Reginald F. Lewis Museum – Baltimore Magazine https://www.baltimoremagazine.com The Best of Baltimore Since 1907 Thu, 06 Feb 2025 16:43:56 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cropped-favicon-32x32.png Reginald F. Lewis Museum – Baltimore Magazine https://www.baltimoremagazine.com 32 32 The Magic of the Museum Gift Shop is Alive and Well in Baltimore https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/artsentertainment/baltimores-best-museum-gift-shops/ Tue, 30 Jan 2024 17:59:52 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?post_type=article&p=152954
The entrance of the American Visionary Art Museum’s Sideshow. —Photography by Christopher Myers

I was seven years old, standing by the cash register at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., with three dollars wadded in my hand, free to choose anything I wanted from the gift shop. My sights were set on the space ice cream—the obvious choice of any red-blooded child of the 1980s. A Neapolitan wafer of Styrofoam-like sugar, it was the next best thing to bouncing weightlessly around the moon’s potholes.

This was no mere souvenir. Instead, my crinkly package of freeze-dried dessert was a tangible thread connecting my little-kid body to the superheroes who ascended into the stars. And from that instant, it was official: I was hooked. Not on the space ice cream—it’s pretty disappointing, actually—but on the magic of the museum gift shop.

Of course, these abound in Baltimore, a city of world-class museums that run the gamut from industrial history to postmodern art. And inside each one, the gift shop is another curated collection, tailored to reflect the people, objects, and stories that make that museum special.

Some are cool. Some are whimsical. Some are surprising. All of them distill the contents of their collections to human size, offering a little bit of the extraordinary to fit into our everyday lives. Their curios let you take some of that wonder home with you, as well as, often enough, the vibrancy, diversity, and unmistakable je ne sais quoi of Baltimore.

Every time I’m in town, I make sure to stop into at least one. A trip to the museum just isn’t complete without them.

American Visionary Art Museum

The G.O.A.T. of Baltimore museum shops is without a doubt Sideshow at the American Visionary Art Museum in Federal Hill. Owned by renegade retailer Ted Frankel, aka “Uncle Fun,” Sideshow is one-part outsider art gallery and one-part tchotchke dreamscape.

Local filmmaker John Waters describes it as “the best museum gift shop you’ve ever been to in your life,” and clearly the man knows what he is talking about. A funky riot of color, objects, books, clothing, antiques, and crafts, each surface and cupboard is bursting with everything you never knew you needed, be it for gag gifts, artsy gifts, kids’ stuff, grown-up stuff, and even stuff for your own home.

There’s a working Zoltar machine, hundreds of novelty sunglasses in the most improbable shapes and colors, whoopee cushions and miniature naked baby dolls, carved coconut monkeys and a stuffed tiger the size of a loveseat. You can spend hours opening tiny drawers full of glass eyeballs or perusing the world’s most robust supply of trick buzzers, squirt cameras, and fart powders.

But the true heart of Sideshow—and where it most closely reflects AVAM’s philosophy of joyful self-expression—is found in the rotating exhibits of artworks by contributing artists from across the country.

It was in this section that I found my favorite museum shop find of all time, a Christmas tree angel crafted from a National Bohemian beer can. To me, that little topper encompasses the spirit of AVAM’s Sideshow—a celebration of the wonder, whimsy, and imagination of those who are called to create. And how Baltimore is that?

Ted Frankel at AVAM’s Sideshow. —Photography by Christopher Myers

Baltimore Museum of Art

Think of it as the Metropolitan Museum of Art—in miniature. The BMA’s collections include 97,000 works that span the art of ancient Egypt to some of the most significant works of modern-day.

The breadth is the point. By developing, maintaining, and now broadening a deep, global collection of the best 18th-, 19th-, and, increasingly, 20th- and 21st-century art and making it accessible to the public, the BMA continues to cultivate a vibrant and healthy city. After an hour or two of edification in the museum’s collections, with the help of free admission, I cultivate my civic duty with a stop in the BMA’s expansive gift shop.

Snag some Cone Collection-inspired journals, prints, and notecards, and don’t sleep on the shop’s jewelry section, which bypasses “statement” and goes right to “declaration.” Collars of acid-treated brass, necklaces of blown-glass globes, and geometrical wire bracelets mirror the Calders in the sculpture garden and Matisse paintings in the galleries.

The shop transforms with each changing exhibition (this past summer’s The Culture hip-hop show had an epic selection), so check out the latest and plan your shopping list accordingly.

I always come prepared to be enchanted and am never disappointed, with my best BMA purchases being a pair of ever-chic punched gold earrings with tiny metallic rays and a postcard of Vincent van Gogh’s painting of hobnailed boots. Pinned above my desk, the latter transports me in an instant to the cool, quiet beauty of the museum’s halls.

Gifts at the BMA. —Courtesy of the Baltimore Museum of Art

Baltimore Museum of Industry

“Industrial chic” is a recent trend, but at the BMI in Locust Point, it was always in style. Their exhibits feel like a Barry Levinson film set come to life—I love to wander through recreated historic shopfronts, printing presses, and workrooms under the glow of neon signs from bygone businesses, traveling back in time each time I turn a corner.

And the museum shop celebrates the city’s long tradition of manufacturing, too, with merch featuring the likeness of the neighboring Domino Sugars sign and books detailing the story of Baltimore’s packing houses, steel mills, and umbrella factories.

The mission of the museum especially shines through in their “Made in Baltimore” section, where you can buy one-of-a-kind treasures crafted on-site. Definitely check out the wonderful handmade iron keychains of beech leaves made by volunteer blacksmith Bob Webber on the BMI’s own working forge. A lifelike little leaf hangs from my key fob, a reminder that I need to plan my annual BMI pilgrimage for 2024.

The BMI also hosts entrepreneur pop-up events throughout the year, where you can support local small businesses and artisans selling prints, crafts, food, artwork, and other goods, including the seasonal farmers market that takes place in its parking lot come spring.

Maryland Center for History and Culture

Who needs reproductions when you can get the real thing? It makes perfect sense that a museum shop celebrating Maryland’s history and culture would sell antiques and vintage clothing on consignment, which has my name all over it.

Just a few steps from the displays of Orioles team cleats and the New Look sportswear of Frederick fashion designer Claire McCardell, you can find your own Maryland treasures at the MCHC. Snap up period finds like chased copper julep cups from the glitzy brownstones of Mount Vernon or fabulous hats from the Hutzler’s department store.

The museum’s changing exhibits, like the recent retrospective on one-time Marylander Jim Henson, also infuse the shop with all sorts of unique state-centric goodies impossible to find anywhere else.

A few years ago, I picked up a jaunty straw clutch from the 1950s, imagining it tucked under the arm of some well-to-do lady taking in a few races at Pimlico. I carry it around in the summertime to channel a little bit of Baltimore’s post-war glamour. And I often think that would make the MCHC proud.

A treasure trove at the Maryland Center for History and Culture. —Courtesy of the Maryland Center for History and Culture

Reginald F. Lewis Museum

Long before there was the Smithsonian’s world-renowned National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, D.C., there was the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, located at a cultural crossroads on the edge of historic Jonestown in downtown Baltimore.

The Lewis Museum features more than 400 years of Black Maryland history in its halls and, over the years, has highlighted both the past and present, such as midcentury painter Ruth Starr Rose, who documented Black life on the Eastern Shore to modern-day photographer and West Baltimorean Devin Allen, whose images have graced the cover of Time magazine.

This same sort of expansive oeuvre is on display in the museum’s gift shop, which offers one-of-a-kind ways to celebrate the icons and imagery of Maryland’s Black history. Frederick Douglass merch and original prints, jewelry, and artwork made by local artists of color, as well as children’s books introducing little readers to Maryland’s iconic Black musicians, artists, athletes, and visionaries, are all great reasons to take advantage of the always-free shop admissions. Inventory rotates weekly, so it’s worth popping in on a semi-regular basis. And while you’re there, be sure to stop a while and watch the city go by through its grand floor-to-ceiling windows along President Street.

The Walters Art Museum

The Walters has roots in a core collection of art and artifacts bequeathed to the City of Baltimore in 1934 by its namesake scion, Henry Walters.

Spanning seven millennia of art from around the world, much of the collections are personal in nature, providing glimpses of what museums looked like in the 19th century, when private salon-style exhibits blended artistic techniques and periods to suit individual tastes. The vast Classical and Egyptian galleries in particular make me feel like Claudia in From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, with covetable Roman torcs and impassive sphinx figurines.

Fortunately, the gift shop provides the perfect place to scratch that same itch. Replicas of ancient Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Chinese, and Pre-Columbian earrings, cuff links, and pins in gold and silver are shockingly modern in their simplicity and design.

The paper and prints section echoes the global scope of the main collections, with illuminated Ethiopian holiday cards, Renaissance landscape prints, and notecards with delicate Japanese watercolors.

My personal favorites are the replica blueprints of the iconic Walters Museum building itself—the perfect insider gift for the Baltimorean who has everything.

Perusing the merch at The Walters. —Courtesy of The Walters Art Museum: Jason Putsche

Small But Mighty

Many of Baltimore’s smaller institutions boast their own wildly cool shops with mission-inspired inventories that are delightful to explore.

The B&O Railroad Museum, for instance, has gifts for locomotive lovers of all ages, from striped engineer caps and model train kits to 19th-century replica railway maps and vintage Rails Across America comic books.

At the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum, snap up Poe “Death Week” vigil candles, “Nevermore” highschool iron-on patches, and International Poe Fest swag.

At The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum, find books, clothing, and souvenirs highlighting notable African Americans, like Baltimore’s own Billie Holiday.

And the T-shirt game at the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum is on point, featuring an homage to the baseball icon’s original period uniform and a “Call It” top commemorating the Babe’s epic prediction of his own home run hit to deep center field in 1932, both of which will leave baseball fans with plenty of ways to rep their native son.

Meanwhile, you can find chemistry kits and glow-in-the-dark skeletons at the Maryland Science Center, stuffed animals and shark-tooth necklaces at the National Aquarium, and all sorts of books, games, and puzzles at Port Discovery’s brand-new, minority-owned Snug Books.

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]]> Investing Early https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/special/investing-early/ Mon, 28 Feb 2022 21:12:18 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?post_type=special&p=117386 Continued]]> A mural painting project to highlight beauty in blighted neighborhoods. A community closet with basics like clothes, toiletries, and books. A reading program to teach elementary students about diversity through literature. These are some of the bright ideas that will receive funding this year to take effect in communities across Baltimore. And unlike many previous entrepreneurial or charitable ventures, these ideas all come from voices too often missing in the discourse about Charm City—kids.

Baltimore’s young people are brimming with brilliant insights and smart solutions to the challenges the city faces. Philanthropy Tank, a nonprofit that was founded in 2015 and brought to Baltimore in 2019, seeks to empower those young people to be the change they want to see in their own communities, offering the chance to win seed money, mentorship and other support as they pursue their ambitions. At an event on April 14, eight such young people—or CHANGEmakers, as Philanthropy Tank Baltimore Executive Director Nakeia Jones calls them—will receive funding for projects they pitch to a panel of investors.

“Our students are ready to take the reins,” Jones says. “It’s really about giving them the tools and support they need to execute on their ideas. That may be financially, or it could also just be through mentorship. Every student and project are completely different.”

Originally envisioned as a Shark Tank-style pitch competition hosted at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History & Culture, this year’s finals will take place virtually. Still, the moment will be no less significant. Judges narrowed down a strong pool of 48 applicants, all students in grades 8 through 12, to eight finalists, vying for grants of up to $15,000. All of the finalists will receive some funding, but it’s up to the Philanthropist Mentors to decide whether to grant their requests in part or in full. And with so many incredible finalists, the decisions will be tough.

Take Samaya Nelson, who sees the city with an artistic eye and hopes her mural painting project will inspire others to do the same. Nelson, a Saint Frances Academy ninth grader, is a rising community leader, but the funding and mentorship provided by Philanthropy Tank will help her scale up her initiative. For Jones, young people like Nelson can offer adults in the city a fresh perspective.

“Change doesn’t have to be overcomplicated, the way adults sometimes think about it,” Jones says. “Just because a building is abandoned, doesn’t mean it has to look abandoned.”

Philanthropy Tank’s previous CHANGEmakers have demonstrated an impressive track record. Isaiah Dingle, a previous winner, founded Explo-Foods, growing produce in a hydroponic garden (a garden with no soil). He worked closely with Philanthropy Tank mentors to plan and execute the project and discovered a strong community partner in service organization Civic Works, which provides Dingle with space for his garden at its Lake Clifton complex. Ania McNair, another winner whose project, “Not For Sale Youth” brings awareness to the issue of human trafficking, has hosted rallies in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., held a month-long art therapy summer camp, is producing a workbook teaching kids about self-care, and is developing a curriculum to teach middle school students the warning signs of kidnapping and human trafficking. Students like Dingle and McNair really are making change, and this year’s cohort will be no different.

“There is so much strength in our students, and the kids in our city in general,” Jones says. “Support them, give them opportunities, and you never know what will come of it.”

Here’s the best part—you are invited to join the online event to see these dynamic young people and their ideas in action. Seeding this talent, creativity, and leadership in our young people takes a village. If you know a student who would make a phenomenal CHANGEmaker, or want to support Philanthropy Tank as a donor, mentor, or community partner, the April 14 finals is a great place to get started. For more information on the event and other ways to get involved, visit www.philanthropytank.org.

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]]> Living Statement https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/artsentertainment/reginald-f-lewis-museum-relevant-as-ever-15-years/ Wed, 16 Sep 2020 19:39:06 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?post_type=article&p=97562 Continued]]>

Philip Freelon and Gary Bowden built the mission of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture into its walls.

Two of the country’s most successful Black architects, they combined the bold colors of the state flag with a striking five-story geometry, embedding the themes of struggle and resilience and the story of Black Marylanders into the black granite, glass, brick, and mortar edifice.

“We saw the museum site was next to the [Star-Spangled Banner] Flag House and that’s where we got the idea of re-interpreting the Maryland flag—we Afrocentricized it,” Bowden recalls. “It was one of the first things we decided. Black became ebony—that one is obvious—red became crimson, representing passion but also blood, yellow became gold, and the white we saw as ivory, which means enlightenment. By incorporating the state flag’s colors into the building, we set the history of Black Marylanders and Black Americans alongside the history of America that’s reflected next door at the Flag House museum. They are not separate histories, but part of the same story of this country.”

The design also includes a wide, ascending staircase and five-story atrium, which provides natural light to the core of the building. The dynamic red wall, representing pain and struggle, but also pride and accomplishment, starts at the sidewalk outside the museum, slices through its facade, and then rises through each floor.

After its opening 15 years ago this summer, the 82,000-square-foot building, which won awards for its design, was the largest African-American museum in the region and one of the few like it anywhere in the country. Freelon and Bowden also broke a color barrier, becoming the first Black architects to design a major building in downtown Baltimore.

Freelon, whose life and remarkable career was cut short last July by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), went on to serve as the lead architect on the National Museum of African American History and Culture on the Mall in Washington. Bowden, now 80, taught architecture at the University of Maryland College Park after retiring from the Baltimore firm RTKL and served on the city’s Urban Design and Architectural Review Panel through 2018. He is still involved with the museum, whose calling remains as relevant and urgent as ever given the historical nature of the current Black Lives Matter movement.

“The museum should be a living statement, not a memorial, since the final chapters of the story of African Americans of Maryland have not yet been written,” says Bowden, reading a statement he wrote to the design team in 2001. “It should be as much about tomorrow…today and now, as it is about yesterday and then.”

The $34-million building and museum, constructed to celebrate the history and culture of African Americans who have faced obstacles and made lasting contributions to the city, state, and country, had obstacles of its own to overcome before opening in 2005. Initially, there were debates about its location. Some felt it should be built on Pennsylvania Avenue, the historic center of Black culture in West Baltimore. Another suggestion put forth was placing it in one of the city’s repurposed waterfront buildings. Former Judge George L. Russell Jr., chair of the Maryland Museum of African American History and Culture Commission, wasn’t having either idea, however. “Judge Russell said he and others [African Americans in the city and state] had had enough hand-me-downs, from textbooks in school to all the rest,” says Loida Nicolas Lewis, the widow of Baltimore-born, Harvard-educated lawyer and financier Reginald Lewis, whose foundation endowed the museum with a critical $5 million gift during its planning stages. “Judge Russell said it should have its own new building and he wanted it to be near the heart of Baltimore’s attraction district, the Inner Harbor, National Aquarium, and Port Discovery.”

Lewis, who died from brain cancer at 50 in 1993, was one of the nation’s wealthiest men and deeply involved in philanthropy in the last years of his life. One of his major goals was the creation of an African-American museum. That the effort came together in Baltimore was serendipity. By the time his wife, also a lawyer, was able to sell off parts of his business empire and fund the foundation that bears his name, the project’s design here was underway, but desperate for an endowment.

“It worked out perfectly,” Nicolas Lewis says. “We didn’t have to look at New York or anywhere else. We could do it in his hometown. Baltimore and Maryland have an incredibly rich African-American history and culture, from Harriet Tubman to Billie Holiday and Thurgood Marshall. He would be proud. If he wasn’t, he’d be coming to me in my dreams.”

 

“[HE] SAID AFRICAN AMERICANS HAD HAD ENOUGH HAND-ME-DOWNS.”

 

It is unfortunate that almost immediately after one of the museum’s most acclaimed shows in its history, the exhibition of 20 sculptures and 14 prints from Elizabeth Catlett, known for her depictions of Black women, the African-American experience, and Mexican people who faced injustice, the museum had to temporarily close its doors this spring. Catlett, who was born in Washington, D.C., and died at 96 in 2012, used her art to address issues of race, feminism, and maternalism. That exhibition, curated by former Executive Director Jackie Copeland, who took over the helm of the museum a year and a half ago, came on the heels of two other recent shows featuring a pair of the most acclaimed American artists of the 20th century. (In a somewhat bewildering turn-of-events, Copeland was forced out by the museum’s board after this story was written for our September issue, and former director Wanda Draper, who had previously retired from the position, is now serving as executive director on an interim basis.) 

