There are 15 floors in the tiny elevator of the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower. At the top, visitors exit out into a small atrium, surrounded by a miniature museum, dedicated to the building’s namesake—a now-discontinued headache and heartburn remedy, of all things.

And yet from this landing, on a warm summer morning in early July, Eliza Kurtz is taking us even higher. On the 16th floor, accessible only via the marble staircase, she reaches a narrow hallway where a window in the wood-paneled wall reveals the bottom of a large pendulum, swinging back and forth, back and forth, roughly every other second. Then she gestures toward a set of industrial steps—up one more, to the tower’s main attraction.

“Watch yourself on the ship’s ladder,” says Kurtz, facilities manager for the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA), which oversees this city-owned landmark on the corner of Lombard and Eutaw streets—one of the skyline’s most iconic features.

When completed in 1911, the downtown tower was the tallest building in Baltimore, visible for miles and from the ships that entered the city’s bustling harbor. Originally known as the Emerson Tower, it was built by Isaac Edward Emerson, the pharmacist who invented the best-selling antacid, and the owner of the Maryland Glass Corporation, which manufactured the medicine’s blue-glass bottles in a factory on the same corner.

Modeled after the Palazzo Vecchio in Italy, the brick skyscraper was the talk of the town, crowned with a castle-like clocktower, atop which sat an illuminated, revolving, super-sized bottle of Bromo Seltzer. That dazzling advertisement was later removed for safety reasons (like the product itself), but the four-dial timepiece remains, with the story-high hands of each face still ticking around roman numerals and the dozen blue letters that spell out that late brand name today.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” says Kurtz, stepping out onto the 17th floor, where natural light pours into an old workroom from the north, south, east, and west. Warehouse lamps hang from above. Paint fades on century-old beams and brick. And in the center of the room sits the surprisingly compact yet complex clock mechanism, slowly but surely moving time.

It’s a feat of physics, this gravity-driven piece of machinery, powered by a 400-pound stack of weights suspended in the air on a steel cable. Eventually wound back up by an electric motor, they gradually descend throughout the day, turning a set of shiny brass gears. Those engage two pencil-sized pins that keep the downstairs pendulum steadily swinging, which ultimately turns the hours and minutes on the story-high hands outside, visible to passersby from the streets below.

And it’s up to Kurtz to keep it all running. One of the few female clock-keepers in the world, the 28-year-old Monkton native and University of Maryland grad is tasked with routine upkeep, from daily checks to monthly maintenance, which includes dusting surfaces, oiling gears, and resetting the time when necessary. Which is not only twice a year for daylight savings.

“Mechanical timekeeping is notoriously imperfect,” says Kurtz, pointing to a variety of factors that can impact its function, like wind and humidity. “Usually, by the end of the month, it’s at least five minutes off.”

For big fixes, she enlists a restoration company from Maine. Other days, she oversees the rest of the building, helping manage the 25 artist studios located between the fourth and 14th floors, which opened here in 2008, a few years after BOPA took over the building. She also coordinates the gallery exhibitions on the lower levels and lobby, and on Saturdays, leads public tours, hosting both awestruck tourists who’ve spotted the building from a hotel or ball game and longtime locals, some visiting for the very first time. This month, during the biannual Bromo Art Walk on Sept. 11, all floors are open for exploring.

Kurtz remembers touring the tower as a little kid, but never expected to work here. She arrived at BOPA six years ago, knowing next to nothing about horology (aka the science of clock keeping), instead learning along the way.

“These days, the clock gets hidden behind other buildings,” says the 28-year-old, looking like a chic mechanic in her 1940s-inspired workwear and platform combat boots, “but in Baltimore, you grow up seeing it.”

And while no longer the city’s tallest structure, the Bromo tower is still something to marvel at—its dials even being one whole foot larger than those of its better-known cousin, located across the pond in England.

“Take that, Big Ben,” says Kurtz.

When social distancing measures were put into place last month to limit the spread of coronavirus, members of the Baltimore arts community were some of the first to feel the economic effects.

