dabbled in sculpting and weaving. Aunt Edie owned a pottery shop when Averill was a kid.

“I used to hang out in there,” she says. “They had this walk-in kiln, and it was filled with pottery at all times, so I’d go in there and look at the glazes.”

Averill was fascinated at how the kiln—a thermally insulated chamber—used heat to alter the finishes through chemical changes. “That really inspired me.”

Her parents also took Averill and her brothers to art museums like The Walters Art Museum and Baltimore Museum of Art, sketch books in tow. “When I was growing up, my parents were very hell-bent on making sure my brothers and I had culture,” says Averill.

Her natural talent was evident, and she spent time in middle and high school attending young artist studios at the Maryland Institute College of Art. “I loved it. I’ve just always been around art.”

But despite her family’s deep love of the arts, plus tons of family friends who were artists, “I think they shit their pants a little bit when I said I wanted to go to art school,” laughs Averill. They were probably worried she’d grow up to be a starving artist. They eventually relented, and Averill headed to MICA to study painting and art history. She lasted a year.

“It just wasn’t my jam,” she admits. She ultimately headed south to the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) where she dropped the art history part and dove into painting and fiber arts, textiles, weaving, sculpture, and crocheting—“all the things, but mostly painting.”

She loved the school and the city and spent eight years there before heading back to Baltimore. She spent the next 10 years as a restoration artist and gallery assistant at Renaissance Fine Arts and another eight at Radcliffe Jewelers as a luxury sales manager running the bridal registry.  “I can sell you a Rolex or a Picasso,” she chuckles. And she loved it, but she longed to be part of a community surrounded by the items she wanted to sell.

Growing up, her best friend lived in Catonsville—where Averill lives now with her husband and youngest son—and Ellicott City had always been the “fun backyard” they hung out in. She loved the historic buildings, quirkiness, community, and romance of a main street.

“I love history, which is one thing that drew me to Savannah. So, when I was thinking of opening a store, I knew that it was going to be either in Catonsville or here. Obviously, being in Ellicott City is an absolute privilege, and I don’t take that for granted.” (If you like ghost stories, Averill has plenty of encounters she’s happy to share.)

Even though she became a shop owner after the big floods of 2016 and 2018, she’s well aware of the scar it left on many business owners, but also the resilience that grew out of it.

“We have this motto, community over competition. And we’re a tight group,” she says. “You know, sometimes we close shop in the middle of the day and go have a martini.”

Averill sits on the executive board for the Ellicott City Partnership, which oversees the town, and is part of the Main Streets of America organization. “I really am passionate about bringing people to Ellicott City. I mean, my store is great, but I want other stores to be successful, too, because when you build a strong town and a strong Main Street, everything around it thrives.”

Even with her shop and board commitment, she still finds time to work as an art restorer for a number of historical societies and big estates. “I have a whole side hustle of restoration and conservation work,” she says. She loves relying on her years of learning and problem-solving, and there’s a little bit of chemistry, too. “It’s [figuring out] what paints they were using, what pigments, what solvents during different periods of time. So, it’s a lot of science and a lot of detective work.”

She stops. “I’m a strange bird,” she says. But she’s not. Just an impressive renaissance woman.

“They say it takes three to five years to build a business,” says Averill, who is now in year five. Last year’s goal was to double her business, which she did. So, her goal for this year is to expand her Ritual product line, which includes oils, simmer pots, and candles.

She learned to make candles when she was at SCAD, working at a shop called Kandlestix that did candle demonstrations for all the tourists. Averill would dip and hand-carve and create shapes over and over again. “I just always loved wax.”

She also loves what creating candles and oils represent—the act of doing something as self-care. “I mean, anything you can do, whether it’s having a glass of wine on your porch or lighting a candle, it’s about being present. It’s a constant reminder to just be there.”

She feels that way about art, too. It should give you pause and bring you joy. “There are so many different reasons to buy art, but it should not matter, as long as you have some kind of emotional reaction to it,” she says.

When customers come in, she tells them it doesn’t matter if they are sourcing art from a free cycle site, Goodwill, if it’s passed down, or if they spend thousands of dollars on it.

“It doesn’t matter, as long as you love it, as long as it makes your space feel like home,” she says. “That’s what art is. It’s that feeling of home.”

ue and Thom Rinker, age 74 and 75 respectively, were feeling very isolated in their condo in Baltimore County. “We were ready for a change,” says Sue.
“My mother had lived at a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) for 20 years and some of our friends had moved to that type of community. We really liked what a CCRC offered.”

According to seniorliving.org, a CCRC (also known as a Life Plan Community) delivers independent living and an amenity-rich lifestyle with access to onsite, higher-level care should a resident’s medical needs progress. The levels of care usually include independent, assisted, memory care, and skilled nursing as well as rehabilitation therapy on the campus. This continuum of care ensures residents that they have the comfort of remaining in the place they call home and the peace of mind that comes from knowing their future care is figured out.

“We wanted a CCRC so our two children who live in the area wouldn’t be burdened with our future healthcare,” Sue continues. “But for now, we are healthy and wanted lots of great amenities.” The Rinkers, who live at Blakehurst in Towson, say that it’s like living at a five-star resort.

Robin Somers, CEO of Broadmead, a Life Plan Community in Cockeysville, says, “Today we are seeing many of our residents coming in younger. Rather than in their 80s, they come in their 70s.”

Elizabeth O’Conner, director of marketing and sales at Blakehurst, adds that not only are residents younger, “they are very active.”

Without the drudgery of home maintenance, doing daily chores like cleaning and meal planning, and even trying to get the COVID-19 vaccine booster, there’s time for residents to be physically active and explore myriad intellectual and cultural opportunities. But for those who prefer to spend time alone or with a few friends, there’s that too.

A fitness center ranks high on must-have lists for incoming residents. In many CCRCs, residents will find state-of-the-art equipment, classes including yoga, tai chi, and aerobics, and a heated pool. Sometimes there’s even a juice bar and a spa for manicures, pedicures, and massages. Parker Williamson, 81, is an avid sailor who lives at BayWoods of Annapolis, a waterfront community. He says, “I exercise every other day, but don’t like group classes, so the personal trainer worked up a routine just for me.”

“Today’s residents want individualization,” remarks Somers.

Sharon Krulak, 79, is a new resident at Blakehurst. She’s also an artist who works in mixed-media. When the Krulaks were looking at Blakehurst, she told O’Connor, “I need a room to do my art. And they made it happen.”

At Broadmead, two residents who were trained and experienced beekeepers had a conversation with the Broadmead executive director, and the Broadmead Apiary was established in 2013. Today, there is a group of six residents who are involved. Throughout the year they inspect the beehives, feed the bees sugar syrup, and harvest the honey into jars for sale.

Usually, CCRCs have councils, committees, and their own governing body where residents can make things happen. “At Blakehurst we have 43 residential-run committees,” says Sue Rinker. “Thom is on the residents’ board and I’m on the refurbishing and jigsaw committees.”

CCRCs have concerts, guest speakers, and some arrange continuing education through Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes (university-based education specifically for people 50 and older) or nearby universities. At Broadmead, they recognize artists within their community and in the greater Baltimore vicinity by having exhibits, programs, and educational outreach. This April, the Broadmead Art Council will host an exhibit of the works of Herman Maril, a Baltimore native known for painting seascapes, interiors, and landscapes. These exhibits and lectures will be open to the greater community.

Other amenities usually include endless clubs, beautiful walking trails, gardens where residents can plant vegetables and flowers, a movie theater, a library, woodworking, a beauty salon and barber shop, card and poker rooms, billiards, bocce, and a resident computer and business center. Some communities have a croquet court, a putting green, and pickleball. As most CCRCs welcome your four-legged family members, there are even dog parks. And in keeping with making life effortless, some places will deliver your incoming packages right to your door. The list of concierge services goes on, including scheduled transportation to grocery stores, shops and more. At Edenwald, a CCRC in Towson, a bus transports residents to cultural events and attractions like the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at the Meyerhoff, a string quartet at Shriver Hall, and plays.

Cuisine plays an important part in daily life. The number of dining venues depends on the CCRC and so do the plans they offer. Many have a grill, café, bar, and outdoor dining. CCRCs pride themselves on having an excellent chef, offering plenty of choices on the menu, high quality ingredients, and dining experiences resembling a great restaurant.

In this area, all CCRCs are close to vibrant cities—Annapolis, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. As Parker Williamson, resident at BayWoods, says with a laugh, “What’s great is we can visit Baltimore and D.C. and take advantage of all they have to offer, but we don’t have to live there.”

