Visual Art

The Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize Finalists Exhibition
Don’t miss your chance to catch some of the art world’s brightest rising stars at this exhibition celebrating the seven finalists for the prestigious Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize. The winner of the $25,000 fellowship will be named in July, but works by Negar Ahkami, Akea Brionne Brown, Cheeny Celebrado-Royer, Schroeder Cherry, Phylicia Ghee, Jackie Milad, and Stephanie Williams will stay on display through August 11. June 15-Aug. 11. The Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St.

RAW Baltimore Presents: Impact
This gathering of independent artists will bring beauty, fashion, music, digital art, and more to Baltimore Soundstage. Whether you’re looking to pick up something to hang on the wall or be inspired by creative new takes on genderqueer fashion and vegan beauty, there’s something to be found for everyone at this showcase of local talent. 7 p.m. June 28. Baltimore Soundstage, 124 Market Pl.

Music

Outer Spaces Record Release
Grab some friends and head to Current Space’s backyard for this outdoor show celebrating the release of dreamy indie-pop act Outer Spaces’ new record, Gazing Globe, featuring guests Smoke Bellow, Cigarette, and Wheatie Mattiasich with Steve Santilla. The sticky summer evening will fit perfectly with Cara Beth Stalino’s exploration of what it means to lose someone but find yourself all over again. 7-11 p.m. June 29. Current Space, 421 N. Howard St.

Theater

Mortified: PRIDE Edition
Some of us dread those childhood journal entries and notebooks full of poems coming back to haunt us. Mortified embraces them. This Pride-themed version of the Creative Alliance storytelling series will feature adolescent artifacts exploring sexual and gender identity, coming out, and other experiences from the LGBTQ+ community. 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. June 15. Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave.

A Midsummer Night’s Bash
Say a fitting farewell to Single Carrot Theatre’s Remington home with full night of Shakespearean shenanigans. Start the evening with the troupe’s raucous performance of Drunk Shakespeare [and other dead white guys], then stick around for bites, drinks, dancing, and more at the Howard Street theater. 7 p.m. June 22. Single Carrot Theatre, 2600 N. Howard St.

Literature

D. Watkins in Conversation with Lisa Snowden-McCray
Five years ago, D. Watkins found a national audience with his viral essay “Too Poor for Pop Culture.” Now a professor, Editor at Large for Salon, and founder of the BMORE Writers Project, Watkins has become an essential voice. In honor of the fifth anniversary of his first print publication, Watkins joins Baltimore Beat editor Lisa Snowden-McCray for a conversation about how things have and haven’t changed since that first essay and what his latest book, We Speak for Ourselves, can add to the story. 7 p.m. June 26. Red Emma’s, 1225 Cathedral St.

Barbara Bourland—Fake Like Me
Humor, mystery, and sharp observation abound in Barbara Bourland’s follow-up to 2017’s I’ll Eat When I’m Dead, Fake Like Me, in which she moves the focus from a Manhattan magazine to the dueling egos of the contemporary art world. Settle into Greedy Reads’ cozy Fells Point home for a conversation with Bourland and BMore Art’s Cara Ober to celebrate the new release. 7:30 June 21. Greedy Reads, 1744 Aliceanna St.

Film

First Look: Dark City: Beneath the Beat
This celebration of community and Baltimore Club comes from one of the genre’s greatest voices, TT The Artist. Head to the SNF Parkway and follow the red carpet in for a first look at Dark City: Beneath The Beat, TT’s documentary following some of the city’s best local musicians, DJs, poets, dancers, and producers as they build and perpetuate a close-knit creative community that rises above Baltimore’s less-than-sterling reputation. 6:30 p.m. Red Carpet Pre-show, 7:15 p.m. Film Presentation, 8:30 p.m. Director Interview and Q&A, June 26. SNF Parkway Theatre, 3 W. North Ave.

Four months ago, a new alt-weekly paper arrived on the scene just as City Paper was departing. Baltimore Beat, headed by editor-in-chief Lisa Snowden-McCray and managing editor Brandon Soderberg, formerly of City Paper, declared that it would not be “City Paper part two,” but a fresh, new take on the under-reported news in Baltimore.