The museum has always striven to balance art exhibitions with timely shows, lectures, films, and panel discussions around current events—as well as serving as a venue for local artists. In 2013, the Lewis hosted the first museum exhibition of Baltimore painter Amy Sherald, later commissioned for the portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama. Three months after the Uprising following the death of Freddie Gray, the Lewis Museum hosted the first exhibition of local photographer Devin Allen’s work. That creative tradition continued last year with one of the most fun shows ever—EMPOWERED! Black Action Figures, Superheroes & Collectibles.

With the Black Lives Matter protests following the killings of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, and Breonna Taylor by police this year, in tragic combination with the COVID-19 pandemic, which disproportionately affects the Black community, the museum is trying to remain nimble while also returning to its historical collection and preservation roots. As Copeland noted at the outset of the protests, the Lewis has in its collections “artifacts and objects that speak to the violence that Black bodies have had to endure for 400 years.”

To help document the current moment, the Lewis Museum received funding in July for a new oral history initiative, Voices Lifted: The African American Experience in Maryland. Voices Lifted will capture, transcribe, and digitize 50-70 new oral histories from African-American figures involved in Maryland’s peaceful protests against police brutality, as well as those in the Black community impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

“BALTIMORE AND MARYLAND ARE A NEXUS FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY.”

 

Additionally, the project will digitize the Lewis Museum’s 112 existing oral histories. Among others, they include the recollections of Lucille Clifton, twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for poetry, and Esther McCready, a nurse and teacher who desegregated the University of Maryland School of Nursing in 1950.

“In the absence of written records, African Americans have often depended on the oral tradition to transmit our culture from one generation to another,” Copeland said when she made the announcement of the $57,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. “Gathering the voices and memories of those who have participated in past events has been part of the Lewis Museum’s mission since it opened 15 years ago.”

The museum, which relies on state and private funding, has struggled at times with financial projections and attendance expectations. It isn’t surprising the Great Recession of 2008-2009 hit the Lewis hard. Copeland, who has 30 years of museum experience, including 15 years at The Walters Art Museum, notes many African-American cultural institutions do not receive the support that they need to be sustainable. Still, she says, her job is to put “the puzzle together” and make the museum sustainable. One new thing in the works is a partnership with the Baltimore Police Department to provide education for cadets on the city’s history and the Black experience in Baltimore. Meanwhile, the museum expects to reopen its building this month for its next major exhibition, Freedom Bound: Runaways of the Chesapeake. A can’t-miss show featuring two renowned Baltimore artists—“Genius in the ’Hood: Joyce J. Scott and Tom Miller”—is slated for 2021.

Ironically, the shutdown of the physical building, while creating a loss in foot traffic, presented an opportunity to reach new audiences. Admittedly, says Damika Baker-Wilson, director of engagement and strategic initiatives, the museum was not ready to fully utilize its online platform. “But we adapted quickly,” she says. “Many of us have been working harder now than before as we try to put out quality content online. We’re here to engage, and social media is the greatest tool we have for that. We’ve got people coming to us [virtually] not just from Baltimore and Central Maryland, but Los Angeles, Boulder, and Philadelphia.”

The recent virtual African-American Children’s Book Fair attracted more than 1,300 virtual visitors from every state and five countries. It was even more than typically come to the jam-packed affair in person.

As the museum now prepares to reopen its doors, the ongoing focus on racism, Black history, and culture should bring renewed attention to the museum and its programming.

“Baltimore and Maryland are a nexus for African-American history, there are so many seminal figures from the city and state,” Copeland says. “Many people understand their contributions to African-American history. The lens we bring to African-American history and culture is also a lens to American history and culture. That’s the connection we want people to see. It’s a connection people need to see.”

[Editor’s note: The Reginald F. Lewis Museum reopened its building Sept. 10. All visitors are required to wear face masks while in the museum and hand sanitization stations will be available throughout the premises. Visitors must maintain appropriate social distance from others not in their group and gallery and museum shop capacity is limited.]

 

 

 

 

 

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]]> Modern Art https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/artsentertainment/in-person-virtual-art-happenings-september-2020/ Fri, 04 Sep 2020 15:00:41 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?post_type=article&p=97051
(Left) Beverly McIver. Praying For Peace. Oil on canvas. —Courtesy of C. Grimaldis Gallery

From limited in-person exhibitions to virtual collections, the art world continues to create and evolve in the wake of the coronavirus. This September, support local galleries and artists with these local happenings.

Contemporary

SUMMER ’20
Through the end of the month, the prestigious C. Grimaldis Gallery in Mount Vernon hosts its annual must-see summer exhibit featuring a variety of works across all genres, including those by collage artist Zoë Charlton, light installationist Chul-Hyun Ahn, photographer Ben Marcin, filmmaker John Waters, and painter Beverly McIver.  To 9/26. C. Grimadlis Gallery. Online, or in person by appointment only. Tues.-Sat. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free.

JO SMAIL: BEES WITH STICKY FEET
Due to popular demand, Hampden’s Goya Contemporary Gallery has extended this summer exhibit featuring more than 30 works by the prolific South African-born, Baltimore-based artist Jo Smail. Across pigment prints and fabric on wood, each collage is an exploration of past and present through shape, pat- tern, and texture. The gallery will also be presenting Smail’s work via the virtual BMA Salon through January 2021. To 9/30. Goya Contemporary Gallery. Online, or in person by appointment only. Tues.-Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun. 12-5 p.m. Free.

MONO PLATFORM
With its exhibition space closed to the public, the Station North gallery continues its goal of showcasing abstract and reductive art by emerging and mid-career artists through this online collection, including colorful and compelling paper works, paintings, sculpture, and photography. We personally love the bright painted panels of Tim Doud, co-founder of local collaborative art project, ’sindkit. To 12/31. Mono Practice. Online. Free.

Living History

FREEDOM BOUND: RUNAWAYS OF THE CHESAPEAKE 
This new exhibit at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum presents nine vignettes of people—slaves, indentured servants, and convict servants—from the Chesapeake region who sought freedom from bondage between the Colonial period and the American Civil War. Tales of resistance and resilience, each tells a larger story about an experience shared by thousands in bondage who lived and labored in Maryland. 9/1-30. Reginald F. Lewis Museum. Online. Free.

FORGOTTEN FIGHT: THE STRUGGLE FOR VOTING RIGHTS IN MARYLAND
The year 2020 marks the 100th and 150th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th and 15th Amendments, respectively. This new virtual, interactive exhibition from the Maryland Historical Society honors the women who devoted their lives to women’s suffrage and fought an uphill battle for the right to vote across the state. 9/9-3/31/21. Maryland Historical Society. Online. Free.

Art of the Times

THE FREQUENCY OF US
Co-curated by multidisciplinary artists Abdu Ali and Karryl Eugene, the nomadic arts platform As They Lay returns with its second virtual exhibition, an all-new series showcasing selected video works by up-and-coming artists who amplify the importance of Black archival curation and its ability to reshape aspects of culture for the growth of the Black gaze. The exhibit aims to empower viewers to interrogate monolithic ideologies that center a white patriarchal gaze. 9/17-19. As They Lay. Online via Zoom. Free. 

KOTA EZAWA’S NATIONAL ANTHEM
Though the BMA was still officially closed as of press time, its outdoor Spring House is now open to the public and presenting National Anthem, a short, animated film and powerful meditation on protest and patriotism by California artist Kota Ezawa. The museum’s Go Mobile App provided additional commentary from museum curators on the work and the space, which was a former workspace for enslaved people in Baltimore. The Baltimore Museum of Art, Latrobe Spring House. In person. Tues.- Sun. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Free.

REMOTE
Though their spring semester was cut short, MICA Forum Class students still created art, with works from 15 artists now on view through this virtual 3-D gallery in partnership with Pigment Sauvage, an artist-run gallery in Bolton Hill. Browse powerful political photographs of installation art by Yuhan Shen, digital drawings turned puzzles by Stefanie Zins, colorful isolation-inspired paintings by Gloria Logan, autobiographical transferred drawings by Gaeun Chloe Kim, and more. To 10/9. Maryland Institute College of Art. Online. Free.

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]]> Weekend Lineup: February 28-March 1 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/events/weekend-lineup-february-28-march-1/ Thu, 27 Feb 2020 17:17:00 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=71277

lydia_eat_1.png EAT

Feb. 29: Sweet and Savory

Prigel Family Creamery, 4853 Long Green Rd., Hydes. 7:30-11 p.m. $50.

Yes, this event takes place outside of the city, and yes, it’s worth the drive to indulge in sweet and savory bites from two beloved local businesses. During this exclusive tasting, Prigel Family Creamery and Neopol Savory Smokery will team up to serve attendees a wide variety of meats, cheeses, local wine, beverages, and even mystery ice cream flavors. Make the quick trip to Hydes for this intimate, candlelit affair, and revel in the chance to eat as many delicious dairy products as possible.

lydia_drink_1.png DRINK

Feb. 29: Leap Day Specials

Locations, times, and prices vary.

If you think that Baltimoreans will use just about any holiday as an excuse to day drink, well, we would have to agree. This Saturday, celebrate leap day at one (or a few) of the local haunts that are serving up drink specials or hosting special activities to commemorate the extra day. Make your leap-year plans using our guide to events like a time capsule burial at Monument City Brewing Company or an open bar at Bond Street Social that will give you a hangover to last until 2024.

lydia_see_1.png SEE

March 1: Four Women: Catlett, Holiday, Richardson, Scott

Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt St. 2-5 p.m.$20-25.

In conjunction with both Women’s History Month and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum’s ongoing exhibition, Elizabeth Catlett: Artist as Activist, the downtown institution will host a performance of the production Four Women, inspired by the Nina Simone song of the same name. Spend Sunday afternoon learning about the lives of trailblazing women, including Elizabeth Catlett, Billie Holiday, Gloria Richardson and Joyce J. Scott, through an inspiring song and dance, and stick around to view the exhibition one last time before it closes later that day.

lydia_hear_1.png HEAR

Feb. 29-March 1: Frozen Harbor Music Festival

Power Plant Live! 34 Market Pl. $20-225. Fri 7 p.m.-Sun 1:30 a.m.

Not even the icy weather could stop this party. Now in its fourth year, this music festival will take over nine rock venues across downtown, including Rams Head Live! and Mosaic Night Club and Lounge, for three days of nonstop sets by more than 100 rising acts. Make plans to hop from venue to venue to catch performances by hip hop, rock, and rap groups in the heart of the Inner Harbor. Don’t forget to grab a picture with the party-animal polar bear mascot, Koasty, before the weekend ends.

lydia_do_1.png DO

Feb. 29: Viva Brasil

Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave. 8-11 p.m. $15-18.

Shake, shimmy, and swing off the mid-winter blues during this annual Carnival celebration at Creative Alliance. While this jam-packed event features everything from costumed dancers to forro and samba dance lessons, the real draw lies in the live music that is sure to bring everyone to the dance floor. Dance the night away to Brazil and New Orleans-inspired tunes by Nation Beat and the JP Silva band all night long.

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]]> Black History Month Events, Concerts, and Exhibits https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/events/black-history-month-events-concerts-and-exhibits/ Mon, 03 Feb 2020 13:30:00 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?post_type=article&p=70610

All month long, the city will celebrate and pay tribute to African-American community, culture, and heritage through a wide range of events and programs. Pay homage with everything from movie marathons and choir concerts to trivia nights and museum events.

To FEB. 29: Let it Shine!
Any weekend in February, gather the kids and head to Charm City’s hub for educational fun to celebrate African American history and culture. Each weekend a local artist will share their talent through spoken word, step-dancing, and drumming performances. Children will even have the opportunity to meet young entrepreneurs to learn about self-empowerment. Port Discovery Children’s Museum 35 Market Plc. Saturdays and Sundays. Times vary. Free-$17.95.

TO FEB. 29: To Catch a Thief: Constellation Fights the Slave Trade Tour

Batten down the hatches, it’s time to help the Constellation’s crew in the fight against Trans-Atlantic slave trafficking. Historic Ships in Baltimore provides tours and hands-on activities to illuminate the ship’s career, including its remarkable pursuit of the slave ship, Cora. Board the valiant vessel and witness the success of this ship in the struggle for freedom. Historic Ships in Baltimore Pier 1, 301 E. Pratt St. Sat. and Sun. 1 p.m. Free-$18.

TO FEB. 23: Empowered! Black Action Figures, Superheroes, and Collectibles
If comic books are your guilty pleasure, this is the exhibit for you. Head to the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture to see your favorite black superheroes fly off the page. From the Marvel to DC Universe, many of these figures were the first to resemble black Americans. Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture 830 E. Pratt St. Wed.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. 12 p.m.-5 p.m. Free.

FEB. 1-28: Black History Month Fact Find
During your next visit to the Southeast Anchor branch of the Enoch Pratt Library, take your little one to the children’s department to find and read facts scattered throughout the section about historical African-American figures who have made an impact in the world of art, music, science, and activism. Once you find three facts, tell a library staff member to take home a special prize. Free.

FEB. 1: Black Authors Book Expo
Kick off Black History Month with this family-friendly book expo at the Baltimore War Memorial. Spend Saturday afternoon browsing for new and familiar titles by African-American authors, with the chance to meet a few local authors and hear excerpts from their latest books. Free.

FEB 1: Douglass, Tubman, and Harper: 19th Century Freedom Fighters
Stop in to the Northwood Branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library to listen to a presentation on 19th century freedom fighters. Learn something new about the brave men and women who battled slavery, including Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and Frances Harper. Enoch Pratt Library 4420 Loch Raven Blvd. 2-4 p.m. Free

FEB. 2: Celebrate Black History Month: Sophisticated Ladies

Come create an original work of art featuring elegant black ladies. Paint someone close to you, someone who inspires you, or even yourself. This event is BYOB, so don’t forget to bring your drink of choice to sip on while you perfect your painting. Painting with a Twist 1134 York Rd. 5-7 p.m. $35.

FEB. 6: Balthazar: Behind a New Walters Acquisition

Visit the Walters Art Museum and listen to two curators of Renaissance and Baroque art establish who this African mystery man is. Learn how to think like a curator and gather clues from the man’s facial expressions and body language to reveal the identity of the museum’s latest procurement. The Walters Art Museum 600 N. Charles St. 6:30-7:15 p.m. Free.

FEB. 7: Master African Class with Camille Weanquoi
There’s no better way to kick off the weekend than with some dancing. Whether you’ve got two left feet or you’re a star performer, immerse yourself in African culture through movement at Morton Street Dance Center. Morton Street Dance Center, 3600 Clipper Mill Rd. 7-8 p.m. $5.

FEB. 8: Black History Month Celebration Concert
Visit the Cathedral of the Incarnation to hear the Baltimore Children’s Choir perform songs by noteworthy African-American artists and composers during this commemorative concert. Joined by Charm City Singers, neighborhood choirs, and school choirs, this free show will lift your spirits and celebrate some of the greatest musicians of our time. Free

FEB 8: African Fabric Workshop: The Cloth Speaks

Discover the meaning behind the intricate, woven patterns on African printed fabrics. The workshop will be hosted by Regal Clothes designer Akos “Sunday” Regal, who designs chic tribal clothing. By the end of the class, you’ll be able to take home a fabric swatch of your own. The Baltimore Museum of Industry 1415 Key Hwy. 10-11:30 a.m. $10-15.

FEB. 15: Kuumba Showcase

In Swahilli, “kuumba,” means creativity. Appreciate the beauty of black culture and express yourself through art in the company of family with numerous activities. Stroll through the Amalie Rothschild Gallery and admire students’ artworks celebrating Black History Month. Then, experience the event’s theme–Black Dance Through Time–with live music and performances. Creative Alliance 3134 Eastern Ave. 12-3 p.m. Free.

FEB. 20: Museum Nights: Red, Black, and Green
Celebrate Black History Month with the return of museum nights at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, featuring live music by DJ Tanz, history and culture trivia games, and a complimentary drink. Spend the evening experimenting with printmaking, inspired by the on- going exhibition Elizabeth Catlett: Artist as Activist, and be sure to wear red, black, or green to receive a 10 percent discount at the museum’s shop. $20-25

FEB. 21: When They See Us Marathon
This award-winning Netflix miniseries will stop viewers in their tracks. When They See Us retells the true story of five teenagers who are charged, convicted, and exonerated for the crime of assaulting and raping a Central Park jogger in 1989. Watch this gripping series in full at Turner Auditorium, presented by The Hopkins Diaspora. Free.

FEB. 22: All Black Everything

In Partnership with Dewmore Baltimore, the American Visionary Art Museum will be hosting a slam poetry workshop led by the award-winning black slam poet Meccamorphosis. Participants will learn how to create black out poetry, which consists of concealing words on newspapers, books, and magazines with black marker to leave behind something creative. American Visionary Art Museum 800 Key Hwy. 1-3 p.m. $10

FEB. 23: The 3rd Annual Thurgood Marshall Black History Month Celebration Our Struggle, Our Strength
Attend this celebration, emceed by Fox 45 Morning News anchor Patrice Sanders, to listen to keynote speakers and enjoy performances by The Carter Legacy Singers and hip-hop violinist Marvillous Beats, LLC. Guests can even shop around the National Black Memorabilia Fine Arts and Crafts Show to acquire historic collectibles. Prince Hall Foundation of Maryland 2201 Argonne Dr. 3 p.m. Free.

FEB. 29: African American History Month Pop Up
Shake up your exercise routine, and head to this Midtown yoga studio to discuss the influence of African American yogis. After some conversation, sweat it out while listening to music by African American artists from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. Yogaworks 107 E. Preston St. 1:30 p.m. $25.

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]]> Weekend Lineup: December 27-29 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/events/weekend-lineup-december-27-29/ Thu, 26 Dec 2019 17:05:52 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=70160

lydia_eat_1.png EAT

Dec. 28: The Urban Oyster Drag Brunch

The Urban Oyster, 1704 Whetstone Way. 3 p.m. $7.

If you’re looking for a fun way to kill the awkward period of time between the holidays and New Year’s Eve, please turn your attention to this knock-out drag brunch at The Urban Oyster. In between bites of chef/owner Jasmine Norton’s cajun jambalaya, shrimp BLT on a waffle bun, and fried oyster and crab benedict, watch in awe as local drag performers Dee Dee Dereon, Kayden Amore Chloe, and Venus Fastrada sashay through the Locust Point restaurant. Snag tickets to the sure-to-sell-out afternoon show and get ready to indulge in killer seafood dishes, brunch cocktails, and beats by DJ Rob G3.

lydia_drink_1.png DRINK

Dec. 28: Holiday Hangover

Monument City Brewing Company, 1 N. Haven St. 1-6 p.m. Free.

