TO 2024: FOOD FOR THOUGHT
While Baltimore is known for varied culinary riches in its restaurant scene, a great number of families are forced to source their daily meals from convenience stores or fast-food spots for lack of nearby grocery stores. This harrowing reality is said to affect more than one in four Baltimore children, who rely on lunch at city schools, provided by the city’s Food and Nutrition Service Workers, to keep them full throughout the day.

Expanding on an exhibit that first opened in September 2022 at City Schools headquarters on East North Avenue, The Baltimore Museum of Industry is paying homage to these heroes on its own turf with an even larger Food for Thought showcase. Set to run through 2024, it offers visitors a chance to get to know those who are helping to feed younger Baltimoreans through portraits shot by Baltimore contributor J.M. Giordano and interviews conducted by radio producer Aaron Henkin (host of The Maryland Curiosity Bureau on WYPR). Baltimore Museum of Industry. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free-$12. 

3/2: WRITERS LIVE! ADRIAN MATEJKA WITH JASON REYNOLDS
The award-winning authors explore the life of Jack Johnson, who during the Jim Crow era became the world’s first-ever Black heavyweight boxing champion. Enoch Pratt Free Library. Central Library. 7 p.m.

3/3: AWKWARD SEX AND THE CITY
From NYC to Highlandtown, these tales of sexual mishaps feature unsexy IBS flare-ups, cocaine-fueled one-night stands, and worse. We’re certain you’ll be cracking up. Creative Alliance. 7:30 p.m. $12-20.

3/3-3/4: BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL
King’s journey from gifted teenage songwriter to vocalist behind such chart-topping albums as Tapestry is sure to bring magic to the Hippodrome. Prepare to “feel the earth move.” Hippodrome Theatre. Times and prices vary. 

3/3-3/5: AMERICAN CRAFT MADE/BALTIMORE MARKETPLACE
At the Baltimore Convention Center, tap into your artsy side while ogling the likes of jewelry, basketry, ceramics, clothing, furniture, and other crafts. Baltimore Convention Center. Free-$15. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. 

3/4: NINA SIMONE/MIRIAM MAKEBA TRIBUTE
Acclaimed Washington, D.C. singer Akua Allrich pays tribute to two prolific jazz women in Highlandtown. Creative Alliance. 8 p.m. $15-25. 

3/4: BALTIMORE STREET FOOD FESTIVAL
At Power Plant, tour Baltimore’s best eateries and food trucks, with all goodies priced at $5 or less. See also: interactive fun for kiddos, live performances, a beer garden, and axe- throwing for grownups. Power Plant Live! Mar. 4, 2 p.m.- Mar. 6, 8 p.m. $10-50. 

3/4: BIKINI BOTTOM RAVE
Are ya ready kids? Throw on a pair of square pants, or some bright green shorts like Patrick Star to take part in this Spongebob-themed event at Baltimore Soundstage. Baltimore Soundstage. 9 p.m. $20.

3/4: BRANDON WOODY AND UPENDO
At Enoch Pratt, the East Baltimore Trumpeter and his quartet will perform some all-new numbers pulled from Woody’s debut album. Woody and Upendo, more than anything, hope listeners will reap the healing benefits of music. Enoch Pratt Free Library. Central Library. 2-3:30 p.m. 

3/4: BULL AND OYSTER ROAST
Hosted by The Baltimore Museum of Industry, this loved event has pit beef, all-you-can-eat oysters, open bars, and classic ’70s and ’80s tunes. When you’re not busting some sick dance moves, check out a silent auction and par- take in raffle games such as the “Wagon of Cheer.” Baltimore Museum of Industry. 6-10 p.m. $95-950. 

3/4: CHRIS ROCK
These days, everybody loves Chris. The comedian’s Selective Outrage Netflix special shoots live at the Hippodrome. Hippodrome Theatre. Times and prices vary. 

3/4: DRUSKI: COULDA, WOULDA, SHOULDA TOUR
Brace yourself for laughter when this Baltimore comedian and actor takes The Lyric stage. The Lyric. 8 p.m. $58-864. 

3/4: EXPRESSIONS ’23: INFINITE JOURNEYS
Baltimore School for the Arts’ beloved fundraising gala looks to celebrate truth, possibilities, and artistry through a captivating performance by students and a festive soiree. Baltimore School for the Arts. 5 p.m. $350. 

3/4: ORNAMENTA
Baltimore Jewelry Center’s fundraiser returns to offer partying, an open bar, and fare from Blacksauce Kitchen. 2640 Space. $100- 575.

3/4: RAVI COLTRANE
The offspring of jazz luminaries John and Alice Coltrane takes his saxophone (and strong genes) out to Harbor East. Keystone Korner. 7 p.m. $35-45. 

3/4: STUDIO TAKEOVER WITH GREAT BLUE FIBER
Great Blue Fiber’s Jenny Walton takes the reins at Port Discovery to teach communal weaving art. Port Discovery Children’s Museum. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. $21.95.

3/4: SUNNY WAR
The Nashville folk-punk singer and guitar great brings refreshing sounds and strumming out to Manor Mill. Manor Mill. 7 p.m. $30.

TO 3/5: THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED)[REVISED][AGAIN]
Back by popular demand, and with a new and improved script, this CSC production features 37 Shakespeare works. Chesapeake Shakespeare Company. Times and prices vary. 

TO 3/5: CROWNS
At Center Stage, this play explores the beau- ty and tradition of Black churches using gospel music, poetry and dance. Center Stage. Times and prices vary. 

3/5: JIMMY’S FAMOUS DOG TRIVIA
Scarf pup-themed food and drink specials, and see how well you know your favorite dog breeds with this fun event which benefits the work of BARCS. Jimmy’s Famous Seafood. 1 p.m. $12.

TO 3/6: FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF
“Life moves pretty fast.” Believe it or not, this John Hughes film, wherein the irreverent Ferris plays hooky with his two besties in Chicago, will turn 37 this year. Go relive it at The Senator. The Senator Theatre. Times vary. $9-10. 

3/7: VISION BOARD WORKSHOP
Turn dreams into reality on Eastern Avenue while learning how to build a vision board (both virtual and on paper). Urban Life Center and Juice Bar. 1 p.m. $25. 

3/10-11: BALTIMORE OLD TIME MUSIC FESTIVAL
This annual festival brings the most talented string band musicians to Highlandtown. Get ready for musical workshops, square dancing, and some jamming. Creative Alliance. Mar. 10, 11 a.m.- Mar. 11, 11 p.m. $17-80. 

3/10: NO WAY ROSÉ FIRST ANNIVERSARY
Ashish Alfred’s adorable brunch hangout on East Cross Street turns one year old with an open bar, light munchies, and a DJ set. No Way Rosé. 8 p.m. $27. 

3/11: BAD BUNNY BIRTHDAY BASH
Celebrate the Puerto Rican singer with a dance party in Remington—and all his most beloved hits, such as “Neverita.” Ottobar. 9 p.m. $15. 

3/11: BSO MUSIC BOX: IN THE TREETOPS
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra brings us a taste of the tropical life. Keep an ear out for colorful bird calls and sounds reminiscent of rain- forest monkeys. Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. 10 a.m. $10. 

3/12: BALTIMORE ST. PATRICK PARADE
This time-honored St. Patrick’s Day tradition will transform Charm City’s streets into a sea of green. 699 Washington Pl. 9 a.m-6 p.m. 

3/12: KARAN CASEY
In Reisterstown, the Irish singer-songwriter performs songs from her latest album, Nine Apples of Gold. St. John’s Western Run. Time and pricing TBD. 

3/15: PI(E) DAY
At the Science Center, celebrate the tastiest day ever with a spread of all things circle: sweet treats, hula hoops, and pizza pies. Maryland Science Center. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Free with paid admission. 

3/16: YOUNG MAN, MUDDLED
Joined by Jon Schorr, author Robert Kanigel discusses his new memoir at The Ivy. The Ivy Bookshop, back patio. 6 p.m. Free. 

3/17: SHAMROCKS AND SHENANIGANS
Ring in St. Patty’s Day at Power Plant with DJ sets, green cocktails, and fun photo ops. Power Plant Live! 8 p.m. Prices vary. 

3/18: FORAGING AND FUNGI FORUM
At Evergreen Museum and Library, explore the tasty (sometimes funky) world of mushrooms and their foraging. Evergreen Museum and Library. 2 p.m. Free-$5. 

TO 3/19: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Playwright Aaron Sorkin’s take on author Harper Lee’s adored Pulitzer-winning novel hits the Hippodrome. Hippodrome Theatre. Times & prices vary. 

3/19: THE HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS
Get ready for a helluva good time with this trailblazing basketball team, known for flashy tricks and major talent. Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. Times & prices vary. 

TO 3/23: VISIONS OF NIGHT: BALTIMORE NOCTURNES
Featuring works by Baltimore contributing photographer J.M. Giordano, this showcase brings a retrospective look at local nightlife to the Maryland Center for History and Culture. Maryland Center for History & Culture. Wed.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free-$9. 

3/25-31: CITYLIT FESTIVAL
In its 20th year, this free literary lovers’ festival hosts poets, writers, editors, and publish- ing professionals. CityLit Project. University of Baltimore. Times vary. 

TO 4/2: BALTIMORE FINE ART PRINT FAIR
In Pigtown, check out limited-edition prints, portfolios, and books by way of burgeoning and seasoned artists. Baltimore Innovation Center. Times vary. $15-85. 

TO 4/2: THE SOUND INSIDE
At Everyman Theatre, this play packs on the suspense as it explores the rare bond between an Ivy League professor and her gifted student. In time, the duo’s stories and their lives begin to overlap in unexpected ways. Everyman Theatre. Times and prices vary. 

TO 4/2: TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS
Cheryl Strayed’s bestselling book, a tale of healing, brokenness, love, grief, and shared humanity, is adapted for the stage. Center Stage. Times and prices vary. 

TO 4/16: THE JOHN WATERS COLLECTION
Charm City’s Pope of Trash, aka beloved filmmaker John Waters, gifts the Baltimore Museum of Art with upwards of 400 audacious and captivating works, a portion of which will be on view at the museum’s Nancy Dorman and Stanley Mazaroff Center for the Study of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs. Baltimore Museum of Art. Wed.- Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 

TO 4/23: QUILT EXPO 2023
The Baltimore Heritage Quilt Guild’s event will boast upwards of 300 hand-stitched creations, along with demos, tours, a silent auction, and discounted finds. Maryland State Fairgrounds. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. $12. 

TO 6/4/23: A HISTORY OF HOUSEPLANTS
At Johns Hopkins’ Evergreen Museum and Library, learn how today’s obsession with lush, indoor blooms got started. Plus, see how the houseplant trend has manifested here in Baltimore. Evergreen Museum and Library. North Wing Gallery. Tue.-Sun. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. 

TO 9/3/23: ABUNDANCE: TOO MUCH, TOO LITTLE, JUST RIGHT
The AVAM’s Zanvyl A. Krieger Main Building will play host to an exhibit that explores true, lasting wealth. Witness art as an expression of the longing for contentment, productivity, and freedom through a joyful range of works. American Visionary Art Museum. Tue.-Sun. 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. $10. 

TO 11/2023: CLAIRE/MCCARDELL
This showcase commemorates the Frederick-born designer, whose mark on women’s fashion would yield sportswear and such sought- after creations as the “Popover Dress.” Maryland Center for History and Culture. Wed.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free-$9. 

TO 3/2024: ESTHER AND THE DREAM OF ONE LOVING HUMAN FAMILY
The testimonial embroideries from Holocaust survivor Esther Nisenthal Krinitz reflect her experiences alongside works by other cultural genocide victims. American Visionary Art Museum. Tue.-Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free-$15.95. 

3/17-4/10: THE FOLKS AT HOME
All in the Family. Sanford and Son. The Jeffersons. Maude. Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. The Facts of Life. So much of pop culture in the 1970s was thanks in part to television writer and producer Norman Lear, who will turn 100 this year. This month at Center Stage, the sitcom legend’s work will be the inspiration for The Folks at Home, created by award-winning local playwright R. Eric Thomas and directed by New York-based playwright Stevie Walker-Webb.

The story follows Roger and Brandon, an interracial couple sharing one home in South Baltimore with each of their respective sets of parents. What could possibly go wrong with this arrangement, you might ask? A lot. All in all, their quirky, modern family—and presumably, their laugh-track-worthy antics—should provide an ample dose of entertainment.

3/1-11: INFLUENTIAL WOMEN BOOKMARKS
In honor of Women’s History Month (and thanks to Enoch Pratt), bookworms can flag their dog-eared pages with the faces of iconic female figures such as Helen Keller and Michelle Obama. Take your pick when you visit the library’s Reisterstown Road branch. Enoch Pratt Free Library. 10 a.m.

3/2: LUNDÚ
Bonded by a passion for their hometown, Arequipa in southwestern Peru, the seven-member chamber group is set to bring a genre-swapping night of song to Highlandtown. Creative Alliance. 7:30 p.m. $8-10. 

3/2: NATION OF LANGUAGE
High praise among the likes of cultural gatekeeping mags including Pitchfork make this indie group, which plans to shake the Ottobar stage, an act to keep an eye out for. The Ottobar. 7 p.m. $15. 

3/3: BRITISH INVASION: LIVE ON STAGE
A cultural phenomenon that started off across the pond is headed to the Hippodrome to bring the retro sounds of major acts like Dusty Springfield and the Dave Clark Five to the stage. Hippodrome Theater. 7 p.m. $45-109.

3/3: GULLY BOYS
With their range of grungy, angst-embellished anthems such as “Neopet Graveyard,” we can all but guarantee that this girl group will raise some hell at Metro Gallery. The Metro Gallery. 7 p.m. $15.

3/4: KAT VON D
Before she was a TV-famous tattoo artist, this hardcore headliner played piano. But don’t expect an instrumental ballad. Von D is set to sweep Baltimore Soundstage with synth bangers when she steps up to the mic. Baltimore Soundstage. 8 p.m. $25-33.

3/4: LAKECIA BENJAMIN AND PURSUANCE
At Creative Alliance, the saxophonist pays homage to John and Alice Coltrane with tracks from her latest album. Creative Alliance. 8 p.m. $19-22. 

3/5-13: SPRING MARYLAND HOME AND GARDEN SHOW
This annual spring showcase makes its way back to Timonium for two whole weeks, with everything from local crafts and landscape tools to free bouquets. Maryland State Fairgrounds. Times vary. $3-12.

3/4: SUNFLOWER BEAN AND BARRIE
The indie-rocking trio and the dream pop singer-songwriter are set to take their talents to Charles Village for one night. The Ottobar. 8 p.m. $16.

3/5: WINTER SHOP SMALL WAREHOUSE SALE
At Green Spring Station, score big deals when you purchase small from brands including Sassanova, Girlhero, and more. Green Spring Station. 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

3/5: WOMEN IN JAZZ
This online show hosted by the Enoch Pratt, featuring prolific Florida flutist Galen Abdur-Razzaq, takes a look at the uphill battle of the women who have shaped jazz history. Enoch Pratt Free Library. 2 p.m.

3/5: WORKING WOMEN ON THE RAILS
Learn all about the heroines who helped to run the nation’s oldest railroad with this tour held at the West Pratt Street museum. B&O Railroad Museum. 11 a.m. $12-20.

3/9: DIY JEWISH FOLK ART WORKSHOP: PAPERCUTS
Tune in as the Lloyd Street museum’s artist-in-residence, Naomi Rose Weintraub, dives into the history of Jewish paper cutting. As you learn about this scintillating folk art, you’ll also get tips on how to make your own. Jewish Museum of Maryland. 7:30 p.m. Price TBD. 

3/9: VIRTUAL ARTIST STUDIO TOUR WITH ARTHUR LOPEZ
By way of your computer, take a trip to sunny Santa Fe to tour the AVAM- featured artist’s studio and home. American Visionary Art Museum. 7:30 p.m. Price TBD. 

3/10: DR. SKETCHY’S ANTI ART SCHOOL
At the Highlandtown arts venue, sip cocktails and win sweet prizes with artists of all levels as you flaunt your drawing chops (be sure to bring your own sketch paper and utensils). Creative Alliance. 7 p.m. $10-12. 

3/10: JABARI ASIM
“All of us have two tongues. The first is for them…The second is for us.” Learn more about the line that opens Asim’s novel, Yonder, when the St. Louis-born author gives a talk at Enoch Pratt. Enoch Pratt Free Library. 7 p.m.

3/11: ROOTED WISDOM
Presented by Adkins Arboretum, in conjunction with the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park and Visitor Center, the 25-minute documentary (set to mark the bicentennial of Tubman’s birth) explores the role that nature played in helping the enslaved navigate the path Tubman forged to freedom. Adkins Arboretum. 7 p.m. Free.

TO 3/12: IS EDWARD SNOWDEN SINGLE?
Kate Cortesi’s sweet and side-splitting production follows “smart,” “hot,” and “talented” best friends Mimi and April. When Mimi is presented with an existential roadblock, what will happen to the duo’s life of youthful freedom? Single Carrot Theater. Times vary. $15-75.

3/12: GIRL IN RED
The bedroom-pop sensation, known for anthems like “I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend,” heads to Rams Head Live, joined by indie pop’s new “it girl,” Holly Humberstone. Rams Head Live. 8 p.m. $25. 

3/12: THE NEW ARISTOCRATS
If you’ve never seen the clip in which the late Bob Saget tries to tell this 10-plus minute filthy joke, you’re in for quite a shocker. At the Ottobar, tune in as local funnyman Mike Quindlen (and a handful of amusing acts) attempt to do it justice. The Ottobar. 7 p.m. $10. 