However, after facing similar problems as its predecessor, the Beat—as it was affectionately known—announced via Facebook that it would be shuttering its doors effective immediately.   

“We launched the Baltimore Beat in November 2017 in an effort to provide a new alternative, independent journalistic voice to the city,” the post read. “We’re proud of the work we’ve done but, unfortunately, advertising support hasn’t been sufficient to sustain us. . . We’re grateful for the opportunity and regret that we are unable to continue.”

Snowden-McCray followed up the announcement with a simple tweet to her followers: “We did really great work in a short time with very limited resources.” She also followed up by  applauding the hard work of her team and other contributors, as well as the support she got from readers.

“I found out I’m damn good at running the editorial side of a paper,” she wrote. “The amount of love, support for this paper, and talent that we were able to put on our pages was insane and the best part.”

For now, the paper will still remain alive online, but there will be no final issue according to Soderberg, who took to Twitter to express his anger and frustration about the decision.

“I went through all this only because I believed we had the backing to build and grow,” he tweeted. “I wanted to change the media landscape here. I thought our publisher felt the same way. There is no last issue, we heard yesterday morning as we were finishing up the next issue and [was] told to stop.”

The Beat’s publisher Kevin Naff from Brown Naff Pitts Omnimedia (BNP), which also oversees the Washington Blade—the oldest LGBT newspaper in the country—and the Los Angeles Blade, said he doesn’t have “anything further than what we released” to offer as comment. 

Since opening a few months ago, the publication has tackled gun violence, teacher strikes in West Virginia, police commissioner Kevin Davis’ firing, and several op-ed’s that showcase “community voices.”

There has been no official word on whether the staff will try crowdfunding to raise money to stay open, but Soderberg is planning a fundraiser with his partner in writing Baynard Woods through their journalism nonprofit, BINJ, to support investigative journalism in the city. 

“[Baltimore Beat] was special and I maintain that it would make a lot of money too,” Soderberg said on Twitter. “Don’t let this deter anyone else from trying. I am glad we tried, and we will see what we want to do next.”

You moved to The Sun after it was announced they were closing the City Paper. Then you jumped back into the alt-weekly world with the Beat?
Brandon Soderberg (former City Paper editor and new Beat managing editor) hustled for months to find a purchaser for the City Paper or start something similar. When he finally found one, he said he wanted to turn it over to me. I didn’t jump. I had to think about it. The Sun was a stable job, I liked my co-workers—who do an amazing job—but we need more outlets in the city. It’s a gamble, but journalism is a gamble everywhere these days. 

You’ve said the Beat will not be City Paper 2.0.
There was really nothing wrong with the City Paper. Other than the behind-the-scenes business decisions. People still loved the product. What is a priority to me, is to keep pushing to get new voices into the paper, and give people a platform for stories that aren’t being told anywhere else. 

Ultimately, Baltimore resident Kevin Naff and Brown Naff Pitts Omnimedia, which publishes the Washington Blade, the oldest LGBT newspaper in the country, stepped up as publisher.
The Blade runs like clockwork. The fact that Kevin believes we can make money—he wouldn’t invest his money otherwise—is important. The Blade, in D.C., got ad calls the first day the launch of the Beat was announced. We’ll share resources—printing, circulation, sales, marketing—as well as some edit and photography coverage. The Blade has been breaking LGBT stories in Baltimore for years. 

You’re starting with a full-time edit team of three—City Paper had 10. That’s tough.
It’s daunting, but not new. Ever since I’ve been a journalist, we’ve had to learn how to do more with the less. Brandon [Soderberg], arts and culture editor/deputy Maura Callahan, and myself will be doing a lot of writing, initially. [Former City Paper editor] Baynard Woods and the Real News Network, whose downtown building we use, will contribute. We also have a small freelance budget.

What about your online presence?
We will put everything on our website Tuesday night before the print issue comes out. And we’re planning to partner with some local podcasts and Dr. Kaye Whitehead [Loyola University professor of communications and African-American studies], who has a daily show working with WEAA. We will try a lot of different things. The way I operate is that I try to steal from everybody, figure it out, and make it my own. 

