Visual Art

Phaan Howng’s The Succession of Nature
Opens Nov. 3, The Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Dr. The third iteration of the Commons Collaboration kicks off with an exciting project from Baltimore-based artist Phaan Howng in collaboration with Blue Water Baltimore. For this project, Best of Baltimore winner Howng creates an immersive environment with intense, unnatural colors inspired by toxic waste. Through her partnership with Blue Water Baltimore, Howng will highlight local environmental issues and create a space and suite of programs to raise awareness about Baltimore’s waterways. The opening takes place at Art After Hours, where guests can partake in after-hours access to the galleries, entertainment, and collaborate and create their own mini-masterpieces to take home. 

Structures at C. Grimaldis
Nov. 9-Dec. 23, 523 N. Charles St.  This exhibition of new photography by Ben Marcinfeatures work from the artist’s ongoing series of abstract grids that compartmentalize urban architecture into meditations on shape and form, pattern and geometry.

Slow Form: Decompositions: Lost Earring at School 33
Nov. 10 – Jan. 6, 2018, 1427 Light St.  Three brand new exhibits open this month at the Federal Hill arts institution. Slow Form is a group show that explores a sense of the physical world in a state of flux and includes photographs, sculpture, painting, film, and video work by artists such as Kei Ito and Mary Baum. Decompositions, a solo exhibition by Chris Zickefoose, studies structure, renovation, and the physical traces of time. And in his multi-media installation, Lost Earring, Elliot Doughtie ponders how our cultural touchstones shift over time while considering the evolution of his own queer sexuality and transgender body.

Performing Arts

Charm City Fringe
Through Nov. 12, various locations  After five years at venues spread throughout various Baltimore neighborhoods,  this year’s Charm City Fringe Festival will be held in the Bromo Arts District, and for the first time, it is now possible to walk to every venue. There’s much to see at this eclectic, Best of Baltimore winning celebration of independent theater and performing arts, including Fluid Movement’s Druid Hill Haunt: A Chiller Thriller Roller Show and Trajectory Dance Project work Barriers, which investigates, through movement, the social boundaries that divide us.

PDZ City of Dreams
Nov. 4, Pipe Dreamz, 407 N. Charles St.  This showcase of some of the biggest names in Baltimore’s hip hop scene—Al Rogers Jr., Lonnie Moore, Tragedy, and Brittany Anderson—is sponsored by art space and boutique Pipe Dreamz, as well as City of Gods, the Hollins Market apparel brand and creative instigator.

Ru-Jac Records and the Legacy of Baltimore Soul
Nov. 11, Arch Social Club, 2426 Pennsylvania Ave.  This event, sponsored by the Creative Alliance, celebrates the history of the 1960s West Baltimore R&B record label. Featuring performances by Ru-Jac stars Winfield Parker and Joe Quarterman as well as Joy Postell, all backed by young Baltimore musicians. Beginning the night is a panel discussion that takes a deep look into the Ru-Jac Records’ place in the era’s bustling music scene. Discussion moderated by Brooks Long. The event will take place at Arch Social Club, a century-old African-American organization that has been centered in Penn North neighborhood, close to Ru-Jac’s headquarters, for over 40 years.

Music in the Stacks Part 2
Nov. 15, George Peabody Library, 17 E. Mt. Vernon Pl.  This collaborative recital will explore the connection between music and literature in the stunning George Peabody Library. Come hear music inspired by Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Ovid, and many more! Featuring Caleb Bradley on oboe, Sam Bessen on horn, and Yesse Kim on piano. 

Joy Postell and Wendel Patrick at The Motor House
Nov. 17, 120 W. North Ave.  Two of Baltimore’s most talked-about performers have come together for a unique local line up at The Motor House. Joy Postell is a soulful singer-songwriter who uses unruly, jazz-like rhythms, fiercely sharp lyrics, and emotive energy to address issues faced by the African-American community. Wendel Patrick has been referred to as “David Foster Wallace reincarnated as a sound engineer” by Urbanite Magazine and as “wildly talented” by the Baltimore Sun. The alter-ego of classical and jazz pianist Kevin Gift, Wendel Patrick is rapidly making a name for himself as a producer to be recognized. His five albums, “Sound:”, “Forthcoming”, “JDWP”, “Passage” and “Travel” were all produced without the use of samples, with Patrick playing every note of every instrument. They will be joined by Randi Withani Roberts and DJ Station North Sadboi.

Classical Music for People With Short Attention Spans
Nov. 30, WTMD, 1 Olympic Place, Suite 100, Towson  Do you love classical music, but can’t sit through a whole 90-minute symphony from start to finish? This show is for you. WTMD and Classical Revolution Baltimore are partnering to present. It’s the “Cliffs Notes” of classical music — all of the parts you know and love in a few minutes or less.The arrangements vary, too, from more traditional classical ensembles to electric guitar and beatboxing. Featured performers include Pique Collective and the Baltimore vocal artist Dominic Shodekeh Talifero, and who will present such beloved pieces as “O Fortuna” from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7.

Events

The Necessity of Tomorrow(s)
Nov. 11, Union Baptist Church, 1219 Druid Hill Ave.  The first event of the BMA’s new series, The Necessity of Tomorrow(s), brings together one of the most accomplished artists of his generation, Mark Bradford, and BMA Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director Christopher Bedford for a conversation exploring how the artist grapples with these and other key questions in his artistic practice and community-based work. Doors open at 11:30am with performances curated by SunSets with spoken word artist Kondwani Fidel, jazz musician Clarence Ward III & Dat Feel Good band, and DJ Pierre Bennu. Enjoy light refreshments, community conversation, and a collaborative activity to map the future with Baltimore-based artist Graham Coreil-Allen.