3/12: WTMD’S SATURDAY MORNING TUNES
The Towson radio station’s family-friendly concerts return indoors, with a special performance at the B&O Railroad Museum, plus characters from Disney’s Frozen movies onsite to perform songs. B&O Railroad Museum. 10 a.m. Price TBD. 

3/12: THE UNFINISHED REVOLUTION
At the Park Ave. tourist destination, learners of all ages can explore Revolutionary War-era Maryland through interactive fixtures and a scavenger hunt. Maryland Center for History and Culture. Wed.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free-$9. 

3/13: ST. PATRICK’S DAY SHAMROCK 5K
This long-held downtown tradition paints Charm City in a sea of green that starts on Charles and Mulberry and winds its way to Jackson Street. Under Armour. 1-4 p.m. $45. 

3/15-20: DEAR EVAN HANSEN
The New York Times described this Grammy-winning story of a troubled high school senior as “gut-punching” and “breathtaking.” See why when it ignites the Hippodrome with a score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (the duo behind La La Land and The Greatest Showman). Hippodrome Theater. Times and prices vary.

3/16: FUN & FACTS IN THE FOREST WITH LULU DELACRE
This year’s season of the National Aquarium’s “Read to Reef Book Club” kicks off with a class led by the children’s author via Zoom. Join Delacre as she reads from her upcoming book and helps kiddos make a special nature craft. National Aquarium and Enoch Pratt Free Library. 6 p.m.

3/16: HIGH TIDE IN DORCHESTER
The in-depth documentary, available for viewing at the Maryland Center for History and Culture, explores the toll that climate change has taken on the low and marshy Chesapeake Bay county, which is Maryland’s fourth largest—but for how long? Maryland Center for History and Culture. 6 p.m. 

TO 3/17: ST. PATRICK’S DAY FESTIVITIES AT GUINNESS
All month leading up to the big day, enjoy live music, special menus, and exclusive beer releases on the Halethorpe taproom’s lawn, which will transform to become a lush and verdant Irish village. Guinness Open Gate Brewery. Times vary. 

3/17: CHARM CITY BLUEGRASS PRESENTS: ARMCHAIR BOOGIE
The bluegrass, folk, and funk group from Wisconsin takes The 8×10 alongside acts including Schu and the Souls. The 8×10. 7 p.m. $16. 

3/17: CONTINUOUS LINE: ERNEST SHAW
Using everything from oil sticks and paint to colored pencil, Baltimore-born artist Ernest Shaw examines African tradition and diaspora (as seen in the U.S.) with this new, solo exhibition. Top of the World Observation Gallery. Times vary. Free-$8. 

3/19: 10TH ANNUAL OYSTER ROAST AND SOCK BURNING EVENT
This peculiar (but much-beloved) tradition, in which foot garments go up in flames, takes place during the spring equinox to usher in Annapolis’ boating season. Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park. 12-4 p.m. $10-95. 

3/19: JOEY HARKUM BAND
The Baltimore-based Pasadena frontman and his namesake group electrify E. Cross St. with the help of guest Mike Pinto. The 8×10. 8 p.m. $18. 

3/23: SOCCER MOMMY
Indie darling Sophie Allison’s cathartic, surf-tinged tunes are sure to make a splash at Rams Head Live. Rams Head Live. 8 p.m. $25. 

3/25: MARYLAND DAY AT THB
Celebrate the Old Line State and its iconic, flashy flag with multicolored bagels at the Towson breakfast franchise. THB Bagelry and Deli. Various locations, times, and prices. 

TO 3/27: THADDEUS MOSLEY: FOREST
Explore the works of Pittsburgh sculptor Thaddeus Mosley, whose abstract wooden innovations helped to cement the 95-year-old’s status as the “keeper of old trees.” The Baltimore Museum of Art. Wed.-Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. 

3/27: BALTIMORE MIMOSA CRAWL
With endless rounds of sparkling sips (and brunch to boot), this boozy downtown crawl contains the stuff of Sunday dreams. Power Plant Live. 11 a.m. $14-44. 

TO 4/3: ALL DUE RESPECT
Projection mapping, woodblock print panels, furniture, and other unconventional mediums are utilized by four local female artists to showcase the beauty behind individuality and the cycles of life. The Baltimore Museum of Art. Wed.-Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. 

TO 5/8: MICKALENE THOMAS: A MOMENT’S PLEASURE
The BMA’s East Lobby will transform to reflect the lauded New Jersey painter’s trademark essence in a series of displays in what is said to be her most expansive commission. The Baltimore Museum of Art. Wed.-Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. 

TO 6/1: INTIMATE EXPRESSIONS: PERSONAL DIARIES OF MARYLAND LIFE
Viewers can get a glimpse into the lives of people throughout pivotal parts of the state’s history in this showing of personal diaries. Maryland Center for History and Culture. Wed.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free-$9. 

TO 7/30: LOSING WINTER
Through a range of photographs, this exhibition portrays Marylanders’ re ections on past winter seasons. As the state’s climate changes, their recollections detail a sense of personal loss. Maryland Center for History and Culture. Wed.-Sat. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Free-$9.

TO 8/7: MAJOLICA MANIA
Hackerman House plays host to 300-plus informative homages to the luminous, glazed objects—and their lavish, bygone heyday—with this walk-through exhibition. The Walters Art Museum. Wed.-Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free.

TO FALL: THE SCIENCE & MYSTERY OF SLEEP
In AVAM’s third floor gallery exhibition, a compilation of all the latest sleep-related scientific research mingles with three artist-made visionary bedrooms. American Visionary Art Museum. Wed.-Sun., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free-$15.95. 

TO 9/4: HEALING AND THE ART OF COMPASSION (AND THE LACK THEREOF!)
Upon retirement, AVAM founder Rebecca Hoffberger curates her last exhibition, where visionary artists explore the symbiotic relationship between the twin powers of healing and compassion. American Visionary Art Museum. Wed.-Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free-$15.95. 

TO 9/30: FLICKERING TREASURES
In a now-and-then showcase, this exhibit delves into Maryland’s historic movie theaters. Maryland Center for History and Culture. Wed.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free-$9. 

TO 9/30: WILD AND UNTAMED: DUNTON’S DISCOVERY OF THE BALTIMORE ALBUM QUILTS
This selection of revered Baltimore album quilts introduces visitors to Dr. William Rush Dunton, known by many as the father of occupational therapy, as well as one of the first inductees to the Quilters Hall of Fame. Maryland Center for History and Culture. Wed.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free-$9. 

TO 3/2024: ESTHER AND THE DREAM OF ONE LOVING HUMAN FAMILY
The testimonial embroideries from Holocaust survivor Esther Nisenthal Krinitz reflect her experiences alongside works by other genocide survivors. American Visionary Art Museum. Wed.-Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free-$15.95. 

2/18-19: Charm City Django Jazz Festival 
Roughly 93 years ago in Paris, sequestered in a gypsy caravan, a young Django Reinhardt and his wife, Florine Mayer, were about to get some sleep—until their home went up in smoke. The fire spread when the 18-year-old, Belgium-born Reinhardt knocked a candle to the ground, engulfing their trailer in flames. Two of Reinhardt’s left fingers were badly damaged in the fire.

Thanks to the disfigured digits, gone were pursuits of playing violin or banjo, but Reinhardt would eventually regain his strength with newfound sights set on guitar. As one of Europe’s finest jazz musicians, he would go on to perform with such giants as Louis Armstrong, Rex Stewart, and Dizzy Gillespie. Though he passed away in 1953, Reinhardt’s legacy endures each winter at the Creative Alliance, which is set to celebrate its seventh Charm City Django Jazz Fest later this month. Among greats poised to shake up the beloved Highlandtown venue—which will come alive with two days of flamboyant riffs and runs—are New York fusion quintet Baklava Express and local ensemble Ultrafaux.

2/1-27: BEHOLD, A NEGRESS
Delve into Napoleonic-era Paris through this world-premiere performance at the Everyman Theatre, which chronicles the torrid bond between a painter and her muse: a once-enslaved Black woman. Everyman Theater. Times vary. $19-69. 

2/1-28: LUNAR NEW YEAR
All month long, ring in the Chinese holiday at home with streamed performances from celebrations past, and learn everything there is to know about the Year of the Tiger through curator-led talks. The Walters Art Museum. Times vary.

2/2: JULIA JACKLIN
Joined by New York-based songstress Annie Blackman, the Aussie-born musician sports her storytelling prowess and a range of lilting vocals on the Ottobar stage. Ottobar. 7 p.m. $20. 

2/3-4/17: CONTINUOUS LINE
Using everything from oil sticks and paint to colored pencil, Baltimore-born artist Ernest Shaw examines African tradition and diaspora (as seen in the U.S.) with this new solo exhibition. Top of the World Observation Gallery. Times vary. Free-$8. 

2/5: BOOKLOVERS AT THE PRATT, FT. IMBOLO MBUE
At Enoch Pratt’s Cathedral St. branch, The New York Times best-selling great behind Behold the Dreamers and How Beautiful We Were sits down with Civil Rights investigator M’Balu Bangura. Enoch Pratt Free Library. 10 a.m. $15. 

2/5, 2/12: MARIA BROOM: DANCE MEDICINE AND MINDFULNESS
Through this invigorating, family-friendly crash-course, the celebrated homegrown actress, teacher, and “joybringer” melds her knack for mindful movement with Zen breathing exercises. Port Discovery. 11:10 a.m. $19.95. 

2/5: TINDER LIVE WITH LANE MOORE
Take notes. This Big Apple comic’s improvised one-woman show totes everything from dating tips to real-time calls with Tinder matches. Ottobar. 7 p.m. $20. 

2/9: HOT WATER MUSIC
The Florida-hailing punk rock group wreaks havoc on the Ottobar alongside fellow hardcore hefts Tim Barry and Be Well. Ottobar. 7 p.m. $29. 

2/10: EMERGE BALTIMORE
Curator Kirk Shannon-Butts unveils the up-and-coming works of three homespun creatives with this quarterly exhibit. Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. $8. 

2/11: VALENTINE’S CLASSIC SOUL: THE MANHATTANS
The quintessential doo-wop group, known for hits like “Kiss And Say Goodbye,” electrifies The Lyric stage with help from friends including The Delfonics, Gerald Alston, and Enchantment. The Lyric. 8 p.m. $45-125. 

2/11-13: AMERICAN CRAFT MADE MARKETPLACE
This three-day celebration with a slew of crafty makers, stationed all across the map, heads to the Baltimore Convention Center chock-full of handmade goods (think jewelry, glassware, clothing, furniture, and more). Baltimore Convention Center. Fri.-Sat. 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.–5 p.m. 

2/12: TASSELS AND CHAMPAGNE: RETURN TO GLAMOUR
With host Maria Topcatt, The Gilded Lily troupe touches down in Highlandtown to provide the evening’s pleasures with burlesque, some much-missed glitz, and fabulous divas. (Baltimore-based crown jewel Tempete La Coeur makes an appearance.) Creative Alliance. 7 and 10 p.m. $28-135.

2/13: MORTIFIED
On the eve of Valentine’s Day, grown- ups bear their teenhood hearts in Highlandtown with sappy musings, diaries, and chuckle-worthy love letters galore. Creative Alliance. 6 p.m. $19- 22. 

2/14: A DATE WITH JOHN WATERS
Baltimore’s own Pope of Trash delights devout “filth followers” with spit fire takes on fashion, true crime, film, and all things lewd. Baltimore Soundstage. 7 p.m. $44-110. 

2/15-20: SUMMER: THE DONNA SUMMER MUSICAL
At the Hippodrome, this ode to Donna Summer’s final show, and her catalog of dance-floor hits like “Hot Stuff,” features stories from her life and pioneering reign as the eternal Queen of Disco. Hippodrome Theater. Times vary. $52-149. 

2/16: VUNDABAR
The Massachusetts indie-rockers set their sights on the Ottobar with trademark banter, gnarly riffs, and captivating drumwork. Ottobar. 7 p.m. $16.

2/18: TREY KENNEDY
This Oklahoman funnyman (of Instagram and TikTok fame) is bound to leave the Lyric stage in stitches with his wholesome yet outlandish sketches. The Lyric. 7 p.m. $34-150. 

2/18: WINE AND DINOSAURS
At the Science Center’s Dino Hall, spot prehistoric reptiles as you sample grownup sips. Between smooth and fermented swigs, don’t miss the chance to view your choice libation under microscopic lenses. Maryland Science Center. 7 p.m. $40. 

2/19-20: BALTIMORE NEGRO BASEBALL LEAGUE
In honor of Black History Month, head to Port Discovery to learn how brazen pioneers transformed a cherished pastime. Port Discovery. 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. $19.95. 

2/19: SHOW WHAT YOU KNOW GAME SHOW: PRESIDENTS DAY
Ring in the time-honored holiday, and birthday of George Washington, by matching former presidents with trademark facts for chances
to win patriotic prizes. Port Discovery. 3 p.m. $19.95.

2/24-27: PATRICE RUSHEN CLASSICS QUARTET
The four-time Grammy-nominated face behind “Forget Me Nots” takes Harbor East for four whole nights with fellow jazzy stars, including saxophonist Ernie Watts and drummer Marvin Smitty. Keystone Korner. 7:30 p.m. $35-45. 

2/26: VIVA BRASIL! MID-WINTER CARNIVAL DANCE PARTY
Creative Alliance’s annual ode to the land of Brazil boasts bright, costumed performances, thrilling dance workshops, and soul-stirring melodies, brought by creatives like Pablo’s Baile Band. Creative Alliance. 8 p.m. $15-18. 

2/27-8/2: MAJOLICA MANIA
Hackerman House plays host to 300-plus informative homages to the luminous, glazed objects and their lavish, bygone heyday with this walkthrough exhibition. The Walters Art Museum. Wed.-Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 

2/26: CARD PRINTING WORKSHOP
Join BMI’s own Jesse Lentz to master rubber stamp-carving and print-making (materials included with the price of registration). Baltimore Museum of Industry. 10:30 a.m. $30-35. 

TO 3/27: THADDEUS MOSLEY: FOREST
Explore the works of Pittsburgh sculptor Thaddeus Mosley, whose abstract wooden innovations helped to cement the 95-year-old’s status as the “keeper of old trees.” The Baltimore Museum of Art. Wed.-Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

TO 4/3/2022: ALL DUE RESPECT
Projection mapping, woodblock print panels, furniture, and other unconventional mediums are utilized by four local female artists to showcase the beauty behind individuality and the cycles of life. The Baltimore Museum of Art. Wed.- Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 

TO 5/8: MICKALENE THOMAS: A MOMENT’S PLEASURE
In what is said to be her most expansive commission, the BMA’s East Lobby will transform to reflect the lauded New Jersey painter’s trademark essence in a series of displays. The Baltimore Museum of Art. Wed.-Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 

TO 7/30: LOSING WINTER
Through a range of photographs, this exhibition portrays Marylanders’ reflections on past winter seasons. As the state’s climate changes, their recollections detail a sense of personal loss. Maryland Center for History and Culture. Wed.-Sat. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Free-$9. 

TO 9/4: HEALING AND THE ART OF COMPASSION (AND THE LACK THEREOF!)
Retiring AVAM founder Rebecca Hoffberger curates her last exhibition, where artists explore the symbiotic relationship between healing and compassion. American Visionary Art Museum. Wed.-Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free-$15.95. 

It’s been entirely too long, Baltimore. We missed running into you at galleries, chatting in the lobby before the curtain goes up, and squeezing past you during concerts. And, no, things aren’t perfect yet, but we’re getting there.

Whether it’s masked up a few seats over on opening night at the theater or dancing in streets to local bands performing al fresco, we’re so glad to see you out experiencing one of our city’s greatest assets in person again.

But, if you feel like sticking to streaming and virtual tours a while longer, well, that’s okay too. It’s been a serious year of learning for everyone, and it has brought about some silver linings. Theater is more accessible than ever, international artists are just a Zoom call away, and you can catch that lecture from your couch if you need to.

So whatever your comfort level, it’s time to take a look at the months ahead. As usual, your arts community has plenty to offer.

To Nov. 6, 2021: Rania Matar’s She
Lebanese-born American artist Rania Matar showcases the beauty of young adulthood in her photographic exhibition entitled SHE. Her ethereal series specifically captures young women who are in their twenties and from the United States and the Middle East. Each of Matar’s subjects are featured in unique environments that contribute to their own individuality and allure. C. Grimaldis Gallery, 523 N. Charles St.

To Oct. 23, 2021: Within/Without
This exhibition displays the interpretation of nature by Marianne Calenda and Baltimore artist Andrea Huppert through different mediums. Inspired by the natural environment, Andrea Huppert uses observations from her daily hikes and travels to create mixed media works. Using aqueous media, Calenda incorporates soft pastel and charcoal to convey the layers and textures of seasonal changes in nature’s flora. Gallery Blue Door, 833 Park Ave.

To Mar. 2022: Discover Maryland
Explore the evolution of culture and history in Maryland since its founding in 1634 in this exhibition. Discover who Marylanders are and what makes them so passionate about their home, and learn how Maryland’s unique geography has driven its industry, population, and identity. This exhibit will teach even lifelong residents something new about the state’s rich past. Maryland Center for History and Culture, 610 Park Ave.

To Fall 2022: The Science and Mystery of Sleep
Embark on a personal and creative endeavor where art meets science! This interactive exhibit showcases three artists, who will display their own handmade and fantastical bedrooms. Each design represents the artistic visions and latest scientific research behind the phenomena of sleep. The exhibit’s main inspiration stems from multidisciplinary research on sleep, including its impact on obesity, diabetes, hormones, and more. American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Hwy.