After weeks of shopping for presents, attending a never-ending string of holiday parties, and downing eggnog, you’re probably experiencing what’s known as a “holiday hangover.” Luckily, the teams at Monument City Brewing and Dough Boy Fresh Pretzel Co. have the perfect cure for your holiday cheer-induced headache. Stop by the Highlandtown brewery on Saturday for a low-key afternoon full of Penchant Pils and Battle IPAs, as well as made-to-order pretzel creations from this up-and-coming food truck.

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Dec. 27-29: Leah Clare Michaels: Melpomene & The Trinity of Mourning

Carroll Mansion, 800 E. Lombard St. Free.

The historic Carroll Mansion has been home to many things since the early 1800s, including a saloon, a vocational school, and a neighborhood recreation center. Now through this Sunday, the Lombard Street mansion is the site of a thought-provoking exhibition about a series of mourning rituals. Through videos and photographic documentation of three performative works, this exhibition shows artist Leah Clare Michaels cleaning the brass cobblestone memorials in Berlin and Rome that are dedicated to victims of the Holocaust. Take in these expressive works and examine how they challenge viewers’ ideas of public memory, public space, and mourning rituals.

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Dec. 28: Butch Dawson & Friends Holiday Show

Ottobar, 2549 N. Howard St. 9 p.m.-12 a.m. Free.

For the third year in a row, Baltimore-based rapper Butch Dawson will host this all-out holiday show, featuring the likes of standout artists Damn Kham, Shido, Lamatic, Baby Kahlo and Miss Kam, and Jurdan Bryant. Pack the Ottobar on Saturday night to hear Dawson perform tracks from his latest NSFW album Ollieworld, and keep the party going with back-to-back sets that are guaranteed to keep the crowd hype all night long.

lydia_do_1.png DO

Dec. 28: Kwanzaa Celebration

Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt St.. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. $5.

Every year, the Reginald F. Lewis Museum hosts an all-out Kwanzaa celebration that brings Baltimoreans from all walks of life together to honor the week-long holiday that lauds African heritage in African-American culture. Head to the downtown museum to experience African dance and drumming performances, workshops, lectures, crafts, and even a marketplace highlighting the theme Ujima: Collective Work and Responsibility. In between activities, walk through the galleries to view exhibitions such as EMPOWERED! Black Action Figures, Superheroes, and Collectibles.

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]]> National Aquarium and Other Attractions Offer $1 Admission This Weekend https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/community/national-aquarium-and-other-attractions-offer-dollar-admission-this-weekend/ Tue, 03 Dec 2019 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=23609

Jen Reardon and Jenny Hamilton see the National Aquarium’s Dollar Days this weekend as a celebration. The annual tradition, where admission to the National Aquarium and other museums around the city is $1 or less, has inspired fanfare among Baltimoreans and made one of the city’s most visible attractions more accessible.

“We understand that it’s programs like these that allow so many locals to get in our door,” says Reardon, the public relations manager at the aquarium. “We have our full programming this weekend and it still feels fresh and new.”

Aside from the aquarium, other attractions including the Maryland Science Center, the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum, Port Discovery Children’s Museum, and Christmas Village, are also discounted at $1 this weekend. At the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, officials are offering special activities such as interactive claymaking for children and a screening of a new documentary from Stanley Nelson that “brings the largely unknown stories of enterprising African Americans to the forefront examining more than 150 years of African Americans.”

At the aquarium, officials are preparing for what will be an understandably busy weekend. Entry times will be staggered from when visitors buy tickets to when they are allowed inside to create an easy flow in and out. While patrons wait in line, there will be entertainment including stilt walkers, interactive hula hoops, and live music to occupy those with children. Aquarium concessions, merch, and access to partner parking garages will also be discounted to acknowledge that this is a special weekend for the aquarium—and the downtown area as a whole.

As for the aquarium itself, with 20,000 animals, there is always something new to see. The space’s dolphin exhibit is a good example of how no one visit is the same. Because each guide approaches feeding and education with their own style, visitors can get a unique experience at every demonstration.

“Our trainers share why we are doing this and things we do to keep the dolphins healthy and engaged,” Reardon says, “and about what it’s like to be a dolphin.” Officials are still working on finding a seaside sanctuary site for the dolphins, who currently reside in the Dolphins Discovery exhibit on Pier 4.

Also on the horizon for the aquarium is the recently announced $11 million in funding wetlands project between Pier 3 and Pier 4 in the Inner Harbor. Aquarium officials say that the goal for the initiative is to “bring the natural, living Chesapeake Bay back to the Inner Harbor.” A prototype that Hamilton, community programs manager at the aquarium, says has attracted new species and is already working to improve the harbor’s water quality. The goal is for the project, which is estimated to cost $14 million total, to start construction in 2021 and be finished in 2022.

“We’re priming the next generation for conservation, learning about species, and having an interest in science,” Hamilton says. “There is a symbiotic relationship between the wetlands project and the harbor, especially with education.”

The project feeds into staff’s greater mission of inspiring conservation and emphasizing its importance. That education is aided by events like Dollar Days, where the aquarium will see a high capacity of visitors taking in all that it has to offer.

“It’s one thing to read about it in a book or watch a documentary,” Hamilton says. “But to actually see animals in person in other places—it’s why these days are so important.”

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]]> Culture Club: Charm City Fringe Festival, Elizabeth Catlett, and An Evening with Mike Rowe https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/artsentertainment/culture-club-charm-city-fringe-festival-elizabeth-catlett-and-an-evening-with-mike-rowe/ Thu, 10 Oct 2019 13:46:00 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=17579

Visual Art

Eye to Eye

Rethink the way African-American male bodies are viewed at this new exhibition featuring artists Christopher Batten, Schroeder Cherry, and James Williams II. Observations are both welcomed and obscured in these three contemporary painters’ works. Stop by Oct. 10 from 5-8 p.m. to celebrate the pieces at the opening reception. Oct. 10 through Nov. 9. Catalyst Contemporary, 523 N. Charles St.

Elizabeth Catlett: Artist as Activist

Elizabeth Catlett spent a lifetime using her art to advocate for social and political change, lending her support to Mexican workers and African-Americans living under racist policies during the Jim Crow era. Starting this month, dozens of her sculptures and graphic prints will go on display at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, beginning a long stretch of programming surrounding the iconic artist-activist. Oct. 26 through March 1, 2020. Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt St.

Literature

Story Time with Rachel Kolar

Grab your littlest ghouls and head to The Children’s Bookstore for this story time with local author Rachel Kolar, who will read from and sign her book of spooky retellings of classic nursery rhymes. Enjoy such spirited new versions as “We Willie Werewolf” and “Mary Had a Little Ghost,” and don’t forget to grab your own copy of Mother Ghost: Nursery Rhymes for Little Monsters. Oct. 19. 1-2 p.m.The Children’s Bookstore, 4717 Harford Rd.

An Evening with Mike Rowe: The Way I Heard It

Baltimore’s own jack of all trades and Discovery Channel superstar Mike Rowe is coming home to share some highlights from his new book, The Way I Heard It, featuring a collection of 35 true(ish) stories about figures you think you know. Grab your copy at the door and join hosts from The Ivy Bookshop for a moderated Q&A and audience questions. Oct. 19. 7-9 p.m. Church of the Redeemer, Baltimore, 5603 N. Charles St.

Music

Off the Cuff: Brahms Symphony No. 4

Johann Brahms’ “Symphony No. 4” represents a transitional period from the lush Romantics to the very beginnings of the 20th century’s modernists. Join Baltimore Symphony Orchestra conductor Marin Alsop for an evening of food, drinks, and lively conversation as she reveals the importance of this 19th-century master work. 7 p.m. Oct. 19. Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St.

Theatre

Charm City Fringe Festival

Charm City Fringe is back and ready to spread its stories all over the Bromo Arts & Entertainment District. Catch such exciting new pieces as WombWorks’ The Channeling of Ms. Sybby Grant, Amanda Erin Miller’s The Jew in the Ashram solo show, and Tres Brujas Productions’ exploration of witchcraft and Virginia Woolf, Modern Witches. There are 10 days of productions across six venues to explore, so we suggest you start making your checklist now. Oct. 10-20. Various locations.

August Wilson’s Radio Golf

As we roll ever closer to an election year, August Wilson’s final play feels as timely as ever. Resident company member Dawn Ursula will be joined by Charles Dumas, Anton Floyd, Jamil A.C. Mangan, and Jason B. McIntosh on the Everyman stage for this tale of real estate developer Harmond Wikins’ run at becoming Pittsburgh’s first black mayor. Oct. 15 through Nov. 19. Everyman Theatre, 315 W. Fayette St.

Stoop Storytelling: Twilight Zone

Everyone knows someone who swears that thing that went bump in the night was more than their imagination. Meet a few more at this month’s iteration of the Stoop Storytelling series featuring takes of all things strange and supernatural. Be sure to come early for cocktails and live music from local rockers Super City. 7 p.m. Oct. 24. The Senator Theatre, 5904 York Rd.

Film

Art, Youth, and Justice Day at the Baltimore Museum of Art

Greenmount West Community Center and Advocates for Children and Youth are celebrating Youth Justice Month with a whole day of programming at the Baltimore Museum of Art. In addition to self-guided tours of Generations: A History of Black Abstract Art (the ticketed exhibition will be free all weekend long) and an evening concert, the day will feature screenings and panels of both PUSHOUT: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools and Rethink Baltimore. 12-5 p.m. Oct. 26. Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Dr.

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]]> Harriet Tubman Continues to Inspire Artists https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/artsentertainment/harriet-tubman-continues-to-inspire-artists/ Fri, 07 Jun 2019 11:15:43 +0000 http://server2.local/BIT-SPRING/baltimoremagazine.com/html/?post_type=article&p=10150
Marcus Shelby2
Marcus Shelby wrote a Tubman-inspired suite of jazz songs. - Photo by Peter Varshavsky

Harriet Tubman left Dorchester County without a trace, covertly returning again and again to shepherd away slaves, so maybe it’s appropriate that such an underground legend still casts something of a fleeting image in her native region. There are, in fact, no elaborate memorials to Tubman in Dorchester, just a storefront museum in downtown Cambridge, a mural off Route 50 near the Food Lion, and a historic marker outside of town. If you turn off Route 50 onto Bucktown Road and drive the winding two-lane past the Bay Country Trailer Park and the old barrel factory near Indian Bone Road, you’ll come to the marker. Erected at the edge of a field surrounded by forest, it reads, “The ‘Moses of her people,’ Harriet Tubman of the Bucktown District found freedom for herself and some three hundred other slaves whom she led north. In the Civil War she served the Union Army as a nurse, scout and spy.”

It’s simple and dignified, and on a blustery day, two tourists from Western Massachusetts—Jonathan (who declined to give his last name) and his young son, Steven—stand before it. Returning from a trip to Chincoteague, Jonathan wanted to show Steven the birthplace of “a true American hero” and pulled off the highway. “I’m a little disappointed there isn’t more here, more to celebrate her,” he says. “But the landscape is amazing and gives you a sense of what she had to endure. I might get some good material out of it.”

Asked to elaborate, he explains he’s a folk-singer who has long admired Woody Guthrie’s “Harriet Tubman’s Ballad,” a fact confirmed by Steven’s head nod and slight eye roll. “She inspired a lot of people,” says Jonathan, before snapping a few photos with his phone and departing.

Tubman, who passed away 100 years ago, inspired many people, especially creative types. Her role as an artistic muse is an enduring, but often overlooked, aspect of her legacy, and she’s probably inspired more art than any other Marylander.

The amount of Tubman-related art is staggering. It includes paintings by Jacob Lawrence, numerous statues and sculptures, writings by poet Langston Hughes and novelist James McBride, and a wide array of music by jazz titans John Coltrane and Wynton Marsalis, country rockers The Long Ryders, composers Christian Wolff and Nkeiru Okoye, and folk/children’s duo Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer. Tubman also gets shout-outs in songs by Janelle Monae, Stevie Wonder, Ice Cube, and Rah Digga (the self-described “Harriet Tubman of hip-hop”), and there’s even a Brooklyn-based experimental jazz band named after her.

Michelle Wilkinson, director of collections and exhibitions at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History and Culture, thinks she knows why. “I wonder if Harriet Tubman resonates with so many artists because she was able to manifest her vision of freedom,” says Wilkinson. “Her life is a guiding light to those seeking a way forward.”

“She is a symbol of a way of thinking and a way of being,” says Melvin Gibbs, bassist in Harriet Tubman: the band. “There are so many levels you can grab onto when you’re dealing with who she was—like the fact that she wasn’t a military figure. It’s like your grandmother made you free, and that resonates in a whole different way.”

Jazz musician Marcus Shelby first learned about Tubman when his mother gave him a copy of Sarah Bradford’s book, Harriet Tubman: The Moses of Her People. It made a huge impression on Shelby, who was born in Alaska and raised in California. “Growing up in the 1970s, I didn’t hear many stories with black superheroes,” he says. “She was a black superhero to me.”

Years later, he came across Kate Clifford Larson’s biography of Tubman, Bound for the Promised Land, while browsing at Borders and found it “wildly inspiring.” By that time, he had attended Cal Arts and established himself in the San Francisco jazz scene. He started researching Tubman’s life and, in 2006, made a pilgrimage to Dorchester County, where he took note of “the different land, different earth, and different air. The people have a different rhythm, a slower pace, and that affects how they walk and talk.”

He later learned about Tubman singing spirituals and work songs and connected her to a lineage that includes Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, and Nina Simone. He then translated those observations into rhythms and melodies and incorporated them into a jazz oratorio he wrote for Tubman. Released as a two-CD set, it’s a sprawling and swinging history lesson infused with gospel, blues, and jazz. Shelby performed it at the San Francisco Jazz Festival, and he’ll perform selections from it in Cambridge on March 10. “It’s all about the pursuit of freedom and being able to express yourself,” he says. “Harriet Tubman represents the best of us.”

Composer James Lee III feels similarly. Lee wrote “Chuphshah! Harriet’s Drive to Canaan,” an orchestral piece performed by the BSO in 2011. The year before, the Morgan State University professor visited Dorchester to “gather impressions” for the piece. He came away with deep appreciation for Tubman’s “steadfast determination,” a sentiment echoed by members of the Tubman band.

“Once you signed on to her mission, there was no turning back,” says Melvin Gibbs. “There’s no Plan B when you’re dealing with Harriet Tubman. You’re either gonna be free, or you’re gonna be free. Those are your options.”

“Her spirit wasn’t broken,” says drummer J.T. Lewis, “and we try to emulate that.”

“It makes you think about the type of person who accomplished all she did,” says guitarist Brandon Ross. “Many of us accept the historical narrative of her life without really connecting to the visceral details, about what was actually involved.”

Mark Priest strives to reflect those details in his paintings, which, for years, have focused on Tubman, slave life, and the Underground Railroad. The Louisville-based artist, who is exhibiting his paintings this month in Denton (which was a stop along the Underground Railroad), says he wanted to show all the “tugging and heaving, hoisting and dragging” and “depict the mental, emotional, and physical” strain experienced by Tubman and others.

Like Shelby and Lee, Priest also made the pilgrimage to Dorchester, where he perused historical documents, heard Tubman stories from locals, and kayaked through marshland. His Tubman series shows her, in addition to leading escaped slaves, working on a timber crew, trapping muskrats, and being struck in the head by an irate overseer. There’s also a piece portraying the frequent “sleeping spells” Tubman suffered as a result of that head injury.

When Priest speaks of Tubman, he sounds, at times, like he could be talking about a dedicated artist, a painter like himself or a musician such as Marcus Shelby. “The life Tubman chose was one of uncertainty,” he says. “Still, she carried on undaunted.”

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]]> Happy Birthday, Dr. King https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/events/events-to-commemorate-martin-luther-king-jr-message/ Sun, 02 Jun 2019 17:55:20 +0000 http://server2.local/BIT-SPRING/baltimoremagazine.com/html/?post_type=article&p=3910

Given the political division so evident in last year’s presidential election, there’s no better time to come together and celebrate the life of one legendary man who fought for equality, unity, and peace. Through music, dance, and many other mediums, these eight events help commemorate and immortalize some of Martin Luther King Jr.’s most important messages.

Films

SELMA
Jan. 9, Enoch Pratt Free Library, 1531 W. North Ave. 5 p.m. Jan. 18, Enoch Pratt Free Library, 3601 Eastern Ave. 12:30-7:30 p.m. This film depicts MLK Jr.’s violent and dangerous campaign through the South in 1965, a campaign that ended in a triumphant march on Selma.

RACE
Jan. 16. Carroll Arts Center, 91 W. Main St., Westminster. 1-3 p.m. In honor of MLK Day, see this 2016 film about African-American Olympic athlete Jesse Owens.

Festivals

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY
Jan. 16. American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Hwy. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Celebrate MLK Day with guided tours, music, and special events throughout the day, with a birthday cake fit for a king.

MLK DAY CELEBRATION
Jan. 16. Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt St. 12-4 p.m. Honor King’s legacy with family activities including crafts, a film screening, and dance performances by the Full Circle Dance Company.

Family

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. PARADE
Jan. 16. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. 12-2 p.m. See community bands, color guards, dance groups, civic organizations, steppers, floats, and more in this 17th annual parade.

THROWBACK THURSDAY: I HAVE A DREAM
Jan. 26. Enoch Pratt Free Library, 3601 Eastern Ave. 5:30 p.m. Give your full attention to this legendary speech, played aloud in its entirety.

Discussion

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. CELEBRATION
Jan. 12. The Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St. 5-8 p.m. The Baltimore Urban Debate League and Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle discuss King’s accomplishments with presentations, art making, and a ’60s-themed photo booth.

CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
Jan. 14. The Maryland Historical Society, 201 W. Monument St. 2 p.m. Prolific author, labor economist, and educator Julianne Malveaux presents the library’s commemorative annual lecture on MLK’s impactful career.

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]]> The Launch: February 2017 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/events/the-launch-february-2017/ Sun, 02 Jun 2019 17:24:00 +0000 http://server2.local/BIT-SPRING/baltimoremagazine.com/html/?post_type=article&p=3796

Shen Yun
Feb. 17-19. Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, 12 N. Eutaw St. Fri. 7:30 p.m., Sat. 2 & 7:30 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. $91-230. 410-837-7400. In the dead of winter, travel to the mystical world of ancient China with this colorful performance by the world-famous Shen Yun dance and music company. Marvel at the vibrant costumes, breathtaking sets, and an awe-inspiring soundtrack as you embark on a journey across 5,000 years of Chinese culture.