The Guide to Regional Continuing Care Facilities & Senior Resources

ASBURY METHODIST VILLAGE
201 Russell Ave.
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
(301) 216-4001
asbury.org/asbury-methodist-village

ASBURY-SOLOMONS ISLAND
11100 Asbury Circle
Solomons, MD 20688
(410) 394-3000
asbury.org/asbury-solomons

BAYLEIGH CHASE
501 Dutchmans Lane
Easton, MD 21601
(410) 657-4900
actsretirement.org/communities/maryland/bayleigh-chase-easton

BAYWOODS OF ANNAPOLIS
7101 Bay Front Drive
Annapolis, MD 21403
(410) 268-9222
baywoodsofannapolis.com

BEDFORD COURT
3701 International Drive
Silver Spring, MD 20906
(301) 598-2900
sunriseseniorliving.com/communities/bedford

BLAKEHURST
1055 W. Joppa Road
Towson, MD 21204
(410) 296-2900
blakehurstlcs.com

BRIGHTVIEW SENIOR LIVING
Multiple locations
(888) 566-8854
brightviewseniorliving.com

BROADMEAD
13801 York Road
Cockeysville, MD 21030
(410) 527-1900
www.broadmead.org

BROOKE GROVE
18100 Slade School Road
Sandy Spring, MD 20860
(301) 924-2811
www.bgf.org

BUCKINGHAM’S CHOICE
3200 Baker Circle
Adamstown, MD 21710
(301) 804-2159
actsretirement.org/communities/maryland/buckinghams-choice-adamstown

CARROLL LUTHERAN VILLAGE
300 St. Luke Circle
Westminster, MD 21158
(410) 848-0090
clvillage.org

CHARLESTOWN RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
715 Maiden Choice Lane
Catonsville, MD 21228
(410) 405-7683
ericksonseniorliving.com/charlestown

COLLINGTON EPISCOPAL LIFE CARE COMMUNITY
10450 Lottsford Road
Mitchellville, MD 20721
(301) 925-9610
collington.kendal.org

EDENWALD
800 Southerly Road
Towson, MD 21286
(410) 339-6000
edenwald.org

ELIZABETH COONEY CARE NETWORK
1107 Kenilworth Drive, Ste. 200
Towson, MD 21204
(410) 323-1700
Elizabethcooneyagency.com

FAHRNEY-KEEDY
8507 Mapleville Road
Boonsboro, MD 21713-1818
(301) 733-6284
fkhv.org

FAIRHAVEN
7200 Third Ave.
Sykesville, MD 21784
(410) 892-1946
actsretirement.org/communities/maryland/fairhaven-sykesville

FRIENDS HOUSE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
17340 Quaker Lane
Sandy Spring, MD 20860
(301) 924-5100
friendshouse.com

GINGER COVE ANNAPOLIS LIFE CARE
4000 River Crescent Drive
Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 266-7300
gingercove.com

GLEN MEADOWS RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
11630 Glen Arm Road
Glen Arm, MD 21057
(410) 592-5310
presbyterianseniorliving.org/glen-meadows-retirement-community

GOODWILL RETIREMENT VILLAGE
891 Dorsey Hotel Road
Grantsville, MD 21536
(301) 895-5194
goodwillhome.org

HARMONY AT WALDORF
11239 Berry Road
Waldorf, MD 20603
(240) 270-2759
harmonyseniorservices.com/senior-living/md/waldorf/berry-road

HERON POINT OF CHESTERTOWN
501 Campus Ave.
Chestertown, MD 21620
(443) 214-3605
actsretirement.org/communities/maryland/heron-point-of-chestertown

HOMEWOOD AT FREDERICK
7407 Willow Road
Frederick, MD 21702
(301) 644-5600
homewoodfrederick.com

HOMEWOOD AT WILLIAMSPORT
16505 Virginia Ave.
Williamsport, MD 21795
(301) 582-1472
homewoodwilliamsport.com

INGLESIDE AT KING FARM
701 King Farm Blvd.
Rockville, Maryland 20850
(240) 557-8791
inglesideonline.org/ingleside-king-farm

LEISURE CARE: THE LANDING OF SILVER SPRINGS
13908 New Hampshire Ave.
Silver Spring, MD 20904
(301) 388-7700
leisurecare.com/our-communities/landing-of-silver-spring

LUTHERAN VILLAGE AT MILLER’S GRANT
9000 Fathers Legacy
Ellicott City, MD 21042
(410) 465-2005
millersgrant.org

MAPLEWOOD PARK PLACE
9707 Old Georgetown Road
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 571-7444
maplewoodparkplace.com

MARYLAND MASONIC HOMES
300 International Circle
Cockeysville, MD 21030
(410) 527-1111
mdmasonichomes.com

MERCY RIDGE
2525 Pot Spring Road
Timonium, MD 21093
(410) 561-0200
mercyridge.com

NORTH OAKS
725 Mount Wilson Lane
Pikesville, MD 21208
(410) 484-7300
northoaksseniorliving.com

RIDERWOOD VILLAGE
3140 Gracefield Road
Silver Spring, MD 20904
(301) 701-4076
ericksonseniorliving.com/riderwood

ROLAND PARK PLACE
830 W. 40th St.
Baltimore, MD 21211
(410) 243-5700
rolandparkplace.org

THE RESIDENCES AT VANTAGE POINT
5400 Vantage Point Road
Columbia, MD 21044
(410) 964-5454
vantagepointresidences.org

OAK CREST VILLAGE
8800 Walther Blvd.
Parkville, MD 21234
(410) 405-7419
ericksonseniorliving.com/oak-crest

ORTHOPAEDIC ASSOCIATES OF CENTRAL MARYLAND
Six locations in the area
(410) 644-1880
mdbonedocs.com

RECORD STREET HOME–HOME OF THE AGED
115 Record St.
Frederick, MD 21701
(301) 663-6822
recordstreethome.org

THE VILLAGE AT AUGSBURG
6811 Campfield Road
Baltimore, MD 21207
(410) 834-4143
thevillageataugsburg.org

THE VILLAGE AT ROCKVILLE
9701 Veirs Drive
Rockville, MD 20850
(301) 424-9560
thevillageatrockville.org

WECARE
1852 Reisterstown Road
Pikesville, MD 21208
(410) 602-3993
wecarepds.com

WILLOW VALLEY
600 Willow Valley Sq.
Lancaster, PA 17602
(717) 464-6800
willowvalleycommunities.org

Working mom Jennifer Nolley loved to paint when she was growing up, and she wanted art and creativity to be part of her children’s lives, as well. But the logistics of it all—finding the right supplies, getting prepared, cleaning up—were both challenging and stress-inducing. They took a lot of the fun out of it.

Unhappy with products already on the market, Nolley came up with a solution. She started Tiny Easel, a company that provides art in a box for budding artists—and the busy parents who want to encourage them. The goal, she says, is to make art fun and approachable for children, without being stressful for anyone else.

“I wanted activities that would hold their interest,” Nolley says. “Things that they could enjoy and that I could enjoy without hovering or worrying about the mess.”

Nolley, 37, launched the company this month, both online and with a pop-up shop at Whitehall Mill in Hampden. Its motto is: “For little hands with big ideas.”

Tiny Easel sells art activity kits that contain everything families need to make watercolor paintings, drawings, and sketches. (Think 36-color palettes, brushes, sponges, spill-proof cups, coloring pages, activity guides, and, of course, a tiny easel.) All they need to add is water.

Nolley said she chose watercolors over acrylics because they’re easy to work with and clean up. She added watercolor crayons and pencils to give a variety of mediums.

“Watercolors are amazing for kids,” she said. “They’re washable and non-toxic. Acrylics can dry out, but watercolors last forever.”

Watercolor painting also reminds her of her childhood: “One of the things I remember as a child is doing watercolors with my mom when we would go on vacation,” she says. “She would bring a little set of watercolors and we would paint together.”

That led to other arts-related interests.

“I have always been taking art classes at MICA on the weekends,” she says. “I went to film school. Everything I’ve done has been art-based. I wanted to be a film production designer for years, working on sets. I did en plein air classes. I think everything in my life just keeps coming back to that moment with my mom doing watercolors.”

This is the first retail venture for Nolley, a Baltimore native who graduated from Friends School and got a masters degree in interior architecture from the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design in Washington, D.C.