Sept. 11 – Oct. 30: Future Ancestors
Juried by artist Aisha Harrison, this claywork exhibit curates sculptural works that throughline our past, present, and future, compelling artists and audiences to answer the question: “What kind of future ancestor do you hope to be?” The works on display include local artists Sarah McCann, Mia Halton, Murjoni Merriweather, and many more. Baltimore Clayworks, 5707 Smith Ave.

Sept. 12, 2021—Jan. 9, 2022: Color and Illusion: The Still Lifes of Juan Gris
Color, form, tension, stasis, and abstraction are just a few themes present in Juan Gris’ collection of artworks. The Spanish artist is known for his pioneering contributions to the Cubist movement and his incorporation of the experimental style called Synthetic Cubism. In this new exhibit, Gris’ compositions showcase his visual simplicity and stylistic growth from the years 1911 until 1927. Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Dr.

Sept. 19, 2021– Jan. 2, 2022: Betty Cooke: The Circle and the Line
In this first major museum retrospective of her work, Baltimore designer Betty Cooke showcases the intricacies within her jewelry designs from the early 1940s up until present day. Much of Cooke’s artwork draws inspiration from natural landscapes and animals and is made with different materials of enamel, wood, and gemstones. Cooke’s jewelry was also featured in Vogue and her designs have won two Diamonds Today awards from DeBeers. The Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St.

Oct. 1 – Oct. 24: Wit by Margaret Edson
Get ready for Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play to take over a Charm City franchise. Helmed by local director Lindsey R. Barr and starring Baltimore native actor Kay-Megan Washington, Wit explores the meaning of life through the unifying human experience—mortality—and cross-examines the importance of human relationships. Fells Point Corner Theatre, 251 S. Ann St.

Oct. 2: Dylan @ 80
Celebrate the music, lyrics, and talent of Bob Dylan for his 80th birthday, hosted by tribute band The Complete Unknowns. Accompanied by the Stable Shakers, folk artist Caleb Stine, Tex-Mex group Los Engreidos, and Southern artist Linda Nelson, this dedicated concert will honor the man that some consider to be the greatest songwriter of all time. Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave.

Oct. 2-3, 2021: International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards
Poe Baltimore invites you to join fellow Edgar Allan Poe fans for a weekend of performances, movies, music, and art in commemoration of the legendary master of the macabre. The free, two-day outdoor festival will feature Poe-themed performances, art, craft vendors, and food to help visitors wallow in Poe’s special brand of darkness and celebrate his life, works, and contributions to the arts. During the festival weekend, the winners of the 2021 Saturday “Visiter” Awards will also be announced. The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum, 203 North Amity St.

Oct. 5-31, 2021: Flyin’ West
Flyin’ West introduces the story of four African-American female pioneers and their journey settling in the all-Black town of Nicodemus, Kansas. Set at the turn of the 19th century, the play follows these American homesteaders as they work to build a better life for themselves and their families while faced with harsh circumstances. Written by Pearl Cleage and directed by Paige Hernandez, Flyin’ West is a journey of overcoming tremendous obstacles. Everyman Theatre, 315 W. Fayette St.

Oct. 8-10: The 13th Annual Baltimore Tattoo Arts Convention
Itching for a new tattoo? Want to know the most trending tattoo designs? Head to The 13th Annual Baltimore Tattoo Arts Convention. The weekend-long event will showcase some of the top tattoo artists from the region and the country, including special guests Black Ink Crew and a band of artists from the popular show Ink Master. Some artists are available for walk up tattoos, or you can make an appointment ahead of time. Baltimore Convention Center, 1 W Pratt St.

Oct. 8: Fantasy Machine, an Experimental Fashion Show and Pop Up Shop Presented by Meg Beck
This third iteration of Current Space’s popular fashion event will return this fall, featuring unique new looks, local art, and the opportunity to refresh your closet with bold, fresh pieces from the pop up shop. Current Space, 421 N Howard St.

Oct. 9: Black Lung
Baltimore band Black Lung returns to the city along with Asthma Castle, Haze Mage, and Queen Wolf. Channel dark October evenings with music from this lineup of punk rock bands. Black Lung’s rough and unrefined sound highlights explosive drum beats and electric guitar riffs, and has been described as “sonic pain and melodic bliss” that reflects the tone of the city. Ottobar. 2549 N. Howard St. 

Oct. 14-17: Celebrating John Williams
This performance, led by Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly, celebrates quintessentially American composer John Williams. With a career spanning over six decades across composing, conducting, and performing, Williams is best known for his critically acclaimed film scores, including, of course, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Wars. This tribute concert performed by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra honors his legendary career and work. Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, 1212 Cathedral St.

Oct. 22 – Nov. 6: Blood Countess
Just in time for Halloween, The Strand Theater Company, which is dedicated to women playwrights and theater artists, is presenting Blood Countess, about the Hungarian noblewoman Elizabeth Báthory, who is rumored to have murdered anywhere between 60 to 600 young women.This fun and creepy take of the supernatural was written by Kelleen Conway Blanchard will be directed by Erin Riley. The Strand Theater Company, 5426 Harford Rd. 

Oct. 23-24: Baltimore Open Studio Tour
Hosted by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, Baltimore Open Studio Tour is an annual city-wide event allowing artists to connect with the art-loving public, students, collectors, and creative influencers. Each year, people travel all over Maryland and beyond to meet Baltimore artists in their own studios and get to know the inner workings of their creative processes. Locations vary.

POSTPONED TO 4/2022: The Jazz Age Gala
This black-tie event celebrates the “birth and rise” of jazz music during The Jazz Age—a cultural and artistic period following World War I in the 1920s. The Jazz Age marked the emergence of new fashion styles, progressive social change, radio broadcasting, and recording technology. Enjoy an evening filled with wonderful entertainment and plenty of awards. The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture, 830 E. Pratt Street.

Nov. 5: Baltimore Soundstage 10 Year Anniversary Party
Celebrate Baltimore Soundstage’s 10th Anniversary with a special reunion show from Pasadena, a rock, reggae, and ska band. Named after the city in Anne Arundel County, the band was founded in 2000 by lead singer/songwriter Joey Harkum. After embarking on multiple tours across the nation for more than 17 years, the band played their last show in Annapolis’ Union Jack’s in 2017. This year’s reunion show will bring back the band’s feel-good music and, we’re guessing, their devoted fan base. Baltimore Soundstage, 124 Market Pl.

Nov. 12-13: Baltimore Old Time Music Festival
Join old time musicians, singers, and dancers from across the country to celebrate the influence of this music today for the second annual Baltimore Old Time Music Festival. Hosted by musicians Ken and Brad Kolodner, the festival features performances from a long lineup of musical artists. The weekend will be filled with hands-on workshops hosted by headlining performers, concerts and performances in the Marquee Lounge and theater, and a nighttime hoedown square dance to close out the festival. Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave.

Nov. 12 – 14: THE MEDIUM by Gian Carlo Menotti
The Baltimore Concert Opera presents a thrilling hour-long opera that follows a strange encounter and the subsequent perils that plague a pseudo psychic named Madame Flora, also known as “Baba.” This two-act opera, which was written and composed by Italian composer Menotti, will be sung in English with English supertitles. For all lovers of music, theatre and a good ghost story, this horrific performance will not disappoint. Grand Ballroom at The Engineers Club, 11 W. Mount Vernon Pl.   

Nov. 14: Miró Quartet
The Miró Quartet, an acclaimed national string quartet, returns to Baltimore during their world tour. Their performances have received praises from critics at The New York Times and The Houston Chronicle, who complimented the ensemble’s “refinement, drama, and adventure.” This year’s performance showcases an assortment of memorable musical pieces from Mozart and Beethoven. Shriver Hall, 3400 N. Charles St., Hall 105.

Nov. 27-Dec. 31: 2021 Flat Files 
This year’s Flat Files exhibition features more than 25 artists who specialize in an array of creative mediums ranging from photography to cloth and plastic. Showcased artworks will be available for purchase — all artworks are priced under $500.  Institute of Contemporary Art, Baltimore, 16 W. North Ave. 

Nov. 27-Dec. 19: Fires in the Mirror: Crown Heights, Brooklyn and Other Identities
Directed by Nicole Brewer, and presented in Partnership with Long Wharf Theatre, this series of monologues by Anna Deavere Smith looks back at the 1991 Crown Height Riot through the eyes of the Black and Jewish voices affected by those days of tension and violence. Baltimore Center Stage, 700 N. Calvert St.

Dec. 3, 2021: Laraaji
Center the mind with the sounds of meditative celestial music performed by Laraaji. Based in New York City, Laraaji began his music career playing on the city’s streets in the 1970s, where he was later discovered and invited to record an album. Laraaji brings joy to his sound bath performances, calming the souls of others. Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave.

Dec. 3-4: An Evening with André De Shields
Baltimore native and Hadestown star André De Shields returns to his hometown to perform with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andy Einhorn. His performance will tell the story of Charm City and the city’s influence on his career and personal success. This night out with the 2019 Tony Award winner for Best Featured Actor in a Musical is a must-see show. Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, 1212 Cathedral St.

Dec. 4, 2021: Winter Wonderland
Ring in the holiday season with this Winter Wonderland family concert. Listen to festive favorites from Disney’s Frozen, Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, and more, performed by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra accompanied by the dancers from the Ballet Theatre of Maryland. The family concert series is an opportunity to introduce classical music to younger audiences. Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, 1212 Cathedral St.

Dec. 7, 2021-Jan. 2, 2022: The Skin of Our Teeth
Protagonist George Antrobus is no stranger to chaos. The Skin of Our Teeth, directed by Noah Himmelstein, tells the story of his family—the Antrobuses of Excelsior, New Jersey—who seem to barely escape one disaster after another. Written by Thornton Wilder four years after the oft-lauded Our Town, this Pulitzer Prize winner will keep the audience guessing what turns the family will take next. Everyman Theatre, 315 West Fayette St.

Dec. 11-12, 18-19: The Nutcracker
Enjoy a holiday classic presented by the Ballet Theatre of Maryland. You’re undoubtedly already familiar with this two-act ballet, in which the young Clara must rescue her Nutcracker from the curse of the Rat Queen. Get whisked away to the Kingdoms of Snow and Sweets, and watch recognizable pieces like “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.” Maryland Hall, 801 Chase St., Annapolis  

According to the 1860 Census, more than one out of five people living in Howard County was an enslaved person. First brought to the county to work in the tobacco fields, slaves were later used in the mining and production of iron in and around Elkridge. Simply put, over the century and a half that slavery was institutionalized and legally enforced in Howard County, a significant part of the economy was built upon the backs of enslaved African Americans.

At the same time, it was home to abolitionists and an increasing number of free Blacks in the decades leading up to the Civil War. Geographically, the area was centrally situated—between railroads and the Potomac and Patuxent rivers—serving as a way station on the Underground Railroad to free country in the northern United States and Canada.

As a result, Howard County was also home to a jail, which remains standing, that incarcerated fugitive slaves. Additionally, it was home to a stone-built courthouse, which remains standing as well, that heard the cases of those charged with encouraging and assisting enslaved African Americans to flee their masters.

Built in 1851 and located at 1 Emory Street in the historic district of Ellicott City, the Howard County Jail held runaways, including Augusta Spriggs—who was detained while ads for her master in Prince George’s County to claim her went out—and Richard Martin, who was held as a fugitive without a pass. Augustus Collins was held here, too, while awaiting trial for inciting an insurrection among the Black population.

From its construction in 1843 to the end of slavery in Maryland on November 1, 1864, the Howard County Courthouse, also in the historic district of Ellicott City, held judicial proceedings related to legal cases involving those charged with encouraging enslaved persons to run away. Arguably, the most famous case here involved well-known Underground Railroad “general” William Chaplin of the American Anti-Slavery Society, who was arrested in August 1850 for having “abducted, stolen, taken, and carried out from the city of Washington” two fugitive slaves. But there were other cases, too, involving Howard County free Blacks such as Warner Cook, who was charged with enticing those enslaved to run away.

“These places and stories are important,” says Dr. Everlene Cunningham, chair of the Howard County Center of African American Culture, which curated the county’s The Simpsonville Freetown Legacy Trail. Named for the local community of early free Black landowners, the trail commemorates several places where oral history says Harriet Tubman led fugitives fleeing slavery, as well as the county’s historic jail and courthouse. “These are stories you didn’t get in school growing up.”

Maryland has the most documented successful escapes from slavery, and, in recent years, counties have been rediscovering—and highlighting—more historical sites in the state, considered the epicenter of the Underground Railroad.

Maryland has also been at the forefront of Underground Railroad research, documentations, and commemorations, which includes the now annual state recognition of September as International Underground Railroad month, signed by Gov. Larry Hogan two years ago.

That said, there’s no reason to wait until the fall to discover the indispensable role Maryland played in the Underground Railroad.

Howard County’s Network to Freedom and Underground Railroad

The Visit Howard County website highlights several stops on The Simpsonville Freetown Legacy Trail, including Locust Cemetery, where oral history says Harriet Tubman and the fugitive slaves she was guiding rested on their journey north. The cemetery is situated at the intersection of Harriet Tubman Lane and Freetown Road.

More information on the complete list of sites, as well as Tubman artifacts and belongings, can be found at the Howard County Center of African American Culture Museum in Columbia. The Center also sells Seeking Freedom: A History of the Underground Railroad in Howard County, Maryland, which was written by The Center’s since-deceased founder Wylene Burch, staff, and a team of researchers. The Center also hosts an exhibition on Maryland’s 4th United States Colored Infantry Regiment, which saw action in the Civil War in North Carolina and Virginia.

The Howard County Historical Society Museum on Frederick Road in Ellicott City also includes exhibits related to those who escaped from slavery in Howard County.

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center

It’s estimated that Harriet Tubman helped free 70 people over 13 trips back and forth to the Eastern Shore. The new Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center in Dorchester County serves as a museum and gateway to the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Scenic Byway and provides visitors with the opportunity to walk in the abolitionist’s footsteps.

Among the destinations on the Byway are the Brodess Farm, where Tubman grew up in slavery; the Bucktown General Store, the site of her first act of defiance; the Tuckahoe Neck Meeting House, a gathering place for Quaker abolitionists—some of the most effective anti-slavery activists—and Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park in Wilmington, Delaware, which honors Tubman and Thomas Garrett, who lived in nearby Quaker Hill.

Following In His Footsteps—Maryland’s Frederick Douglass Driving Tour

Organized online at the Visit Maryland website, this wide-ranging tour features sites from the Eastern Shore—where the famed abolitionist, writer, orator, and diplomat’s life began—to Central Maryland and the Capitol Region. (Douglass’ historic Cedar Hill home, now a museum, in Anacostia is not to be missed.)

Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born close to Tuckahoe Creek near Holme Hill Farm. Outdoor exhibits chronicle his early life here, as well as his enslavement at Miles River Neck and St. Michaels. Sites in Easton on the tour include the former Talbot County Jail, where Douglass was locked up for a week after attempting to gain his freedom by paddling a log canoe to the upper head of the Chesapeake Bay.

The Talbot County Courthouse in Easton, the location of Douglass’ famous “Self-Made Men” speech in 1878, honors him with a statue. Also on the tour site list: Bethel A.M.E Church and Asbury United Methodist Church, where Douglass also spoke in 1878.

“I am an Eastern Shoreman, with all that name implies,” Douglass once said. “Eastern Shore corn and Eastern Shore pork gave me my muscle. I love Maryland and the Eastern Shore!”

Among the key sites in Baltimore related to Douglass’ escape to freedom are the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park, which documents his life and working experience in the city, and the President Street Station (now home to the Baltimore Civil War Museum), where at 20 years of age in 1838 he successfully disguised himself and boarded a train for Philadelphia.

Hagerstown Underground Railroad Trail: Sites of Freedom and Resistance

From the mid 1700s through the Civil War period, African Americans were enslaved in Washington County, with about 14 percent of the population, or 3,200 people, enslaved in 1820.

Among those who escaped slavery here was James W.C. Pennington. He made it to Pennsylvania in 1827 at age 19, changed his name, eventually attended Yale University, became a Presbyterian minister, and officiated at Frederick Douglass’ wedding. Although he never returned to Washington County before the Civil War, he helped several members of his family escape as well, sheltering them and raising funds to secure their freedom. Pennington penned a memoir, The Fugitive Blacksmith (1849), and one of the first history books of African Americans, The Origin and History of the Colored People (1841).

Otho Davis also escaped slavery in Washington County. Taylor fled Henry Fiery’s Farm on Easter Sunday, 1856, taking his wife, two children, two brothers, a sister-in-law, and nephew with him on Fiery’s horses and two buggies, eventually reaching Canada. The Fierys attempted many times to get the Davises back, but to no avail, according to Visit Hagerstown, which has a downloadable local Underground Railroad map and brochure on its website.

The urban Underground Railroad trail in Hagerstown can be walked or driven, and takes visitors to sites associated with escapes from slavery, highlighting the individuals who fled and those who assisted in their escapes. There are several original buildings still standing—including Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church, chartered in 1820—and the home of Sheriff William FitzHugh, who held people in slavery and enforced the law against those hoping for freedom.

Underground Railroad Experience Trail—Montgomery County

The trail, created in 1998 by Montgomery Parks to preserve the county’s rural landscape, provides walking paths and commemorates a part of Sandy Spring and Montgomery County’s Underground Railroad history.

The town of Sandy Spring was settled by Quakers in the 1720s, and they later banned members of the church from holding slaves. Eventually, a group of former enslaved people and the local Quakers worked together to help fugitive slaves to freedom, and it is said that Dred Scott stayed in Sandy Spring while the U.S. Supreme Court decided his famous 1857 case.

