SHAN Wallace’s latest collage is full of life—people young and old, sitting, standing, eating, dancing, all amidst a colorful array of signs hawking everything from crab meat and oysters to lake trout and snowballs. And through it all, there is one main character, which serves as both the backdrop of many of these photographs and the artwork’s ultimate destination: Lexington Market.

“I’ve been going to Lexington Market for most of my life,” says Wallace, 31, an East Baltimore native who grew up visiting the historic downtown landmark, circa 1782, with family and friends. “As a photographer, I felt called to document its history.”

Last year, in partnership with market developer Seawall Development, the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts, and the Municipal Art Society of Baltimore City, Lexington Market chose four teams of local artists to decorate its new digs, which, after two years of construction, are slated to open this month between Paca and Eutaw streets near Fayette.

Created with the help of food historian and High on the Hog author Jessica B. Harris, Wallace’s collage, pictured behind the artist above, will serve as a sort of centerpiece for the new space. At 31 by 14 feet, it will be printed on fabric and installed above a sprawling central staircase, featuring images from both her Golden Time of the Hour and The Avenue series, both of which depict Black life in Baltimore with spirit and care.

“This is my offering to Lexington Market and to the people of Baltimore,” says Wallace of her work, which has yet to be named, noting that its creation required many visits to the market. “Because this is a piece that will be hanging for a really long time, and because of the pressure I put on myself, I didn’t want to [omit any aspects] of the market.”

“I’m hoping that this art helps us remember the old market of our lifetime.”

Other art will include murals envisioned by Ernest Shaw, sculptures by both of the mother-son duo Oletha DeVane and Christopher Kojzar, and metal artists Reed Bmore and Nick Ireys. For each, the mission was clear: to bridge the gap between the old Lexington and the new.

A painter and educator, Shaw was commissioned to curate four 16-foot murals on the market exterior, which, like Wallace’s installation, celebrate the Black Baltimoreans who frequented the market and the Black culture that proliferated there. He enlisted the help of his mentor, Morgan State University art professor Guy Jones, and fellow painter Christopher Batten.

“Sometimes, new facilities and new things change the ethos of a treasure—I hope that doesn’t happen here,” says Shaw. “Lexington Market is a full, complete, authentic depiction of Baltimore City. I want people to look at my work and feel that they’re a part of this shiny new building.”

At 53 years old, the West Baltimore native remembers childhood visits with his father and brother to Lexington Market, where they would purchase pound cake, Utz potato chips, and Polish sausages.

“When I was only three or four years old, I would walk with my dad from our apartment on Division Street to Lexington, downtown,” says Shaw, noting that it was also an afternoon hangout after high school with classmates. “As young adults, some of those same friends became jazz musicians and they would perform there.”

As for Wallace, she hopes her installation will help preserve the magic of that market of so many Baltimoreans’ memories.

“I’m hoping that this art helps us remember the old market of our lifetime—remember the people who made this market good, remember the old days, and celebrate them,” she says.

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

 EAT

June 3: Taste of 3 Cities

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

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

 DRINK

June 2: Station North Tool Library Happy Hour

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

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

 SEE

June 2-3: Nights on the Fringe

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

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

 HEAR

June 2: Natural Velvet

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

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

 DO

June 2: Good Fridays Baltimore

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

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