She started Tiny Easel in addition to her full time job as Developer and Designer for Terra Nova Ventures, a real estate company that was started by her father, David Tufaro, and specializes in the adaptive reuse of historic buildings, including Whitehall Mill and Mill No. 1 in the Jones Falls Valley.

She’s married to Dawson Nolley, a real estate agent with Cummings & Co. Realtors. They live in Ruxton and are raising three children: Elizabeth, 7, Kathryn, 4 and George, 1. She volunteers at Riderwood Elementary School in its Smart Art program, which introduces kindergarteners and first graders to art.

Nolley said she’s had the idea for Tiny Easel for some time, but really started working on it while on maternity leave with her third child last summer. She spent more time developing it while the family was in quarantine during the pandemic. “Being stuck inside with the kids was helpful,” she says, “because it gave us time to try out more things.”

Many of the line drawings in the coloring books grew out of trips she and her children took to the National Aquarium, the Maryland Zoo, and Cylburn Arboretum.

“I’ve been going around Lake Roland a lot during the quarantine, so a lot is also inspired by nature,” she says, flipping through the watercolor book. “This drawing is inspired by my daughter, who always wants more sprinkles on her ice cream. This is inspired by Hilton Carter. He’s a big plant guy. This is a still life. This is a drawing that I created to teach my kids than when you overlap colors, you can get new colors. Jumping in puddles is a big thing for my kids.”

Even the rocket ship on the box, she said, is “inspired by the Maryland Science Center and elements of outer space.”

The target audience for Tiny Easel is children aged 3 to 10, although there’s nothing to prevent older children and adults from buying the boxes, too. The instructions are general enough that users can go in any number of directions. And while Nolley doesn’t promise that Tiny Easel will turn every kid into the next Picasso, she says the idea is simply to introduce kids to painting and let them take it from there.

“My hope is that kids just enjoy painting at an early age and take that into whatever aspect of life they want to,” she says. “Maybe it’s becoming an architect or an interior designer or a graphic designer. Maybe it’s not even specific to design. My hope is that they develop some creative skills from what they’ve learned at an early age, and have fun with it.”

Earlier this month, the Nolleys celebrated Tiny Easel’s debut by turning a merchant space at Whitehall Mill into a pop-up shop for the day.

Andrea Griffin, a real estate agent, bought six Tiny Easel Painter Boxes as gifts for clients and friends. Rachel Tranter bought a box to use herself. Lauren Prendeville said she bought two travel kits for her daughter, Madison, because they were going on a car trip.

Prendeville said she likes Tiny Easel because the paints are watercolor, and that’s different from the usual acrylic or tempera paints.

“It’s something that parents don’t even think of,” Prendeville said. “We buy chunky Crayola paint because we think that’s all kids can handle. This actually teaches them watercolor, which is a more sophisticated form of art.”

Nolley plans to eventually sell each item in the kit separately, so it’s easy to get refills. She said most of the sales will be online, but she’d like to do more pop-up events to spread the word.

In many ways, Nolley said, Tiny Easel represents everything she loves in life and is good at—kids, painting, drawing, design, sparking creativity. If it’s a success, she said, she’d like to devote full time to it. “That would be my dream.”

[Editor’s note: We will continue to update this space as more information becomes available.]

Following an announcement by Governor Larry Hogan on March 12 that all gatherings of 250 people or more are to be postponed, many of Baltimore’s venues and art spaces have announced cancellations and rescheduled events. Here’s what’s still open, what’s coming later this year, and what to expect from the weeks ahead.

Visual Arts

The JHU Museums have announced that, as of March 16, all locations will be closed and public programs through April 12 are postponed or canceled. The American Visionary Art Museum has closed through March 31, with public programs and tours cancelled through April 12. The previously scheduled Logan Visionary Eco-Conference has been postponed to a later date.

Leadership teams are hoping that the BMA’s 2020 Vision Community Celebration and the opening for Brice Brown’s PROSCENIUM at Evergreen Library and Museum can be rescheduled for later in the year.

The Walters Art Museum and The Baltimore Museum of Art have closed to the public through March 31 and cancelled all events and programming through April 12. The Reginald F. Lewis Museum is also closed to the public, and a reopening date has yet to be released.

Some options remain for viewing museum collections. The Walters’ St. Francis Missal can be viewed in full on the museum’s Ex Libris site along with many other precious manuscripts.

The Baltimore Office of Promotion & Arts announced that all galleries and attractions will be closed starting March 14.

Events related to Maryland Art Place’s Out of Order and Merkin Dream have been postponed, with new dates TBA. Y:Art Gallery has cancelled its March 21 artist talk with Maureen Delaney, Erin Raedeke, and Richard Townsend but will remain open for regular business. Please check with your local galleries for information on postponements and adjusted hours.

Music

Creative Alliance has instituted a new full refund/exchange policy during the month of March and fully canceled the March 21 performance by the Marja Mortensson Trio. The annual Baltimore Old Time Music Festival has been postponed, and the leadership team is currently looking at new weekends, likely in the summer, to hold the event. Tickets will be transferred to the new date once it is confirmed, and refunds will be available at that time for those who do not wish to attend.

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and other events scheduled at both the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and The Music Center at Strathmore are cancelled through March 21. BSO president and CEO released the following statement regarding the closure: “Of course, as recent history has shown us, the BSO has navigated challenging times thanks to the collective support and strength of our community. In addition to inviting patrons to exchange into future programs, we are also deeply appreciative to those patrons who would consider donating their tickets to support the BSO at a pivotal time in our transformation.”

The Modell Performing Arts Center at The Lyric has postponed all events through March 18, and some performances have already begun being rescheduled for this summer.

Horse Lords, Mdou Moctar, Versus, and Joy Postell have postponed their upcoming shows at the Ottobar, though the venue remains open at this time. According to the Ottobar Facebook page, “Our plan is to remain open this weekend in full capacity, and evaluate throughout. We’ll then start the new week studying the news and continue on from there…We will post online and our website any sudden changes that may arise. If you do not feel comfortable attending a show, you have the option to adjust or refund your ticket.”

Rams Head Live! has closed indefinitely in response to the 250+ gathering rule, and will work to reschedule impacted performances. Tickets for performances that are rescheduled will remain valid, and tickets for shows that cannot be rescheduled will be refunded within 30 days of an announcement of cancellation. Baltimore Soundstage and Metro Gallery have also postponed events through late March.

Sound Garden announced today that Record Store Day will be moved to June 20, 2020, affecting all area record stores.

Literature

Enoch Pratt Libraries has closed to the public, and all public programs, including the CityLit Festival, are postponed or cancelled through March 31.

According to a statement from Enoch Pratt CEO Heidi Daniel, the library is expanding programs for those stuck at home, including instituting a digital library card program to offer those without library cards the opportunity to register for instant access to online materials and databases. The Books by Mail program for homebound customers will also be expanding and can be initiated by contacting the library’s circulation department.

Greedy Reads has closed to the public and suspended all events through the month of March at both locations, but patrons can still make purchases via phone/email for pick up or delivery, or through bookshop.org and Libro.fm. Charm City Books announced that all events are cancelled. In addition, all Charm City Books stock will be available for purchase online, and delivery within Baltimore City is available for free. For those outside the city, delivery is still an option at the cost of $5 or less. Events at The Ivy Bookshop and Bird in Hand are cancelled through March 30, and updates will be posted as soon as new dates are scheduled.

Theater

As of March 12, the Hippodrome Theatre has cancelled the upcoming Celtic Woman and The Band’s Visit touring dates and shared the following: “If you are a ticket holder for one of these events, please hold onto your tickets as we work to reschedule their performances in Baltimore. We will be in touch in the next 7-14 days with more information on the status of this event.”

Everyman Theatre has waived ticket exchange fees and upgrade charges for the remainder of the New Voices Festival, and the two remaining shows in the festival, Cry It Out and Berta, Berta, have been postponed to the summer. Queens Girl: Black in the Green Mountains will be suspended following the March 14 performance and resume on April 15. The theater’s annual gala, originally scheduled for March 14, has also been postponed. Center Stage has postponed the Baltimore Butterfly Session previously scheduled for March 14, but is organizing with local artists to hold a virtual discussion about responses to the current public health crisis within the creative community. More information about this online gathering can be found here.

Charm City Players’ production of Matilda originally scheduled for March 14-29 is postponed, and CCP has encouraged ticket holders to keep their tickets while they work to reschedule show dates. Announcements regarding the status of the show will be communicated over the next two weeks.