With crowds limited to 250, then 50, then 10 before a stay-at-home order was instated, the likes of concerts, art exhibits, plays, and other performances were quickly postponed, then cancelled, bringing many city artists’ primary source of income to an abrupt halt overnight.

Almost immediately, individual artists and grassroots organizations, like artist-organizer Alanah Nichole and Necessary Tomorrows’ Sharayna Christmas, began crowdsourcing to help the creative community, inspiring the creation of the newly established Baltimore Artist Emergency Relief Fund.

“Artists are innately resilient and resourceful—they understand what it means to get by, to make the best of it, which sometimes means they don’t have safety nets,” says Maggie Villegas, executive director of the Baltimore Creatives Acceleration Network (BCAN), a city-wide initiative that supports artists creating works with limited resources. “We saw patterns of emergency response were emerging, and we started thinking about how we could coordinate resources, engage philanthropy, connect with the community, and support them.”

“We’re all trying to do better for Baltimore, and we’re stronger together,” says Jocquelyn Downs, arts council director for the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA).

Launched on Wednesday, the coalition-led grant fund—created in partnership with some 20 creative leaders, including the likes of BCAN, BOPA, the Maryland Institute College of Art, Open Works, Impact Hub, and several of the city’s arts and entertainment districts—will distribute one-time $500 grants to individual artists of every discipline, from painters and musicians to photographers and actors, who have faced financial hardship in the wake of COVID-19, such as cancelled shows or contracts. Grant funds can be used for the likes of food, shelter, medical expenses, creative supplies, and studio costs.

Since launching earlier this week, they have received more than 160 applications, via electronic submission and mail, which will be reviewed by an artist-based committee, and those approved should expect to receive checks within two weeks in hopes of alleviating immediate needs. The fund hopes to provide aid for some 250 artists, with three-quarters of its $125,000 fundraising goal raised thus far, and organizers are calling on the community for further donations, small and large.

Moving forward, they’re also hoping to use this process to better understand the needs of artists for the uncertain months ahead.

“We need to provide help now, but what are the next steps?,” says Downs, a writer and filmmaker, with BOPA currently compiling a list of other local and national resources on its website, including artist grants through the Maryland State Arts Council. “The art doesn’t stop, and artists are still creating, as they have through hardships in the past.”

Villegas, a former performing artist, agrees, stressing the importance of supporting the arts community especially in times of struggle.

“Artists contribute so much to our city—they help us tap into our humanity and process what it means to be alive, especially in times of crisis,” she says. “That’s why it’s so important that we support them now.”

Two of Baltimore’s most celebrated festivals, Light City and the Baltimore Book Festival, will join forces next year. Both events will merge into a 10-day mega festival in 2019 that will run November 1-10, centered at the Inner Harbor with more events scattered throughout town.

At first blush, this might seem like an odd idea. Why change these two landmark festivals when they’ve been so successful? But planners believe that folding them into one major event will strengthen them both and ultimately benefit the city and its arts community as a whole.

“We just thought that combining the two festivals would have such a tremendous impact on the city, and we could have a greater reach,” says Kathy Hornig, COO and festivals director with Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA). “There’s really nothing else like it in the entire country.”

At its core, Light City is known for its elaborate, large-scale art installations that light up in various ways along the BGE Light Art Walk. Many are site-specific and created by artists from across the globe, as well as right here in Baltimore. In the past, artists have incorporated the harbor itself into some of the pieces. Others feature interactive, musical, and even kinetic elements. The Inner Harbor Promenade becomes a wonderland of lights under the festival’s spell—and all of that will continue.

So, too, will the Book Festival’s variety of panels, readings, book signings, open mics, and other activities.

The change is being made, in part, because BOPA heard from Light City attendees who wished the festival occurred later in the year. Some festival-goers suggested pushing it back to allow kids time to wander along the Inner Harbor Promenade and enjoy the light installations earlier in the day—rather than having to wait until 8 or 9 p.m. for the sky to darken so that they could see them in all their illuminated glory.

Booksellers had a similar need. Book Festival partners, such as The Ivy Bookshop, explained that an influx of books are published during the fall each year, and a September book festival is sometimes slightly premature for authors who have books being released in October, November, or December.