Timeless Weft
Feb. 1-July 30. The Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Dr. Wed.-Fri. 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Free. 443-573-1700. In this intimate exhibit, explore exquisite tapestries from the decades-long career of local artist Louise B. Wheatley. Using ancient techniques with homegrown dyes and hand-harvested fibers, she presents unique textiles with earthy colors, a deep connection to nature, and a celebration of philosophical and religious thought.


Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations
Feb. 1-March 5. Everyman Theatre, 315 W. Fayette St. Times & prices vary. 410-752-2208. Ever since last season’s remarkable rendition of August Wilson’s Fences and impressive repertory productions of Death of a Salesman and A Streetcar Named Desire, we’ve been keeping our eye on Everyman. This month’s premiere is sure to impress, as the local theater takes on the timeless Charles Dickens classic, where six actors will play a staggering 35 characters.


Black Memorabilia Fine Art & Craft Show
Feb. 11. Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt St. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free-$8. 443-263-1800. Celebrate Black History Month with a full day of African-American culture and heritage at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum. Throughout the day, meet baseball players from the Negro League, grab autographs from Tuskegee Airmen, and learn about the upcoming Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park on the Eastern Shore.


Capturing Pablo
Feb. 12. The Fillmore, 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. 7 p.m. $35-45. 301-960-9999. With “Netflix and chill” consuming our social lives, perhaps you’ve followed suit and become deeply addicted to Narcos. The hit series is inspired by the real story of Colombian cocaine king Pablo Escobar and the DEA agents who helped bring him down. For those who didn’t want last season to end, make your way to Silver Spring for one night only as real-life agents Steve Murphy and Javier Pena, pictured above center beside their respective actors, tell their version of the tale.


Riverdance
Feb. 17-19. Modell Performing Arts Center at the Lyric, 140 Mount Royal Ave. Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 2 & 8 p.m., Sun. 1 p.m. $35-85. 410-900-1150. One month before the green-covered, beer-filled festivities of St. Patrick’s Day, celebrate Ireland with the critically acclaimed high kicks of Riverdance. Now in its 20th year, the Irish dance production returns to the U.S. with awe-inspiring dance numbers (including the all-new “Anna Livia”), eye-catching costumes, mesmerizing lighting effects, and serious athleticism to boot.


Infinity Mirrors
Feb. 23-May 14. Hirshhorn Museum, Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. Mon.-Sun. 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Free. 202-633-4674. Grab your cellphones, fire up your Instagrams, and practice your best selfie. Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama is coming to the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C., to present her immersive installations that drip in color, dazzle with light, and mesmerize with floor-to-ceiling mirrors. Delve into the legendary artist’s sensory immersions with some of her most famous works on view, including six mirror rooms, whimsical installations, colorful sculptures, and large-scale paintings that have never before been seen in the U.S.


American Craft Council Show
Feb. 24-26. Baltimore Convention Center, 1 W. Pratt St. Fri. 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free-$36. 612-206-3100.
At the country’s largest indoor craft show, more than 650 makers of all disciplines come together to present their wares. Weave your way through contemporary crafts, including jewelry by Rebecca Myers of The Village of Cross Keys, ceramics by Ronni Aronin of Baltimore Clayworks, metal sculptures by Devin Mack of Drawn Metal Studios, and woodworks by Darryl Patterson of D. Patterson Design Studio.


The White Snake
Feb. 24-March 26. Center Stage, 700 N. Calvert St. Dates & times vary. $20-74. 410-986-4000. After many months and a $32-million renovation, experience the grand reopening of Center Stage. Described by Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah as “transformative,” the newly redesigned Head Theater sets the stage for this ancient Chinese fable of two magical animal spirits.

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]]> Jackie Copeland Proposes Restorative Vision for the Reginald F. Lewis Museum https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/artsentertainment/jackie-copeland-proposes-a-restorative-vision-for-the-reginald-f-lewis-museum/ Fri, 26 Apr 2019 10:23:00 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=25113

This season marks the 14th year of operation for the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture. During its brief tenure, the museum has been marred with rumors of financial turmoil and organizational chaos that have overshadowed its accomplishments.

“This museum occupies prime real estate in the city and the state,” notes Jackie Copeland, who took on the role of executive director at the start of the year, “It is not just about the Reginald F. Lewis museum, it’s also about many other African-American cultural institutions who are not getting the support that they need to be sustainable. Whether that support comes from the state, city, African-American or majority communities, how you put that puzzle together will make a museum sustainable.”

Copeland, an accomplished art historian who brings more than 30 years of experience working in arts institutions to her new position, remains optimistic about her abilities to transform negative perceptions and reignite community engagement.

Modeled after the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Lewis was developed to honor the legacy of business mogul and philanthropist Reginald F. Lewis and to stand as a lasting monument for the archival and exhibition of regional African American histories. The museum has hosted a wide range of exhibitions and programming that chronicle local and national African-American histories, traditions, and contemporary artworks.

Recent exhibitions have included a collection of archival prints by Roland Freeman depicting the life of arabbers on Baltimore streets, an exhibition of more than 70 works by iconic artist Romare Bearden, and photography by Linda Day Clark celebrating the extensive history of quilting traditions in Gee’s Bend, Alabama. The museum also hosts a compelling discussion series entitled Talks and Thoughts, which has presented a broad range of timely issues including the legacy of confederate statues, the Civil Rights origins of Colin Kapernick’s protests, and the lasting impacts of black face and minstrel shows on contemporary culture.

“We want to be a place where the citizens of Baltimore and Maryland can see themselves and their histories,” Copeland continues. “The museum wants to be engaged in community activities, projects that increase children’s literacy, and also fine art exhibits.” We sat down with Copeland to discuss her career and vision to restructure the museum.

How are you hoping to transform the Reginald F. Lewis Museum?
I am the first director with museum experience to lead this museum. I am acutely aware of the finances that it takes to do a deep dive and to grow. My first obligation is to put in place a mechanism that will make this museum sustainable financially. That mechanism will allow me to step back and hire the folks who can go into communities to do the work of real engagement.

Can you describe your vision more specifically?
My vision is to grow the museum, but it takes time. I am really proud of the programs that we do. We are a small staff in a big museum. We call ourselves being flexible and relevant to issues that are relevant to Baltimore, the state, and national communities. Being able to be a place where safe conversations can happen is important for us. We call ourselves “a safe place for unsafe ideas.” We want to continue to have programs that acknowledge figures like Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and other contemporary artists that are from the region. We have a pulse in the community and align ourselves with movers and shakers who are community oriented.

What plans do you have to create stronger pipelines for community engagement? I am thinking specifically about communities who may not feel comfortable going to museums because historically those institutions have not always been welcoming to people of color.
That is a problem all museums face. I think that we have an advantage because we are a museum for African-American history and culture. My hope is that African Americans can find a place for themselves because their histories are here—that they are not hesitant to come here and feel comfortable here because these are the histories that we and our ancestors have lived. I think the challenge for this museum is to attract visitors of all ages, ethnicities, and genders so that people see that this is a shared history.

If we are showing the history of slavery, for instance, it isn’t just about what happened to African Americans, it is also an issue about majority white communities and their role. The challenge is how we talk about that, how we teach that, and how we engage teachers so that they feel comfortable and know how to discuss it when they bring their students. It is a challenge because, as a culture, we have not grown up always going to the museums, but I want this place to be not just a museum like a high and mighty temple or an ivory tower, but a community space. We kind of balance being a community space with being a museum of culture and being relevant is really important.

Moving forward, what are your hopes for the museum?
My hope is that when folks talk about the creativity and innovation that is happening in the city of Baltimore and speak about cultural institutions and museums like the BMA or the Walters, that they also talk about the Reginald F. Lewis Museum. Each one is distinctive, but we look at ourselves as having a voice for the African-American community. We should be recognized for the importance that we bring and the stories that we tell about the city and the state of Maryland.

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]]> A Guide to Baltimore Museums https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/artsentertainment/baltimore-museums-guide/ Tue, 15 Jan 2019 16:57:00 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=24933

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

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]]> Seven Ways to Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/community/seven-ways-to-celebrate-martin-luther-king-jr-day/ Mon, 14 Jan 2019 13:44:00 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=25707

Civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. left behind a towering legacy of hope and change. Whether you spend Monday, January 21, taking in a performance, introducing your kids to his work, or engaging with Baltimore’s cultural leaders, you can make a difference in honor of his birthday. Here are the best ways to celebrate Dr. King.

Annual MLK Memorial Breakfast
For 38 years now, the aptly named Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Breakfast Committee has continued its namesake’s work with a local breakfast meant to activate and inspire its guests. This year’s theme is “Realizing the Dream: The Time is Now,” and keynote speaker Michelle Asha Cooper, president of the Institute for Higher Education Policy, will deliver an address advocating access to higher education for all students during the two-hour breakfast. La Fontaine Bleue, 7514 Ritchie Hwy., Glen Burnie. 8-10 a.m. $35.

Baltimore MLK Parade
Throw on a coat and scarf to enjoy Baltimore’s 19th annual spectacle in honor of the late civil rights leader. Kicking off at noon, the procession follows Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and features more than 70 participants with feel-good entertainment for all ages, including floats, marching bands, and dance squads. Even Mayor Catherine Pugh—despite last year’s controversy—will be joining the celebration of Dr. King’s birthday. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. between Eutaw St. and Baltimore St. 12 p.m. Free.

Dare to Dream Day
The American Visionary Art Museum never misses an opportunity to put its own spin on beloved holidays, and next Monday’s extravaganza is no exception. Admission is completely free all day, including the museum’s many exhibitions and a special screening of a film about MLK in the second floor theater. Guests of all ages can create buttons that represent their own dreams starting at 10 a.m. followed by free birthday cake and drinks at noon. Stick around a bit longer to catch slam poetry and dance performances by Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women and Keur Khaleyi African Dance Company. American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Hwy. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Free.

I Have a Dream Weekend
Introduce your little ones to milestones in civil rights history at Port Discovery this Monday, when the museum opens its doors for a day of educational fun. Learn about Dr. King’s monumental legacy while creating birthday cards for him and joining in interactive stories about his legacy. Elsewhere, make a quilt square with the African-American Quilters of Baltimore and discover the history of Negro League baseball. Better yet, children from Northwood Elementary School will be dressed up as African-American historical figures, waiting to share their life stories. Port Discovery, 35 Market Pl. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free-$5.

MLK Day Celebration and Day of Service
Join the Reginald F. Lewis Museum for their annual day of service in honor of MLK. This day-long celebration offers a little something for everyone, including crafts for kids, a performance by Singing Sensations Youth Choir, a discussion with Dr. King’s barber, and a reading of the play The Mountaintop by Baltimore Center Stage. Between events and exhibits, take advantage of free onsite health screenings by Kaiser Permanente. Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt St. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. $5.

Voices of Carmen
Station North stalwart Motor House will honor MLK with a special afternoon performance of Voices of Carmen, a modern take on the classic French opera Carmen. Performed by a cast of 40 singers, actors, dancers, and musicians comprised entirely of teens from Baltimore, the musical updates its source material by moving the action to the inner city and breaching issues that affect young people today. Make sure to stay for a discussion about escalating conflicts among the city’s youth and Dr. King’s legacy of nonviolence. Motor House, 120 W. North Ave. 2:30-4:30 p.m. Free.

Baltimore’s Strange Fruit
Eric Jackson and Maddie Hardy’s documentary Baltimore’s Strange Fruit chronicles the city’s history of food inequality through race, class, and land politics. As part of a special MLK program, Creative Alliance will be showing the film for free, including a dinner before the screening. Immediately following the film, take in a panel discussion with Black Yield Institute’s Eric Jackson and finish the evening with a service project to benefit Cherry Hill Urban Garden. Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave. 5:30-8:30 p.m. Free.

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]]> Weekend Lineup: January 11-13 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/events/weekend-lineup-january-11-13/ Thu, 10 Jan 2019 13:14:00 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=25692

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Jan. 11: AJ’s Deli Grand Opening

Mt. Vernon Marketplace, 520 Park Ave. 6:30-9:30 p.m. Free.

We’ve been (impatiently) waiting for this party to celebrate the opening of AJ’s Deli ever since its soft launch back in October. This Friday, locals can finally give this modern delicatessen the welcome bash it deserves. Stop by this must-try stall at Mount Vernon Marketplace to try its signature bagel hot dog bites or cloak and dagger sandwiches, and then stick around for live music by rock n’ roll group Flashback and specials on wine and lemon drop shooters.

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Jan. 12: Second Chance & Baltimore ToolBank

Second Chance, 1700 Ridgely St. and Baltimore Community ToolBank, 1224 Wicomico St. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Free.

If one of your “new year, new me” resolutions is to give back to the Baltimore community, you’re in luck. Local nonprofit program Volunteering Untapped will host its monthly do-good initiative at two locations: Second Chance, where volunteers will help organize and process the organization’s building materials, and Baltimore Community ToolBank, where helpers will build wheelbarrows and make equipment improvements. After a hard morning’s work, volunteers will be rewarded at Brewer’s Cask in Federal Hill by knocking back a few well-earned beers to start the year off right.

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Jan. 12: Harbor Point Ice Festival

Harbor Point, 1310 Point St. 2-8 p.m. Free.

With snow in the forecast for this weekend, bundle up and head to Harbor Point to experience a true winter wonderland. Watch in awe as award-winning ice sculptors use chainsaws and chisels to create lifelike figures, and enjoy live music, kid-friendly activities, and snacks from local vendors like Farm to Charm, Bistro Lunch Box, and Kommie Pig BBQ. If you miss the festival, no worries, the sculptures will remain on display as long as the weather stays chilly.

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Jan. 12: Romare Bearden: The Artist as Activist

Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 Pratt St. 1-3 p.m. Free-$8.

Although more than 70 of the late artist Romare Bearden’s collages, watercolors, and drawings have been on display at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum since November, the stories behind how he advocated for change through his art will come alive for the first time this weekend. Co-director of the artist’s namesake foundation, Diedra Harris-Kelley, will lead a discussion at the downtown museum on Bearden’s role as an artist-activist during the 1960s, exploring how his work both in and out of his studio impacted the world.

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Jan. 13: Yoga & Whiskey

Sagamore Spirit, 301 E. Cromwell St. 10-11:30 a.m. $20.

Whether you’ve been sticking closely to your new year’s resolution or made a few missteps in the initial weeks of 2019, re-center yourself this Sunday at Sagamore Spirit’s weekly yoga class in the processing room of the award-winning whiskey distillery. After a tour of the facility and an hour-long yoga course to help you prepare for the week ahead, cool down with a post-workout cocktail made with Sagamore Rye Whiskey.

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]]> Weekend Lineup: December 28-30 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/events/weekend-lineup-december-28-30/ Thu, 27 Dec 2018 16:32:22 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=25716

While the shenanigans of New Year’s Eve are right around the corner, there are plenty of things to do this weekend. Before you pop the champagne Monday night, start the long weekend with these bar specials, glitzy performances, and cultural happenings.

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Dec. 29: Wing Festival

Delia Foley’s, 1439 S. Charles St. 12-4 p.m. $25-30.

Baltimore is no stranger to outrageous food challenges (think the El Toro Grande burrito at Blue Agave or the Seafood UFO at Jimmy’s Famous Seafood), but Delia Foley’s wing-tastic festival takes it to a whole new level. Along with all-you-can-eat wings and drink specials, an entry ticket to this third annual event admits attendees into the speed-eating competition (yes, there is a trophy), a “facemelter” challenge featuring the highest sauce heat allowed per law, and a create-your-own sauce competition.

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Dec. 30: Ravens vs. Browns Watch Party

Lee’s Pint & Shell, 2844 Hudson St. 3 p.m. Free.

There’s a lot riding on a Baltimore Ravens win against the Cleveland Browns this weekend: The chance to clinch the AFC North for the first time since 2012, a postseason spot in the playoffs, and, most importantly, an open bar at Lee’s Pint & Shell. Watch the regular season-finale at this Canton corner spot, knock back a few three-dollar drafts and five-dollar Smirnoff bombs and crushes during the game, and celebrate with a one-hour open bar with Miller Lite and Smirnoff if the Ravens head to the playoffs after Sunday night’s game.

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Dec. 29: Glitter Ball

Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave. 8 p.m. $25-28.

New Year’s Eve may be known as the most glitz and glam-filled night of the year, but thanks to hosts and local burlesque performers Betty O’Hellno and Jacqueline Boxx, this Saturday’s Glitter Ball is making a run for the coveted title. Get dressed to impress (and sparkle) and head to the Creative Alliance to experience a winter wonderland-themed affair filled with circus performers, a Sparkle Market to add even more shine to your look, and an all-out dance party. For the main event, cheer on noteworthy performers like New York City’s Perle Noire and Poison Ivy during one of the most extravagant burlesque shows of the year.

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Dec. 29: Eze Jackson’s Dirty Christmas

Metro Gallery, 1700 N. Charles St. 7 p.m. $5.

As much as we love the holiday season, the annual agenda of attending one ugly sweater party after another and listening to the same Christmas carols gets old. Luckily, veteran local rapper Eze Jackson is throwing his annual anti-Christmas party in time to break you out of your post-holiday funk. Head to Metro Gallery on Saturday night to hear performances by rising rapper Locus, singer-songwriter Omnia Azar, and, of course, Jackson with The Backwudz Band. Pro tip: Bring a coat to donate and receive a free Flying Dog Bloodline beer.

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Dec. 29: Kwanzaa Celebration

Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt St. 12-4 p.m. $5.

Whether you’re a practiced celebrator or simply want to learn more about the week-long holiday, devote the third day of Kwanzaa to this all-out celebration at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum. Visit the downtown museum to take in traditional African dance and drumming performances, learn more about the holiday’s rich history during workshops and lectures, and browse locally made goods in the African Marketplace.

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]]> Weekend Lineup: November 9-11 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/events/weekend-lineup-november-9-11/ Thu, 08 Nov 2018 17:33:00 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=26081

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Nov. 9: Pop Up Night Market

Baltimore Center Stage, 700 N. Calvert St. 6 p.m.-12 a.m. $8-85.