Baltimore Improv Group’s managing director Terry Withers announced on Thursday that it would suspend all performances starting March 16 and reevaluate the following week. This includes practices, meetings, and unofficial gatherings at BIG’s theater and training center. Classes will continue but switch to larger venues to enable distance between performers beginning March 16.

Vagabond Players will suspend the remaining performances of Constellations, which were originally scheduled through March 22. The Fells Point company will offer ticket holders refunds or exchanges for future performances.

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, which had previously reduced seating capacity to promote social distancing, has suspended The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) and March student matinees for Romeo and Juliet after March 15. Those with tickets to this weekend’s shows are asked to make responsible choices about their attendance. Options for ticket holders beyond those dates are outlined here, and the company hopes to continue with Studio classes.

The closing weekend of The Mineola Twins at Fells Point Corner Theatre has been suspended, and plans for the upcoming production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf are to be determined. Tickets for the current production can be exchanged for future performances.

Arena Players is suspended through March 27 and has also reduced seating capacity for its shows effective immediately. Spotlighters Theatre has delayed the opening of its Dogfight until March 26. The Strand remains open with increased sanitation measures.

Film

The SNF Parkway Theatre is closed from March 13-March 26, and the theater will be deep-cleaned before staff and patrons return at the end of the month. The Charles, CinéBistro at The Rotunda, The Landmark Harbor East, and The Senator Theatre will be closing by end of day March 16 in response to the latest announcement by Gov. Hogan.

Baltimore’s landmark Lexington Market, the longest continually running public market in America, currently sees more than one million visitors each year. The food hall has fed the city for nine generations, and now, it’s added art to the menu.

Today marked the official opening of the Baltimore Museum of Art’s (BMA) branch location at Lexington Market. The new gallery space welcomed nearly 120 people to a public opening reception last night, which showcased images from a youth photography program at the Greenmount West Community Center. From photos of flowers to selfies of smiling teenagers, the exhibit showed the community in a whole new light.

In addition, a workshop for young adults was led by New Orleans-based artists Keith Calhoun and Chandra McCormick. The two have worked together for more than 30 years photographing Louisiana and its people.

“We felt extremely strongly that it is not enough to change our public programs and expect people to descend on us,” says Chris Bedford, executive director at the BMA. “Rather we found it important to extend ourselves into the city to engage different communities.”

But this is not the first extension of the museum. Two branch locations were established during World War II and saw more than 55,000 visitors between 1943 and 1948. The Lexington Market space continues to add to that legacy.

“The activation of a stall that had previously sat vacant for a few years with art and programming does wonderful things for the market,” says Stacey Pack, Lexington Market project manager. “Equally exciting is the energy and discussions that take place within this area. This also gives people another reason to either visit the market or linger longer.”

There are a lot of issues to consider with the redevelopment of an institution like Lexington Market. With a lot of residents relying on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), locals are concerned about gentrification and price increases.

According to Dave Eassa, manager of community engagement for the BMA, rotating themes will inspire future programs and activities. In honor of the market where the branch resides, the first topic is food, and it will touch on aspects such as nutrition, access, and local foodways.

“Food was the most prevalent issue when talking with merchants and users of the market,” Eassa says. “Many merchants are losing SNAP and as Seawall is trying to redevelop, everyone is worried about access to fresh, affordable food that they have relied on the market to provide for over 200 years.”

A redevelopment project, Transform Lexington, is currently being planned to include a new market structure and urban plaza. The East Market will remain open throughout the revamp and regular hours at the BMA branch will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday through Saturday with free admission.

“This location is very unique because it truly is a public space where people from all backgrounds and walks of life gather and visit,” Pack says. “Lexington Market has always been a hub for Baltimore City so this location really is perfect.”

Although the market is going through a transformative period, the BMA branch is expected to remain a part of the space. The inspiration came from another program the museum has run previously called the Outpost, which was essentially a nomadic museum that roamed across Baltimore.

“Those communities were not satisfied with a fleeting engagement, but instead wanted a far more sustained conversation with the BMA,” Bedford says. “[We want to make] it clear that we are the specific museum for the city, that our doors are open to all, that our fundamental mandate is relevant, and that we are willing to go to any lengths to achieve that.”

Why did you choose to omit the protagonist’s name?
I never knew what her name was. It was never made apparent to me, by whatever process this is. The book is also a very, very light remake of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier—sort of the classic trapped woman, psychological suspense novel. So my narrator doesn’t have a name, much like the narrator of Rebecca does not have a name. Her namelessness is meant to give you a sense of universality.

I was struck by how long it took me to realize you hadn’t included it.
Yeah. I had a fun time making that work.

There are so many layers to this book—multiple storylines, including a mystery, these great characters, social commentary and critique of the art world and feminism—what was the impetus of all of it?
I started writing this book as I was working the edits for my first book [I’ll Eat When I’m Dead], and I had the very uncomfortable experience of being turned into a commodity. I found it to be extremely unnerving. When you begin to talk about branding and marketing, I didn’t have an easy time with it. The book business has really changed drastically over the past 20 years: we have more books, we have more readers, but we also have such a different marketplace in terms of how readers learn about books. I think it was easier when you were Daphne Du Maurier, quite frankly, and you were touted as someone whose opinion was worth hearing because 2 percent of Americans had a college degree. It was simpler, if you were educated and you could write, to be branded as someone who we should be listening to, and I think that’s very difficult now. So it was a very tense experience and it made for the grounding of a novel that’s very tense. We’ve all made jokes about the development of the personal brand, but it really is a dehumanizing experience. How vulnerable you are to that depends on how confident you are as a person. I’m not very confident [laughs]. So that was the emotional state I was personally in when I started writing this book.

The detail with which you write about art making—and selling—is phenomenal. Are you an artist yourself, or did you just do a ton of research?
I’m a very amateur artist. I draw and paint, but it’s a non-commercial practice. My husband is an art historian. I tag along with him to studio visits a lot, and the studio is such a special place—I think it’s the reason most people are drawn to the art world to begin with. . . . We live in a built society. An artwork is built, and the economy of the art world is built. It’s a set of choices and collective decisions, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the art world because all of the artworks’ value is derived by their social impact, its greater resonance throughout the culture that you can measure. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle of notoriety or awareness that people have about artists and their work, which isn’t to say there isn’t also so much beauty available to us from art. Of course there is. But it is a mixture of both of those things. And the book is a mixture of both things.

You did an artist residency at The Wassaic Project. Did you specifically choose a fine arts residency so it could inform the book?
Yeah. I sent them the first two chapters, and also they’re in upstate New York [where the novel is set]. I told them I had a big edit coming in and would love to work on it there. I think what I was hoping for—and I think that I got it—was to absorb the timeframe. I make work, but again, I don’t make work to support myself in any way; I can go into the studio at any time. I wanted to get a sense of how long artists are grinding in their studios. At Wassaic, our studios are all adjacent to each other, so just hearing how people are moving around the space, how late they’re staying in the studio, how much back-breaking physical work there can be to make something that’s really big, or even to make something small that you have to throw away if you ruin it. I don’t think there was another way to get that sense of it. In the acknowledgments, I tried to list every artist whose studio I was in who I took something from, whether it was the handle of a brush or a habit with the gesso or whatever. There’s a lot of technical information.

Did you make a lot of changes while you were there? Were you surprised by anything you noticed when you were living with all those artists?
I’m not a particularly linear writer. Very infrequently do I feel like on the first draft I’ve landed it, whether it’s a paragraph or a page or whatever. So I was there making so many cuts to give it the temporal structure that puts the reader in a position where they don’t want to put it down. That push and pull and stress is all about a series of beats that you hope you’ll hit, but you don’t know that you’ll hit them until you have the raw material to edit down. Being in that place with these long stretches of nothing and work that are mixed with that summer camp feeling, where these are the only people that you see and the only people that you now know—that is a very unique circumstance. Absorbing everyone’s work rhythms helped me with the pacing of this book immeasurably. They also bring in museum curators and gallerists who go from studio to studio, so I put out seltzers, had my notepad, and when people visited, I said, “I want to ask you about your job.” Like, “Here are some ideas I want to get at in this book.” So I sort of flipped it.