Pushing both festivals back further in the year and combining them “just seemed to check all the boxes,” Hornig says. “We just had an ‘ah-ha’ moment.”

Light installations will be on view for all 10 nights, and literary events will also occur each day of the festival. (As for an official festival name, organizers are still working on it.)

Neighborhood Lights, where local artists make site-specific illuminated pieces in several of Baltimore’s neighborhoods, will still be part of the event, but books will be a focus, too. In order to connect with each featured neighborhood, BOPA has partnered with Enoch Pratt Free Library to offer literature events at several of the 22 library branches within Baltimore City.

Another slight variation to the combined festival will be the elimination of Labs@LightCity, the coinciding panel discussions that occur throughout Light City’s run. Instead, Baltimore Book Festival readings and speaker series will take place throughout the day.

Some of the favorite Labs@LightCity events, like the Pitch Competition for entrepreneurs and the popular Kindling Community Dinner, will continue. These events will be held indoors and outdoors.

“We want to illuminate the city with light during the day and art at night,” Hornig says. “As I looked out onto the harbor today—which is a year to the day from the start of this festival—I’m just so excited about all the possibilities for Baltimore and our arts community.”

Every fall, bibliophiles from all around Maryland flock to the Inner Harbor to experience the annual Baltimore Book Festival presented by the Baltimore Office of Promotion and Arts (BoPA). On September 28-30 there will be more than 100 exhibitors, local authors, and live music along the mile-long stretch of the Inner Harbor.

“We have a really amazing schedule this year,” said book festival organizer Kathy Hornig. “Some years you luck out and things come together in a really cool and special way, and I really think this is one of those years—people are just going to be blown away.”

It can be hard to get in everything in just one weekend, so here’s a list of the must-do and see things at this year’s festival:

The Storybook Parade kicks things off.
The festival wouldn’t be the same without its annual storybook parade. Beginning Saturday morning at 11 a.m. at Rash Field, the parade will feature attendees dressed up as their favorite storybook character marching to the World Trade Center in celebration of literacy. Actors from the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company will also be in attendance dressed as characters from famous plays written by The Bard.

April Ryan chats it up with Bill Whitaker from 60 Minutes.
The Baltimore-born White House correspondent has a unique story to tell as the only black, female reporter in her new book, Under Fire: Reporting from the Front Lines of the Trump White House. She has also authored award-winning books The Presidency in Black and White and At Mama’s Knee: Mothers and Race in Black and White. She will be joined by Bill Whitaker of 60 Minutes to discuss her recent book and the current atmosphere in the White House. “With all the beef and back and forth with Omarosa [Manigault Newman] this summer, it will definitely make for a lively conversation,” Hornig said.

Local chefs whip up dishes in the Food for Thought Demo Kitchen.
Each day of the festival will feature cooking demos from local chefs recreating some of their most popular dishes. On Saturday, chef and co-owner of Gertrude’s Chesapeake Kitchen John Shields will be taking over the stage to debut his new cookbook, The New Chesapeake Kitchen while bringing along a few of his friends to perform some demos as well.

Hosts of Lit!Pop!Bang! record a live podcast.
The Baltimore-based podcast hosted by writers and educators Anthony Moll and CeCe will be recording live from the CityLit stage. The duo discusses everything from what they’re reading now to the latest in pop culture to what literary figure they would have dinner with. During the live episode, they will talk with 2018 Baltimore Youth Poet Laureate Maren Wright-Kerr and 2018 HyperBole Youth Poetry Slam champion Ailish Hopper about racism and intersectional identity.

There will be plenty of books to buy, of course.
With more than 100 exhibitor and author tents lining the promenade where festival-goers can buy any type of book imaginable, the festival’s selection is endless: romance, novels, biography, historical fiction, sci-fi, and more. “One thing that we’re really proud of here is that book festival is not one of those events where folks get to and go, ‘Where are the books?’” Hornig said.