On the heels of the first-ever Charm City Night Market that brought thousands of people downtown for authentic Asian-American eats, crafts, and performances, a pop-up version of the successful block party will take over Center Stage on Friday night. Stop by the Mt. Vernon theater to browse wares by local makers and samples snacks from local vendors like Ekiben, Pinch Dumplings, and Wight Tea Co. For an all-night affair, snag VIP tickets for the chance to see Center Stage’s latest production, King of the Yees, along with post-show perks in the theater’s Deering Lounge.

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Nov. 10: Proof: Maryland Spirits and Cocktails

College Park Aviation Museum, 1985 Corporal Frank Scott Dr. 6-9 p.m. $35.

Since the number of businesses producing spirits in the Old Line State has jumped 425 percent in the past five years (from 7 to 30 distilleries), it comes as no surprise the state has dedicated a month to the historic and booming industry. To celebrate the inaugural Maryland Spirits Month, make the quick trip to College Park to sip crafted cocktails by Lyon Distilling, Blackwater Distilling, and Baltimore-based favorites like The Baltimore Spirits Company and Old Line Spirits. In between pours, take in a small-batch seminar to learn about the art of mixers and creating the pucker-perfect sour cocktail.

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Nov. 11-March 9, 2019: Romare Bearden

Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E Pratt St. Times vary. Free-$8

Starting Sunday, a collection of pieces by the prolific visual artist Romare Bearden, best known for his collages and other works depicting the realities of African-American life during the 1960s, will be on view at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum in dedication to the artist’s tremendous impact on the community. Take advantage of this weekend’s “pay what you can” rate and see more than 70 of the late artist’s collages, watercolors, and drawings at this downtown museum and honor his depiction of African-American religion and spirituality.

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Nov. 4: Caleb Stine’s ’Round the Mountain

Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave. 8 p.m. $22-28.

Known around town as one of the key players in Baltimore’s folk music scene, Caleb Stine and his rustic, Americana sound will lead this year’s edition of ’Round the Mountain. During this annual show, long revered for its tradition of connecting musicians from around the world through country music, hear the singer-songwriter play alongside steel guitarist Dave Hadley of The Bumper Jacksons, Baltimore-based fiddle player Audrey Hamilton, and West African-inspired group Jess Sah Bi & Peter One. Catch this one-of-a-kind jam session and get ready to hear songs from Stine’s latest album, Moon, played in a whole new way.

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Nov. 10: Harvest Festival

R. House, 301 W. 29th St. 12-5 p.m. Free.

Thanks to R. House’s annual fall extravaganza, you don’t have to leave the city to revel in classic autumn activities. Bring the kiddos to the Remington food hall’s harvest festival for pony rides, a petting zoo, and face painting while the grown-ups sip on fall libations from Charm City Meadworks, Monument City, and punch made with Le Monade’s pumpkin cider. During this afternoon affair, learn how to plant succulents inside pumpkins and gourds, peruse vintage and craft wares, and celebrate these final days of fall in style.

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]]> The List: November 2018 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/artsentertainment/the-list-baltimore-best-events-november-2018/ Mon, 29 Oct 2018 08:30:00 +0000 http://server2.local/BIT-SPRING/baltimoremagazine.com/html/?post_type=article&p=893

Charm City Fringe Festival
Nov. 1-11. Locations and times vary. $10-98. Now in its seventh year, this annual celebration of Baltimore’s non-traditional theater scene returns to the Bromo Arts District for 10 days of eclectic performances by more than 20 local and regional acts. From unconventional circus and variety acts to off-kilter comedy and theater pieces, catch quirky sets by rising stars such as BlueShift Dance, comedian Arielle Conversi, and award-winning performance artist Monica Hunken, pictured, during this cutting-edge festival.

Image001
courtesy of Jim Burger

Jim Burger: A Charmed Life
To Nov. 24. Creative Alliance. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Free. From Baltimore Orioles fans leaving Memorial Stadium for the final time to women waiting under hair dryers at a Highlandtown salon, images by former Baltimore Sun photographer Jim Burger have encapsulated the city’s hidden beauty over the years. This month, view more than 130 photographs by the MICA grad during this retrospective exhibit at Creative Alliance, and return on November 8 for a special presentation of Burger’s full-color catalog of work.

Shutterstock 480905989
Shutterstock

Baltimore Craft Beer Festival
Nov. 3. $15-55, As the Old Line State’s craft beer scene has expanded over the past few years, this annual all-you-can-drink festival has grown along with it. Now in its fourth year, the Brewers Association of Maryland’s signature event will host more than 50 Maryland-only breweries at Canton Waterfront Park for an afternoon of sampling drafts from newcomers such as Checkerspot Brewing and Antietam Brewery, a homebrewing competition, and tons of local eats to soak up the suds.

Across the Bay 10K
Nov. 4. Chesapeake Bay Bridge. 6:55 a.m. $70-250. If you’ve ever driven across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and wondered what it would be like to run across it, you’re in good company. Lace up your sneakers for this early-morning run that draws more than 20,000 joggers to the starting line every year to soak up the views of the bay from 200 feet above the water. Stick around for live music, family-friendly activities, and all-you-can-drink options during the post-race festivities.

Travis Scott
courtesy of Live Nation

Travis Scott
Nov. 8. 201 W Baltimore Street. 7:30 p.m. $35.95-250. It has been a busy year for this 26-year-old rapper: His third album, Astroworld, released to rave reviews, he became a first-time parent with celebrity cosmetics mogul Kylie Jenner, and this month, he will kick off his 25-city tour in front of a jam-packed crowd at Royal Farms Arena. Known for his unpredictable performances, this explosive artist will perform dance hits such as “SICKO MODE” and “BUTTERFLY EFFECT.” Who knows? Fans might even catch a glimpse of Kylie and Stormi in the audience.

Young Students 1964 3000
"Young Students", 1964 - © Romare Bearden Foundation/VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Romare Bearden
Nov. 11- March 3, 2019. 830 E Pratt St.. Times vary. Free-$8. A collection of pieces by the prolific visual artist Romare Bearden, best known for his collages and other works depicting the realities of African-American life during the 1960s, will be on view at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum in dedication to the artist’s tremendous impact on the community. See more than 70 of the late artist’s collages, watercolors, and drawings at this downtown museum and honor his depiction of African-American religion and spirituality.

Fiddler Tour Select 3 Photo By Joan Marcus
courtesy of the Hippodrome

Fiddler on the Roof
Nov. 13-18. 12 N Eutaw St.. Times vary. $99-250.50. Set in the tiny village of Anatevka in 1905, this time-honored musical about a poor milkman finding suitors for his five daughters in their Jewish community has become a Broadway classic. During its five-day run at the Hippodrome Theatre, experience the charming story that has won the hearts of audiences for decades with themes of change, tradition, and growth, featuring new movement from Israeli choreographer Hofesh Shechter.

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BAZAART Holiday Art Market
Nov. 23-24. Jim Rouse Visionary Center 3rd Floor, 800 Key Hwy. Times vary. Free. Start the holiday season off right by supporting local artisans during the American Visionary Art Museum’s annual holiday art market, featuring tons of one-of-a-kind items that make early-bird shopping special. Held on Small Business Saturday, the market will highlight original creations made by more than 40 regional artists such as paintings, textiles, and jewelry. After you’re shopped out, take a free tour of the acclaimed Jim Rouse Visionary Center. avam.org.

Parquet Courts By Ebru Yildiz 8
Ebru Yildiz

BSO Pulse: Parquet Courts
Nov. 29. 1212 Cathedral St.. 8:30PM. $25-55. Now in its fourth season, this first-of-its-kind series that brings together some of the city’s best classic and indie artists returns with a collaboration between the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and alternative rockers Parquet Courts. Don’t miss this three-set concert at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall that will feature a set by the BSO, followed by a few songs from this rising indie group’s latest album, Wide Awake!, before they join the BSO for a joint performance.

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Mike Morgan

Miracle on 34th Street
Nov. 24-Jan. 1, 2019. W 34th St.. 6-11 p.m. Prices vary. Jim Pollock treats the Miracle on 34th Street tradition like a series of date nights. Every evening from Thanksgiving weekend to New Year’s Day for the past 29 years, he has come home from work, washed up, and opened his home and heart to the hordes of people who visit the 700 block of 34th Street in Hampden to see the “most outrageous Christmas lights” in Maryland. Known on the block for his 10-foot-tall tree made out of 104 hubcaps, he also welcomes about 1,200 visitors per night into the makeshift gallery in his living room to view work by local artists. “This tradition is about finding a moment of peace and togetherness in all of this chaos,” says Pollock. “We do this for the city that we love.”

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]]> The Color Line https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/artsentertainment/black-artists-finally-receiving-recognition-in-mainstream-art-world/ Wed, 05 Sep 2018 08:30:00 +0000 http://server2.local/BIT-SPRING/baltimoremagazine.com/html/?post_type=article&p=1134

Black artists are finally receiving recognition in the mainstream art world, but it has been a long uphill battle toward equity, and it's one that they’re still fighting.

By Lauren LaRocca
Opening photo by Ken Fletcher
Arts & Culture

The Color Line

Black artists are finally receiving recognition in the mainstream art world, but it has been a long uphill battle toward equity.

By Lauren LaRocca.
Opening photo by Ken Fletcher.

On a rainy summer afternoon, Myrtis Bedolla, a highly respected gallerist and art dealer, sits in her second-floor office overlooking North Charles Street to talk about the shifts she’s witnessed in her 30-plus years in the field.

Myrtis Bedolla at the opening of Ronald Jackson's exhibit at Galerie Myrtis. —Ken Fletcher

Books and files on black art and its history line the walls. A piece by Anna U. Davis, one of the artists she represents, hangs prominently above her desk. One floor below, brick walls display oversized, solemn portraits of black men and women by figurative painter Ronald Jackson, as part of his solo show, Profiles of Color III: Fabric, Face, and Form. This floor below her office and home is Galerie Myrtis, the gallery she founded in 2006 in Washington, D.C., and moved to Baltimore two years later.

It’s a few weeks after the publication of the controversial New York Times article “Why Have There Been No Great Black Art Dealers?,” and though hints of frustration and disappointment come through at times, Bedolla’s eyes remain soft and thoughtful, her voice sweet, her mind and body composed, as she talks about how black art has been ignored by major institutions because our country is still living with the vestiges of slavery.

“This art is the visual pedagogy for teaching the African-American experience—our past and current experiences—but museums have failed to embrace that truth, that voice,” she says. “It’s finally starting to be seen as a part of American history, rather than just African-American history. We’re being put into context.”

She cites The Baltimore Museum of Art’s recent retrospective Odyssey: Jack Whitten Sculpture, 1963-2017, a major ticketed event that moved from Baltimore to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in September.

“The public hasn’t been able to engage in that work because of black prejudices and stereotypes. But people want to engage in it. Black art is so powerful and engaging—it just is—and we’re all better for being exposed to it,” Bedolla says. “Somehow it’s been believed that the work of a black artist is not relatable to a white person. Wouldn’t it be beautiful if we could take the race out of it and just allow the experiences to come forth? As human beings, we could see how we fit into that narrative and how much we’re connected and alike rather than how different we are.”

Like many others across the nation, she has made it her life’s mission to celebrate and support emerging to mid-career African-American artists by exhibiting their work and connecting them to collectors.

“It’s rewarding work to see an artist rise,” she says. “If I’ve done my work to help build the artist’s career, I’m happy if they move on and find their way into the limelight.”

She knows this feeling firsthand. She once represented Baltimore-based Amy Sherald, whose portrait of Michelle Obama launched her into art-world stardom overnight, with rabid collectors and dealers from around the world wanting to purchase her work, which she makes in her studio at Motor House in Station North.

When the official National Portrait Gallery portraits of the Obamas were unveiled in February, both were painted by black artists—Sherald and Kehinde Wiley—a first in our country’s history. The museum experienced record-breaking attendance in the weeks that followed—so much, that Sherald’s portrait had to be moved to accommodate the crowds.

Brion Gill stands at the site of the proposed Black Arts and Entertainment District. —Mike Morgan

The time is ripe for such a recognition, if long overdue.

Although black music has been a part of American popular culture for decades—in part because of its accessibility—art, film, theater, and literature by black artists has not had the same fortune. But in the past five to 10 years, the popularity of black-made work is on the rise. Moonlight, a story about the coming-of-age of a black gay man, won Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 2017, and the 2016 film Hidden Figures, which tells the true story of three African-American women at NASA during the Space Race, dominated the box office in sales, surpassing La La Land and Jason Bourne. In 2016, Hamilton, the Broadway musical featuring actors of color rapping as they portray America’s founding fathers, earned a Tony for Best Musical, a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album, and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Nowhere does black work seem to be exploding so suddenly as in the visual arts. A recognition of black art and culture is surfacing inside America’s major museums, infiltrating the mainstream art world. The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture opening in Washington, D.C., is a prime example. It not only validated work by black artists but confirmed that the public wanted to see this work that had been neglected; it opened in September 2016, and free passes sold out through March, with 30,000 people trying to get in on some days—four times more than the museum had predicted and could accommodate.

“We as black artists have not had the luxury of just being artists.”

In addition to Sherald, Baltimore’s Paul Rucker is another important Baltimore figure in this emerging scene. Awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, he explores slavery and the black narrative in his work, and his exhibition Rewind, a collection of life-sized KKK outfits made with colorful, patterned material in his studio at the Creative Alliance, has toured the nation.

Stephen Towns, who works from his studio at Area 405 in Greenmount West, landed a career-making solo show of his story quilts at the BMA this year. The fiber art pieces, which tell the story of Nat Turner's slave rebellion, have a distinctly painterly quality and have been called a genre all their own by Mark Bradford, a black abstract painter who represented the U.S. at the 2017 Venice Biennale.

And we can't forget Joyce Scott, long-known in Baltimore for her sculptural beadwork and named a MacArthur Fellow in 2016.

Still, “the lack of museums hiring black curators is egregious,” says Bedolla. “I’ve seen art not interpreted properly, not even labeled properly. We have to have black people in place to bring equity to museum collections.”

The BMA is one of the country’s major institutions leading this shift. Christopher Bedford, who was named director of the BMA in 2016, recognized the importance of incorporating more diverse work into the museum, as well as its staff and board (Sherald was appointed as a trustee to the board in January), and he made this integration part of his mission.

“Some of the most important work being made right now—abstract and figurative—is by black Americans,” says Bedford, who is British. “Great art is bred where the artist is closest to their core humanity, and I think sometimes adversity breeds that.”

Museums, like the art installations within them, Bedford asserts, should be site specific, their context provided by geography. To have a museum in Baltimore, a 63 percent black city at the most recent Census, that is showing work by nearly all white artists (as genius as that work may be) is an inaccurate representation of the diverse community it’s meant to serve, he argues.

In spring of 2018, the BMA deaccessioned seven works by white male artists (Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Franz Kline, Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski) in order to acquire contemporary pieces by predominantly black artists, among them Mark Bradford, Zanele Muholi, John T. Scott, and Jack Whitten.

The museum’s programming has also shifted in recent years to include art talks with Towns, Sherald, and Bradford, as well as an Afrofuturism discussion with Ta-Nehisi Coates in May (that sold out) and an Afropolitanism-themed Art After Hours party in June that Baltimore music artist Abdu Ali headlined. Its fall schedule is looking just as diverse, showing new work by artists of color, including Maren Hassinger, Ebony G. Patterson, and Tavares Strachan, plus a major exhibition by Mark Bradford.

“I said, sort of flippantly, at a board meeting, ‘Baltimore is ready for this work,’” Bedford says. “Amy Sherald said, ‘This city has been ready for this work for decades.’”

Njideka Akunyili Crosby. Dwell: Aso Ebi. 2017. The Baltimore Museum of Art purchase

It’s not as if the art wasn’t being made. The earliest documented professional African-American painter, Joshua Johnson, lived in Baltimore in the 1700s. There have been black artists, dealers, gallerists, and scholars here and across the nation for decades—laboring, chipping away at what some call “the racial mountain”—but until recently they’d been overlooked by the predominately white institutions that largely control the art world.

David Driskell sees black art as the last element in American visual culture that society as a whole has not explored in more detail—and a last frontier for collectors who are beginning to ask what else is out there and also wanting to fill the gaps in their collections, now that black art is being valued. “You look at the omissions and the misrepresentations, and people in good will are trying to correct that mistake,” he says.

A renowned scholar of African-American art, Driskell, 87, attributes the rise in popularity of black art to a growing global interest in it, and America is just catching up. Major museums across the world, in European and Asian countries especially, have shown more interest in African-American work over the past decade, featuring it in major exhibitions, such as 2017’s Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power at the Tate Modern in London. (Worth noting: Mark Bradford’s work sells for millions in Europe, on a par with white artists, but it goes for much less in the States.)

“There’s an explosion going on worldwide, and America doesn’t want to be left out,” Driskell says with a chuckle. “We’re still, unfortunately, tied up with race as a factor, but they’re leading us away from our set ways. Our history was so convoluted, we had to go back and look at black slavery and the black experience.”

When Driskell was an art student at Howard University in the 1950s, the chair of the art department, James A. Porter, considered the founding father of the field of African-American art history, told him, “You’re a good painter, but you also have a good mind, and we need people to help define and redefine the field,” Driskell recalls.

Driskell has since devoted his entire life to contextualizing the work of black artists, as have others, such as art historian Leslie King-Hammond, who founded the Center for Race and Culture at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

“We as black artists have not had the luxury of just being artists,” Driskell says. “We have to help define the field and keep the light burning. Otherwise it would go out.”

Roberto Lugo at the wheel. —Walters Art Museum ; Joy Davis, founding director of Waller Gallery. —Mike Morgan

In 1939, the BMA hosted one of the first major African-American art exhibits in the country: Contemporary Negro Art. The board at the time sent a survey out to the community, asking what Baltimore’s people wanted to see in its art museum. Feedback urged the BMA to show work by black artists, and so in a collaboration among the board, the Harmon Foundation, and “Father of the Harlem Renaissance” Alain Locke, the BMA exhibited more than 100 works by 29 black artists, among them Jacob Lawrence and Hale Woodruff.

In honor of this history, a condensed exhibit, 1939: Exhibiting Black Art at the BMA, is on display now through Oct. 28 at the museum, featuring more than a dozen pieces by artists included in the original show.