Among Underground Railroad destinations in the area are the Sandy Spring Slave Museum, which holds an actual slave cabin; the Sandy Spring Friends’ Meetinghouse, whose congregants were active abolitionists; and the Sharp Street Church, established in 1822 by newly freed African Americans. One of the stops on the trail is the Woodlawn Manor & Barn, built by a prominent family of local Quakers, who were banished from their congregation for refusing to free their enslaved workers.

Five years ago, the barn reopened as Woodlawn Museum, and today it hosts exhibits on the legacy of the Quaker community, the local African-American community, 19th-century farming, and Montgomery County’s Underground Railroad.

History, Heritage, and the Underground Railroad—Prince George’s County

African Americans have raised families and built communities for more than 300 years in Prince George’s County, which kept more slaves than any other county in Maryland. Of the more than 13,600 African Americans living in the county in 1860, some 91 percent were enslaved. Almost 10 percent of the fugitive slaves arrested in Baltimore were from Prince George’s County.

Among the historic sites here are the Northampton Slave Quarters and Archaeological Park in Bowie, which features the reconstructed foundations of slave quarters on the former Northampton Plantation. Excavations from the former plantation (1673-1860) have discovered artifacts from the lives of enslaved African Americans.

The Mount Calvert Historical and Archaeological Park in Upper Marlboro interprets the history of local Native Americans, the colonial town of Charles Town (Prince George’s first county seat), and the lives of African Americans. Fifty-one enslaved African Americans worked at the Mount Calvert Plantation by the mid 1800s. St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Oxon Hill, believed to be the oldest Black congregation in Prince George’s County, was built upon property acquired shortly after the Civil War in 1867.

Among those who successfully escaped slavery in Prince George’s County was Nace Shaw, who fled the Upper Marlboro estate and plantation owned by Sarah Ann Talburtt in September 1858. Nace, who was 45 when he escaped, was also an unlikely candidate to flee given his relative privileged position as a plantation foreman, according to Maryland State Archives. But Shaw also had family in Washington, D.C., where he initially went before heading to Philadelphia and ultimately, Canada. “I wanted a chance for my life,” Shaw later said. “I wanted to die a free man.”

Standing next to Albert Einstein and Harriet Tubman in the front room of a nondescript white building on Holabird Avenue, Louis Armstrong is dressed in a black suit and spiffy black shoes, trumpet pressed to his lips and fingers positioned perfectly above the keys. The figures are so lifelike you’re almost surprised not to hear jazz blaring from Satchmo’s horn.

“We took him to New Orleans for a trade show a few years ago, and he was a big hit,” says Joe Bezold, (pictured right), co-owner of Dorfman Museum Figures in East Baltimore, which for more than a half century has crafted figures and scenes for museums across the United States and around the world.

Founded by Earl Dorfman in 1957, the company began with department store window displays before transitioning to creating figures for wax museums. When Earl’s son, Robert, took over in the early 1990s, they began selling them to historic homes, visitor’s centers, and museums, eventually in more than 30 countries.

Bezold and his business partner, Tim Clifton, (pictured left), both longtime employees, bought the business in 2018. Since then, the majority of their sales have been conservation forms—displays made of inert Ethafoam polyethylene that are used to present dresses, uniforms, and other historic clothing without damaging them.

“A lot of museums were focusing on preservation and realizing that the materials of the [figures] themselves were important,” Clifton says. “Some can give off gases that are fairly benign, but once they’re in a case or sealed, it can start to deteriorate fabric over decades.”

Dorfman still makes plenty of the vinyl and silicone lifelike figures as well, for places like the B&O Railroad Museum and Kentucky Derby Museum. From the time a contracted sculptor crafts a clay head of the subject to the moment that the last hair is added to its dome, the goal is to make the figure look as close to a human being as possible. The cost can range from $4,000 to $9,000.

The 10,000-square-foot Dorfman facility is a maze of fake body parts. Arms and legs hang on walls like hardware in a suburban garage. Headless, handless bodies stand at attention like soldiers lined up in formation. On the second floor, you’ll find the collection of more than 800 head molds. Here, on metal shelves, skier Picabo Street sits next to former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. In another row, polio vaccine inventor Jonas Salk’s head rests across the aisle from Teddy Roosevelt’s.

The company’s figures are displayed in a wide array of institutions, including the National World War II Museum in New Orleans and the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick. It has made close to 100 figures and scenes for the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base outside Dayton, Ohio, and recently created soldiers for the Royal Tank Museum in the country of Jordan.

Throughout the years, Dorfman has made figures for the backgrounds of movies and TV shows, and even filled the odd request from private citizens. Once a woman commissioned a figure of her deceased husband. Another time, a big-game hunter ordered a lifelike figure of himself in shooting position, to be situated in his home next to a taxidermied polar bear.

“Any given week someone will contact us from this country or another country who wants to commemorate someone,” Bezold says. “For us, every time, it’s a brand-new history lesson.”

When curating an exhibit, the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS) is usually meticulous about selecting what it wants to include. After all, framing history and contextualizing it for future generations is not something its archivists take lightly. But when a once-in-a-lifetime event like the coronavirus pandemic occurs, unprecedented times call for unorthodox measures.

Throughout the past few weeks, the historical society has been commissioning user testimonials and photos from citizens across the state, encouraging them to tell their stories and detail how the virus has affected their everyday lives.

“When COVID-19 happened, we returned to our collections and started looking at how we can give perspectives to people right now,” says Allison Tolman, the MdHS’s Vice President of Collections. “We like to do everything very thoughtful and precise, and we take a long time to develop it. But here, we had to be reactionary and quick. We had to get it out there.”

Tolman says that initiating this process wasn’t easy at first, especially given that most museum staff are working remotely. Collectively, they decided on two different avenues by which they would catalog real time reactions to the pandemic: one entitled “Letters from the Homefront,” and another named “Business Unusual.”

The idea behind “Letters from the Homefront” is to solicit emails from senders who wish to document their daily lives under quarantine. Historically, Tolman says, letter-writing elicits the most color and context to help readers understand what it was like to live in a given moment in time. One of the more noteworthy submissions thus far has come from local fourth grade students, who lamented over not being able to play outside with their friends, and how they’re adjusting to a new way of learning.

“As a museum, when something happens, we look back at what happened in politics,” Tolman says. “There’s some sort of conflict. [With coronavirus], we quickly settled on letters because, for example, in the Civil War, we find a lot of the most interesting information about how it affected people on a personal level by looking at diaries and letters.”

Tolman says that records surrounding past pandemics, such as the Spanish Flu of 1918, have also been a helpful reference point for the current situation.

But in the age of social media, the museum can monitor posts in real time. This advantage is particularly useful for its “Business Unusual” initiative, in which business employees, owners, and patrons can share their photos and stories to be used in a future photo essay. Those interested in following along are also able to monitor posts using the hashtag #BusinessUnusual.

“Each person’s story is very different, which is interesting, because we’re all going through this together,” Tolman says. “Collecting living history [in real time] is a new thing, but it’s certainly important. We need to be getting those collections now, so in 100 years when another pandemic happens, people can look back on our stories and realize what was different then versus now.”

Tolman says that the museum is also hoping to receive submissions from medical professionals who are on the front lines fighting the virus. “Even if they don’t have time now, we encourage them to take a moment to write it down—they can mail it to us afterward,” she says.

As for what this collection effort will turn into down the road, that is to be determined. The circumstances surrounding the virus are evolving by the day, and the historical society is adjusting its strategy accordingly. Amidst the spread of coronavirus, the museum finds itself in the unique position of providing a voice to those looking for clarity, as well as an outlet to work through a confusing and frightening time.

“Everyone has a different lens, and that’s been very interesting,” Tolman says. “It’s hard to catalog something when we aren’t quite sure what it is. Even though we’re all going through it, a lot of people feel alone. This has given them a platform to feel like one of a large community.”

[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.

Has the climate crisis impacted your shopping habits recently? Maybe you’ve decided to patronize a secondhand clothing store or refurbish an antique piece of furniture for your home. Those choices matter, and that’s what the new exhibition Naturally Beautiful: Uncovering Nature in the Nineteenth-Century Home, opening March 11 at the Homewood Museum at Johns Hopkins, aims to explore.

The exhibit implores visitors to consider that the prominent Carroll family, who resided for a short period at Homewood, likely faced the same predicament that we do now as shoppers, deciding between conservation or consumerism.

“We’re committed to taking objects that we carefully furnish this house with and looking at them in new and interesting ways,” Homewood assistant curator Michelle Fitzgerald says.

In Naturally Beautiful, the Homewood Museum displays its collection of decorative art and furnishings in distinct rooms or environments throughout the home to show 19th-century homeowners’ relationship to nature, their increasing appreciation for it, and how their choices affected the environment.

“The idea is that the consumer habits of the 19th century truly impacted the environment,” says the museum’s director and curator Julie Rose, “which is something not unfamiliar to us today, and exploring how our predecessors valued mother nature,”

One of Fitzgerald’s favorite pieces on display is a mahogany desk from the 1800s. “It has these beautiful inlays,” she says. “And its primary wood is mahogany, which was hugely popular in colonial America. At this point, while it’s so popular and is considered a luxury item, the Jamaican mahogany trade is almost done because they’ve harvested all of the commercially viable lumber…Today, we still don’t have great commercial mahogany around.”

Visitors can also expect to see Homewood’s popular Blue John urns prominently displayed. Blue John is a semi-precious mineral often featuring eye-catching veins of electric blue and purple. Today, it can only be found in a limited number of mines and caverns in Derbyshire, England. Other featured raw materials among the household items and apparel in the exhibit include silver, coral, and bird feathers.

Naturally Beautiful also explores the growing popularity of picnicking in the 19th century. The curatorial team has created a picnic setting inside Homewood that speaks to the movement of appreciating the environment in a safe, recreational way.

“There were tables, wine, toys for the children, and enslaved people were tasked with setting up this luxurious environment all to admire the beautiful natural setting surrounding Homewood,” Rose says. “This was typical of wealthy Baltimoreans who had summer retreats.”

This exhibition was more than a year in the making, with much research conducted by curatorial assistant and JHU senior Ian Waggoner.

“We spent time interviewing and working with Hopkins’ environmental science and anthropology departments and learning from those professors,” Fitzgerald says. “It’s been a wonderful opportunity to bring in new departments, and hopefully visitors, to the museum.”

Rose and Fitzgerald both hope that, after seeing the exhibit, visitors are more aware of their consumer habits and look at the objects in their home differently.

“This exhibit supports the idea of recognizing that our natural environment provides so much beauty, but it’s at a cost,” Rose says, “and appreciating the beautiful things and materials that go into making things for the home.”

Naturally Beautiful runs at the Homewood Museum from March 11 to June 5.

Cara Ober is relatively easy to spot at an art exhibit preview. It’s not only because of her art-chic style and general confidence and authority when it comes to art, but because she is deeply, passionately inquisitive about the work. Even if you were to close your eyes, you could most likely recognize her by her voice; she is often the first person, in a room buzzing with press, to look directly at the artists and start firing off insightful questions—the ones that either seem too difficult to ask or had eluded others, sometimes even the artists themselves.

Ober is her own brand. Or, more accurately, her name is synonymous with BmoreArt, the Baltimore arts and culture magazine that she founded in 2007. She didn’t know then how much the city would come to need a platform that exposes the community to what’s happening in the arts while validating the artists who work here. The longest-running arts publication in the city, it gracefully strikes a balance between high art and pop culture, with a range of subject matter covering visual art, music, theater, film, and extending into other culturally rich areas, like food.

“I always have people asking me, ‘Do you still make art?’” the Maryland Institute College of Art alum says in her Area 405 studio, which is relatively barren and appears to serve these days mostly as storage space for her older work. “I’m like, these magazines are art! They are collaborative, community-based art, and it is part of my art practice. Creatively, I find it really satisfying.”

The “observer effect” theory states that an observer changes the nature of whatever it is they are observing. Though usually used to describe scientific phenomena, it could also be applied to Ober’s observations of Baltimore over the past 12-plus years. In 2007, at a time when seemingly everyone was creating a blog, Ober started BmoreArt on Blogspot to showcase visual art events. The webzine evolved to include biannual print magazines, with funding from the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, and this year has grown again, adding more staff and a new initiative that connects Baltimore artists with collectors.

“BmoreArt is a huge gift for the [art] institutions that are here,” says Julia Marciari-Alexander, director of the Walters Art Museum. “Cara thinks about art in a holistic way. The intelligence with which she approaches the articles, it’s really excellent art criticism in the best sense—not necessarily negative, but thoughtful art criticism. And that’s a dying practice.”

Adds Donna Drew Sawyer, CEO of the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts: “Cara is really an example of the kind of can-do, maker attitude we have here in Baltimore . . . Cara moved forward and published this magazine, fearless of what others thought could or could not be successful. And she made it successful. I think she’s just pure Baltimore. That’s the way we do things.”

As for Ober, she can sometimes hardly believe it herself.

“I never thought this would become what it is,” she says. “I never thought this would be my job.”

“I never thought this would become what it is. I never thought this would be my job.”

Even as a little girl growing up in Westminster, Ober often felt like an observer.

“My younger brother was always the super-super talented artist,” the 44-year-old says. “We were both classically trained pianists, but he was one of those prodigy types. His talent never required any artist statement or introduction. I was like, ‘I’m an artist, too!’” she says with a chuckle. “But I was also in this role of being the audience and the fan, and maybe that’s what all journalists are. Maybe I just didn’t realize that that’s what my art was: paying attention to artists.”

Raised by parents who were both teachers, Ober saw teaching art as a viable career path. So she earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from American University and began teaching high school in Carroll County and later Baltimore County.

“I woke every day thinking, ‘This is not where I’m supposed to be.’ Going to a pep rally? Getting asked to prom by your students? Or someone asking you if they can go to the bathroom?”

These days, as a wife and mother in addition to being an entrepreneur, she usually wakes up to a running list in her mind of all the things she has to do, but she loves the work, interviewing and writing about artists, visiting exhibits, and art talks.

When she moved to Baltimore, her goal was to learn about the artists here and what made them successful—essentially, how they survived—because that’s what she wanted to do, too. She took adult education classes at Maryland Institute College of Art and rented studio space while still teaching high school. She started showing her work at galleries in Baltimore and D.C. Thinking her next move would be teaching art at the college level, she earned an MFA in painting in 2005 through MICA’s low-residency program.

Her first introduction to writing about the arts came through Radar, a pocket-sized art guide edited by Jack Livingston and published quarterly. “A lot of times, you pitch your stuff to new publications, and they’re snobby or standoffish, but he said, ‘Send me a draft,’” Ober remembers. “And then he’d be like, ‘This is like ad copy. Rewrite it. Change this. Change that. Change this.’” Ober pressed on, and eventually Livingston began publishing her work, which received positive feedback from readers. “When I started putting my stuff out there, people were paying attention. When you put your energy into something, and you feel that energy coming back—it feels good. So I kept doing it.”

While an adjunct professor at MICA in 2007, she created BmoreArt with another artist she’d met through the school (he quickly realized he didn’t want to write and backed out). Other artists jumped in, and the site was launched as a space to post upcoming events, gallery reviews, and press releases.

She later worked for Urbanite magazine as its arts and culture editor and would often cross-publish some of the content to BmoreArt. When Urbanite folded in 2012, she felt a void, particularly within the arts coverage in the city. Trying to fill it, she picked up the pace of BmoreArt, publishing multiple original pieces of content every week by herself and contributors.

But it was exhausting, she wasn’t making any money, and she had a child now—her son, Leo, was born in 2010. Just when she began considering calling it quits, she got an unexpected email from Jane Brown, president of the Deutsch Foundation. The two met for lunch to discuss the future of BmoreArt, and Brown eventually offered to help fund the publication because she believed it was an important component of the arts ecosystem.

“She had been doing this on her own for years without any financial support at all—which really tells you something,” says Brown. “As an artist herself, she’s super committed to artists at every level, and the emerging artists are a huge asset that this city has never properly valued or made any investment in.”

With funding from the Deutsch Foundation, Ober felt like she’d hit the lottery. She could pay herself for the first time.

By November 2015, Ober branched out to include a biannual print magazine. This was not a business decision, she says. This was an artist decision. “Most people told me not to do it, but I’m not a good follower of directions,” she says. “I wanted it to be beautiful. I wanted it to be an art object. I wanted it to be something people could keep and collect. I wanted it to be thematic, like an exhibition.”

She printed a run of 3,000 and, only days before receiving them, realized she had a few logistics to figure out. Like where to store them. And how to distribute them. Hosting a launch party seemed like a viable option—she’d be able to get as many magazines in people’s hands as possible all in one place. The party sold out, with more than 300 attendees packing into the Maryland Art Place.

“It was so cool, and it was diverse in every way—age and race and background,” she says. “Art events aren’t always like that. All these different people in a room together.”

“I wanted it to be beautiful. . . . I wanted it to be something people could keep and collect.”

It was Ober’s open-mindedness that drew Angela Carroll to become a contributor to BmoreArt about five years ago. Carroll, an adjunct professor at Stevenson University and an arts writer, noticed a lack of people of color in media in this majority-black city, and because of that, artists of color were receiving poor coverage—their works either overlooked entirely or not contextualized properly.

“Cara was open to really supporting me in trying to fill that gap and correct that historical omission,” says Carroll, who also occasionally contributes to Baltimore. “If our archives don’t show these narratives, these publications are going to be in a really precarious situation in a few years when people start asking questions. BmoreArt has always tried to move differently. Cara is all about using writing as a radical tool and a mobilizing tool.”