Your other novel was also a satire and a mystery. Why are you drawn to that genre?
Here’s hoping that someday I will be talented enough to write a book where nothing happens and you are still compelled to turn the page, but I think that is a very rare skill. I believe in plot. I think that most books are actually mysteries: there’s always a problem. And I think that if you write about contemporary society, there is no way not to make it a satire because the society we live in is so incredibly absurd and changing so rapidly. I live on the East Coast, I’m college educated, I’m a Millennial. The jobs that my peers have taken as we’ve gotten older—it’s wild, what my friends do to make a living. We make our money across a very wide spectrum of professions. And there’s no way that that’s not funny. It’s like a joke: an engineer, a doctor, a lawyer, and a circus performer walk into a bar. What do they have in common? They’re best friends!

Or they’re all one person.
Or yeah, they’re one person! And again, maybe the reason being made into a commodity is an uncomfortable experience for me is because I don’t know how my work fits in. I think it’s not a singular thing. It’s a multiplicity of things. And young women writers are put in a tough position, I think.

How so?
Well, there’s the smiley, happy-go-lucky girl reporter with her lipstick and her cool clothes, and then there’s the disaffected young woman who doesn’t care about anything. And I’m neither of those things. I mean, we’re all struggling to brand ourselves in this world, and it’s hard to know how much energy to put into that. . . . We’re so conscious of our bodies and appearance. Good on you if you’ve managed to escape it; I personally have not in the slightest.

It’s hard to miss the large, bright, swirling mural at Union Collective when traveling southbound on the JFX. The vibrant colors on the wall pop, almost looking animated. That was the idea that the Baltimore-based art duo Jessie Unterhalter and Katey Truhn had in mind when they were commissioned to create what is now the ID tag of the newest space in Hampden.

Although they are both originally from New York, the MICA graduates have made Baltimore their home. They have become known for transforming public spaces into vibrant experiences both locally and internationally. Their most recent work, a multimedia mural at MICA’s newDolphin Design Center, was one that they were most excited to complete as it brought them back to the place where they met.

We caught up with the duo to find out what inspires their work, new projects, and what it’s like to work as a team.

How did you two get to this point after meeting at MICA nearly 20 years ago?
Jessie Untherhalter: We were 18 when we met and we hit it off. We were best friends and started making work alongside each other at MICA. We were both pretty inspired by the city of Baltimore.

Katey Truhn: Both of us had other jobs, and we knew we really wanted to get back into art. Making public work seemed to make sense because we were always really inspired by the environment we were in. We really wanted to do something that involved other people and affected other people outside of the art world.

What was your first project together outside of school?
JU: I guess the first actual project, that we got funding for, was an open call through BOPA [Baltimore Office of Promotion and Arts]—it was a mural on Harford Road. By the time the open call came around, we had made the decision that we wanted to go for this career move and we scoured the internet for open calls and applied for every single one.

Visual art is traditionally very independent. How do you make it work together?
KT: It’s actually so great. Basically having someone to work with and bounce stuff off of and come up with new ideas is amazing. Just for logistics of painting huge walls like Union and MICA, doing that by yourself would be really hard—it’s already challenging with two people, like holy shit. It’s really nice. I think being an artist is a pretty solitary career in a way, so it’s really nice to have someone to do it with.

Has there ever been an instance where it seems like there are “too many cooks in the kitchen?”
JU: We’re collaborative every step of the way. Usually we are really hands on so we draw everything first and draw out the buildings to scale on a piece of paper. We usually have a bunch of different designs going for one space and we just pass the paper back and forth. We keep revising it and then we pick which one we like and use Photoshop to color it in.

When we’re designing, we always account for every window, every door and try to play with all the elements that are in the space because that kind of informs our design. It’s a challenge every time that makes it a little more exciting.

How much flexibility do you have in coming up with the designs?
JU: It depends on who’s commissioning it. With Union, they really wanted us to use our style to tell the beer story. But with MICA, they were really open to whatever we designed.

KT: I think that if you’re working with a company that is selling a brand or product, you have to work within their product lines. But if you’re just making art for art’s sake, we get to do whatever we want.

How long, start to finish, did it take for you to complete the mural at Union Collective?
JU: It was like three weeks for the first part and then two weeks for the second part.

KT: Yea, that was a really big wall [laughs]. The bricks were super old and I guess had never been painted before—they absorbed so much paint. It was very hard to work on that surface, which was really surprising to us, but we used so much paint. We had a couple of assistants here and there, but for the most part, it was just the two of us. It was really crazy, our bodies were rock hard after [laughs].

What was it like to work on the mural at your alma mater?
JU: We actually just finished yesterday, woo hoo! We thought it would be fun doing a project at MICA since we went there, reflecting on that time it was really experimental for our growth as artist.

It was a great opportunity to explore this new incorporation of materials that we’ve been wanting to do. It’s cool because you can see it from so far down the block and it’s already really high in the air so it’s something that people can experience from far away. I think we wanted to make it really loud in a way—the recycled cans catch the light and they reflect so it’s really bright and at some points in the day it looks like lights on the wall. And the recycled colored bags that we used wave and you can see that from a distance so it becomes this sort of live action. We just wanted to try something wacky and new and figured Baltimore would appreciate that.

Do you feel like the bright, bold murals is your signature style?
JU: I didn’t think the MICA mural was that similar to the Union one, but so many people have come up to us asking if we did the Union one also. So I guess so, our signature style is in there somewhere.

KT: You want these murals to be big celebratory statements that you want people to enjoy, so it just makes the most sense for us because that’s what we are drawn to. Bright colors, excitement, and high contrast—it really draws people in.

Of all the places in the country you have done murals, why did you decide to stay in Baltimore?
KT: We both really like it here and I think for now this feels like home—we have roots here.

JU: It’s also been a really great community that has fostered our art-making. It’s one of those places where you can experiment and it’s totally accepted. I feel like before we started working together, we were involved in so many community projects—whether it was big theater projects or painting for friends—there was a lot of collaboration in the city and that makes you think you can do and try anything and you’ve got the support behind you. That is empowering as an artist and it makes you think you can go for it with no judgment.

Among the Persian rugs, rare collector’s books, and antique furniture at the storied Alex Cooper Auctioneers in Towson is an unexpectedly stunning array of modern and contemporary works by art giants such as Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Alexander Calder, and Peter Max. Every five weeks, works ranging from paintings and etchings to mixed-media pieces and sculptures are displayed inside the faded gray building on York Road, familiar to only a few in-the-know locals who wander through the space like it’s a secret art exhibition. Even more exciting? After viewing such masterpieces up close, bidders can walk away with a lithograph by Marc Chagall or a photograph by Andy Warhol for as little as a few thousand dollars.

This nearly 100-year-old auction house has always sold fine art, but since Kathleen Hamill came on board last year as its director of modern and contemporary art, she has helped expand that niche and acquire newer works to appeal to a wider pool of collectors. Active in the Baltimore arts scene for more than a decade as The Contemporary’s former director of corporate development and a board member of the Maryland Art Place, Hamill travels to cities throughout the region to find and foster relationships with galleries, dealerships, collectors, and artists.

“We have hundreds of thousands of dollars of stuff right here in this unassuming building,” Hamill says. “Some days, I want to pinch myself.”

Hamill has found her sweet spot in auctioning pieces for about $5,000 to $100,000, just under the radar of larger auction houses such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s. She intentionally seeks out work by African-American and female artists and, to attract novice collectors, she includes pieces that span a variety of styles and price points.

Katie Rutledge, a physical therapist at Johns Hopkins Hospital, wandered inside the auction house a few years ago. “‘I hate this place’ was my perception at the time—it was dark and not very welcoming,” Rutledge says with a laugh. But when she returned in June, she had a completely different experience. “It seemed more youthful. I think Kathleen brings a breath of fresh air.”

In the future, Hamill envisions transitioning the space into even more of a gallery-style environment, curating thoughtful, thematic auctions and making them a destination for school trips and community lectures. For now, a featured collection is showcased at each auction: In March, there was Baltimore chef Cindy Wolf’s copy of a first-edition French cookbook and two paintings from her personal collection; George Nakashima’s one-of-a-kind hand-carved wooden tables filled the showroom in June. The next fine art auction is slated for August 25.

Hamill recalls an afternoon when a ceramic owl platter by Picasso, a box of Salvador Dalí woodcuts, and a Sam Gilliam painting all sat in her office. “If you’re an art geek like me,” she says, “that’s like nirvana.”

Some items up for bid on August 25:

On a tree-lined block of Bolton Hill’s Park Avenue reminiscent of Brooklyn Heights, old brick rowhomes built in the 1800s share a storied history. F. Scott Fitzgerald lived on the street after Zelda died, as did renowned classicist and author Edith Hamilton. And the late artist Les Harris raised his three daughters there with his wife, Sally, hosting dinner parties and transforming his house into a work of beauty and a small mecca for creatives.