Graphic tees have been in style for what seems like forever. We’ve seen them evolve from displaying the name of your favorite store in the mall and having (sometimes) funny sayings, to a recent trend of throwback logos. But this year is all about design and artistic expression. That is why we gathered some of our favorite locally designed tees that prove a picture is worth a thousand words.

16 Sixteen Prince Ticket tee ($45) at Angel Park.

Django Northeast Division tee ($45) at Pipe Dreamz.

Old Flame Owl Tavern tee ($30) at Sixteen Tons.

The Sporting Life Bethlehem Steel tee ($30) at Sixteen Tons.

16 Sixteen Biggie tee ($45) at Angel Park.

Diamond Supply Co. Pacific Tour tee ($30) at For Rent Shoes.

Damsel in Distress tee ($25) at minormisfortune.com.

Original Retro Brand The Who tee ($38) at South Moon Under.

Creative King Delta tee ($25) at Sixteen Tons.

Five things to eat, drink, see, hear, and do with your Charm City weekend.

 EAT

June 3: Taste of 3 Cities

Patterson Park, 2806 Eastern Ave. 12-9 p.m. $15-65

If you consider yourself indecisive, prepare to be put to the test this weekend on the hills of Patterson Park. The grassy knoll will transform into a glutton’s paradise as a hoard of food trucks parks along the edge of Highlandtown. Dig into more than 40 mobile munchies hailing from Philly, D.C., and Baltimore, including hometown favorites Kommie Pig, Grr Che, Gypsy Queen, and the one-and-only Miss Twist, with beer, wine, margaritas, and crushes on tap as well. Whatever your pick and poison, set up shop at one of three stages to catch regional dance performances and, best of all, to hear live local music like headlining act Bond St. District.

 DRINK

June 2: Station North Tool Library Happy Hour

Station North Tool Library, 417 E. Oliver St. 5-8 p.m. Free.

If you’re looking to meet fellow creatives or just start your weekend with a cold beer, throw away the workweek and throw back a Union Craft this First Friday at the Station North Tool Library. The mixed-use makerspace is a community hub for everyone from amateur builders to accomplished woodworkers, with classes ranging from home repair to knife-, cutting board-, and coffee table-making. Sip a UCB can, sign up for some workshops, and scramble down the street into the warm late-spring night.

 SEE

June 2-3: Nights on the Fringe

Baltimore Theatre Project, 45 W. Preston St. 7:30 p.m. $20-35.

Charm City Fringe—best known for its 10-day fall festival celebrating untraditional, independent performance—is taking the stage early this season during its third annual Nights on the Fringe. For two nights, immerse yourself in a medley of artistic acts in the vein of vaudeville with hosts Aaron Henkin of WYPR, Umar Khan of Gin & Jokes, and Josh Kuderna of BIG Improv. On Friday, catch performances of spoken word by Baltimore’s 2015 youth poet laureate Derick Ebert, aerial stunts by In The Dark Circus Arts, and shadow puppetry by the Lantern Sister. On Saturday, stop by for hip-hop dance moves by Bmore Than Dance, slam poetry by Grim Jackson, and live music by Afro House’s Astronaut Symphony. Whether you come for one show or all, it will be an unexpected weekend to remember.

 HEAR

June 2: Natural Velvet

Ottobar, 2549 N. Howard St. 8 p.m. $10-12. 

We can’t give away how much we love the new Natural Velvet record (you’ll have to check out our July issue to find out more), but let’s just say: You don’t want to miss this local post-punk quartet. They’re one of the best young acts in town, with a fearless flair and ball-of-fire energy thanks to the wiry guitars of Kim Te and Spike Arreaga, guttural drums of Greg Hatem, and amorphous howl of captivating frontwoman Corynne Ostermann. This new album (their second with local label Friends Records) is their most fierce release to date, so see it live alongside fellow local opening acts, electronic R&B duo Blacksage, beatmaker Infinity Knives, and trance-noise group Halloween Tres. 

 DO

June 2: Good Fridays Baltimore

EMP Collective, 307 W. Baltimore St. 9 p.m. $10. 

Almost seven months ago, Baltimore arts and culture editor Gabriella Souza was on the phone with John Waters when she got an idea. The local auteur had mentioned how The Buddy Deane Show, a teen dance show that aired on WJZ in the late 1950s and early 1960s, had inspired his most mainstream film, Hairspray! Over the years, similar variety shows and dance programs, like The Shakedown, had all but disappeared. Wouldn’t it be great, mused Waters and Souza, if people could just get together today—regardless of race, class, age—and dance? With the help of PipeDreamz’s Ansar “AC” Miller-Abdullah and City Paper and Baltimore contributor Cassandra Miller, Good Fridays Baltimore was born. This Friday night, don’t miss its inaugural dance party, be it live at E.M.P. Collective in the Bromo Arts District or live-streamed on YouTube from your own home, to hear live music by rapper Al Rogers Jr., see local art by Shan Wallace, and a throwback video countdown to the main event. Best of all, be sure to get down—even abashedly in front of your computer or TV screen—during the two-hour dance party by DJ JaySwann.