BmoreArt has diversified since 2007 in every way, through its writers, the people it features, and even from covering predominately visual arts to now covering a variety of artistic mediums. People have noticed and appreciated the magazine’s scope. With a 12-year archive online, it charts a very specific narrative of a time and place and scene that wasn’t documented nearly as rigorously in traditional media outlets. Twelve years might not seem like a lot, but a lot has happened in the city during that time. It saw the rise of maker spaces, the rise and fall of several prominent warehouse studio spaces, and the transformation of city neighborhoods, most notably Station North, Greenmount West, and Barclay, after the Station North Arts and Entertainment District was designated in 2002.

“BmoreArt has become one of the few places you can turn to to trace the evolution of Baltimore’s art scene,” says Bret McCabe, another BmoreArt contributor. He met Ober before her magazine days, while he was covering arts and culture for Baltimore City Paper, where he worked from 2001 to 2011.

“Baltimore is affordable, you can create work, and that’s awesome,” he goes on. “But if nobody’s really paying attention, that kinda sucks.”

Baltimore artist Jeffrey Kent echoes that sentiment when he points out that Ober has helped to “fill a huge void. Without art, we’d not be a city; we’d be a large town,” he says.

Both Ober and Kent have similar missions: they’re practicing artists who help other artists and seek ways to give the city positive recognition.

Ober partnered this year with Kent to launch a speaker series, Connect + Collect. The series brings together nationally and internationally known artists and curators for free events open to the public.

They’re also offering studio tours to out-of-town speakers and Baltimore-based collectors. They select “artists we believe people should be collecting,” says Kent, director of the former SubBasement Studios, once the largest gallery in the city. He was the first person to represent and sell Amy Sherald’s work.

“The Walters, the BMA, MICA—they bring people to Baltimore all the time, but those people don’t see any of Baltimore. What if they could see some artist studios?” Ober says. “I’ve been doing this research for 15 years, and so has Jeffrey. There are artists here who are poised for national or international museum careers. What would happen if a group of collectors invested in these artists? How might that elevate the reputation of Baltimore?”

Ober also expanded BmoreArt’s staff this year, hiring a full-time managing editor and sales and marketing director. This will allow her to focus more on writing stories and being out in the community as the face of BmoreArt, rather than managing its daily operations.

Through the growth of BmoreArt, Ober is left thinking more seriously about its audience and who she isn’t reaching and why. What would draw people who aren’t interested in art to a publication covering the arts? It’s a question she asked herself as a high school art teacher, many moons ago.

“If you can sell the idea of contemporary art to high school kids—when all they really care about is gossip and getting laid—then you can interest anybody,” she says.

The trick?

“I still think the sex and gossip sells it,” she says. To that end, in a 2018 BmoreArt piece, she writes about female sexuality in ancient art but manages to draw in references to Kim Kardashian and the short-lived TV show I Love Dick. But of course, it’s about more than that. “It’s about making people realize that this work is about them. In the best works of art, you see yourself,” she says. “It gives you a sense of who you are and how the world works. It changes and deepens that. . . . It enhances your experience of being human in the world.”

We spend a lot of time focusing on gender equality issues (gender discrimination, equal pay, and sexual harassment, to name a few), but in honor of Women’s History Month, spend some time looking back at our local and national history and reflect on how women of the past paved the way for future generations of female change-makers.

Women’s History Month at the B&O
March 1-31. Throughout Women’s History Month, visit this downtown museum to learn about the history of women’s involvement in the railroad industry and how they helped to construct the B&O Railroad. B&O Railroad Museum, 901 W. Pratt St. Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Free.

Conjure Woman: Faith Healers, Hoodoo, and Spirituality
March 2. Spend the afternoon exploring the history of conjure women in the black community, featuring a discussion and lecture about the roots of the mystical tradition. The Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt St. 1 p.m. Free-$8.

Celebrating Lillie May Carroll Jackson
March 7. In a partnership with the Walters Art Museum and Morgan State University, ceramic works by Robert Lugo featuring portraits of prominent Baltimore civil rights leader Lillie May Carroll Jackson and her daughter Juanita Jackson Mitchell will be on display at 1 West Mount Vernon Place. Attend this special talk to hear from experts at the Walters about the life and legacy of these two women. Lillie May Carroll Jackson Museum, 1320 Eutaw Pl. 6:30-7:15 p.m. Free.

Women Artists in Antiquity
March 10. Hear Patrick Crowley, assistant professor of art history at the University of Chicago, give a thought-provoking lecture about contributions from female artists of antiquity. The Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St. 2-3:30 p.m. Free.

Maryland Women Through History
March 15. Presented by the Maryland Historical Society, this afternoon program examines the lives of historical local women from colonial times through the 20th century, with a special emphasis on Baltimore socialite Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte. Enoch Pratt Free Library, 1303 Orleans St. 1 p.m. Free.

Women of the Wine World
March 28. Learn about how the centuries-old world of wine was shaped by women, and take notes on prominent female winemakers who continue to produce some of the most sought-after bottles of reds and whites. Bin 604, 604 S. Exeter St. 6-8 p.m. $10.

Women in Maryland
March 31. From spies and detectives to suffragists, local author Lauren Silberman will share her research on some of the Old Line State’s most noteworthy women. B&O Ellicott City Station Museum, 3711 Maryland Ave., Ellicott City. 3 p.m. $12.

Looking to add a bit of culture to your afternoon? There is no shortage of great museums around Baltimore. Whether it’s art, science, history, or a particular famous figure you’re interested in, there’s a place nearby to spend your day wandering and learning.

American Visionary Art Museum

This unique museum celebrating outsider art was named by Congress as the country’s official museum for self-taught art. Come for the elaborate sculptures, gorgeous drawings, and interesting assemblage pieces, then stick around to browse Sideshow, the treasure trove of a museum store downstairs. As a bonus, AVAM is free for federal employees (and up to three others) during the 2019 government shutdown with a valid ID.

For more visionary and local art, try: MICA Galleries, Eubie Blake Cultural Center

Baltimore Museum of Art

This free museum houses a collection of 95,000 works, so you’re sure to find something to interest everyone among its vast collection. Lovers of modern art will want to linger in the galleries housing the famed Cone Collection, while those looking for the more non-traditional can usually find something interesting and extraordinary in the Contemporary Wing or special exhibition galleries. Recent shows have included a John Waters retrospective, surreal visions of some of Europe’s great conflicts, and a look back at the BMA’s first exhibit to feature black artists.

For more art and antiques, try: Maryland Art Place, School 33 Art Center

Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History & Culture

The Smithsonian-affiliated Reginald F. Lewis Museum is home to art, photographs, sculptures, military antiques, and ephemera chronicling Maryland’s African-American history from 1784 to the present. Although it’s connected to the Smithsonian, the Lewis Museum remains open throughout the shutdown and is offering free admission to furloughed workers and up to three guests with a valid government I.D.

For more African-American history and culture, try: Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park, National Great Blacks in Wax Museum

The Walters Art Museum

Housed across three buildings (including a historic residence) in Mount Vernon, the Walters features an extensive collection of Asian antiquities and decorative arts. Wander the Chamber of Wonders to experience what a 1600s nobleman might have shown off in his lavish home, or head to the 1 West Mount Vernon Place to see contemporary art placed alongside the preserved architecture of a 19th-century townhouse.

For more historic homes and exhibits, try: The Johns Hopkins Museums, The Star-Spangled Banner Flag House

The Baltimore Museum of Industry

Explore Baltimore’s history as a hub of business and industry at this South Baltimore museum housed in a former cannery. Exhibits include a 1900s garment loft, a recreated soda fountain, a print shop, and a gallery dedicated to how Baltimore fueled the rise of the automobile. Don’t forget to stop by the Baltimore docked outside—she’s the oldest steam-powered tugboat in the United States.

For more transportation and industrial history, try: The B&O Railroad Museum, Baltimore Streetcar Museum

Maryland Historical Society

The MdHS is the state’s oldest, continuously operating cultural institution, having been responsible for documenting Maryland history since 1844. With exhibits featuring figures such as The Catonsville Nine, Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, and the Peale Family of painters, this collection is comprised of more than seven million items from pre-Colonial times to the present.

For more great figures from Baltimore’s past, try: The Babe Ruth Birthplace & Museum, Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum

Maryland Science Center

With a history going back to 1797 with the Maryland Academy of Sciences, this Inner Harbor spot has evolved into a family-friendly exploration of the natural world, from the smallest cells to history’s largest creatures. Visitors can also take advantage of Davis Planetarium or catch a movie on the IMAX screen, which will reopen in March after theater renovations are complete.

For more hands-on learning, try: Port Discovery Children’s Museum, Historic Ships in Baltimore

National Aquarium

Plan to spend some serious time at this colorful spot. Beyond the normal fish, rays, and other aquatic critters, you’ll find sloths, puffins, crocodiles, and more scattered across the many habitats housed in this multi-level aquarium. An indoor rainforest, a stories-high shark tank, and a living reef featuring Calypso, a rescued sea turtle, are just a few of the highlights in this gem overlooking the Inner Harbor. Book your timed entry ticket online to avoid long lines, and go first thing in the morning or late in the day to avoid the field trip crowd.

For more nature encounters, try: The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, Rawlings Conservatory

When Station North became the city—and state’s—first official arts district in 2002, the neighborhood’s blighted streets did not yet reflect the scrappy arts and music community that was brewing under the surface. At the time, creatives of all cloths were cutting their teeth in grassroots and underground venues, but in just a few years, that DIY scene would boil over and help put Baltimore’s art on the map.

Baltimore magazine publisher Stephen A. Geppi was the toast of the beltway today at the press preview of his extensive multi-million-dollar collection of comics and entertainment art donated to the Library of Congress earlier this year.

Looking natty in a navy brocade jacket with black satin trim, Geppi was emotional about seeing his collection for the first time since the Library of Congress staff came to the Geppi Entertainment Museum to pack up more than 3,000 items of comic books and memorabilia. Standing in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol in the private “Members Room” with its gold-leafed vaulted ceilings and richly carved wood panel walls, the former mailman was all smiles.

“Whether you knew it or not, you were influenced by comics and they told the story of our country,” Geppi said.

The mint-condition collection, which is the largest of its kind in Library history, will be on display starting November 6 will find a more permanent place in an exhibit space in the years to come. Memorabilia includes the original storyboard for the creation of Mickey Mouse, Joe Simon’s concept drawing for the superhero Captain America (created in 1940 in reaction to World War II), and the hand-carved prototype for the first action figure G.I. Joe, developed during the Vietnam War in 1964.

Nearly two years ago, Geppi came to visit the Library to see Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress and a friend from Baltimore. She arranged for a private viewing of the original 1962 illustrations of Amazing Fantasy No. 15 (which depicts Spider-Man for the first time). Geppi was dazzled by the existing collection, but as curator Georgia Higley put it the feeling was mutual. “He likes to say he was so in awe of us,” she said today. “But really it was the other way around.”

With his encyclopedic knowledge of comics, Geppi regaled the room, including Hayden and various curators, with stories about the origins of Mickey Mouse and Captain America, as he showed off the original drawing of the superhero.

“Comics were around for a long time but when newspapers became popular, kids loved reading the funny pages,” said Geppi. “One day, in 1933, someone said, ‘If they sell so well, let’s put a cover on them and sell them separately’—and that was in the middle of the Depression. Who would start a comic-book business, let alone any business at that time? It’s a crowning achievement of our industry having the collection here.”

Of course, Geppi tipped his hat to his beloved Baltimore and the place where he got his start and went on to own the largest comic book distributorship in the world.

“Baltimore has had the exclusive for 23 years,” he said, referring to the collection. “And literal tears were shed when the museum closed on June 3. But so many collections sit in the basement waiting for a flood or fire to destroy them and never get displayed. I can’t live forever but wanted to put it somewhere where it could be forever.”

How did you begin working with children’s museums?
I started out in the for-profit world, specifically corporate banking and then marketing and communications. I was involved with the children’s museums in Minneapolis and Richmond before I ended up in Baltimore and started at the Cloisters children’s museum, but I was still pursuing my for-profit career during that time.

What influenced you to leave the for-profit world and work at the children’s museum full-time?
I had always seen and believed in the power of a children’s museums’ place in a community. I really believed in what children’s museums were doing. I had the opportunity to take a six-month leave from my “real job” to help start Port Discovery, and it turned into my passion because I love what we do here. For me, this role combines my for-profit and non-profit background in a way that comes together beautifully. I feel very lucky.

How do you see Port Discovery’s role in the community?
When the museum first opened in 2008, we used the expression, “If you can dream it, you can do it” and we still believe and work by that today. Our role is to open doors for kids and open their minds and their families’ minds to new possibilities. For example, we’ve had so many teachers tell us that they could talk about Egypt all day in the classroom with little response from the kids, but when they walk into a sarcophagus and see inside a mummy in our Egypt exhibit, then it means something to them.

We strive to be a gateway experience—meaning that if they love the Egypt exhibit here, then maybe they’ll visit the Egypt exhibit at The Walters Art Museum next. Given everything that’s happened in Baltimore over the past couple of years, it makes me believe even more in the possibilities that we can make for the children and families who live here. We’ve barely made a dent, and we’ve got a lot of good work to do.

The museum is in the midst of a $10.5 million capital campaign. What can visitors expect to see as a result?
We’ve had more than five million visitors since we’ve opened, and, as you can imagine, five million little hands touching and pulling on everything takes its toll. We thought a lot about how families, teachers, and members use the museum, and we surveyed them about what they needed from us. Our big additions will be the port exhibit and the new four-story SkyClimber [climbing structure].

We’re also adding more seating and gathering places throughout the museum, as well as simple upgrades to bathrooms and nursing areas. A lot of the research has come out in the past few years about how kids learn and process, and we want to put that new information into play at the museum.

How does that apply to the new port exhibit?
We think of the Port of Baltimore as a metaphor for how kids learn—things come in, things go out—and we use [the port] as a way for kids to learn about processes that happen outside of their neighborhood but impact their everyday lives. We start with a simple question like, “How did you get the sneakers that are on your feet? What are all of the jobs involved with making that happen?”

We’re all about teamwork, imagination, and curiosity, and we want kids to think about how things came together using simple geography. It’s about using the exhibit to open up their eyes to new possibilities—we want them to walk in and picture themselves being the captain of that ship or being a stevedore.

During your time as president, you’ve launched several initiatives to make the museum more accessible to underserved communities. Where did that motivation come from and why is it important?
I’ve always felt strongly that the role of a children’s museum is to be accessible to as many people as possible. Some people can’t afford to buy a ticket or may not feel that a museum is a place for them, but if they can come here and feel engaged then we can act as an entryway to other institutions in the city. Access is in our DNA in terms of who we are as an institution, and if you walk through the museum on any given day, you feel that this is a place for everyone.

Visual Art

Perspectives: Annual Highlandtown Arts District Exhibition
Head to the Amalie Rothschild Gallery at Creative Alliance to view this showcase featuring artists who live and work in the Highlandtown Arts District. Entrants into the annual competition were asked to submit works that display their personal perspective on the world around us, and the winner will earn their own solo exhibition at the gallery in 2020. Kick off the annual celebration of Highlandtown’s artistic community with a reception on Oct. 19 from 6-8 p.m. Reception from 6-8 p.m. Oct. 19; show on view during gallery hours through Nov. 10. Amalie Rothschild Gallery at Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave.

Atomic Banana: Emotion and Heirospliffics Exhibition
Where language fails, symbols fill in the blanks and bring people together. Artist Gerry Mak knows that better than most, and his new exhibition at the Waller Gallery seeks to explore the significance of symbols in the information overload of modern life. Need some help with interpretation? Not to worry, Mak will be on hand on several occasions throughout the exhibition’s six-week run for artist talks and tours. Opening and artist tour from 6-9 p.m. Oct. 20; Make Studio Panel from 3-5 p.m. Oct. 27; Closing cocktails and artist talk from 7-10 p.m. Dec. 1. Waller Gallery, 2420 N. Calvert St.

The Necessity of Tomorrow(s): Hank Willis Thomas
The latest installment of this free BMA series exploring the relationships between art, race, and social justice hosts Hank Willis Thomas, cofounder of For Freedoms, a platform for creative civic engagement, discourse, and action. This year For Freedoms launched the 50 States Initiative, a nationwide public art project to place provocative artist-designed billboards in every state (plus Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.) during the 2018 midterm elections and the largest creative collaboration in U.S. history. The billboards are now up throughout the country, and the group hopes to foster civil discourse and engagement through their installations and artist and institution partnerships, including those with MICA and the BMA. Reception at 5 p.m.; Doors at 5:30; Artist talk begins at 6 p.m. Oct. 17, Falvey Hall at MICA, 1301 W. Mt. Royal Ave.

Music

WTMD Towson Rock Block
Grab the whole family and spend your Saturday celebrating one of Baltimore’s favorite radio stations. As part of their 15th Birthday Celebration WTMD is closing down the block for a full day of music, food, drinks, and art. Hear from Brooklyn psychedelic rockers Sunflower Bean, John Brodeur’s Bird Streets, and German indie-pop duo HAERTS as you wander the Art Village and grab good eats from local spots such as Cunningham’s, The Point, and Burger Bros. 4-9 p.m. Oct. 20, 1 Olympic Pl.

Theater

A Chaste Maid in Cheapside
Follow Moll Yellowhammer as she sets out to marry her true love in this 1613 comedy presented by The Baltimore Shakespeare Factory. Don’t miss your chance to see Thomas Middleton’s scandalous romp through London (performed by an all-female cast in this production). This masterpiece of Jacobean city comedy is rarely staged. Oct. 26 through Nov. 18, The Great Hall Theater at St. Mary’s Community Center, 3900 Roland Ave.

