BmoreArt

This Week: Rapid Lemon Productions’ Give Me Moonlight, Iron Crow Theatre’s Rocky Horror – Valentine’s Edition, Rendition by Zoë Charlton at Union Market DC, Creative Alliance Resident Artist Talks, and more!

BmoreArt’s Picks presents the best weekly art openings, events, and performances happening in Baltimore and surrounding areas. For a more comprehensive perspective, check the BmoreArt Calendar page, which includes ongoing exhibits and performances, and is updated on a daily basis.

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Hotel Indigo // Make Studio | Reception
Thursday, February 6 • 5:30-7:30pm
@ Hotel Indigo

Maryland Art Place (MAP) and Hotel Indigo, are pleased to present an exhibition in partnership with Make Studio and the individuals they service. Make Studio is a 501(c)3 community-based arts organization in Baltimore, MD, envisioning a world of acceptance and inclusion where art opens doors for everyone. Artworks by Make Studio artists will be hung in Hotel Indigo’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats. The reception will be held on Thursday, February 6th from 5:30 to 7:30pm.

Rapid Lemon Productions Presents: Give Me Moonlight by Ariel Mitchell
Friday, February 7  (ongoing through February 16)
@ Motor House

Rapid Lemon Productions opens its 2020 season at Motor House with Ariel Mitchell’s “Give Me Moonlight”, a surreal journey through the lonely places of 20th century America.

Some sorrow has to be shared. “Give Me Moonlight” is about the sorrow that is so deep that it can barely be felt let alone acknowledged in the bright light of day.

“Give Me Moonlight” received a staged reading by the Dramatists Guild in 2017, and receives its world premiere production with RLP directed by Noah Silas. Tickets are available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4315367.

Iron Crow Theatre Presents: The Rocky Horror Show – Valentine’s Day Edition!
Friday, February 7 (ongoing through February 16)
@ Baltimore Theatre Project

Baltimore’s award-winning and favorite tradition, The Rocky Horror Show, returns with a Valentine’s Day spin like you’ve never seen before! Experience this quintessential queer theatrical experience live on stage — complete with call-outs, cascading toilet paper, and an array of other audience participation props. In this live stage musical best known for the 1980’s cult film, sweethearts Brad and Janet, stuck with a flat tire during a storm, seek shelter at a mysterious old castle on a dark and stormy night, where they encounter transvestite scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter. As their innocence is lost, Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rocking biker and a creepy butler. Through elaborate dances and rock songs, Dr. Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation: a muscular man named “Rocky.” Bring your sweetheart (or sweethearts!) to this deliberately kitschy rock ‘n’ roll sci-fi gothic thriller, now more daring and outrageous than ever!

RISE 2020, Suzy Kopf, and Amarist | Reception
Friday, February 7 • 6-9pm
@ IA&A Hillyer

Join us at Hillyer every first Friday of the month during First Friday Dupont Art Walk! Hillyer presents three new exhibitions featuring Amarist, Suzy Kopf, and “RISE 2020.” The artists will be present to talk about their work with visitors at the reception on Friday, February 7, 2020 from 6-9, sponsored by Boqueria and The Bier Baron Tavern and Comedy Loft.

See more Hillyer Program & Events at bit.ly/HillyerEvents

City Arts 2020 | Opening Reception
Friday, February 7 • 6-9pm
@ City Arts

Join your neighbors at Gallery CA for City Arts 2020, Gallery CA’s first resident show of the new decade. Opening reception Friday February 7th. Show on view until Monday February 24th

Renovations | Gallery Talk
Saturday, February 8 • 2-3:30pm
@ Carroll Mansion

Ongoing through March 15

Renovations: A Story of Edifice and Ecclesiastical Influences on 19th-Century African American Education

In this immersive exhibition, strikeWare Collective weaves traditional and new media to present a visual experience about the institutions, educators and progenitors who shaped how Baltimore’s Black community acquired formal training and knowledge.

The exhibition examines Black education in Baltimore from the essential role of churches such as Bethel AME in the antebellum era to the first public schools available to Black students after the Civil War. RENOVATIONS uses the Peale Center building, known historically as “Male and Female Colored School Number 1” to begin to look at the Black experience in Baltimore throughout history. In addition to a critical examination of historical and contemporary segregation in Baltimore City public schools, the show tracks the nine students who graduated from School Number 1 in 1889 – Baltimore’s first all-Black high school graduating class.

Rendition by Zoë Charlton | Opening Reception
Saturday, February 4 • 4-6pm
@ Mobile Art Gallery, Union Market

Charlton’s latest exhibition, “Rendition,” addresses cultural identity, race, commodity and cultural tokenism. The exhibit will be on view in CulturalDC’s Mobile Art Gallery from Feb. 8 to March 22. An opening reception will be held Feb. 8 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Mobile Art Gallery. The Gallery will be placed outside the main entrance to Union Market, 1309 5th Street, NE.

“My hope is that this installation sparks a conversation about the commercialization of culture and how race and cultural identity play a role in so many aspects of our lives, frequently without us even noticing,” said Charlton. “‘Rendition’ asks viewers to think about how blackness is used to sell everything from clothing and shoes to African sculptures.”

“CulturalDC purposely places its mobile exhibitions in locations that contextualize the art,” said Executive Director Kristi Maiselman. “It’s no coincidence that Zoë’s exhibit is on view in Washington, D.C.’s lively warehouse and market district.”

The Gallery is open Wednesday to Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. Admission is free. “Rendition” is made possible in partnership with the Union Market District and EDENS.

When We Do What We Want | Artist Reception
Saturday, February 8 • 5-8pm
@ Fleckenstein Gallery

New Works by Mary Swann and Jack Livingston

This exhibition celebrates the core impulses of creativity – the freedom to alter, question, and change.  The recent work by these two artists, engaged in new experimentation and playfulness, expands upon and transforms their more familiar styles.

Resident Artist Open House & 10 Minutes Tops Artist Talks
Sunday, February 9 • 5-9pm
@ Creative Alliance

Our resident artists have 10 minutes TOPS to present their work, perform, or invite special guests on stage. Following the talks you can head upstairs to explore the artists studios.

Whether you’re interested in learning more about Creative Alliance’s Residency Program or you just want to meet our artists (including four new residents), this event promises to be entertaining and insightful.

Resident Artists: Christopher Batten, Claudia Capelle, Jani Hileman, Kei Ito, Charles Mason III, Murjoni Merriweather, MJ Neuberger, and Adam Rosenblatt

5-7pm – Artist Talks

7-9pm – Open Studios & Resident Group Exhibition Celebration