Where do you see the Beat fitting in the city’s news landscape?
We can’t compete with The Sun in breaking daily news. But I think there are a lot of smaller places such as the Baltimore Brew, the Afro, Baltimore magazine—though not small as those others—that make up the journalism ecology in the city. I think there is room for us in that ecology. The fact that we are getting press releases and story pitches already shows me there is space for us. 

What City Paper items are migrating to the Beat, in terms of content? You mentioned Baynard Woods—I’m assuming you were referencing his “Democracy in Crisis” column?
Yes. His column. Also [UMBC professor] Kate Drabinski’s “Field Tripping” column. We won’t have the “Power Rankings,” but something similar. Baynard and Brandon will continue to do weed reviews. Our arts and events calendar was really important to readers and Maura will continue to produce a comprehensive, diverse music and arts calendar, but it will be more curated. We intend to do long-form, investigative cover stories. I wish we could bring [former City Paper photo editor] Joe Giordano over to the Beat, but we can’t afford a full-time photo editor to start.

Where can we find the Beat? The Sun has repurposed the old City Paper news boxes for its new weekend entertainment paper.
I do want to say that we feel it is important to have a print issue because not everyone in this city has a smartphone with an unlimited data plan or regular WiFi access. And we do want to push into parts of West and East Baltimore that traditionally have been left out in the past. Boxes are very expensive, so you can find us in small businesses, convenience stores, libraries, gyms—anywhere else they’ll let us [distribute], basically—across the city. 

The last issue of City Paper was practically still warm from its final press run when it was announced on Thursday that a new alt-weekly would be launching. The Baltimore Beat will publish its first paper on November 15 with Lisa Snowden-McCray—former community coordinator at The Sun—as editor-in-chief, and City Paper’s Brandon Soderberg as managing editor.

Baltimore Beat will feature print and digital content, as well as classified and display ads. The free, weekly newspaper will share similarities to predecessor in terms of art and music coverage, but plans to highlight new voices throughout the city.

“We’re not trying to be City Paper part two,” said Snowden-McCray. “I want to make sure we are hitting the group of people and areas that are usually overlooked. I want to hand the mic to people who historically haven’t had the chance to have a say on things that are going on in the city.”

The new publication is owned by Brown Naff Pitts Omnimedia (BNP), which also oversees the Washington Blade—the oldest LGBT newspaper in the country—and the Los Angeles Blade.

Soderberg and publisher Kevin Naff handpicked Snowden-McCray for the editor-in-chief position. They wanted to find a voice that was representative and passionate about the city with the experience to match.

Naff says that the fact that Snowden-McCray is one of the only African-American women in charge of a newspaper in a predominantly black city like Baltimore is something that should be celebrated. For her part, Snowden-McCray is eager to break down the barriers in a white, male-dominated industry.

“I am always talking about the need for diversity in journalism,” she said. “The fact that there aren’t enough people of color, the fact that there aren’t enough women in editorial positions—I felt like I had to take the job.” 

BNP will handle all of the back-office operations while the staff of four gains traction, including associate publisher Jennifer Marsh, who previously worked at both The Sun and City Paper. With just Snowden-McCray and Soderberg on the editorial staff, the Beat will draw a lot of its content from fellow Blade publications, freelancers, and staff of The Real News Network (the paper’s current officemate). 

In a time where alt-weeklies are dying out due to declining ad sales and revenue, Naff says that he’s not worried.

“If I didn’t think this was profitable, I wouldn’t be going into it,” he said. “We put together a really great, experienced team. I’m confident in Lisa and her abilities.”

Marsh has already begun gathering advertisers for the paper, saying this is the chance to give Baltimore “the alternative newspaper it deserves,” so she’s working hard to make sure the Beat will thrive.

“This opportunity kind of fell out of the sky and it’s a chance to do everything right,” she says. “Even though we’re just a staff of four, it’s more powerful because we’re all doing it for the love of the medium.”

The first print edition of Baltimore Beat will be available on November 15 at hundreds of local bars, restaurants, gyms, and stores. Street boxes, which will not be the same yellow ones that City Paper was available in, will be coming soon.

“We’re here to celebrate with you,” Snowden-McCray said. “There are amazing things happening in Baltimore, and we want to talk about each and every one.”