Sweat
If last year’s performance of Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel is anything to go by, this staging of the playwright’s Sweat is sure to be a hit. Everyman Theatre’s Dawn Ursula and Deborah Hazlett star in this tale of two working-class friends, their tight-knit community, and the unpleasant realities that could force them apart, which won Nottage the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Oct. 23 through Nov. 25, Everyman Theatre, 315 W. Fayette St.

Evil Dead: The Musical
Want to mix up your Halloween season with a theater experience beyond Rocky Horror? Look no further than Motor House, where Deer in the Spotlight Productions is bringing Evil Dead to the stage with music, comedy, and a bloody splash zone. If it’s been a while since you’ve seen the cult classics, you may want to binge beforehand. This show covers Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, and Army of Darkness. And we shouldn’t have to say it, but maybe leave the kiddos at home for this one. The show is recommended for ages 16-plus due to violence, language, sexual situations, and gore. 8 p.m. Oct. 19-20 and Oct. 26-27, Motor House, 120 W. North Ave.

Film

The Art of Style
Join professional skaters Joey Jett, Mike Vallely, and Ron Allen for this demonstration, art show, and screening of Jett’s film The Dream to benefit Jake’s Skate Park and Sharp Dressed Man. The 20-year-old Jett, a Baltimore native, directed, edited, and stars in the film showcasing original skate tricks performed all over the world. At this final premiere of The Dream before it’s released Oct. 22 viewers can also snack on local bites, sip on beers from Key Brewing, and catch a live set by local rockers To The Moon. 7-9:30 p.m. Oct. 20, Coppermine Field House at Du Burns Arena, 3100 Boston St.

Literary Arts

The Art of Making Books
Ever wonder how those beautiful tomes on antiquarian shelves came to be? Join Ink Press Productions founder Amanda McCormick to learn about bookbinding and printmaking, as well as how the way a book is made helps tell its story. Attendees will be learn about the process using tools, supplies, and reference materials supplied by the workshop, which is part of a five-event series presented by Greedy Reads and D.C.-based arts/literature programming group MoonLit. 6:30 p.m. Oct. 25, Greedy Reads, 1744 Aliceanna St.

The start of the fall semester marks the return of college students—from local universities like Towson, Loyola, Johns Hopkins, Morgan State, and MICA—back to Charm City. And now that classes have started, it’s easy for undergrads to fall back into the monotony of the class-homework-sleep cycle.

But as a student, it’s also important to take advantage of your time in Baltimore and experience all that the city has to offer—and do it on the cheap. Don’t forget that the handy student ID in your wallet can save you money all around town. Use your student discount to check these local attractions, museums, department stores, and bars off of your Baltimore bucket list.

Get Busy

Orioles: Attending an Orioles game is a Baltimorean right of passage. There’s nothing like donning your orange gear, pre-gaming at one of Baltimore’s many sports bars, and then heading over to Camden Yards to watch the big game. And every Friday game, students in groups of 15 or more can purchase discounted Left Field Upper Reserve tickets for just $10. So grab a group of friends, make a plan, and get bird watching! 333 W Camden St., 888-848-BIRD

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: Get your daily dose of culture at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, an internationally recognized music hall founded in 1916. The orchestra offers a special $35 student pass for access to unlimited concerts, admission to BSO College Nights, and insider access to all BSO events. Think of it as the perfect upgrade to date night. 1212 Cathedral St., 410-783-8000

The Senator Theatre: The Senator Theatre is one of Baltimore’s greatest treasures. The historic single-screen movie theater premiers new releases, shows artsy films, and features some of our favorite classic flicks. The restored theater displays the original terrazzo floors and still has massive gold curtains that dramatically reveal the screen before each showing. So skip the Friday night party and head over to Towson—student tickets are only $9. 5904 York Rd., 410-323-4424

Get Smart

The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore: Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! See all of your favorite zoo animals at the Maryland Zoo as well as lesser-known critters like bald eagles, Anglo-Nubian goats, and Kunekune pigs. With 50 percent off ticket prices for students, a self-imposed field trip to the zoo is definitely the ideal place to waste an afternoon. One Safari Place, 410-396-7102

Maryland Historical Society: There’s no better way to get to know Baltimore than to visit to the Maryland Historical Society. Grab a $6 ticket and head to this Mt. Vernon museum, featuring collections with historical artifacts, portraits, pottery, and archaeological objects that represent virtually every aspect of Maryland history. Perfect for history buffs, this educational opportunity is way better than reading a textbook. 201 West Monument St., 410-685-3750

American Visionary Art Museum: The American Visionary Art Museum, located in Federal Hill, is hard to miss. The metallic exterior and bedazzled school bus sculpture parked out front welcome all Baltimore creatives. The museum houses unconventional work, and all of the pieces can be described as visions of spontaneous inspiration. Take advantage of the $6 student tickets, or for groups of 10 or more, try the $5 student package. 800 Key Highway, 410-244-1900

Edgar Allan Poe House: English majors, voracious readers, and aspiring poets: come one, come all to this historic Baltimore landmark. The little house was presumably built in 1830 and is famously the place where Edgar Allan Poe lived with his aunt (and he’s even buried around the corner at Old Westminster Hall). With $6 student tickets, this is a must-see for writerly students and macabre enthusiasts alike. 203 N. Amity St., 410-462-1763

Get Stylish

Madewell: This Inner Harbor style staple is a great place to kickstart your back-to-school wardrobe. With distressed jeans, relaxed tees, and comfy sweaters, Madewell has something for everyone (even men!). And since there’s a 15-percent off discount for students, there’s nothing to stop you from shopping-’til-you-drop. 811 Aliceanna St., 410-244-0378

Banana Republic: Grab this student discount coupon to get 15 percent off your entire purchase at Banana Republic. Whether you’re looking to revamp your business casual wardrobe for fall internships, prepare for job interviews, or stand out at the career fair, Banana Republic has all of the essentials to make you workforce ready. Multiple locations including 201 E. Pratt St., 410-244-1345

Topshop: Looking for a last-minute formal dress or a date-night ‘fit that’ll impress a new crush? Topshop has tons of flirty dresses, silky skirts, and casual tops at prices that won’t break the bank. The best part? Get 10 percent off your student purchase using this code. 700 Fairmount Ave., 410-296-2111

Goodwill Industries of Chesapeake: Goodwill is a great place to shop for theme parties, vintage looks, or to grab that must-have item that no one else can find. And with 30 percent off your purchase for students on Wednesdays, Baltimore Goodwill stores are becoming an essential part of Fall wardrobes. Multiple locations including 715 S Broadway, 410-327-2211

Get Drinking

iBar: This neighborhood hangout, located between Charles Village and Station North, serves up $1 Natty Bohs and Rolling Rocks for college students every Saturday night. Bring your friends, take advantage of the discount, and give thanks for freakin’ weekend. You can also grab a plate of Chef Jeffrey’s or “Cheffrey’s” famous Buffalo wings. 2118 Maryland Ave., 443-759-6147

Luckie’s Tavern: Located in Power Plant Live, Luckie’s Tavern caters to all kinds of rowdy crowds. And every Thursday night is college night, featuring $3 Miller Lite and Coors Light cans, $4 Smirnoff, Jack Daniels, and Captain Morgan cocktails, and $5 Miller and Coors tallboy cans. The patio bar is perfect for big groups, and the space has flat screen TVs to watch the birds play. 34 Market Place, 410-727-5483

HomeSlyce Pizza Bar: This newly-opened Homeslyce location is right next to Johns Hopkins’ Homewood campus. And the bar has everything a college student needs for a great night out. Pair your pitchers with late-night pizza, and use your student I.D. to get varying food and drink deals every Thursday-Sunday night. 3333 N Charles St., 443-315-4046

Baltimore Seafood Festival
Sept. 15. The Canton Waterfront Park, 3001 Boston Street. Wed-Sun Noon-7 p.m. Free-$105. We take seafood pretty seriously in the Land of Pleasant Living, and this end-of-summer celebration is a chance for locals and visitors alike to feast on some of the best blue crabs, crab soup, crab cakes, and, of course, oysters that Maryland has to offer. At this fifth annual festival at Canton Waterfront Park, sip on refreshing cocktails, listen to live music, and honor the bounties of the bay from noon until sundown.

Charles Street 12
Sept. 1. The Shops at Kenilworth, Towson. 7:30 a.m. $80-90. The idea of running 12 miles in Baltimore’s late-summer heat is nothing short of intimidating, but this annual trek from Towson to Locust Point features city views (and hopefully a harbor breeze) worth running for. Lace up your sneakers and join thousands to jog down Charles Street from the Shops at Kenilworth, to the Inner Harbor, and around to Under Armour’s waterfront headquarters. After crossing the finish line, stick around for post-race festivities, including free beer, snacks, and live music.

Baltimore Comedy Festival
Sept. 1-3. Multiple Locations. 7 p.m.-11 p.m. Free-$10. For the second year, this comedy extravaganza will bring free standup performances, panel discussions, and podcast recordings to more than 20 venues across the Baltimore region. With an opening ceremony at Station North’s Motor House, the festival will be filled with side-splitting showcases by more than 100 comedians, including many from Charm City’s own flourishing comedy scene.

Hateful Things
Sept. 1-Oct. 14. Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt St. Wed-Sun 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free-$8. In this highly anticipated special exhibition at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, controversial memorabilia such as banks, posters, and tobacco tins featuring racist caricatures will be displayed as examples of the country’s segregated past. View materials from the late-19th century to the present that represent the lasting effects of the Jim Crow era, and, on September 22, participate in a discussion hosted by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Africana Studies about the history of objects used to negatively stereotype African Americans.

Little Italy Madonnari Arts Festival
Sept. 7-10. Multiple Locations. Free. During one of Little Italy’s fan-favorite traditions, master street-painting artists from around the world will color the city to reflect this year’s festival theme: respect. Watch as street artists fill the neighborhood’s historic sidewalks with chalk masterpieces and create a colorful homage to Baltimore’s cultural diversity.

Hampdenfest
Sept. 8. W 36th St. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Free. For one day only, Hampden’s can’t-miss block party returns with its annual celebration of one of the city’s most quintessential Bawlmer neighborhoods. Indulge in local food and drink, browse regional arts and crafts vendors, cheer on contestants in the Dangerously Delicious pie-eating contest, and rock out to three stages boasting hometown bands such as F City and Raindeer. Just be sure not to miss the iconic Toilet Races as porcelain flies down Chestnut Avenue.

Trillectro Music Festival
Sept. 22. Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. Noon. $79-199. Since its inaugural festival seven years ago in Washington, D.C., this hip-hop and electronic music festival has found a new home at the Merriweather Post Pavilion and grown into a can’t-miss concert that draws big-name acts and thousands of fans to Columbia every fall. At the end of the month, hear a killer lineup of artists including R&B star SZA, rapper 2 Chainz, internationally renowned DJ Carnage, and even a set by local performers curated by Lawrence Burney of Baltimore arts publication True Laurels.

Pigtown Festival
Sept. 22. 700-900 blocks of Washington Boulevard. Noon-7:00 p.m. Free. One of Baltimore’s most anticipated races of the year is finally here—no, not the Preakness Stakes—it’s “Squeakness,” aka Pigtown’s annual contest that sends piglets running around a ring on Washington Boulevard. Aside from this crowd-favorite tradition, the Southwest Baltimore festival boasts plenty of family-friendly fun, including live music, local food trucks, and an arts and crafts zone.

Baltimore Comic-Con
Sept. 28-30. The Baltimore Convention Center, 1 W Pratt St. Fri-Sun Noon-7:00 p.m. $25-500. For one weekend, the Baltimore Convention Center will transform into a comic book-lover’s paradise, complete with a costume contest, tons of comic books to peruse or purchase, and the chance to rub elbows with fellow nerds and famous cartoonists alike. Come decked out as your favorite superhero or villain during this 19th annual festival and take advantage of art exhibits, panels, and autograph sessions. Stick around for the chance to meet Maryland-born graphic novelist Frank Miller, the creative force behind the late-era Batman comics, or actor Zachary Levi, the future Shazam and voice of Flynn Rider in Tangled.

Baltimore Book Festival
Sept. 28-30. Baltimore Inner Harbor. Fri-Sun 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Free. Ten years after the release of her eighth book, The Glen Rock Book of the Dead, local author Marion Winik realized she had enough material to fill a sequel. (Since the first book’s publication, her mother, the family goldfish, and one of her favorite musicians, Lou Reed, had died.) With the same candid and often humorous writing style she fine-tuned through her years as an All Things Considered commentator, Winik memorializes the departed in short essays that evoke a tender sense of connection in readers. During the Baltimore Book Festival on September 28-30, she will debut The Baltimore Book of the Dead with a reading at the Inner Harbor Stage on Friday ahead of the official release on October 9. “For me, it’s important to find material that is challenging and scary to write about because that usually means that you’re onto something interesting.”

Visual Arts

Summer ’17 at C. Grimaldis Gallery
Through Aug. 26, 523 N. Charles St. Catch some of Baltimore’s biggest artistic names at this group show, including the works of Sondheim Artscape prize finalists Zoe Charlton, Wesley Clark, and Hasan Alahi. 

Concrete/Complex: a portrait of McKeldin Fountain
Aug. 12-Sept. 3, Current Space, 421 Howard St.  Using photography, video, and sound, Baltimore-based artists Shannon Collis and Liz Donadio documented McKeldin Fountain’s last days. Their portrait of the once-functional space culminates in an immersive installation that conjures a meditation on the essence of this urban landmark. The installation’s sculptural forms reference the fountain’s Brutalist design, and celebrate its minimalism and strong angles; video shot on site traverses each of these surfaces. Collis and Donadio’s abstract, visual, and auditory impressions offer a sensory memorial experience of McKeldin Fountain, opening a layered engagement with viewers. 

What We Learn While Waiting
Aug. 14-20, Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center, 847 N. Howard St.  Inspired by Baltimore City’s public benches, “What we learn while waiting” – a conversation with Baltimore, the greatest city in America; is a gallery exhibition that explores the many experiences, dynamics, and realities that exist within our city’s parameters. The works curated by Malaika Aminata Clements, with Shan Wallace and LieAnne Navarro, are inspired by public space, human interaction, mass transit, and Baltimore city’s benches. This event is sponsored by    

Our Right To Smile
Opens Aug. 26, Dovecote Café, 2501 Madison Ave.  This exhibit from painter Jerrell Gibbs provides a glimpse into his world through recreations of childhood photographs and memories. Gibbs bestows viewers a lens into the everyday life of the community he’s familiar with. He gives the audience a sense of the traditional Baltimorean family functions. His use of elongated figures, inspired by Ernie Barnes, and expressive gestures allows him to convey a feeling of liveliness in the form of two-dimensional paintings.

Performing Arts

Super City/ Chiffon/ Twen
Aug. 14, Ottobar, 2549 Howard St.  Catch Baltimore rockers Super City and Twen as they head out on tour. Ultra-smooth R&B group Chiffon joins them for this show. 

Ultrafaux
Aug. 20, An Die Musik, 409 N. Charles St. Fresh off their new album release, Ultrafaux—an acoustic trio that presents original music rooted in the authentic technique of 30’s French guitarist Django Reinhardt—will present a set of Reinhardt’s songs exploring the evolution of the gypsy jazz style.  

Summer in the Square with Symphony Number One
Aug. 23, Mt. Vernon Place’s West Square  This performance from the Best of Baltimore winning chamber orchestra that specializes in substantial works by emerging composers includes 15 pieces, 14 of which are new compositions that have never before been played in public. The works feature spoken word poetry by Eubie Blake, a toy piano, dub-step influences, selections from George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Saint-Saens, a taste of patriotic flair, and a piece inspired by the Mount Vernon Place Conservancy’s discovery of the Washington Monument cornerstone.

J. Roddy Walston and The Business
Aug. 24-26, Ottobar, 2549 Howard St. J. Roddy Walston and The Business are returning to Baltimore (they are now based in Richmond) for this three-day residency at the Ottobar. Specializing in a classic-sounding Southern rock/Americana style that emphasizes songwriting and danceable kinetics, they are about to release their fourth studio album this fall and have a new single, “The Wanting”, their first four years.

Events

Throwback III: A 90’s hip hop party
Friday, Aug. 11, Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave.  Curators of Hip Hop and Creative Alliance are partnering for a 90’s R&B, soul, and hip hop party, with two dance crews one dance floor. Bmore Than Dance and local Bboy and Bgirl crews will be there along with artists Eze Jackson, Jahiti of Brown FISH, Joy Postell, Al Rogers Jr. and Bobbi Rush, who will be performing your favorite 90’s hits.Throwback gear highly recommended but not mandatory.

Literary Mt. Vernon walking tour
Aug. 19, meet at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, 400 Cathedral St. Follow in the footsteps of Baltimore’s literary luminaries on this Maryland Humanities tour. Discover the elegant brownstone mansions and majestic cultural institutions built by Baltimore’s successful 19th century merchants and industrialists on . Learn how a neighborhood of scholars, struggling artists and authors, newspaperman, philanthropists and social reformers offered rich opportunities to discuss and debate ideas and open new literary avenues. 

News

On August 12, 1992, the American Visionary Art Museum became a United States Congressionally designated national museum. Though it wouldn’t open its doors for another three years, founder and director Rebecca Alban Hoffberger recalls, “That early and unanimous official recognition gave AVAM the imprimatur of credibility to flourish that which has since wildly exceeded even the sweetest of all our dreams. We say on the eve of our 25th Anniversary as a beloved national museum, God-speed the rapid return to united and Bi-Partisan Congressional care and action to impact the greater good. We sure need their urgent visionary action to repair infrastructure, healthcare, climate, and create the jobs of the future, now.”