“These artists might not have the name recognition of Jack Whitten or Mark Bradford, but Whitten and Bradford come from that lineage,” says BMA prints, drawings, and photographs curatorial assistant Morgan Dowty, who curated 1939. “The BMA is being very intentional about being inclusive,” she goes on. “This was a moment in 1939 when we saw something very similar.”

Jack Whitten. 9.11.01. 2006. The Baltimore Museum of Art purchase

Meanwhile, nearly 80 years has passed, and aside from the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History and Culture, the only major museum in Baltimore that has consistently shown work by black artists, is the American Visionary Art Museum, which opened in 1995 and exhibits “outsider” or “naive” art—work not by nationally recognized, sought-after artists but those who are self-taught, and in many cases unknown.

The Lewis, the second-largest museum of its kind on the East Coast after the National Museum of African American History and Culture, is known primarily for its historical collection and less for its contemporary art holdings but has nonetheless served an indispensable role in the city for black artists, exhibiting work by the likes of Devin Allen, Amy Sherald, and Joyce Scott.

“I think artists are the most important chroniclers of our history,” says Jackie Copeland, director of education and visitor services at the Lewis. Then, more frankly, she adds, “It’s wonderful that these artists, like Amy Sherald, are going into major museums and white galleries, and white dealers are now validating them, but the black community has been valuing them for decades—and now we’re being priced out of the work.”

Copeland worked at The Walters Art Museum about 10 years ago and helped them to identify and acquire four pieces by African-American artists, she says, to diversify the collection there.

When 1 West Mount Vernon Place, the newly revitalized wing of The Walters (formerly known as the Hackerman House), was unveiled in June, curators went to great lengths to research the history of the 19th-century mansion and include, through visual art and an app for a self-guided tour, the stories of both its wealthy, soiree-throwing owners and the slaves who lived and worked there.

Work by African-American ceramic artist Roberto Lugo—who grew up in a rough neighborhood in Philadelphia and entered art by way of graffiti—is given prominence in the new space, merging past with present through his pieces depicting such cultural figures as Frederick Douglass.

Former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama's portraits. —National Portrait Gallery

Amy Sherald. Planes, rockets, and the spaces in between. 2018. The Baltimore Museum of Art purchase

In Baltimore, the stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue near Penn-North remains, in many ways, a vital component to the heartbeat of Baltimore’s culture, a constant whose history spans 100 years. Jazz and blues artists, among them Duke Ellington, Etta James, and Louis Armstrong, came through this area to perform at the Royal Theatre; Warner’s Metropolitan Theatre screened first-run films here; Rainbow Theatre, later named Lenox Theatre, provided a venue for film and vaudeville performance; the Sphinx Club operated as one of the first black-owned nightclubs in the country.

Today, the legendary Arch Social Club, commonly said to be the oldest continually running black nightclub in America, stands at the intersection of Pennsylvania and North Avenue, where hip-hop blasts from cars and handheld speakers, and massive murals and graffiti art line every block.

This cultural hub was also ground zero for the 2015 protests following the death of Freddie Gray, as well as the riots in ’68, when scores of clubs and prominent businesses either permanently closed or moved elsewhere. Where the Royal Theatre once stood is now a grass field, the only remnant being a marquee standing tall in the lot’s corner. A lone statue of Billie Holiday singing stands across the street.

“I don’t think this area ever bounced back,” says Brion Gill, an activist and spoken word artist who goes by Lady Brion. “It gained the narrative of being this crime-ridden area where you don’t want to go, but that’s just not the narrative that I see.”

She wants to help this stretch along Pennsylvania Avenue—from Dolphin Street up to North Fulton Avenue, which includes such anchor institutions as the Shake & Bake roller rink; the Avenue Bakery, which hosts jazz; Upton Boxing Center; Jubilee Arts, which holds art and dance classes; and Avenue Market—reclaim its former narrative by designating it as an official Black Arts and Entertainment District. She and others in the Baltimore group Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle are in the midst of the application process through the Maryland State Arts Council and will learn in December if it receives the designation, which would make it the fourth recognized arts district in Baltimore, alongside Highlandtown, the Bromo Tower, and Station North.

“I want to revitalize the economic engine of West Baltimore and bring it back,” Gill says. “It had everything in the recipe for an arts and entertainment district.”

On a larger scale, the MSAC is disbanding the diversity outreach committee it formed five years ago, which had been created to ensure that the council was inclusive about whom it served. “In our new strategic plan, cultural equity is woven within everything we do,” says Carla Du Pree, who had chaired the committee. “We decided we shouldn’t need a separate committee for that.”

The same conversations are being had among the board of directors of the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, she says, where she serves as a board member, and at CityLit Baltimore.

Through her work at the MSAC, GBCA, and as director of CityLit, Du Pree has worked hard to support underrepresented artists, having witnessed inequity firsthand. She’s helped to diversify the featured writers and audiences within CityLit but notices that in a general context, authors of color don’t have the advantages that white writers do. A recent book launch of a white author packed 100 or so people into a Baltimore club, she recalls. “It was beautiful. But I realized I was the only person there of color outside of the help, the servers. A lot of books were getting sold, and I just wondered, for a black writer, how that happens. It would be nice to see black writers supported in that same way.”

Saida Agostini reads her poetry during The Baltimore Museum of Art’s Afropolitanism-themed Art After Hours in June. —Lauren LaRocca

Even with growing successes in the black arts arena—the Jack Whitten retrospective, the BMA’s recent acquisitions, even the record-breaking sale earlier this year of a piece by African-American artist Kerry James Marshall at Sotheby’s (scooped up by Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, no less)—those within the network of black creatives are quick to ask: How much of the financial benefits of these shows and sales trickle down to black galleries, black dealers, or the laboring artist—i.e., the black communities?

“Are these museums looking to black galleries to purchase art? For the most part, no,” Bedolla says. “Most of these artists are represented by white galleries. When artists reach a certain level, the white galleries come in and harvest them, as I call it, even though black galleries have done the lion’s share of the work.”

And aside from a select few—Jean-Michel Basquiat, Romare Bearden (whose mural Baltimore Uproar is at the proposed Black Arts and Entertainment District site, and whose work will hit the Lewis in November for a major solo exhibit)—how long overdue is the recognition of these artists?

Joyce Scott’s work is now gradually being collected in places of honor, but, in the opinion of several artists and scholars here, not enough.

Same with D.C.-based Sam Gilliam.

Abstract expressionist Norman Lewis had been at it for a long time before getting attention, and the value of his work is just beginning to increase; his record is $1 million, while that of his white contemporary Jackson Pollock is $200 million.

Still, it’s looking like the next generation of artists—the Amy Sheralds and Paul Ruckers of the world—are rising into the spotlight more quickly than their predecessors, in part because of the groundwork that has been laid by black gallerists, dealers, and scholars over the past 100-plus years—major players not just in Baltimore but across the country: art dealers June Kelly and the late Merton Simpson; The Studio Museum in Harlem’s director and chief curator Thelma Golden and former president Lowery Stokes Sims; and going back further, Alonzo Aden, curator at Howard University’s Gallery of Art, one of the first black art galleries in the country.

Historically black colleges and universities—particularly Fisk University, Hampton University, and Howard University—were among the first places to provide a space to exhibit work by black artists.

“Historically, we didn’t have the necessary income to sustain galleries. The infrastructure is still very weak but getting stronger,” Bedolla says.

Children viewing Ronald Moody’s Midonz (1937) at The Baltimore Museum of Art’s Contemporary Negro Art exhibition. 1939. Photograph Collection, Archives and Manuscripts Collections

Some younger black artists aren’t waiting for the gatekeepers of the art world to acknowledge them; they’re creating cultural institutions of their own. The Fray opened this summer on a residential street in Reservoir Hill. Founders describe the space as the “headquarters to the Baltimore renaissance,” made specifically by and for black creatives.

Bright and cozy rooms—each adorned with plants, paintings by local artists, tables, and sofas—are designated by craft: a reading/writing room, the “Messy Room” (i.e., an art space), a lounge for conversations and meetings, and a room and balcony for music jams.

“It’s important to have designated safe spaces,” says cofounder and co-owner Diamon Fisher, who’s in her 20s and of Afro-Latina descent. She’s been working alongside an advisory board of more than a dozen people—representing the visual, curatorial, literary, fashion, and culinary arts—to create a vision for the space, which is open to the public on a $5 drop-in basis.

The Fray is about more than art; it’s about fostering culture and dialogue in a nurturing environment. Shoes are left at the door. A communal altar invites guests to give or receive blessings or smudge themselves with sage. There are Self-Care Mondays.

“artists are the most important chroniclers of our history.”

In similar fashion, young African-American scholar and artist Joy Davis opened Waller Gallery this spring on a residential block of North Calvert Street, envisioning it as providing a community space where the visual art and coinciding programming will generate conversation, not just sell paintings. She primarily features work by artists of color, including those of Chinese and Vietnamese descent, for instance, and frankly is drawn to any artist who has been seen as “other.”

Davis grew up in Baltimore County but spent the past several years in New York. When she returned, she expected to see mostly white artists at her gallery events. When she’d lived here before, she knew of black artists and spaces, like Jeffrey Kent’s former Sub-Basement Artist Studios, but saw the scene as being “super white,” she says. “Things like Wham City would get covered by media, it seemed like, every month. But African-American artists would only get a mention once every year or two. Like, Joyce Scott was here for how many years?”

Nevertheless, her events have brought in a diverse crowd, not just racially but also age-wise.

Still, she says, “It’s hard for us. We’re always the last to be called for a panel discussion—and it’s because they need diversity and suddenly have to find a black or brown scholar,” she says.

Like many other black art scholars who came before her, she ultimately wants to see the integration of all marginalized communities, a world where there are not “black art” shows or “all-women” shows but simply shows that include important work by everyone.

“Black art is American art, and that is the larger context,” Driskell says. “And don’t leave out women or Asians or Latinos. They, too, in the words of Langston Hughes, ‘sing America.’ And they sing it with a great song.”

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]]> The List: September 2018 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/artsentertainment/the-list-best-baltimore-events-september-2018/ Fri, 31 Aug 2018 08:00:00 +0000 http://server2.local/BIT-SPRING/baltimoremagazine.com/html/?post_type=article&p=1147

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.

Sep List Run

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.

Bmore Comedy stock

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.

Sep List Hate

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.

Sep List Chalk

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.

Sep List Hampden

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.

Sep List Trillectro

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.

Sep List Pig

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.

Sep List Comic

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.

Sep List Book

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.”

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]]> Your Go-To Guide For the 2018 Fall Arts Season https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/artsentertainment/your-guide-fall-arts-events-2018-season/ Thu, 30 Aug 2018 08:30:00 +0000 http://server2.local/BIT-SPRING/baltimoremagazine.com/html/?post_type=article&p=1163

As the dog days of summer give way to the crisp winds of fall, Baltimore’s art season kicks into full gear. Come September, theater seasons launch, galleries host their biggest shows, and an abundance of art-centric colleges and universities—including the renowned Maryland Institute College of Art and Peabody Conservatory—means a swelling of cultural and educational activities. Here, we round up our recommended events to catch from now through the end of 2018.

Kubrick 90: A Would-Be Birthday Retrospective
Through Dec. 2018. Parkway Theatre, 5 W. North Ave.
In honor of what would be Stanley Kubrick’s 90th birthday, the Parkway will screen a retrospective of work by the celebrated filmmaker, semi-chronologically, including classics such as Lolita, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Dr. Strangelove, Eyes Wide Shut, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Each film will play twice throughout the festival, and many will be presented on 35mm.

Baltimore Comedy Festival
Aug. 29-Sept. 3. Motor House, 120 W. North Ave.
More than 100 comedians from around the U.S. will be in town for the second Baltimore Comedy Festival, where Motor House will serve as headquarters and a performance venue for this five-day, citywide event.

Parkway Kubrick Onset For Killers Kiss
The Parkway celebrates Stanley Kubrick's 90th birthday. - Courtesy of The Parkway Theatre

The Institute of Visionary History and the Archives of the Deep Now
Sept.-Dec. The Peale Center, 225 Holliday St.
With the historical Peale Center as its backdrop, Submersive Productions will present its latest theatrical experience, featuring a different production each month. It will culminate with a December shadow performance themed around a 1980s movie set in pre-World War II Germany.

The Thing is Close
Aug. 31-Sept. 29. School 33 Art Center, 1427 Light St.
Cindy Cheng and Jackie Milad will present work in a two-person exhibit that examines identity and home. Cheng creates sculptural installations that reference the interior of her parents’ house in Hong Kong, with meditations on the importance of particular objects within the space. Milad’s work on paper explores ethnic backgrounds through actual and invented symbols associated with her Egyptian and Honduran heritage

Baltimore Taxidermy Open
Sept. 6. The Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St.
The Walters Art Museum’s Chamber of Wonders houses treasures from around the world, among them taxidermied birds, beasts, and reptiles. But only during this annual event does the museum play host to an array of contemporary taxidermy artists (the term “taxidermy” is used loosely in this context) alongside these antique ones for a pop-up exhibit and taxidermy competition.

Fall 2018 Experience007 1440X810
The art of taxidermy. - Courtesy of The Walters Art Museum

DOS-à-DOS
Sept. 7-30. Hamilton Gallery, 5502 Harford Rd.
Baltimore artists L. Nef’fahtiti Partlow-Myrick and Jenny O’Grady, who met as students in the Creative Writing and Publishing Arts master’s program at the University of Baltimore, exhibit a collection of their art books, made from a variety of materials both traditional and unorthodox. The show’s title references a bookbinding technique that ties together two text blocks with a shared spine—that spine being the MFA program in this context.

Survival Bias
Sept. 8-29. Current Space, 421 N. Howard St.
This two-person exhibition of sculptures, wall works, and video by Brittany De Nigris and Adam Milner investigates what defines the immediate present and how things are often an accumulation of past subjects, places, and times. The show’s title is based on the term “survivorship bias,” which describes how our history is shaped, in part, by the artifacts that survive.

Putin On Ice (That Isn’t The Real Title of This Show)
Sept. 12-Oct. 7. Single Carrot Theatre, 2600 N. Howard St.
A mix of fable, melodrama, and theater, the satirical Putin on Ice elevates the man to myth, from dictator to deity, in a collaboration between theater companies Single Carrot and The ACME Corporation.

Balancing Act: Paintings, Drawings, Collages. Works by Joseph Paul Cassar
Sept. 12-Oct. 20, artist talk from 4-6 p.m. Oct. 13. Y:ART Gallery, 3402 Gough St.
Art historian, author, and artist Joseph Paul Cassar will show recent drawings in ink and pastel, paper cutouts, collage, and acrylic on canvas.

Repurposed with Purpose: Meaning in the Materials of Making
Sept. 20-Nov. 10. Maryland Art Place, 218 W. Saratoga St.
This large group exhibit, curated by former Baltimore Museum of Art director Doreen Bolger, nudges viewers to look deeper into pieces and think about the materials used and why, what statement they make, and whether they are a reflection of the artist’s personal story or have a broader significance.

Lovelight Yoga and Arts Festival
Sept. 21-24. Pearlstone Conference & Retreat Center, 5425 Mount Gilead Road, Reisterstown.
Music, art installations, and lots of yoga and meditation will be held in a serene, natural setting at the annual Lovelight Festival in Reisterstown, featuring Krishna Das and Rising Appalachia, among others, plus more than 40 classes and workshops.

Mark Bradford: Tomorrow is Another Day
Sept. 23, 2018-March 3, 2019. Opening Celebration, 1-5 p.m. Sept. 23. Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Dr.
This major exhibition by renowned contemporary artist Mark Bradford will bring together work he showed at the 2017 Venice Biennale and a new site-specific installation. The Los Angeles-based artist explores themes from his personal life, black identity, Greek mythology, and the universe through mixed-media works, abstract paintings, and video.

Bma Mark Bradford Tomorrow Is Another Day Courtesy The Artist And Hauser Wirth Photo Joshua White
Mark Bradford's work from Tomorrow is Another Day - Courtesy of Mark Bradford / Photo by Joshua White

Fades and Fellowship Barbershop Stories
Sept. 28. Motor House, 120 W. North Ave.
Baltimore-based theater troupe Fades & Fellowship brings black barbershop culture to the stage. Not only does the cast of actual barbers perform the conversations and stories—true and embellished—as overheard in barbershops, but they finish the show by giving a few lucky audience members haircuts onstage.

High Zero
Sept. 28-29. Theatre Project, 45 W Preston St.
Experimental music in all its glory will be performed during this two-day festival by musicians who will expand your definition of music and instruments. Performers include Wendel Patrick, Ada Pinkston, Neil Feather (who plays invented instruments), Carrie Fucile (who plays objects and cassettes), Orlando Johnson (who plays found objects), and several others.

Baltimore Book Festival
11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sept. 28-30. Baltimore Inner Harbor.
The annual Baltimore Book Festival along the Inner Harbor is a free, three-day celebration of the written and spoken word, featuring presses from indie to university and every genre imaginable. Hundreds of authors will participate in readings, talks, book signings, panels, and workshops, and more than 100 exhibitors and booksellers will line the Inner Harbor Promenade, from the Inner Harbor Amphitheater to Rash Field. Highlights this year: authors A.J. Jacobs, April Ryan, Bill Whitaker, Jonathan Abrams, Carol Anderson, D. Watkins, Nic Stone, Tim Junkin, and Wayétu Moore, plus numerous stages and tented areas, including Tablers Tent, Charm City Comic Pavilion, CityLit Stage, Food for Thought Stage, Ivy Bookshop Stage, Literary Salon, Maryland Romance Writers’ Stage, Red Emma’s Radical Books Pavilion, Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America Stage, and a music stage.

Chinese Snuff Bottles
Sept. 30-Dec. 9. The Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St.
Chinese snuff bottles—historically used to hold a medicinal blend of tobacco, spices, and herbs and worn around the neck—were not only intriguing and practical pieces but also intricate works of art. The Walters will exhibit nearly 250 snuff bottles made from stone, glass, porcelain, ivory, lacquer, enamel, and precious metals. The show coincides with the 50th annual Convention of the International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society, which will be held in Baltimore in October.

Afro Punk Ballet
Afro Punk Ballet - Photos By Kintz

Afro Punk Ballet
Oct. 4-6. The Peale Museum, 225 Holliday St.
This sci-fi, futuristic ballet opera is the second in a trilogy produced by Afro House. As the story goes, mad scientist Levi created a second sun that is drying up the lands and bringing the nation’s inhabitants to near extinction. His descendants are left with his mess to clean up.