Local food vendors provide day-of grub.
“We’re a literary feast with gourmet eats,” Hornig said of the book festival. Buying books can definitely work up an appetite, so pull up a seat and grab a bite while checking out your latest purchases. Vendors include Crepe, Ekiben, Smokin’ Joe’s, Farm To Face, and Zeke’s Coffee. Charm City Pops, a gourmet ice cream pop company, will also be there to provide the “fruit” for the new Baltimore Book Festival’s signature sangria. “The sales from the bar are one of the ways in which we earn revenue to keep the festival free and open to the public,” Hornig said. “You can enjoy a glass of sangria or a beer and be doing good at the same time.”

Get a birds-eye view atop the World Trade Center.
For the entire weekend, the Top of the World Observation level will be free and open to the public to take in the sweeping views of Downtown Baltimore. As part of this experience, Pets on Wheels will be providing therapy dogs and cats that will sit and listen to children reading them their favorite books.

Students from the University Writers’ Program read their work.
Now in its fourth year, the program features the next generation of poets, memoirists, and fiction writers from ten area schools—Coppin, Goucher, Johns Hopkins, Loyola, MICA, Morgan, Stevenson, Towson, the University of Baltimore, and UMBC—showcasing their talents in this creative writing program.

Hear about a compelling murder case from Tim Junkin.
Author and attorney Tim Junkin wrote a book, Bloodsworth, about the true story of Kirk Bloodsworth’s exoneration—based on DNA evidence—after being sentenced to the gas chamber and spending nine years on death row. Attendees will get a chance to be a part of the conversation between Junkin and the subject of his story in this unique event.

Listen to tunes at the Baltimore Book Festival Music Stage.
Not all who flock to the festival are avid readers so that’s where the music stage comes in handy. With lineups including Baltimore City Public School students, The Shrapnels, Joi Carter, Super City, and Outcalls, there’s something for everyone all weekend long.

As the largest free outdoor arts festival in the country, Artscape will be once again painting the streets this July, with a color palette that’s overwhelmingly green.

In its 37th year, the free festival is making considerable sustainable efforts. Its agenda is threefold, according to Kathy Hornig, Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts’ (BOPA) festival director, as these environmentally friendly efforts will be seen in its food and drink operations, transportation options, and visual arts exhibits.

For the first time, attendees can sip drinks through paper straws, as all BOPA vendors will be stocked with them and the remaining food stalls will be highly encouraged to do the same.

The initiative complements the successful ban of Styrofoam products among vendors, which the festival started two years ago, Hornig said.

“We were ahead of the curve on that one,” she added. Since then, the independent nonprofit Trash Free Maryland has led a bill to ban polystyrene foam in Baltimore. The organization works to create legislative and policy-driven initiatives to combat trash pollution.

“Often times, there’s something you can do—not in addition to—but differently,” said Ashley Van Stone, executive director of Trash Free Maryland. “Like using a different material.”

Along with using eco-friendly material, BOPA is partnering with Monument City Brewing Company to streamline recycling efforts, piggybacking off their partnership from Light City. The brewery will provide about 50 clearly labeled recycling containers.

With an estimated volume of 350,000 attendees, preventing trash pollution was a priority. The receptacles will help outline how to separate materials and make it easier to sort trash out.

“I think the Artscape attendees want to support sustainability,” Hornig said. “They just need clear, visible units to make that happen. With the addition of these assets, we find the crowd is as into being sustainable as we are.”

In line with celebrating Baltimore’s own sustainability efforts, Artscape will also make use of the new permanent bike lanes up Mount Royal Avenue. Starting this year, BOPA will have free pedicab rides going up and down the hill.

“It’s completely human-powered, sustainable pedicabs—a free way to get up and down the hill,” Hornig said. “We’re hoping that festival goers will use those to maybe see something at Artscape they haven’t seen before.”

Up at the top of Mount Royal, the festival features local bands, food vendors, and indoor art venues. Its footprint is “symbolic” of the culture Baltimore has to offer, including local sustainability practices.

“Whatever the best practices are for our city in general, festivals should try to accommodate those,” Hornig said. “As a showcase and celebration of everything that makes our city great, sustainability efforts should certainly be a part of that.”

Looking at Artscape festivals to come in the years ahead, the team hopes to continuously add more environmentally conscious efforts.

“We would like to just keep doing a better job year after year,” Hornig said. “We’re interested in the possibilities of solar power for some of our temporary power moving forward. We just want to continue to do the good work.”