A legend lives on in the low, tidal marsh of the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge outside of Cambridge on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. There, where runaway slaves once navigated the loblolly pines, wispy strands of cattails, and dark inky water to seek safe passage on the Underground Railroad, now stands an archipelago of barn-like buildings to honor the illustrious life of the network’s most noted conductor. 

More than 20 years in the making, the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center opened in March with a celebration that included Tubman’s descendants, who offered extensive input on the center’s creation. “They still have the tenets of faith and family,” says assistant park manager Angela Crenshaw. “That is our focus here with these exhibits.” 

Managed by the Maryland and National Park services, the 15,000-square-foot state-of-the-art visitor’s center serves as a gateway to the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, a scenic stretch that runs from the Chesapeake Bay through Philadelphia with stops at local landmarks related to Tubman’s life. 

“This is such an important story,” says Alan Reed, president of Baltimore-based GWWO Architects, which designed the center. “We said to ourselves, we want everything—the architecture, the materials, the experience of moving through the exhibits—to somehow relate back.”

The buildings themselves represent different stations along the Underground Railroad, while the exhibits revolve around a symbolic “view north.” Through a barn wood gateway, the exhibit faces toward floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook a thick forest to the north, before taking tangled twists and turns, similar to those that runaway slaves likely faced during their escapes. 

“It was never a simple journey,” says GWWO senior associate Chris Elcock. “In the exhibits, you find yourself bouncing around, and when you get to the end, you go back the way you came, because that’s what Harriet did. But you’re going to be changed. Each time she returned, she had new information, so she could be a better conductor.”

 The exhibits span Tubman’s courageous life, from her childhood as a slave in Dorchester County to her extraordinary efforts in the Civil War to her late-life role in the women’s suffrage movement. There’s a wall honoring some of the 70 people she helped rescue, and a mural featuring an iconic illustration from Jacob Lawrence’s 1968 children’s book, Harriet and the Promised Land. Throughout, slavery’s terror stands in stark contrast to the region’s natural beauty and Tubman’s unwavering sense of faith.  

One of the most serene yet stirring elements is a life-size statue of Tubman, who will eventually replace Andrew Jackson on the front of the $20 bill, making her the first female and African-American on American currency. She is seated on a church bench beneath faux stained glass windows and a quote by Frederick Douglass, another Maryland slave turned abolitionist. “The midnight sky and silent stars have been the witnesses of your devotion to freedom and your heroism,” he wrote in an 1868 letter to Tubman. 

Out here, beneath the pines, we now bear witness, too.

In a high-ceilinged art gallery at Maryland Art Place in downtown Baltimore, among sculptures and mixed-media works, a crowd forms around a man who has a certain undeniable magnetism. Partly, he stands out because of what he is wearing—the collar is popped on his trench coat, which is open to reveal a baby-pink dress shirt and perfectly pressed slacks.

This preppy attire separates him from the artists and creative types surrounding him, who favor dark colors, army boots, even an ostentatious fur coat. It’s also the man’s demeanor. He holds himself slightly guardedly, as if he’s observing an exhibit in a zoo or some strange foreign ritual. But he does seem to be enjoying himself—an impish, boyish smile often crosses his lips as more people press forward to shake his hand, murmuring continually, “It’s so nice to meet you,” and, “What do you think of Baltimore so far?”

This night in October marks a little more than two months since this man, Christopher Bedford, has become the director of The Baltimore Museum of Art, and the 40-year-old rising star of the art world is just settling in as head of one of Baltimore’s most storied artistic institutions. His new position carries with it a prominence and significance that few others hold in this city, and Bedford seems aware that his mere presence brings a certain level of gravitas to any event he attends. Which could explain why, when he is handed a microphone at this “meet and greet” sponsored by the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, he doesn’t hesitate to get right to the point.

“I’m asked a lot about why I came to Baltimore, why this job, and why now,” says Bedford, in the slightly posh tones that are a result of his British upbringing. “When I was going through the recruitment process, I asked the chair of the search committee, ‘What do you want to say to Baltimore through art?’ Usually, when I ask something like this, nothing follows in response. But in this case, the board chair said, ‘I want the BMA to be the most dynamic, socially engaged museum in the U.S.’ . . . There’s a real willingness on the part of the museum to pursue that course, and on the other hand, an incredible appetite among you all for change on that scale.”

Bedford appears to understand that getting this room of arts administrators, curators, and artists excited about his vision is key to his success here. So when he is asked about how he plans to get audiences more engaged, he jumps right in with vigor.

“One thing that we’re going to do—and this is really going out on a limb, and I hope no one’s recording this,” he says, with a smile, “we are going to consider and pursue a major satellite location for the BMA.” This kind of full-steam-ahead leadership is characteristic of Bedford, who undertook a similar mission at his prior job as director of The Rose Art Museum in Waltham, Massachusetts. There, he explains, “We couldn’t get the part of the city that we wanted to come to the museum. So, we just decided to relocate it. My feeling at the BMA is that we face a similar obstacle. Young people from every socioeconomic bracket, every race, should understand that the museum is free and open to the public. And I’m not sure we can expect them to know that unless we take it to them.”

“I’d rather make a mistake going a million miles an hour than do nothing.”

A hush settles over the room, and the attendees seem to be weighing this groundbreaking possibility. It’s as if everyone is thinking, “Is what he’s saying possible?”

Since that night, Bedford has doubled down on his ambitious agenda for the 103-year-old BMA, one he hopes will improve the museum’s accessibility and burnish its credentials nationally and internationally. Along with the satellite location (the Lexington Market area has been discussed), the institution plans to hold a series of conversations this fall between renowned artists and writers speaking about social justice-related topics in various locations around the city, and Bedford is aiming to renovate the museum’s second-floor special exhibition galleries. Plus, in a bit of serendipitous timing, the BMA is heading to the prestigious Venice Biennale this spring. While at the Rose museum in Waltham, Bedford was chosen to organize the United States’ pavilion at the world’s preeminent art show, but since he’s here now, the BMA staff has been helping to put together the work of Bedford’s long-time collaborator, California artist Mark Bradford.

It’s quite an enterprising list for someone who has been at his position for eight months—and has never headed up a collection as large as the BMA’s, which holds 95,000 works of art and has a budget of $13.5 million. (In contrast, The Rose Art Museum has a more than 8,000-object collection and a $1.8 million budget.) And Bedford’s pace can be hard to match.

“He certainly hit the ground running, and sometimes I come home quite exhausted from being with him, because he’s got a lot of ideas, a lot of energy,” says Clair Zamoiski Segal, who chairs the BMA’s board of trustees. “It’s a thrill, but I do think, ‘Oh my God, how am I ever going to keep up with someone this smart?’” She laughs. “But it’s been a great pleasure—our partnership has been very rewarding to me, and I really do treasure it.”

Bedford will need that energy. He has big shoes to fill—his predecessor, Doreen Bolger, was the BMA’s director for 17 years, and, in that time, championed free admission, spurred the re-opening of the museum’s historic entrance to the public, and oversaw an unprecedented $28 million renovation. But Bedford is nothing if not confident. “I came [to Baltimore] anticipating considerable rapidity, and I had some assurance from the staff and board that there was a desire to roll up our collective sleeves and imagine a new future for the museum rather quickly,” he says. “I’d rather make a mistake going a million miles an hour than do nothing. Which is not to suggest or anticipate failure—it’s that I’m willing to absorb that to achieve a higher goal.”

And Bedford has a track record of fast success. He essentially turned around the Rose museum—which is affiliated with Brandeis University, also boasts free admission, and at the time was thought of as sleepy and financially unstable—in four years. “He took a leap of faith and came to the Rose at a very turbulent period of time,” says Lisa Lynch, Brandeis’ provost, who worked closely with Bedford. In 2009, at the height of the economic crisis, the university had discussed selling off the art collection as it struggled with finances. Bedford arrived in 2012 and started acquiring and commissioning new art—including an outdoor sculpture by contemporary artist Chris Burden that greets visitors when they arrive—and added a key Boston arts philanthropist to the board. Attendance during his tenure increased by more than 50 percent, and he established an enhanced reputation nationally and in nearby Boston, both for the Rose and for himself. He’s been covered in The New York Times and The Washington Post, and was even named one of 2014’s most stylish Bostonians by The Boston Globe.

“I don’t think the future of museums is going to be written in New York or Los Angeles.”

In particular, Lynch credits Bedford’s establishment of the satellite gallery with making significant inroads. Appropriately called Rosebud, it occupies a storefront in downtown Waltham and showcases part of the Rose’s video art collection while also providing an arts space for use by city residents and college students. “Chris made sure that the museum was actively part of the community. He was constantly looking for ways to break down walls and barriers to access,” Lynch says. “Every time we would have an opening at the museum, it was the hippest, most fun event on campus. You’d have students, people from Boston, and [patrons] from outside areas. You couldn’t go through an exhibition and not be enthusiastic or curious. . . . It was a way of bringing the community together.”

Bedford also highlighted the work of 20th-century African-American artists who had long gone unrecognized—abstract painter and sculptor Jack Whitten and sculptor Melvin Edwards, for example. He intends to continue that emphasis at the BMA, which will present the first major exhibition of Whitten’s sculptures in 2018. Whitten is not only a “tremendous artist,” Bedford says, “but I venture to say, being a novice in this city, that his art will be very useful for social discourse here.” And, as Whitten’s art addresses systemic racism and civil rights, the planned exhibit fits in perfectly with Bedford’s drive for social justice. “There’s a reason why I do this that’s entirely personal,” he says.

Bedford knows now that there was a deeper reason he attended Oberlin College. It goes beyond him discovering his passion for art there—the Ohio institution also helped instill in him a passion for social justice. That aspiration is shared across the campus—Oberlin was the first college in the United States to admit African-American students, and the city of Oberlin was a stop on the Underground Railroad. “I don’t think I realized at the time how formative Oberlin was. It changed everything for me,” Bedford says. “I graduated in 2000, and there was a T-shirt that we made then. It was black with a picture of the world and it said, ‘Think one person can change the world? So do we.’ I still believe that.”

He entered Oberlin intending to study English literature. But that was before he enrolled in an art history class that would change his life. Growing up in Scotland and England—before his family moved to the U.S. when he was 17—his mother took him to museums in London. There he developed a fascination for the impressionists. But that had not prepared him for the lush dexterity that he saw in Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene, a 17th-century painting by Dutch master Hendrick ter Brugghen. And he found the accompanying lecture by professor Bill Hood just as engrossing.

“It was Bill who uttered those fateful words, ‘All art was once contemporary,’” Bedford says. “The light bulb went off. This painting at one point was painted for a civic population, and, I thought, ‘How thrilling would it be to be involved in that process of production and interpretation?’ My progress through the museum field was dictated by those words.”

He worked to incorporate social justice into the art world in positions at The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and the Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University, but this drive emerged most strongly at the Rose. It was one of the things the BMA search committee found most appealing about Bedford, says search committee member James Thornton, who also serves on the museum’s board of trustees. “We are in a community that is majority African-American and people of color. If we look out over the years to come, it’s important for the museum to find creative ways to connect with that community. I’m a person of color,” he continues, “and I’ve always noticed that there are people who don’t look like me who are very much committed and are beneficial to moving the equality conversation forward. Chris is one of those people. I think he’s trying to set the record straight.”

Though Bedford has become a visible presence for the museum in Baltimore—he joined the board of directors of the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, for example—he says he would like to make further inroads with the artistic community. But he has met with one artist whom he particularly admires, whose work is known for its social commentary—Joyce Scott, a 2016 recipient of a MacArthur “genius grant.” Says Bedford: “I’m excited to integrate her art into the exhibition space. She’s sincere, she’s soulful, she’s brilliant, she’s very connected to the city, and her work is extraordinary.”

Scott says she hopes he brings recognition to local artists (as well as those from farther flung destinations). “That is one thing I hope there would be more of—local artists on display in a real show,” she says. “It’s not like we don’t have them—Baltimore is a hotbed of artists.”

Eight months into the job, Bedford’s day begins early and ends late. When asked if he enjoyed a recent art community get-together, he replies, “Which one?” Still, he is settling into life in Baltimore with his wife, Jennifer, an art historian, and their three children. And his desire to bring about change in Baltimore by making the BMA more open to everyone is as fervent as when he first arrived.

“I’ve said many times that I don’t think the future of museums in the 21st century is going to be written in New York or Los Angeles. It’s going to be written in a city like Baltimore, where we’re going to reconstitute our relationship with our audience through exhibitions, programs, and outreach. Otherwise, we risk irrelevance,” Bedford says. “My ambition is to make Baltimore known to the world and to bring the world to Baltimore.”

It was a year ago that Julia Marciari-Alexander took over for Gary Vikan at The Walters Art Museum. As a new director with a reputation for reinventing gallery spaces, you might think she’d be eager to make a splash and launch major initiatives. But, as Marciari-Alexander is quick to point out, the Walters didn’t need a major overhaul, just some fine-tuning. “In some ways, my job is harder, because Gary and his staff did a great job for such a long time,” she says. “It’s an incredible privilege to follow someone like Gary, and it’s incredibly difficult. 

But evidence of change in the first year was never my goal. I didn’t want to come in and change it up just for the sake of change.” Marciari-Alexander sits at a conference table in an office characterized by its ornate décor and the sort of near-liturgical ambiance that hovers around cloistered treasure. It might be stuffy, stifling perhaps, if not for her disarming presence, which offsets any pretense. Her sunny disposition played well in Southern California—where she was previously deputy director for curatorial affairs at the San Diego Museum of Art—and it has endeared her to arts leaders around town.

Fellow museum directors Rebecca Hoffberger (American Visionary Art Museum,) and Doreen Bolger (The Baltimore Museum of Art) praise Marciari-Alexander’s unflagging enthusiasm for not only the Walters, but also the broader arts community and the community at large.

“Julia’s participation in February’s Maryland Arts Day in Annapolis spoke volumes about her commitment,” says Bolger. “She talked to the legislators about the arts with such passion. It was wonderful to have her energy with us.”

Her grassroots-level approach to the job furthers work done by Vikan and dovetails nicely with similarly minded peers like not only Bolger and Hoffberger, but also Kwame Kwei-Armah at Center Stage and Marin Alsop at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Gone are the days of shying from community engagement, and we’ve likely seen the last of someone like former BSO music director Yuri Temirkanov, who didn’t speak English and projected aristocratic cool.

Engaging the public is now paramount, and the director’s job has become increasingly ambassadorial, but with expectations of visionary—or at the very least, bold—leadership. “Because the Walters already had a history of strong leadership and engaging with the community,” says Marciari-Alexander, “I’ve been able to come in and figure out where we can improve, as opposed to feeling like we have to build something from scratch. We’ve been making improvements and deepening that commitment. The frustrating aspect is that it’s never fast enough.”

Visitors to the Walters will begin seeing evidence of her efforts over the coming months, as the museum tweaks its curatorial approach, de-installs some beloved collections, and enhances interactivity. Marciari-Alexander will also be exploring the possibility of partnerships with a new set of potential collaborators. And don’t be surprised if a local video-game company is in the mix.

“There is real excitement about the next phase of our development,” she says.
A pair of adjacent rooms on the main floor of the Walters’s Charles Street building illustrate where the museum is headed. The Chamber of Wonders—which opened in 2005, after extensive renovations at the Walters—has proven to be its most popular gallery. Modeled after a 17th-century nobleman’s chamber, or cabinet of curiosities, it taps into a spirit of exhibiting an impressive and far-reaching collection of art and artifacts to astound visitors. That was the goal 400 years ago, and that’s the goal today, as paintings and sculptures are displayed alongside exotic talismans, taxidermy (including an alligator), and hundreds of other intriguing objects—including sword grips, scarabs, and a corn mummy.

The focus is on the collection, with limited wall text. (Explanatory notes are available on laminated cards placed discreetly around the room). The room was carefully curated by Joaneath Spicer, but it is also more family-friendly and less overtly didactic than a typical Walters exhibition. It eschews a chronological, encyclopedic approach for something more experiential. “We see that space as an example of a supreme museum experience,” says Marciari-Alexander. “It’s art historical and intellectually rigorous, but also really fun. And it acknowledges the needs of all ages and facilitates intergenerational learning.”

She sees it as “a bellwether” for what’s to come: “It’s the sort of thing we want to integrate into more spaces throughout the museum. I don’t think all the spaces have to look that way, but we’re looking for ways to create interactivity that is multi-layered so people can think about and be with objects in new and different ways.”

And while the Chamber of Wonders illustrates her overall curatorial approach in the galleries, a small display in the adjoining 17th-century Dutch cabinet room hints at the perspective she brings to individual objects. Amongst the jewelry in a display case mounted on the wall are tiny painted portraits of unidentified men and women. But where most people might simply see the portraits as painted miniatures from a dusty past, Marciari-Alexander, who specializes in art from this era, likens them to, of all things, the iPhone.

“The act of encounter that someone had with a portrait miniature is similar to the act of encounter that we have with an iPhone,” she explains, turning over her hand and gazing at an open palm. “You hold the world in your hand. Centuries ago, that world was the image of a loved one.”

She smiles broadly, obviously tickled by the notion. “It’s also the idea that you telescope your vision from your eye to your hand and then out the back of the hand,” she continues. “You enter into that world and then look out, into the much broader world around you.”

Like many objects exhibited at the museum, we don’t know who actually made them. But to Marciari-Alexander, the names aren’t as important as the stories they tell. “What is it about this object that has touched and moved viewers over time?” she often asks herself. “I love the idea of how objects live through time and thinking about why an object was created in one moment, perceived in another moment, repurposed in a third moment, and then how it’s looked at today. It’s our job, as stewards, to honor the life of those objects.” 