Parenting: An Art Without a Manual
Oct. 6, 2018-Sept. 1, 2019. American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Hwy.
AVAM’s next annual mega-exhibit is a meditation on the art of parenting—from cultural wisdom to scientific breakthroughs in cognitive and behavioral research. Work by three dozen artists will incorporate a wide spectrum of media and styles, such as Allen Christian’s life-sized torso sculptures of Mother, Father, and Child made from antique piano parts; Leon Borensztein’s black-and-white photos documenting his daughter, who was born legally blind; and a group of women who sewed their fathers’ old ties into hexagonal assemblages and provided six-word stories to accompany them.

John Waters: Indecent Exposure
Oct. 7, 2018-Jan. 6, 2019. Opening Celebration, 1-5 p.m. Oct. 7; Artist Conversation with John Waters and Senior Curator Kristen Hileman, 6 p.m. Nov. 1. Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Dr.
Enter the wonderfully absurd world of John Waters in this retrospective exhibition of photos, video clips, early films, photocopied drawings, and sculpture from the legendary Baltimore filmmaker. The artist’s penchant for black humor is evidenced in the more than 160 pieces he has made since the early 1990s that criticize, dramatize, and exploit popular culture and celebrate the LGBTQ and other marginalized communities.

Open Studio Tour
10 a.m.-6 p.m. Oct. 13-14. Assorted venues citywide.
More than 100 artists open their studio doors across the city for this two-day, self-guided tour, where visitors can watch the artists in their element and talk with them about their work.

Jim Burger Creative Alliance Skaters
Photo from the Charmed Life exhibit. - Jim Burger

A Charmed Life
Oct. 13-Nov. 24. Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave.
This retrospective of more than 130 photographs will span Jim Burger’s 30-plus years as a photojournalist with The Baltimore Sun and City Paper. Burger will present an illustrated talk of his life’s work from 7:30-8:30 p.m. on Nov. 8 to coincide with the exhibit.

Leonard Bernstein’s Mass
7:30 p.m. Oct. 26. New Psalmist Baptist Church, 6020 Marian Dr.
This massive theatrical spectacle, conducted by Baltimore Symphony Orchestra director Marin Alsop, will feature hundreds of Baltimore performers—Peabody Conservatory instrumentalists, singers, and dancers; Preparatory students including members of the Peabody Children’s Chorus; and others from the community including the Morgan State University Choir and students from the Baltimore School for the Arts. The show is loosely based on a Catholic Mass and uses song and dance to raise questions about faith.

Charm City Fringe Festival
Nov. 1-11. Various venues in the Bromo Arts District.
Experimental theater and performance art will be highlighted in this 11-day festival that brings performers from across the continent to Baltimore for more than 90 performances in theater, comedy, dance, crankies, film, and more.

Romare Bearden: Vision and Activism
Nov. 10, 2018-March 3, 2019. Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt St.
Romare Bearden is considered one of the most important and influential artists of the 20th century. As an artist, educator, scholar, writer, songwriter, and social activist, he examined race through his work: paintings, editorial cartoons in the Baltimore Afro-American newspaper, collages, and other artwork. More than 50 of his pieces will be displayed at this major exhibition.

A Wonder in My Soul
Nov. 29-Dec. 26. Baltimore Center Stage, 700 N. Calvert St.
Set in a Baltimore beauty shop, this story of friendship and community confronts the issues of gentrification and crime as its co-owners decide whether or not to move the shop.

Alice Gadzinski Creative Alliance
An Alice Gadzinski sculpture. - Courtesy of the Creative Alliance

Violinist Joshua Bell
8 p.m. Nov. 30, 3 p.m. Dec. 2. Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St.
Joshua Bell, one of the most celebrated violinists of his era, with appearances on The Tonight Show and Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle, will perform Dvorák’s romantic Violin Concerto under the baton of Romanian conductor Cristian Măcelaru.

Alice Gadzinski
Dec. 7, 2018-Jan. 12, 2019. Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave.
Baltimore sculptor Alice Gadzinski was a resident artist at the Creative Alliance when she passed away earlier this year from cancer. In honor of her creative spirit, the art center is hosting an exhibit of work she made at the Creative Alliance, as well as never-before-seen pieces.

Black Nativity
Dec. 7-30. Motor House, 120 W. North Ave.
Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity, a musical originally performed Off-Broadway in 1961, is a retelling of the Nativity story with an entirely black cast. The show, presented in Baltimore by ArtsCentric, includes Hughes’ poetry as well as traditional Christmas carols sung gospel-style.

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]]> Culture Club: Mark Bradford at the BMA, Taste of Tuva with Joyce Scott, and Mono Practice Opens https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/artsentertainment/culture-club-mark-bradford-taste-of-tuva-and-mono-practice/ Wed, 29 Aug 2018 15:58:48 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=26645

Visual Art

Maren Hassinger: The Spirit of Things
Maren Hassinger’s four-decade career in art is rooted in sculpture and dance. A selection of her sculptures, made with wire rope, plastic bags, and newspapers, are on exhibit in the Contemporary Wing of the Baltimore Museum of Art in the solo show The Spirit of Things. Some have been reconfigured for this exhibition, which also contains video installations of her performance art and dance. She’s also known for her role at the Maryland Institute College of Art as director of the Rinehart School of Sculpture, which she has served since 1997. July 18-Nov. 25, performance and conversation with the artist at 3 p.m. Sept. 8. BMA, 10 Art Museum Drive.

ISLA: Regarding Paradise
Ironically, the etymology of the word “paradise” goes back to its Greek and Old Iranian roots meaning “walled enclosure.” In this group exhibit at Towson University, curated by Baltimore artist Jackie Milad, contemporary artists working in an array of mediums examine the figurative and literal walls that enclose the pristine beach images of the Caribbean islands, a place that has worked toward political autonomy and environmental justice. Sept.7-Oct. 20. Reception on Sept. 6. Center for the Arts Gallery at Towson University, 8000 York Rd., Towson.

DOS-à-DOS
Baltimore artists L. Nef’fahtiti Partlow-Myrick and Jenny O’Grady met as students in the Creative Writing and Publishing Arts master’s program at the University of Baltimore and will now exhibit the fruits of their labor: a collection of art books, made from a variety of materials both traditional and unorthodox (paper—but also metal and beans, for example). The show’s title references a bookbinding technique that ties together two text blocks with a shared spine-that spine being the MFA program, in this context. Sept. 7-30. Hamilton Gallery, 5502 Harford Road.

Baker Artist Awards 2017 & 2018
Recent Baker Awards awardees—Abraham Burickson (interdisciplinary, 2018), Sara Dittrich (interdisciplinary, 2017), David Marion (visual art, 2017), and Amy Sherald (visual art, 2018)—will show work in an exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Included in the show will be Burickson’s “The Odyssey Works Box,” an archival box filled with books, photographs, and other ephemera, accompanied by a video tour of the history of the arts collective Odyssey Works; Dittrich’s wall sculptures, arranged with hundreds of clay ears; Marion’s multimedia sculptures “Extinction Event” and “Fracking,” which explore violence perpetrated on the natural environment; and two portraits by Sherald. Sept. 12-Oct. 14, with a free opening event with performances on Sept. 13. Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive.

Balancing Act
Joseph Paul Cassar has been working in Baltimore for 13 years as a visual artist and art historian, and is a professor at the University of Maryland University College. He’s shown his work around the world, and this month will exhibit in our city, when Y:ART Gallery in Highlandtown shows his recent work in Balancing Act—drawings in ink and pastel, paper cut-outs, collage, and acrylic on canvas. Sept. 12-Oct. 20, opening reception from 6-9 p.m. Sept. 15, artist talk from 4-6 p.m. Oct. 13. Y:Art Gallery, 3402 Gough St.

Mark Bradford: Tomorrow is Another Day
Renowned contemporary artist Mark Bradford represented the U.S. at the 2017 Venice Biennale and will bring that work to Baltimore for the exhibit Tomorrow is Another Day, accompanied by a new site-specific installation, at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Bradford explores themes from his personal life, black identity, Greek mythology, and the universe through mixed-media pieces, paintings, and video. Sept. 23, 2018-March 3, 2019; opening celebration, 1-5 p.m. Sept. 23. Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive.

What Makes Us (Us)
Gina Pierleoni exhibits some 200 paintings and mixed-media portraits of people encountered over a 25-year period in Baltimore and beyond. She’ll lead a coinciding workshop which will include live music to help to dig deeper into questions of place and perception. Aug. 25-Sept. 29; workshop, 6-7:30 p.m. Sept. 15. Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave.

AfriCOBRA: The Evolution of a Movement
This group exhibit at Galerie Myrtis celebrates artists in AfriCOBRA, aka African Commune for Bad Relevant Artists, a coalition that was born from the black arts movement that began in the 1960s and is now celebrating its 50th anniversary. The aesthetic of these artists emerged from activism and aims to speak to black people specifically. The show will display paintings, photographs, prints, and 3-D pieces by the group’s earliest and most recent members, including Akili Ron Anderson, Kevin Cole, Adger Cowans, Michael D. Harris, Napoleon Jones-Henderson (founding member), James Phillips, Frank Smith, Nelson Stevens (founding member), and Renee Stout. Coinciding programming will include Tea with Myrtis (as in, founding director of Galerie Myrtis, Myrtis Bedolla) and an art salon with AfriCOBRA members who will talk about their artwork and its impact on the black arts movement. Sept. 15-Oct. 17, with an opening reception from 5-7 p.m. Sept. 15. Galerie Myrtis Fine Art, 2224 N. Charles St.

Music

Taste of Tuva
Celebrated artist Joyce Scott will host this special evening featuring the music, art, and food of Asia. Alash Ensemble, a trio of throat singers from the Central Asian state of Tuva, will bring both their music and culinary specialties, while collaborating with Baltimore musicians Shodekeh and J Pope. The event supports the Asian Arts & Culture Center at Towson University. 6-9 p.m. Sept. 15. TU South Campus Pavilion at Towson University, 8000 York Rd.

Abdu Ali’s Last Show of 2018
Baltimore music artist Abdu Ali will perform their last live show of the year this month at Metro Gallery, joined by Kotic Couture (hip-hop with pop, Baltimore club, and underground art influences), Pamela_ and her sons (the solo music project of Alessandra Hoshor), and W00dy (Philadelphia-based experimental pop artist). 8 p.m. Sept. 5. Metro Gallery, 1700 N. Charles St.

BeatClub at the Lewis
Over the years, Bmore BeatClub has met regularly inside clubs, bars, and initially a record shop to celebrate hip-hop and beats. Novice artists rap alongside experts at these gatherings, and this month’s event will be extra special, as Bmore BeatClub will bring hip-hop, spoken word, and poetry to the Reginald F. Lewis Museum. 7 p.m. Sept. 28. Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt St.

Theater

Fades and Fellowship Barbershop Stories
Barbershops are places of conversation and camaraderie—and from this idea came the production Barbershop Stories by Baltimore-based theater troupe Fades & Fellowship. A cast of real barbers will perform the stories overheard in the shop—and then give actual haircuts to selected audience members. Sept. 28. The Motor House, 120 W. North Ave.

Literary Arts

CityLit Swing: A Special Celebration Honoring Kwame Alexander
CityLit will honor poet, educator and New York Times bestselling children’s author Kwame Alexander with its Chic Dambach Award for Service to the Literary Arts during a celebratory evening at The Motor House. Sliding-Scale tickets are available for this CityLit fundraiser, which will include lite fare, libations, jazz, and a reading by Alexander. 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 13. The Motor House, 120 W. North Ave.

Small Press Expo
The annual Small Press Expo celebrates indie cartooning and comic arts, bringing more than 4,000 creatives to Bethesda for readings, workshops, and to meet with one another. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sept. 15 and noon-6 p.m. Sept. 16. Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, North Bethesda

Miscellanea

Mortified: Share the Shame
Everyday adults share their most mortifying moments via teenage diary entries, poems, love letters, lyrics, and locker notes in this popular show. 6 and 8 p.m. Sept. 22. Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave.

Mono Practice
Founding director Ruri Yi is opening a new contemporary art gallery, Mono Practice, in Station North this month, with a focus on abstract and reductive art. The inaugural exhibit, Pointing To The Sun | An Exercise In Abstraction, is curated by Rod Malin and will feature work by Baltimore-based artists David Brown, Zoë Charlton, Ariel Cavalcante Foster, Terence Hannum, Stephen Hendee, Bill Schmidt, and Yi. Sept. 6-Oct. 13, with an opening reception from 6-9 p.m. Sept. 6. Mono Practice, 212 McAllister St.

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]]> Wickerham and Lomax Generate Dialogue for Creatives in New Reginald F. Lewis Installation https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/artsentertainment/wickerham-and-lomax-generate-a-dialogue-for-creatives-in-a-new-installation/ Thu, 12 Jul 2018 12:22:00 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=26855

Can an artistic preoccupation with a subject matter be reduced to a troubling personal one?

Isn’t part of what distinguishes artists the way they transcend their personal preoccupations by making aesthetic order out of the inner disorder that is our common human lot?

How does one read their own subjectivity and how does that drive and motivate what one does?

How can representations of ourselves complicate how we see ourselves. Can one be over represented?

These and other questions will serve as prompts to generate community discussions at the latest Wickerham and Lomax exhibit, which opens tonight at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum.

Malcolm Lomax and Daniel Wickerham, aka 2015 Sondheim prize winners as artistic duo Wickerham and Lomax, are known for pushing the boundaries of art and conversation through their collaborative work. They met as students at MICA and began producing work together in 2009.

In their newest installation, Channel Heal: The Writer’s Room, they visually depict the messiness of creative work and the thought processes behind it in an installation inside the Refections gallery at the Lewis, the final show to be held in the space under its Reflections name and mission to bring contemporary art to the Lewis. It runs from July 12 through Aug. 1.

Wall-to-wall murals line the installation—printed material, hand-drawn images, white boards, and other elements are used to depict indoor and outdoor spaces that evoke a fluid and open atmosphere—the kind of magical place where creative work happens.

The show hinges upon two Channel Heal events, open to the public, to stimulate conversation around four topics: transcendence, physicality, ego, and mysticism.

The duo invited people in the Baltimore community for each discussion.

“Everyone serves as a panel host,” Wickerham says.

“People are like prompts,” adds Lomax, who is also a poet.

They’re interested in how art and the creative process relate to healing, as they’ve seen creatives navigating these four areas to improve their lives. Through the roundtable discussions, they want to externalize some of the thoughts and feelings that have resulted from conflict and trauma.

Wickerham And Lomax Cropped

Wickerham & Lomax will serve as the show-runners, as the installation is part of a larger body of work that will live online and examines in a part-fictional, part-nonfictional way, TV.

The show opens tonight with a reception from 6-8 p.m.

Channel Heal work sessions, to generate dialogue will be on July 18 (exploring physicality and mysticality) and Aug. 1 (transcendence and egotism).

“The conversations we want to have here are conversations we have with friends all the time, out drinking or whatever,” Lomax says. “These are things that have fallen to the side that we have pulled back up.”

In TV-speak, he’s referring to all the drafts and ideas that have been on the back burner and maybe fell out of consciousness completely.

Some thoughts and questions generated from the dialogues will be thrown into a large net suspended from the ceiling; others will be placed into 8-foot-tall fabricated coffins, serving as burial grounds of sorts, a repository for ideas. The front of each coffin will be clear, however, so visitors can see inside and read the written ideas.

“What is normally hidden will remain in the physical space,” Wickerham says.

Wickerham and Lomax essentially lift props, characters, and other elements they’d created in a digital space and move them into a physical space. And then ultimately, elements created as a result of the show will move back into the digital realm onto a future website project titled Channel Heal. The stories that they help people to tell will eventually become interactive and extend beyond Baltimore. Some might even be scripted and turned into movies.

“When you do an installation, you’re like—what are you left with?” Wickerham says, standing in an empty Reflections gallery just weeks before their show went live.

“I love ideas, I like seeing ideas put into form, but installations are laborious. They’re labor intensive,” Lomax says, then adds, “With poetry, I just snatch it and put it down and I’m on my way.”

Through Channel Heal online, their hope is that the installation will live on and continue to evolve in new ways—in the Baltimore community and the creative community worldwide—as it continues to ask what it means to be an artist, and what it means to be whole.

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]]> New Reginald F. Lewis Museum Exhibit Features MICA Artists of Color https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/artsentertainment/reginald-f-lewis-museum-exhibit-mica-artists-of-color/ Wed, 11 Apr 2018 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=27492

The Reginald F. Lewis Museum is known for its extensive collection of African-American historical and cultural artifacts. But a new gallery space, Reflections, on the building’s second floor, showcases work by contemporary artists who are sure to ignite conversation and influence the future of Baltimore’s diverse culture.

The most recent exhibit in the space, Reflections of Baltimore: We, Too, Are MICA, opens tonight with a reception at 5:30 p.m. and runs through May 4. It features work by six MICA undergrads (sophomores through seniors), from paper cuttings to paintings to fiber arts. The selected artists are all people of color.

“MICA artists are mostly seen as coming from a white-privelegely point of view,” says Joseph M. Giordano, who co-curated the show. “People of color kind of fade into the background.”

The stigma is not all that surprising, given the school’s somewhat dicey past. In the exhibit’s opening text, Clyde Johnson, associate dean of the Center for Identity and Inclusion at MICA, writes about Harry T. Pratt, who enrolled as MICA’s first black student in 1891 and was met with protests, with a reportedly 100 students dropping out because of his being a student there. After Pratt graduated, black students were prohibited from enrolling from 1895 to 1954.

Tony Shore, chair of the painting department at MICA; Giordano, photography teacher at Baltimore School for the Arts; and Johnson curated the show with a specific aim to highlight a diverse group of artists.

Destiny Belgrave, a Caribbean American, explores race, spirituality, and femininity through intricate black-and-white paper cuttings. Her piece “Done Wid” depicts a reimagined “Birth of Venus”—one wherein a black woman is the central figure.

Tyler Ballon’s “Deposition” painting shows a fallen black man on the street, surrounded by friends, echoing the Deposition of Christ. His piece “Crowning of Thorns” parallels a black man’s getting a gang color with Jesus’ crown of thorns.

Moses Jeune is a queer black man of Haitian descent who uses LGBTQ and Catholic iconography in his paintings to explore race, gender, and religion.