Harris flocked to the neighborhood along with other artists and teachers in the 1960s because it was affordable (he paid $14,000 for his rowhome) and in close proximity to several schools, where he taught and studied—Maryland Institute College of Art, Johns Hopkins University, and the Schuler School of Fine Arts (he also taught art and theatrical design at the Park School, and Stevenson University). After Harris’ death in 2008, his wife continued to live in the three-story brick home at 1323 Park Ave., built in 1885, but she recently put it on the market.

Harris was a Baltimore icon and a Renaissance man, full of magic and mystique. He and his wife were active across multiple artistic disciplines. They met when she hired him as a choreographer and set designer at her theater, The Gateway Playhouse, in Long Island, New York, where she grew up.

“It was a totally artistic household,” says his daughter Holly Harris, who spent the past two years boxing up the house. There was always someone playing the piano—which is still in the house—or painting or gardening.

Harris became known for his maximalist paintings exploring all manner of metaphysical thought, and much of his work is housed at his Amaranthine Museum in Clipper Mill, a space that reopened to the public in November.

But his house was a work of art, too. He designed and executed many renovations and decorative details: a brick basement that leads out onto a patio, a rooftop garden, a marble kitchen counter in the shape of a grand piano, a wrought iron railing running up a rear stairwell, coffered ceilings in three of rooms. Local artisans installed stained glass above the front doorway and above the handcrafted cabinetry in the dining room. His most obvious addition stylistically might be the long mural that wraps around the front hallway and stairwell, painted for the wedding reception of one of his daughters following a ceremony in the Brown Memorial Park Avenue Church across the street.

“The house is so filled with love,” says Holly, who was 1 when her parents moved there in 1962. “We had so many good times in there.”

His studio was in the basement, but when his paintings became larger in scale, he grew out of that space in 1976 and moved to a studio at Clipper Mill, which he also used as a museum to show his body of work, which he refrained from selling. When Clipper Mill sold in 2005, the museum relocated within the community and just last year relocated once again to a much smaller space. The family intends to sell his work, as they believe it will reach a wider audience.

To understand—or at least get a sense of—the man who said things like “matter is a superstition”—you must first go to Amaranthine, the legacy he left behind. Floor to ceiling paintings and sculptural work (including pieces hung from the ceiling) move through time and explore metaphysics through the lens of art—numerology, astrology, cathedrals from various eras—going from modern times all the way back to the origin of consciousness, as he understood it (the paintings are heavy with sacred geometry and hieroglyphics), perhaps developing his own cosmology along the way.

“He was gonna find God through the eyes of artists,” Holly says. “His search was for the divine in everything.”

Through the Age of Aquarius, the Age of Pisces, the Age of Romance and the Age of Reason—they all have their place among the work.

“Once he was inspired, he’d paint so fast,” Holly says. “Nothing here has two coats of paint.”

She also recalls how the rooms of the Park Avenue house changed often, each time her father got a new vision that “he had to fulfill” and would move things around and redecorate to realize his ideas. Sections of the house went under complete renovations repeatedly.

Antithetical to what is done today, he would paint the grand 12-foot ceilings in a darker hue to create more intimacy in the large rooms.

Growing up, Holly was surrounded by national and international artists and actors, she says. Her parents would habitually host people when they were in town for gigs.

They bought another house in Virginia in 1992, where his artistic eye went into landscape architecture, as he transformed nearly two lakefront acres into their second paradise.

“He was always all over the place,” says Holly. “Mom and Dad never looked back; they just kept going, kept building.”

Visual Art

Profiles of Color III
Fredericksburg, Virginia, artist Ronald Jackson reimagines African-American portraiture in his solo show Profiles of Color III: Fabric, Face, and Form at Galerie Myrtis. The mixed-media pieces are collaged with bold shapes and patterns, reminiscent of Klimt but with a contemporary African accent. June 30 through July 28, with an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. June 30 at Gallery Myrtis, 2224 N. Charles St.

Landmarked
Ada Pinkston explores historical landmarks and monuments in Landmarked, a highly participatory show that invites visitors to respond to prompts and, in doing so, become part of the exhibit as it unfolds. A pedestal in the gallery will serve as a space for performance art pieces throughout the duration of the show, including a special night of guest performers on June 16. June 1 to 22 at Cardinal, 1758 Park Ave.

Music

BSO’s New Music Festival
Imagine the elegance of classical music performance against the backdrop of Graffiti Alley and you have the June 22 Chamber Jam with Mind on Fire, Shodekeh, and Ok Miss, part of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s four-day New Music Festival. In its second year, the fest brings contemporary classical music to venues across the city, highlighting living composers. This year, Kevin Puts’ oboe concerto Moonlight, a piece commissioned by the BSO, will premiere at a free show at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. June 20 to 23.

John Williams at Camden Yards
Celebrated American composer (and lifelong baseball fan) John Williams—who has written scores and served as music director for films that include E.T., Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, and Star Wars—will be at Camden Yards on June 11 to throw the first pitch. Before the Orioles game, the BSO will perform a selection of his well-known pieces, starting at 6:30 p.m. The game will be followed by the June 13 Evening with John Williams performance at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.

Theater

Nights on the Fringe
Ballet, theater, puppetry, film, crankies, spoken word, dance, circus arts . . . the list goes on for Nights on the Fringe, a vaudeville-inspired cabaret weekend presented by Charm City Fringe—in case you are itching to see some Fringe-worthy shows before the main festival in November. The evenings will be hosted by Aaron Henkin (WYPR’s Out of the Blocks) and Umar Khan (Gin & Jokes, Super Comedy). 8 p.m. June 8 and 9 at the Baltimore Theatre Project.

Literary Arts

Books in Bloom
The daylong Books in Bloom festival brings a host of writers across all literary genres to Columbia for readings, discussions, children’s activities, and a pop-up bookstore. The lineup includes Amanda Lucidon, Edwidge Danticat, Elliot Ackerman, Ian Mackenzie, Jane Delury, Jeannie Valasco, Katia D. Ulysse, Nathan Bomey, Sujata Massey, Vikram Sunderam, and others. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 10 at downtown Columbia Lakefront, 10221 Wincopin Circle, Columbia.

Miscellanea

CreateScape
Creative Labs’ CreateScape event celebrates the DIY arts culture of Baltimore through a free, three-day open house at the group’s headquarters. With a focus on health, creativity, sustainability and collaboration, the fest, hosted by Creative Labs, will cross yoga and dance battles with live music and street art. An array of artisan vendors will give this event a festival feel. June 8 to 10 at Creative Labs, 1786b Union Ave.

Healthy Baltimore: A Festival of Wellness
The free Healthy Baltimore festival at Port Covington will bring an array of music, food, and health and fitness vendors aimed to get you on track—plus the inspiration to move your soul and your body with a performance by Talib Kweli. Pre-registration is required. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 16 at The Field in Port Covington, 200 E. Cromwell St.

Painter and former MICA artist in residence Mequitta Ahuja is now one of the 2018 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellowship. Awarded to fewer than 200 people every year, the honor has been helping professionals expand on their art for nearly a century.

Ahuja’s artwork over the past 15 years has been an evolution of the typical self-portrait and this most recent recognition will help further her work to shift the self-portrait of a woman of color away from a conversation about identity and instead use it to show her expertise in painting.

What made you apply for the Guggenheim fellowship?
For a lot of artists, we apply for something and get our hearts set on it because we think it’s in our lane. Other times, we apply for some things just as exercises to kind of keep putting our work out there just to throw our hat in the ring. So, I applied to the Guggenheim more as an exercise honestly.

So, were you shocked that you were actually selected?
It was right near April Fool’s Day, on April 4, so I was like, ‘Wait, really?’ I was surprised bordering on disbelief, then once it settled in, I was just extremely proud, humbled, and excited. I think as artists we all learn how to make our work when money, support, and recognition is in short supply. But then when you finally get those things, it really is a confidence booster that makes it easier to do your work and to feel good doing it—it’s validation.

How long have you been painting?
It’s really the only thing I’ve ever pursued. My earliest memories are of wanting to be an artist. Of course, my ideas of what that means have grown and shifted over time, but it is what I studied in both undergraduate and graduate school. I’ve had a number of jobs over the years, but my main job has long been being an artist.