Overall, Marciari-Alexander views the Walters’s holdings as “a collection of collections,” similar to how she sees Baltimore as “a community of communities.” She lives in Homeland—with her husband, John, and their 10-year-old twins, Beatrice and Jack—and is quick to note that Baltimore is more European than she’d anticipated. “It has, like European cities, great food, culture, and architecture,” she says, “along with distinctive neighborhoods that are infinitely walkable.”

The city’s thriving art scene makes her feel “continually uncool,” she says. “It’s at the forefront when it comes to thinking about art and different media, as well as the relationship between craft, fine art, and visionary art. It’s a crucible for exciting work, the kind of place where schools like Baltimore Design School and Baltimore School for the Arts are putting all these disciplines into the supercollider and creating new things. It’s an exciting time to be here.”

Marciari-Alexander hopes to tap some of that talent for the Walters. She was thrilled the museum hosted last year’s Janet & Walter Sondheim Prize finalists’ exhibition, showcasing the work of six local artists, and looks forward to exhibiting more contemporary art. Though she emphasizes the Walters won’t be competing with the BMA, Marciari-Alexander is open to exploring how contemporary work might interact with the various collections.

“It’s another way of presenting what we have in new and exciting ways,” she notes. “People don’t readily associate the Walters with contemporary art, but they forget that the things we have weren’t always historic art. In fact, William and Henry Walters collected contemporary art, as well as art from the past.”
She’d also like to partner with Baltimore’s education, technology, and video-game communities. The Walters held its second annual Art Bytes hackathon, a weekend-long event that brings together tech and creative types to find new ways of engaging museum visitors. A panel of judges awards $1,000 prizes to the best projects, and this year’s winners looked at how the Walters might utilize QR codes, an iPhone game, viral Tweets, and a database of public art.

Sid Meier, director of creative development at Hunt Valley’s Firaxis Games and one of this year’s judges, says he’s not only open to working with the Walters, he’s “excited by the possibilities of forming a connection to the rich history of the art world. I hope we can help preserve and share great works of art through digital collaboration.”

Those efforts would focus on creating more interactive experiences on the Walters’s already impressive website, generating more public interaction with curators and other staffers. It’s sort of a digital extension of the museum’s fourth-floor conservation window, which allows visitors to observe and question conservators about their work. “It’s all about developing mechanisms for us to communicate with people who express interest in certain artworks,” says Marciari-Alexander. “Creating a dialogue around that is the future of the museum.”

That said, presentation of and access to the Walters’s permanent holdings, its collection of collections, remains paramount.

“What’s on view at the Walters all the time is what we need to be emphasizing,” says Marciari-Alexander. “You come here to see your favorite objects, and it’s free. There’s no admission charge, so this can be your community center. Stop in and use the bathroom, or come in from the cold and experience some great art. Come in for a few minutes, or spend all afternoon.

“Of course, you also come for a temporary exhibition, which costs money, but we aren’t luring you here just for that show. In fact, we should be treating the permanent collection almost like a temporary exhibition. It should be compelling and always changing, so you see familiar things in a new light every time you come. Technology is going to be a very big factor in that, because it allows us to provide those experiences in more nimble, less-intrusive ways.”

The word “nimble” comes up repeatedly when Marciari-Alexander discusses the Walters’s future. She has a reputation for transforming museums into lively, agile environments. During her tenure in San Diego, she oversaw reinstallations in all the museum’s public gallery space. Don’t be surprised if something similar happens at the Walters, especially considering that renovation of the Centre Street building is now more than a decade old.

In fact, deinstallation of some galleries has already started. In July, work begins at Hackerman House, partly to refurbish the space and make physical plant improvements. But there’s a broader plan at work, and some of Hackerman’s Asian art will be incorporated into a new exhibition opening this fall.

It’s too early for Marciari-Alexander to discuss details, though she says the exhibition will “bring together the art of different cultures around the idea of collecting and the idea of the Walters. It will shake things up a little bit.”

After all, she says, “Once we take artwork down, we don’t have to put it back in the same place.”

here’s a ton of events for all ages on tap in Baltimore for the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. Here’s a roundup:

Wednesday, June 13

Head for the harbor to see a massive fleet of 13 towering tall ships, with their uniformed sailors lined up on the yardarms, arrive in Baltimore. Add the modern warships visiting town and there’ll be close to 40 in all, and the biggest include such majestic vessels as the Cisne Branco, a 250-foot-long, full-rigged tall ship of Brazil; the Dewaruci, a 191-foot barquentine crewed by Indonesian Navy cadets; the Cuauhtémoc, a 270-foot tall ship from Mexico; the Colombian Navy’s four-masted (23 sails), 257-foot-long Gloria; the Guayas, a 257-foot long tall ship of Ecuador; and our very own USCG Barque Eagle, the 290-foot globetrotting ambassador and sail training ship of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (Baltimore’s Curtis Bay Coast Guard Yard did the most recent refit of her), as well of lots of smaller ships like The Pride of Baltimore II and the Lady Maryland. The tall ships will be joined by modern warships from several countries and will be docked at the Inner Harbor, Fells Point, and Locust Point. Tours are available, but anyone touring a modern naval vessel will need to go through security similar to that at the airport, so leave your jack knife and ammo belt at home. Go to http://StarSpangled200.com/ for details about the participating ships.

Thursday, June 14 (Flag Day)

10 a.m.-4 p.m. Flag Day celebration at the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House , 844 E. Pratt St., 410-837-1793, info@flaghouse.org.

10:30-noon. Navy Ceremonial Band concert and welcome ceremony at the Inner Harbor Amphitheater. Starspangled200.com.

11 a.m.-6 p.m. Free Public Ship Tours in Inner Harbor and Fells Point, Sailabration Villages open, check sailbaltimore.org for details.

1 p.m.-5 p.m. Free public ship tours in North Locust Point, checkhttp://StarSpangled200.com/ for details.

Friday, June 15

11 a.m.-6 p.m. Free public ship tours in Inner Harbor and Fells Point. Sailabration Villages open, check http://StarSpangled200.com/ for details.

1 p.m.-5 p.m. Free public ship tours in North Locust Point, checkhttp://StarSpangled200.com/ for details.

Saturday, June 16

10 a.m.-5 p.m. Star-Spangled Festival and Aircraft Display at Martin State Airport, Eastern Ave, Middle River. The main attraction will be the six FA-18 Hornets, flown by the U.S. Navy¹s Aerobatic Demonstration team, the Blue Angels, and the C-130 (Fat Albert) flown by the Marine Corps. When the Blues land after the air show, pilots will be signing autographs. There also will be other FA-18s, a E-2C Hawkeye, a T-45C Goshawk, a T-6B Texan, a T-34C Mentor, a P-3C Orion, MH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter, TH-57 Sea Ranger helicopter, and a MH-60 Seahawk helicopter. The Maryland Air National Guard will have one of their A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft on display as will the Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum. Aircraft will begin departing Martin for the show in the early afternoon.

11 a.m.-6 p.m. Free public ship tours in Inner Harbor and Fells Point. Sailabration Villages open, check http://StarSpangled200.com/ for details.

1 p.m.-5 p.m. Free public ship tours in North Locust Point. Sailabration Villages open, check http://StarSpangled200.com/ for details.

Afternoon TBD. Star-Spangled Air Show over Baltimore, featuring the Blue Angels. Best viewing location is Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine.

6-10 p.m. Celebration of the American Flag with concerts and fireworks at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine.

Sunday, June 17

10 a.m.-5 p.m. Star-Spangled Festival and Aircraft Display, Martin State Airport. See Saturday description above.

11 a.m.-6 p.m. Free public ship tours in Inner Harbor and Fells Point. Sailabration Villages open, check http://StarSpangled200.com/ for details.

1 p.m.-5 p.m. Free public ship tours in North Locust Point. Sailabration Villages open, check http://StarSpangled200.com/ for details.

Afternoon TBD. Star-Spangled Air Show over Baltimore, featuring the Blue Angels. Best viewing location is Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine.

7-8:30 p.m. Star-Spangled Symphony by the BSO featuring the premiere of a new symphonic work, Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. Bsomusic.org

Monday, June 18 (Actual anniversary of the Declaration of War)

Morning TBD. 200th anniversary event.

11 a.m.-6 p.m. Free public ship tours in Inner Harbor and Fells Point. Sailabration Villages open, check http://StarSpangled200.com/ for details.

1 p.m.-5 p.m. Free public ship tours in North Locust Point. Sailabration Villages open, check http://StarSpangled200.com/ for details.

Tuesday, June 19

11 a.m.-1 p.m. Parade of Sail departure.

All weekend

On June 10, the Maryland Historical Society will open a new 1812 exhibition. The museum is at 201 W. Monument St., 410-685-3750. Check mdhs.org for hours, details.

Crystol Moll Gallery, 1030 S. Charles St., is hosting an exhibition of paintings, photographs and prints of Ft. McHenry, Flag House, and tall ships in honor or the War of 1812. May 23-July 7 with a reception June 15. See crystolmollgallery.com for details.

Like so many visionary artists, it seems, John Root Hopkins lives in the middle of nowhere. Outside Cambridge on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Route 16 rolls past clusters of aluminum sided houses and fields of corn and soybeans. In Church Creek, just beyond the firehouse, the road branches off and meanders through stands of Loblolly Pines to a gravel driveway that leads to Hopkins’s home, which overlooks the creek. The house actually belongs to Hopkins’s lady friend, Helen “Bunny” Crump, and she’s scurrying around packing for a trip to London, while Hopkins sits at the kitchen table.

The 80-year-old Hopkins may have 10 pieces in the American Visionary Art Museum’s (AVAM) upcoming exhibition, What Makes Us Smile? (co-curated by Simpsons creator Matt Groening, artist Gary Panter, and AVAM founder/director Rebecca Hoffberger), but he’s hardly your typical visionary artist. He isn’t a recluse, hasn’t struggled with mental illness or addiction, and isn’t prone to anti-government rants or religious epiphanies. He’s actually a South Carolina native, retired patent attorney, world traveler, decorated war veteran, and all-around southern gentleman, with a disarming smile and wicked sense of humor. “I like to paint every day and stir up trouble,” he’s fond of telling people.

Since retiring from AMP Inc.—where he worked out of offices in France, Italy, Spain, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania—and moving to Dorchester County 20 years ago, Hopkins has painted 1,400 pieces and, he estimates, sold more than half of them. They’re popular items at Joie de Vivre, a Cambridge gallery that’s been exhibiting his work for nearly a decade.

“The ones that make people smile sell the best,” says owner Joy Staniforth. “They’re simply a reflection of John Root’s brilliant wit.”

Hopkins’s larger-than-life portrait of Jack Kevorkian, holding an actual scythe, is in AVAM’s permanent collection, and he’s been included in two previous exhibitions at the museum. And he’s quick to joke that he’s had work shown at The Louvre and The National Gallery: paintings done on sardine cans and Altoid tins that he secretly hung in the restrooms. “That way, I can say my art has been shown at the finest museums in the world,” he cracks.

Though he painted as a youngster, Hopkins never had any formal training, and his work leans toward a wry primitivism that suits his humor. “I don’t think there’s any rational explanation for what I’ve painted over the years,” he says. “I just paint what comes to mind, and that’s it.”

Crump points out Hopkins’s pieces that hang throughout the house, surprisingly conventional paintings of cats, a lion, sailboats, a blue heron, and a perfectly drawn rabbit—a gift to “Bunny” from the artist. “That rabbit is the best thing he’s ever done,” says Crump. “You can see every hair.”

“You know, the Cambridge Women’s Club always asks him to donate a painting for their auction,” she adds, proudly.

When asked if there’s anything on display that reflects Hopkins’s sense of humor, she points out a painting of Noah’s Ark. At first glance, it’s a typical scene of the animals heading two-by-two toward the giant ship. Look closely though, and you’ll notice that the tiny mice holding hands in the foreground are iconic Disney characters and McDonald’s golden arches illuminate the distant shore.

“I get such a kick out of that,” says Crump. “It always makes me chuckle.”

Rebecca Hoffberger figured the time was right for a humorous exhibition at AVAM.

“With the economy and job market the way it is, it seemed like a show centered on humor and the things that make us smile would be timely and useful,” she says. “If you think of when you laughed hardest and best, it probably didn’t have anything to do with money. I think it’s healthy to refocus people on that.”

So she began researching laughter in primates—she gleefully notes that apes have the capacity to tickle themselves—and looking at laughter’s scientific underpinnings, cultural significance, and therapeutic value. Besides learning that, yes, laughter is good medicine, and that smiling is, indeed, a universal language, Hoffberger also found something surprising: Jokes about flatulence are more ancient and universal than one might think.

“Did you know that the ancient Greeks wrote a book of fart jokes?” she asks. “It turns up in the writings of Shakespeare and Chaucer, too. And the highest paid performer in late-1800s France wasn’t Sarah Bernhardt, the great actress, it was Joseph Pujol”—the “fartiste” known for his musical expulsions of gas.

So, yes, the exhibition will include a Whoopee Cushion Bench, in a gallery titled “Toot Suite.”

It will also include more sophisticated fare, some of it suggested by Hoffberger’s co-curators, who are both steadfast AVAM fans.

“AVAM is a wonderful place,” says Gary Panter, the legendary alt-comix artist who’s probably best known for designing the Pee-Wee’s Playhouse sets. “One senses a great spirit behind the scenes, which turns out to be Rebecca and Ted [Frankel, who runs AVAM’s gift shop] and friends of the featured artists.” Beyond that, Panter calls the art “strong,” and says he recognizes its “supernatural charge of unhinged exploration.”

Matt Groening had a similar reaction while visiting AVAM a few years ago. He was in town to see his son, who was attending a local college, and left a message for Hoffberger. “He left his card, which had Marge Simpson on it,” recalls Hoffberger, “and he wrote how much he loved the museum and the museum store, which he said was his favorite in the whole world.”

Hoffberger contacted Groening, and they talked for an hour-and-a-half. “AVAM is the only museum that has ever brought me to tears,” he told Hoffberger, who says they also bonded over how much they loved Fractured Fairy Tales and Mad magazine as children. Hoffberger asked Groening to co-curate What Makes Us Smile?, and he agreed.

It turns out that he and Panter are good friends, and they’re both huge fans of a famous Baltimorean.

“Matt and I are both rabid Zappa fans,” says Panter. “It’s one of the things we bonded over.” Panter notes that they’re both John Waters fans, as well. In their discussions about the exhibition, Panter says he and Groening “enthused about the museum and talked about humor and objects a lot.”

At Groening’s suggestion, the show will include a tribute to Mad magazine—in the form of an elaborate, Alfred E. Neuman-inspired bedroom; work by Pedro Bell, who drew the classic Parliament/Funkadelic album covers in the 1970s; and screenings of The Simpsons episode in which Homer unwittingly becomes a visionary artist (“Mom and Pop Art,” from Season 10).

For his part, Panter recruited Atlanta cartoonist Lonnie Brooks—“His cartoons make me laugh and have a great offhand attitude,” says Panter—and artist Ian Flynn, whose work Panter describes as “high energy folk cubism.”

But Hoffberger did the lion’s share of the curatorial work, choosing the balance of the show’s 80-plus artists. She’s excited about a metal sculpture of a red-haired, bikini-clad biker—by Lou and Judy Hagen, who are husband and wife and long distance truckers—that will hang over the front entrance, and a giant “Smile” welcome mat made from toothbrush bristles by Boston artist Nadya Volicer. She’s also got costumes and props from physician/clown Patch Adams, a huge collection of “junk-picked” toys from comedian Michael Baldwin (known as “the legendary WID”), drawings by quadriplegic humorist John Callahan, a few pieces by John Waters, and postcards culled from Frank Warren’s Post-Secret project.

“This is going to be a very playful and loving show,” says Hoffberger, “but with some serious undertones. Its themes are meant to spark communal contemplation, so it’s more grassroots than some of our previous exhibitions.”

Hoffberger finds Hopkins’s art especially playful, and she spends a day rummaging through the attic of the Cambridge condo where he stores his work. Hoffberger’s eyes sparkle with a glint of anticipation as she makes her way through stacks of paintings and drawings, as Hopkins looks on. Every so often, she shrieks with delight and pulls a piece from the pile.

There’s a watercolor of a safe leaning against another safe (Safe Sex); a painting of a man walking his dog, their faces nearly identical (It’s True); a large painting of a nude woman wearing a small hat and driving a tractor (Straw Hat is its unlikely title); and an untitled piece showing Winnie-the-Pooh with a popgun and Christopher Robin’s hands in the air.

“I love the sense of play, coupled with a keen intelligence,” says Hoffberger. “We often think that intelligence makes for serious art, but this work shows that needn’t always be the case. It has an impish sense of joy and delight.”

“It’s true that I want to make people smile,” says Hopkins. “And I do that. Sometimes, I even make myself laugh.”

A few weeks later, Hopkins finds himself in a Cambridge nursing facility. Bed-ridden and withdrawn, he’s struggling with the effects of diabetes and various other maladies that have sapped his strength and darkened his demeanor.

I bring a book of Impressionist paintings and make small talk, with little result. Not even a mention of the October 9 opening at AVAM draws much of a response. When I ask Hopkins if there’s anything he’d like to have, something that might make him feel a little better, he says flatly, “I wish there was,” and drifts off to sleep.

A few moments later, I go to the nurse’s station for scissors and tape. I tear pages of paintings by the likes of Monet and Cézanne from the book, trim them, and hang them around the room.

At one point, Hopkins awakes and looks around. His eyes widen just a bit, and he smiles. Then, he goes back to sleep.