Work by Mark Fleuridor, Drew Gray, and Monica Ikegwu is also exhibited in the show.

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]]> Labs@Light City Highlight a Pay-What-You-Can Model This Year https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/fooddrink/labs-light-city-highlight-a-pay-what-you-can-model-this-year/ Wed, 07 Mar 2018 12:31:00 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=27715

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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]]> Weekend Lineup: Feb. 9-11 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/events/weekend-lineup-feb-9-11/ Thu, 08 Feb 2018 18:08:03 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=27955

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

lydia_eat_1.png EAT

Feb. 10: Clues, Brews and BBQs

Blue Pit BBQ & Whiskey Bar, 1601 Union Ave. 5-8 p.m. Free. 443-948-5590. 

It might be the dead of winter, but nothing will warm your heart like downing a plate of Blue Pit’s coffee-rubbed brisket or bourbon-glazed ribs to support local rescue pups. This Saturday, Hampden’s dog-friendly bar will donate 10 percent of your final bill to Baltimore Bully Crew, a grassroots organization that helps rescued pit bulls. Come for the melt-in-your-mouth barbecue and local brews and stay for the themed escape game from Charm City Clue Room, where participants will solve a short series of puzzles to “save” a stuffed blue pit bull.

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To Feb. 9: Sip & Shine

American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Hwy. 6-9 p.m. $30-35. 410-244-1900.

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and what’s more romantic than a night filled with wine, a scavenger hunt, and mosaic magnets? Nothing, really. The American Visionary Art Museum’s twist on a sip-and-paint night lets guests compete in an after-hours scavenger hunt through The Great Mystery Show, their current exhibit on mystical investigations and curious subjects. Grab another glass of wine or beer and dive into the museum’s treasure chest of craft supplies to make a take-home mosaic magnet for you and your valentine.

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Feb. 9-11: Constellations & Crossroads

Arena Players, 801 McCulloh St. Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m. $20. 410-728-6500. 

In a theatrical collaboration like no other, Arena Players, Baltimore’s historic African-American community theatre, and Baltimore Rock Opera Society, the city’s rock theater powerhouse, present Constellations & Crossroads, a double-feature production filled with American history and live rock music. “Determination of Azimuth” follows the story of Katherine Johnson, a black NASA mathematician who performed calculations that made space flight possible. The second musical, “The Battle of Blue Apple Crossing,” depicts a fictionalized account of the legendary blues guitarist Robert Johnson. If you miss the first three shows, don’t worry, they’ll be back on the West Baltimore stage again next weekend.

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Feb. 10: Roses

Showroom Café & Bar, 120 W. North Ave. 9 p.m. $8-10. 410-862-0930. 

We’ve watched them grow and rise in the local music scene over the past few years, and this weekend some of Baltimore’s up-and-coming artists are giving a little love back to their city. Micah E. Wood, Joy Postell, Al Rogers Jr., and Bobbi Rush will serenade the Saturday night crowd at Station North’s Showroom with their heartfelt energies and a performance that is sure to sweep you off your feet. Lose yourself in Wood’s trademark talk-sing, fall for Postell’s neo-soul rhythms, admire Rogers Jr.’s honest rap, and relish in Rush’s dreamy melodies. If you need a preview, follow The Big Baltimore Playlist on Spotify where we’ve featured our favorite songs by these talented artists.

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Feb. 10: Frederick Douglass Day

Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt St. 12-4 p.m. Free. 443-263-1800.

Among the many legends born in the Baltimore region, few are more revered than Frederick Douglass. Raised on a plantation on the Eastern Shore, the freed slave turned iconic abolitionist became one of the country’s most widely-read authors and famed orators. Throughout his lifetime, he preached about universal human rights, educated other slaves, and became the first African American to receive a nominating vote for president. Celebrate his 200th birthday and honor his historic legacy at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum this Saturday with lectures by historians Dr. John Stauffer and Dr. Lawrence Jackson, readings of Douglass’s speeches by history re-enactors, and a children’s art and story hour with illustrator London Ladd.

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]]> Culture Club: The Cone Sisters, The Community Project, and the African-American Arts Festival https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/artsentertainment/culture-club-the-cone-sisters-the-community-project-and-the-african-american-arts-festival/ Thu, 01 Feb 2018 08:30:00 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=28022

Visual Art

Reflections: Intimate Portraits of Iconic African Americans
Photographer Terrence A. Reese’s career has led him to take portraits of such stars as Lauryn Hill and George Clinton. The artist, who goes by TAR, will exhibit a selection of his work at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum this month in the show Reflections: Intimate Portraits of Iconic African Americans. Black-and-white images will depict such luminaries as the Nicholas Brothers and Gordon Parks in their natural environments and living spaces so as to better reflect who they are, through their personal objects, style, and the context of their lives. Wednesdays through Sundays, Feb. 1 through Aug. 12, at Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt St.

Artist talk with Shirin Neshat
Iranian artist Shirin Neshat explores gender, identity, and politics in her work, as well as the differences in culture between the West and Muslim countries. Because she tackles such complex themes, there is no shortage of questions and discussion surrounding her work. It also makes her a perfect candidate for MICA’s Mixed Media lecture series, which brings to Baltimore artists from across the globe. For this installment, Neshat will be in conversation with Baltimore Museum of Art Director Christopher Bedford. 7 p.m. Feb. 15 at Falvey Hall, Brown Center, 1301 W. Mount  Mount Royal Ave.

Music

Charm City Django Jazz Fest
Nothing like some live gypsy jazz to add a little heat to a cold winter’s day. Creative Alliance has got us covered with not one but three days of its annual Charm City Django Jazz Fest, which will bring in acts from across the region and world, including headliner Samson Schmiit, a legendary Manouche gypsy guitarist from France. Swing on by to see Sara L’abriola, Ultrafaux, ‘Nuff Said, and others, to experience a range of styles within the genre. Feb. 23 to 25 at the Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave.

Out of Darkness: Two Remain
A new opera looks at what you might consider atypical Holocaust survivors: one, a political prisoner, and the other a homosexual Protestant, both of whom used words to overcome the traumas of captivity during the war. World-renowned composer Jake Heggie developed the two-act opera based on the true stories of these characters who “survive through their poetry,” says Garnett Bruce, stage director of the Peabody Chamber Opera’s production of the piece. Feb. 8 through 11 at Theatre Project, 45 W. Preston St. The composer and librettist will attend opening night, with a talk following the show.

Theater

Constellations & Crossroads
Constellations & Crossroads is a theatrical double-header steeped in American history and exploding with life. Baltimore Rock Opera Society partnered with Arena Players, Baltimore’s historic African-American community theater, to present two short musicals in their entirety, backed by a live band. The Determination of Azimuth tells the story of Katherine Johnson, a black mathematician who worked for NASA and was responsible for comp[uting paths for rocket ships sent into space. Battle of Blue Apple Crossing leans more on fiction to tell the tale of blues legend Robert Johnson, said to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for musical ability. The score follows America’s musical heritage from field spirituals to rock ’n’ roll to garage rock. 8 p.m. Feb. 9 through 18 at Arena Players’ venue at 801 McCulloh St.

All She Must Possess
The Rep Stage premiere of All She Must Possess tells the story of Baltimore’s famed Cone sisters, Claribel and Etta, extravagant world travelers and collectors of art and curios. During the early 20th century, they stored thousands of paintings—including work by Matisse and Picasso, among other greats—in their homes, amassing what would become one of the world’s largest collections of modern art (a large portion would eventually be housed at the Baltimore Museum of Art, where it is today). In the theatrical version of their lives, written by University of Maryland Baltimore County professor Susan McCully and directed by Rep Stage artistic director Joseph W. Ritsch, paintings come to life and Gertrude Stein—Etta’s lover—makes an appearance. Coinciding with the play is an exhibition of historical women’s clothing from the Cone sisters’ time, on display at Howard Community College’s Rouse Company Foundation Gallery through March 11. The play runs Feb. 8 to 25 at Rep Stage at Howard Community College.

Dance

The Community Project
Each year, The Collective pulls together dancers from the community and pairs them with a professional choreographer to develop the Community Project performance. This year, 22 dancers—ranging in age from teens to baby boomers and across all skill levels—met on several cold January weekends to rehearse under dancer Caitlin McAfee for this year’s show, which is but one component to the Baltimore Dance Invitational. Set to Indian Wells’ song “Cascades,” the group will show through movement how the mind races, gets distracted, and follows its own trails of thought. Gordon Center for Performing Arts on Thursday, February 15, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 15 at the Gordon Center for Performing Arts, 3506 Gwynnbrook Ave., Owings Mills. 

Beyonce vs Rihanna Dance Party: Round 2
The Ottobar event flier states it best: “Are you ‘Drunk In Love’ or ‘Drunk On Love’?!” At the Beyonce vs Rihanna Dance Party, that is precisely the question. And also, are you ready to duke it out—through dance, of course, to support your diva de jour. The dance party battle will light up with Beyonce tracks from DJ Mills and Rihanna tracks from Ottobar owner Craig Boarman. 9 p.m. Feb. 16 at the Ottobar, 2549 N. Howard St.

Miscellanea

African-American Arts Festival
The University of Baltimore helps us to celebrate Black History Month specifically through art at its annual African-American Arts Festival. Its offerings span an array of artistic mediums: film, visual art, music, theater. Some highlights: a panel with Black Ladies Brunch Crew of D.C., an African drumming circle, readings of Langston Hughes poetry spliced with live, improvised jazz piano, and a screening of Jonathan Demme’s film of Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved. Feb. 15 to 18 at the University of Baltimore, 1420 N. Charles St.

Exhibit of Original Costumes

We may be 2,500 miles from Hollywood, but John Klisavage brings us a touch of its wonder by way of costume. At his bookstore in Havre De Grace, he’s displaying several outfits worn in major motion pictures, including Hunger Games and The Notebook. February and March at Washington Street Books & Music, 131 N. Washington St., Havre De Grace.

A culinary documentary on Basque cuisine
Parkway Theater has teamed up with a local restaurant to bring a food and film pairing, naturally. After a screening of The Txoko Experience: The Secret Culinary Space of The Basques, scriptwriter Marcela Garces and director Yuri Morejon will answer any questions the audience has, and then . . . everyone can partake in the food portion of the evening: passed pintxos from the Basque-inspired La Cuchara restaurant. Renowned Basque chefs serve as narrators of the culinary documentary, which explores Txokos, groups of people who gather to explore innovative and experimental ways of cooking. As Morejon puts it, “Txokos represent a distinctive, albeit enigmatic element of Basque gastronomy. As the private temples of traditional Basque cuisine, they captivate people with their warmth, ambiance, and great respect for fresh products.” 7 p.m. Feb. 22 Parkway Theater, 5 W. North Ave.

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]]> Black History Month Events, Exhibits, and Tours https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/events/black-history-month-events-exhibits-and-tours/ Wed, 31 Jan 2018 08:30:00 +0000 http://server2.local/BIT-SPRING/baltimoremagazine.com/html/?post_type=article&p=2084

BLACK HISTORY MONTH AT THE B&O
2/1-28. B&O Railroad Museum, 901 W. Pratt St. Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Free-$20. Learn about the historic contributions of African Americans to the United States railroad industry.

FREEDOM: EMANCIPATION QUILTED & STITCHED
TO 2/28. Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt St. Wed.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun. 12-5 p.m. Free-$8. This new exhibit features documentary-style story quilts that honor the lives and legacies of people of color in Maryland.

AFRICAN AMERICANS WHO SERVED DURING WARTIME
2/10. Benjamin Banneker Historical Park & Museum, 300 Oella Ave., Catonsville. 1:30-3 p.m. Free. Celebrate two decades of the park and commemorate Banneker relatives who served during times of war.

JOHNS HOPKINS BLACK HISTORY MONTH STUDENT COMPETITION & EXHIBITION
2/24-3/4. Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave. Tues.-Sat. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Free. Southeast Baltimore students showcase artworks inspired by and featuring historical black figures.

VISIONARY ARTISTS OF COLOR
2/14. American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Hwy. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Free-$15.95. In honor of Frederick Douglass’ 200th birthday, enjoy a self-guided tour through the art museum’s collection to view works by African Americans and other artists of color.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH TEEN LISTENING PARTY
2/6-27. Enoch Pratt Free Library, 3601 Eastern Ave. Tues. 3-4 p.m. Free. Throughout the month, young adults can listen to the works of celebrated black authors.

CIRQUE ZUMA ZUMA WITH TRADITIONAL AFRICAN DANCE
2/15. Goucher College, 1021 Dulaney Valley Rd., Towson. 10:15 a.m. & 12 p.m. $9. This lively performance includes music, dance, and acrobatics to create an African-style Cirque du Soleil.

TELL THEM WE ARE RISING
2/18. Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt St. 2 p.m. Free. During this documentary film screening, learn about the pivotal role historically black colleges and universities have played in American history.

I HAVE A DREAM: THE LIFE & TIMES OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
2/22. Goucher College, 1021 Dulaney Valley Rd., Towson. 10:15 a.m. & 12 p.m. $9. Performance artists present this biographical dramatization about the legendary civil rights leader.

ANNAPOLIS AFRICAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE TOUR
2/17. City Dock, Annapolis. 1-3 p.m. Free-$20. Explore the history and culture of Maryland’s African-American community through this guided walking tour.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS PATH TO FREEDOM WALKING TOURS
TO 9/3. 800 S. Broadway. Times vary. $7-15. These guided walking tours take history buffs through the iconic abolitionist’s life in Fells Point.

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]]> The Launch: February 2018 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/events/the-launch-best-events-baltimore-february-2018/ Mon, 29 Jan 2018 08:30:00 +0000 http://server2.local/BIT-SPRING/baltimoremagazine.com/html/?post_type=article&p=2094

Spencer Finch: Moon Dust
Feb. 21-Oct. 2024. The Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Dr. Wed.-Sun. 10 a.m – 5 p.m. Free. 443-573-1700. The Baltimore Museum of Art adds a light installation inspired by lunar dust. Mankind’s eternal fascination with the moon has inspired generations to marvel at the orb’s bright, serene presence in our nighttime sky. Now Brooklyn-based artist Spencer Finch is using the moon’s alluring luster as inspiration for the BMA’s new installation, Moon Dust, on view February 21 through October 13, 2024. For the next six years, Finch will dangle some 150 chandeliers (each one boasting 417 bulbs) from the museum’s ceiling, using a variety of lights to mimic the chemical composition of the moon’s surface as collected during the 1972 lunar landing mission of Apollo 17. But much like the real celestial body, you don’t need to know a lot about chemistry or science to let it light up your imagination.

Feb Launch Band

Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

Feb. 6. Modell Performing Arts Center at The Lyric, 140 W. Mt. Royal Ave. 8 p.m. $29-56. 410-900-1150. In the 11 years since this Alabama native ditched the Drive-By Truckers to go it alone, his widely successful solo career has proved he made the right decision. With two Grammys under his belt, the Americana songwriter returns to Baltimore with his all-star band for a night of pared-down folk songs you won’t forget.

Feb Launch Douglas

Frederick Douglass Day 

Feb. 10. Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt St. 12-4 p.m. Free-$8. 443-263-1800. Among the many legends born in the Baltimore region, few are more revered than Frederick Douglass. Raised on the Eastern Shore, the freed slave turned iconic abolitionist, author, and orator spent many years in and around Charm City. This year, celebrate his 200th birthday and honor his historic legacy with readings and a children’s storytime at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum.

Feb Launch Martin

Steve Martin and Martin Short 

Feb. 16. Modell Performing Arts Center at The Lyric, 140 W. Mt. Royal Ave. 8 p.m. $85-235. 410-900-1150. Steve Martin and Martin Short have earned their reputations as comedic titans through their decades-long careers that included such memorable collaborations as Father of the Bride, Three Amigos, and, of course, Saturday Night Live. These funny men are teaming up again for a rare night of double-billed comedy full of off-kilter humor at The Lyric.

Feb Launch Beer

Max’s Belgian Beer Fest 

Feb. 16-19. Max’s Taphouse, 737 S. Broadway. 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Free. 410-675-6297. Take shelter from the cold weather this February at one of Baltimore’s most hallowed haunts, Max’s Taphouse, during its annual Belgian Beer Fest in the heart of Fells Point. With more than 200 bottles and beers on tap, you can sip on your favorite local brews or go bold with European rarities not commonly found in the U.S. The pub will also be offering Belgium-inspired grub such as cheese platters and frites to help soak up the suds.

Feb Launch Lunar

Lunar New Year Celebration 

Feb. 18. The Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. 410-547-9000. In these uncertain times, we may all feel like we could use a little more luck. On cue, The Walters is bringing together Chinese and Korean dance troupes to perform a traditional Lunar New Year celebration meant to ward off bad luck and usher in good fortune. The museum’s Year of the Dog festivities also feature live music and fun arts activities for the kids.

Feb Launch Car

Fueling the Automobile Age 
 
Feb. 23. Baltimore Museum of Industry, 1415 Key Hwy. Tues.-Sun. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free-$12. 410-717-4808. When people think of oil, they usually think of big-time tycoons in Texas, not little old Baltimore City. But the BMI’s newest permanent exhibition explores all the ways our town contributed to the booming age of automobiles, thanks in large part to former oil heavyweights like Amoco and Crown. Visitors can learn about America’s love of cars by piling into a real 1962 Chrysler Newport station wagon, pumping fuel at a mock gas station, and viewing advertisements from the car heydays of the mid-20th century.

Feb Launch Craft

American Craft Show 

Feb. 23-25. Baltimore Convention Center, 1 W. Pratt St. Fri. 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. $14-34. 612-206-3100. Whether you’re looking for a bold piece of furniture to complete your living room or a fabulous piece of statement jewelry, the American Craft Council’s annual show has you covered. With more than 650 artists hailing from Baltimore and beyond, there are thousands of one-of-a-kind finds, ranging from handmade clothing to fine art and even whiskey.

Feb Launch Jazz

Django Jazz Fest 

Feb. 23-25. Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave. Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. $23-72. 410-276-1651. When Belgian jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt lost movement in two of his fingers after a fire, he taught himself to play with the other three, and in the process birthed an entire genre that is now called Gypsy Jazz, an energetic, swinging style that swept the early 20th century. Revel in the form during this weekend celebration featuring music by the likes of Baltimore’s beloved jazz group Ultrafaux and international guitar star Samson Schmitt.

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