Can you explain why you chose self-portraiture as a focus for your art?
Working from oneself as a subject matter, we’re there as ready models. So, in some ways there’s this early convenience to it and I think the self and the expression of the self is a really basic and universal feeling.

As an adolescent, like most, I did a lot of self-portraits and as I got older, self-portraiture was not always the element of the work. Then it came back full force when I was in graduate school, initially again for convenience, I wanted to make figurative paintings. I started taking photographs of myself and working from those photographs. Then it has continued, I would say the meaning has changed. I’ve moved from thinking about self-portraiture being about my personal identity to moving to thinking about the genre of self-portraiture—it’s not just about picturing something about my identity.

In your artist statement you said you want to “turn the artist self-portrait into a discourse on picture making.” How does this reflect in your paintings?
There’s multiple layers of subject matter—some has to do with American history and some is dealing with a more domestic space. I want there to be multiple entry points for developing a relationship with the viewer and the painting. But I also don’t think I have control over that, so what a person gets from the painting is always an unknown factor in terms of how I may think about it. They may have a very different relationship with it.  

As you said, this is a reflection of your most recent work which differs from your past work. What caused that transition?
Going back to adolescence, my story is that I have a relatively unique cultural heritage—my mother is African-American, and my father is from India. I think in the conversation about race, it’s always black and white. If somebody is mixed-race, we assume they’re mixed black and white, not Indian and African-American or two non-white ethnic groups. For a long time, that was the subject of my work, having that cultural heritage.

Growing older changes the degree in which those things matter. There was always a feeling I had that I didn’t fully fit into either of my heritage groups or just fit people’s expectations of me. When you get older, you just don’t care anymore [Laughs]. You don’t need to fulfill somebody else’s expectations and, as some of those concerns just became less prevailing in my experiences in the world and my identity, other things came forward. I was able to take self-portraiture and make it about the genre itself, about art history, about painting, and about what it means to position a maker of the work within the work.

How do your travels impact your artwork?
My paintings travel more than I travel. This month I had work in Hong Kong—a place I’ve never been to. I have one right now in London—a place I have been to but not since I was a kid. A lot of times I actually don’t travel with my work or to the shows. I’m really a homebody. Most recently I did a residency in Siena, Italy which had a big impact on me. For me, it’s an unalloyed good to have the work travel all over the world because it’s a way in which I can be a global citizen from the small area of land in Baltimore.

You aren’t originally from Baltimore. What made you settle here?
I was born in Grand Rapids actually and I’ve lived a lot of places. We left Michigan before I can remember. I spent my childhood in a couple of different towns in Connecticut and then I went to Massachusetts for undergrad and Chicago for grad school. Then Houston, New York, and then Baltimore.

The Maryland Institute College of Art invited me in 2011 as an artist in residence, that’s what brought me here. I met my husband the first week I was in Baltimore, at the time he was working on his PhD at Johns Hopkins—now he’s a scientist at Hopkins.

What do you think of Baltimore’s art scene?
I was just talking with some folks about what Baltimore needs and how we can promote Baltimore and lift each other up as artists in the city. There’s a lot of energy here, there’s a lot of support in terms of the social artist scene. There’s less support when it comes to gallery infrastructure and collector groups. I think a lot of us have to go outside of Baltimore to find that kind of support. I think that there are ways to build that kind of infrastructure here.   

What’s your favorite thing to do in Baltimore?
I feel like this is boring, but I love going to the art museums. I really love the Walters, it’s one of my favorites out of anywhere. I also really love the Baltimore Museum of Art. I also recently discovered ice skating. It’s not about being good at it, half the fun is being bad at it [Laughs].

Now that you are a Guggenheim fellow, what’s next?
I’m working right now on a body of work for a fall show in Milan at a gallery called Brand New Gallery—that’s the actual name of the gallery. That’s what’s now. I will be leaving Baltimore for a month to do an artist residency this summer at the Marin Headlands in California. I’m really excited to continue with my work.

When architects Megan Elcrat and Phillip Jones opened Co_Lab co-working space in the spring of 2016, they envisioned the front portion of the building would one day become a bookstore with a focus on architecture and design.

That time has come.

Co_Lab Books opened in Old Goucher with a soft launch this month and will hold its grand opening in January.

It’s obvious that it was created by people who have made careers out of having a good eye. The look is clean and minimalistic, modern with wooden shelves, paintings by local artists on the walls, and a large, well-lit wooden table at its center, ideal for browsing some of the large art books. Subject matter runs the gamut: architecture theory and criticism, how-to guides, typography, crafts and DIY, city living and urban planning, and a Baltimore section that will expand in 2018.

“We were hungry for a design bookstore in Baltimore. We just thought there was a hole there,” Elcrat says, speaking for herself and on behalf of her husband, Jones. “We’re trying to be more holistically about design,” she adds, leafing through the book Hybrid Modernism and eyeing its large, gorgeous photographs of movie theaters in South India—one of many titles chosen for its showcase of architectural styles.

Behind the bookstore is the workspace of several freelancers (writers, app developers, a lawyer), people who work remotely for larger companies, and nonprofit groups, such as Bikemore, Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition, and Child Justice. Though not all the tenants work in art and design fields, many do, and several of them recommended books to add to the store inventory. With two small children of her own, Elcrat stocked several picture books, too, with artwork as beautiful as their messages.

To engage more with the community, Elcrat, who also teaches architecture at Maryland Institute College of Art, plans to hold author talks and other events in 2018.

“Having a storefront presence is kind of an excuse to hang out with people,” she says.

Liz Vayda wears a lot of hats: She is the owner of plant retail paradise, B. Willow, and also the front woman of ethereal electronic band Vayda, which recently opened for indie duo Best Coast at the Ottobar. But Vayda is bringing more than just indoor plants and dreamy melodies to the Remington community. Nearly two years ago, she launched For the Greater Goods, a craft market designed to give small businesses and artists in the area a space to sell their goods that also donates a portion of all booth fees to charity. 

“Being able to have an open setting where I could meet people, they could see my work, and we could talk about it was really impactful when developing my business,” Vayda says. “I just wanted to do that for other people.” 

For the Greater Goods started out small, with the first market having only 18 vendors inside Bolton Hill artist collective Dust Town Studios. From there, it gradually grew through social media and word of mouth, moving to Hampden’s Church & Company events space before making R. House in Remington its new home base in May. 

While For the Greater Goods was held more sporadically in the past, R. House is allowing the market to take over its garage space on a Saturday at the beginning of each month, with the first events being held November 4 and December 9, ideal for holiday shopping. The upcoming markets will feature more than 40 vendors—including Drunken Rum Cakes, 3angles, and Pearlswirl jewelry to name a few—with a wide array of handmade goods, food, and accessories. 

“I want to revive the notion of the commons or the town square,” says Vayda. “I think it would be cool to see people coming in month after month to see what’s going on in the community.” 

 And while the exposure is great for the small businesses, the market’s name implies its larger goal. Each month, the market picks a charitable cause, donates a portion of vendors’ booth fees to that organization, and gives the group a free booth to help spread its mission.

“I definitely get a lot of gratification thinking about how, in some way, this is stimulating our local economy and giving Remington another attribute that is different from the new development,” Vayda says. “This creates a sense of pride for small businesses.”

Kinetic Sculpture Race
May 6. American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Hwy. 10 a.m. Free. 410-244-1900. The American Visionary Art Museum’s wonderfully wacky Kinetic Sculpture Race returns for the 19th time this month. Across 14 miles from Federal Hill to Canton and back, contestants compete on handmade, human-powered works of art that navigate over land, mud, and water to win awards such as “Worst Honorable Mention” and “Next to Last.” Watch the awesomely awkward spectacle from sidewalks across the city.

Maryland Film Festival
May 3-7. Parkway Theatre, 5 W. North Ave. Times vary. $10-400. 410-752-8083. It’s lights, camera, action as the Maryland Film Festival kicks off with an unveiling of the newly renovated Parkway Theatre in Station North. Renowned across the country, this five-day fete features more than 100 films from around the globe and right here in town.

FlowerMart 2017
May 5-6. Mount Vernon Square, 699 Washington Pl. 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Free. 410-274-5353. For the 106th year, the square around the Washington Monument will bloom with flowers, festivities, and festival food, like the classic lemon stick. Join in the Maypole dance, follow the floral pet parade, and purchase some petunias to brighten up your home.