The latest in a series of murals by Baltimore-based street artist and MICA grad Gaia is now on view in Remington behind W.C. Harlan.

Sponsored by Greater Remington Improvement Association (GRIA) and Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA), the piece depicts a pair of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island around the turn of the last century posed in the style of a Madonna and child.

In reference to the subject matter, Gaia wrote on Instagram that, “My great grandfather came to this country and started a garbage business. One hundred years and four generations later, it is important to remember that migration is a human right.”

Rendered in shades of blue and based on a period photograph by Lewis Hines, the one-story image is placed over a background of flowers arranged by local florist Steelcut Flower Co.

Gaia requested permission to use an arrangement featured on Steelcut’s Instagram, and owner Mary Ellen LaFreniere was happy to contribute her work to the project.

“We all have a different lens of perception, and I’m honored that Gaia took my image, transposed it with another through his own lens, and created something new that can assist people in emoting, thinking, feeling . . . whatever they take away from the mural,” LaFreniere says.

While the chosen arrangement was created for a bride, not as part of the mural project, LaFreniere says the blossoms featured lend themselves to the message.

“The white bloom on the bottom left is a tuberose, the one on the top left is a Mexican sunflower, both flowers that have origins in Mexico, both uniquely beautiful,” she says. “Also, many of the flowers shown in this bouquet were grown by Hillen Homestead, a Baltimore City farmer who grows on abandoned lots, and her farms are just a few minutes away from the site of the mural. I think you all can probably infer your own metaphors about Mexican flower varieties and flowers grown on abandoned lots and how that overlaps with Hines’ image.”

The Hines-inspired mural is the third and final wall to be painted by Gaia as part of his Transformative Art Prize collaboration with GRIA and BOPA. His other works from the project can be seen at Wyman Park Drive and Remington Avenue and at 26th Street and Hampden Avenue.

It’s that time of the year when the city becomes a living art display featuring crazy sculptures, flashing lights, and interactive waterfront installations for the annual Light City Festival presented by the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA). The festival kicks off on April 6 and will span across three weekends.

While the beautiful giant egg, glowing seesaws, and illuminated peacock were crowd pleasers last year, the social innovation labs were thought-provoking, as well. And this year’s panels, called Labs@Light City, will be no different. From April 18-21 at the IMET Columbus Center, the conferences will feature discussions from more than 140 innovative thinkers including Baltimore Rising producer Sonja Sohn, health commissioner Dr. Leana Wen, chef Dave Thomas of Ida B’s Table, and activist DeRay Mckesson.

“The overarching theme of all seven of the labs is how to become a more fair and just society,” labs organizer Jamie McDonald said, referencing the art, education, food, social, environment, maker, and health themes. “We look at social innovation through the lenses of each of these topic areas—that’s what makes this conference so unique. Our whole philosophy is that there’s brilliance everywhere.”

This year locals can also expect a few changes to the labs including the cost of the tickets. Last year, admission was $149 for one lab and $99 for each additional. BOPA is highlighting a “pay what you can” model for each session. McDonald said that it’s always been the case, but jokingly admits that it took BOPA three years to perfect the language.

“We want everyone who wants to attend to attend,” she said. “We decided that we didn’t want to make it feel like you had to go through a special process to attend. This gave us a way to say to everyone, ‘Come and be part of the conversation, join us at the labs, and pay what you can.’ It’s one simple message and it’s worked a lot better.” 

Another thing to look out for is a change in the frequency and duration of the labs. Instead of full-day sessions, the sessions will only last four hours. Also, the popular DesignLab from last year that covered a broad range of topics from art to digital media has been split into two separate sessions—an ArtLab and a MakerLab—to provide a more concentrated discussion on each.

“Art in Baltimore, particularly art as it relates to social impact and social commentary, did really good on its own and warranted an art-focused lab,” McDonald said. “Makers, similarly, have become a really important thing in Baltimore and in cities around the country and we wanted to highlight that.”

Author and entrepreneur Shanti Das is excited to be a part of the new MakerLab and plans to share her successes, failures, and experiences on April 20. 

“When you look at a lot of the racial and socioeconomic issues that Baltimore has had to deal with, it’s important that you continue to empower the young people that are there,” she said. “I think there are a lot of opportunities in Baltimore now. I feel like I can offer a unique approach from a leadership perspective—sometimes failures are a good thing. You have to crawl before you can walk.” 

For the second year,YouthLabs will take place April 19-20 at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum for high school students. These sessions will feature a series of workshops and activities on topics like coding, large-scale collaboration, dance, and even a drone demonstration to help Baltimore teens unlock their artistic passions.

“The first day is more brain-based activities like concepts in problem-solving,” said Sarah Doccolo, YouthLabs curator and BOPA art education coordinator. “We are calling the second day ‘the body.’ We will have a performance and Q&A with the TSU Dance Academy—it’s a really great celebration of Baltimore City through dance.”

McDonald says that the purpose for the entire festival is to promote social change and inspire the residents of the city. The Labs are just one layer of the bigger picture, but she believes that they are vital to the progression of Baltimore because they provide a start to the conversation. 

“It’s uplifting our thinkers, whether they are artists or in the labs,” she said. “It’s making comments about society and bringing together people from neighborhoods who would not normally share spaces together. It’s doing so much more than what people may think about on the surface, and that’s what really makes this festival special.”

With the theme “More Lights, More Love,” Light City Baltimore will expand from two to three weekends this year. The art and music festival presented by the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA) is held primarily on Baltimore’s waterfront and highlights social innovation by way of the arts—large-scale art installations that light up the evenings, alongside live music and pop-up performances.

“This is a unique festival in the sense that the art is supposed to elucidate and illuminate social issues,” says Verna Myers, representing the Light City leadership council at a press conference today. “Art is awesome because it helps us to see things differently.”

The three-part event kicks off with Neighborhood Lights from April 6-8, continues with the Light City art and music festival from April 14-21, and concludes with Labs@LightCity from April 18-21.

Perhaps the most obvious signal that the event is in full swing will be the BGE Light Art Walk along the Inner Harbor’s promenade, showcasing 21 light-based installations made by artists from across the world. Tom Dekyvere’s glowing Elantica will be an off-the-grid sculpture replica of Earth, made from solar panels and electronic waste. Another piece will explore human relationships by way of interactive light and sound. Another will serve to illustrate—through a moving, patterned surface on the ground—that color is made up in our minds.

Beyond the Inner Harbor, Neighborhood Lights showcases various cultural pockets in the city during its own weekend this year. The collaborative artist-in-residence program has grown from five communities in its first year to eight in its second and now 14: Belair-Edison, Bromo Tower Arts and Entertainment District, Darley Park, Federal Hill, Baybrook (Brooklyn and Curtis Bay), Remington, Hamilton-Lauraville, Highlandtown, Hollins Roundhouse/Southwest Baltimore, Little Italy, Locust Point, Patterson Park, Pigtown, and Waverly. Artists are paired with community organizers to create site-specific work that reflects the personality of Baltimore’s neighborhoods.

New this year, self-guided audio tours of the BGE Light Art Walk and Neighborhood Lights installations will be available through a quick phone call.

Also new, the Labs@LightCity conference at IMET Columbus Center will be pay-what-you-can. The “labs”—HealthLab, GreenLab, EduLab, SocialLab, ArtLab, MakerLab, and FoodLab—put local voices alongside nationally known ones to discuss ideas and innovations that will take our world forward into the future. These guided conversations will explore focused themes, such as the role of education in society, greening our cities, and how art can create change. Speakers include Art Smith, DeRay Mckesson, Aaron Maybin, Sonja Sohn, Shanti Das, and many more.

Music performances at the Inner Harbor Amphitheater and Kaufman Pavilion by Rash Field, as well as pop-up performances—illuminated hula hooping, stilt-walking, caroling, dance, and puppets—will round out the event. Acts will include DJ Grandmaster Flash, G. Love and Special Sauce, Trillnatured, and Outcalls.

Also not to be missed: A drone race will bring drone league racers from across the U.S. to compete in a light installation that doubles as an obstacle course.