The XX
May 6. Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia. 7 p.m. $40-55. 410-715-5550. In 2009, The xx seemingly came out of nowhere, their sultry minimalist pop snaking its way onto our playlists and earning endless buzz (including a spot on Rolling Stone’s roundup of best debut albums of all time). Eight years later, there’s still an air of mystery about the English trio. On their third album, I See You, the group’s cool, calm, atmospheric sound has unexpectedly evolved into something richer, brighter, even dance worthy––and it works. Listen to their new single, “On Hold,” and prepare to be enchanted at Merriweather at the start of the month. 

Ryan Adams
May 12. Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia. 7:30 p.m. $40-55. 410-715-5550. Ryan Adams may have won us over in decades past with albums like Heartbreaker and Love Is Hell, but if last year’s 1989 Taylor Swift cover album is any indication, the alt-rocker has still got it. Catch his heartfelt, angst-riddled sound this month at Merriweather with new songs from his latest, Prisoner, hopefully a few oldies (like “Hallelujah” and “New York, New York”), and opening act Jenny Lewis.

Jazz
May 19-June 25. Baltimore Center Stage, 700 N. Calvert St. Tue.-Wed. 8 p.m., Thu. 7 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 2 & 8 p.m., Sun. 2 & 7:30 p.m. $20-69. 410-332-0033. Set in 1920s Harlem, this world-premiere play—based on the novel by Pulitzer and Nobel prize-winning author Toni Morrison––embodies the essence of its musical title. The story skits and scats as it follows Joe and Violet, in love and living in their new city, New York. Naturally, their paths take on different rhythms––at times slow and steady, at others hot and fast and unexpected. Adapted by New York-based playwright Nambi Evelyn Kelley and directed by Center Stage’s inimitable artistic director Kwame Kwei-Armah, this dissection of the jazz experience––and the human experience––is a performance not to miss.

Preakness Stakes
May 20. Pimlico Race Course, 5201 Park Heights Ave. Doors open at 8 a.m. Rain or shine, racing fans will gather for the 142nd time to cheer on this second jewel of the Triple Crown. Partake in the tradition as part of the ever-raucous InfieldFest (which this year features country star Sam Hunt, rising country duo LoCash, and Waldorf’s own pop-punk favorites Good Charlotte) or during one of many events leading up to the big day. Above all, revel in the chance to see America’s next great horse racing champion.

Bon Iver
May 24. Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia. 8 p.m. $46-76. 410-715-5550. It’s been nearly 10 years since Bon Iver strummed onto the scene and stirred our souls with the wistful ballads of his debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago. With each earthy melody, Iver, aka singer-songwriter Justin Vernon, created a brand new kind of indie folk, conjuring up images of pastoral love, dreary countrysides, and introspective men wearing flannel and beards. His full-length follow-up was equally ambitious, and now he returns to showcase his much-anticipated third album, 22, A Million. A breathtaking feat, it’s more experimental than his previous works, but even with the electronic influence, Iver finds a familiar, yet completely new, way to pull our heartstrings.

Brew at the Zoo
May 27-28. The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, 1 Safari Pl. 1-7 p.m. $25-75. 410-396-7102. Grab a cold one and make some furry friends this Memorial Day weekend during the zoo’s 16th annual day-drink with the animals. Sample sips from more than 80 breweries (including homegrown favorites like Flying Dog and The Brewer’s Art), listen to live music (with local talent like The Kelly Bell Band), and enjoy all-day admission for peeks at the penguins or a visit with Willow, the new baby giraffe.

You see it. You like it. You buy it. But then, why, a few years later, does that piece of art end up in the attic?

Maybe because you became less enamored with it over time. Or maybe it’s no longer color-coordinated with the new couch. But buying art doesn’t have to be a throwaway affair.

“A lot of people buy ‘things’ rather than promote a decades-long conversation,” says Jeffry Cudlin, a professor at Maryland Institute College of Art. “I know a lot of people who care about decorating their homes more than about collecting art.”

If, however, you think you can get serious about collecting art for its own sake, Baltimore dealers and experts have some pointers for you that can make the experience a lot more fun and rewarding—and even (relatively) affordable.

“Older collectors say that young people aren’t interested in collecting art, but it’s because millennials are strapped for cash,” says Deana Haggag, the 29-year-old director of The Contemporary, a nomadic, non-collecting art museum. “I have no money and have amassed a lovely collection based on knowing, living, and working with artists—young artists trade.”

Even if you haven’t immersed yourself in the art world enough to make trades, there are ways to save money.

“For any beginner, the Publications and Multiples Fair that happens every March is incredibly creative and affordable,” says Haggag. “I go every year and spend way more than I should.”

Another good place to start your new life as a serious (amateur) collector is at one of the area’s less high-end galleries that showcases the work of up-and-coming local artists. One such destination is the nonprofit Creative Alliance, where it doesn’t matter if you have $10 in your pocket or are spending your way through your kids’ inheritance.

And now for the important part: Why are you buying this stuff, and how do you know it’s, you know, good art?

“Everybody has their own perspective on what is good,” says Creative Alliance exhibits and program manager Jeremy Stern, who adds that buying art is something akin to starting a new relationship. “It’s the thing that calls out to you—the one you keep going back to,” he says. After all, you’ll be sharing a home with this work of art. “It’s not, ‘What’s the best fit above your couch,’ but what compels you. And I say, don’t buy for investment purposes. The art market is so fickle,” says Stern, who creates his own artwork using maps, as well as things like clay, plastic, tacks, and drywall.

Oh, and about that kids’ inheritance you’re burning through: One local aficionado who helps better-heeled buyers navigate the art world is Amy Raehse, executive director and curator at Goya Contemporary Gallery, where artworks range in price from $1,000 to more than $500,000. She says that when a client comes into her gallery, she spends some time getting to know him or her. “People arrive at collecting for different reasons,” says Raehse, who has been at Goya since 2001. “The pleasure of investing in artwork is that there can be a monetary return and you have the joy of living with this art.”

And what makes a good buy might involve looking beyond what’s most popular. “Consider something offered by female artists, or maybe African-American and Latin-American artists. These are all good buys because these markets are gaining traction,” she says.

Who you buy from is also important. “Trust is an important part of buying art,” says Raehse. “Know the history of an organization, how they conduct their business, and how they work with artists.”

Web search: We’ve been here 15 years. My father-in-law found this house on the Web, and I think it’s unusual enough that people weren’t bidding on it. 

Art with a purpose: I started off in design and had my own greeting-card line at high-end stores, but I wanted to follow my own vision. I am an Asian-American woman and didn’t feel like my voice was really out there. My studio is in my home. 

It takes a village: This house, by architect Mahendra Parekh, was built on the principles of Hindu Temple architecture. The idea is big, open public spaces with large windows on the south side, and smaller windows and more private spaces on the north side. The idea is that a house is like a miniature village.

Shoptalk: A lot of what’s here is from Design Within Reach and Home on the Harbor and, occasionally, Ikea. I take Ikea stuff and rework it. The black sofas are by Bensen and were purchased at Full Upright Position.

Have a seat: We think the chairs are early Eames. They’re from my husband’s grandfather’s veterinary office.

Having a ball: The inspiration for the silver Chiasso balls, which were sourced by stylist Umbreen Khalidi, is the beaded screen by the late Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s “Untitled (Water)” in the BMA’s Contemporary Wing. I love the way they’re tactile. 

Seeing things: There are more things in here than I would like, but when my daughter, Lizzie, was little, she said, “I went to a friend’s house and they have all these knick-knacks. Why don’t we have any?” So I tried to acquire things with meaning.

If only the canvas of Renoir’s “On the Shore of the Seine” could talk.

The
tiny 5 1/2-by-9-inch painting has been on quite a journey since being
loaned to The Baltimore Museum of Art by collector Saidie Adler May in
1937.

“It’s small, but packs quite a punch with color and
technique,” says Katy Rothkopf, the BMA’s senior curator of European
painting and sculpture. Perhaps this is what caused thieves to steal the
painting in November 1951, spawning a 60-year journey that landed it in
a box of miscellaneous items at a West Virginia flea market and then
the Potomack Company auction house in Alexandria, VA, in 2012.

The
auction house contacted the BMA and—once they learned the painting was
stolen—got the FBI involved. In January, the U.S. District Court for the
Eastern District of Virginia awarded ownership of the painting back to
the museum.

This month, the BMA celebrates its return. “We’ll
include it in a small exhibit on Saidie Adler May in two galleries,”
Rothkoph says. “We don’t currently have any Renoir landscapes from this
period—where he was his most revolutionary. We can’t wait to get it
home.”