BmoreArt

This Week: We are featuring online events that you can participate in from the comfort of your own home, as well as a few resources to support ongoing protests against police brutality.

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.

To submit your calendar event, email us at [email protected]!

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We’ll send you our top stories of the week, selected event listings, and our favorite calls for entry—right to your inbox every Tuesday.

We stand in solidarity with current protests and denounce the systemic racism, violence, and police brutality that are widespread in this country.

Here is a primer on “how to protest safely in the age of surveillance.” Here is a list of bail funds, organized by state and city, maintained by the National Bail Fund Network. Bail funds are critical right now as protesters are arrested—here is an explainer on bail reform, which also explains the useful of these funds. And here is a list of ways to help if you are not able to protest.

Design for Distancing | Call for Entry

deadline June 7
sponsored by The Neighborhood Design Center

During this period of national tumult and trauma, the organizers of the Design for Distancing: Reopening Baltimore Together design competition want to offer additional time and space. In that spirit, they have extended the submission deadline for Concept Sketches to 11:59 p.m. on June 7th. They welcome ideas from everyone – from established designers, architects and makers to anyone with a bright and bold idea.

Art United – Together We Stand | Call for Entry

deadline June 30
sponsored by New York Art Competitions

Our goal is to raise funds to support non-profit organizations assisting artists facing financial hardships due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Accepted mediums are painting, sculpture, photography, drawing, mixed media, and print.

Awards:

• 1st place – Exhibition space at the Agora Gallery booth @ Artexpo NY
• 2nd place – Agora Gallery digital representation package
• 3rd place – 3 X artist personal websites
• 4th place – 10 X free entry coupons for an art competition

Enter now for an opportunity to win one of these wonderful prizes and support your fellow artists.

All proceeds from the entry fees will be donated.

Deadline – June 30th
Results – July 27th

The Maryland Performing Artist Touring Roster | Call for Applications

deadline July 1
sponsored by Maryland State Arts Council

The Maryland Performing Artist Touring Roster is a curated list of Maryland-based artists who have a demonstrated history of successful, professional touring engagements. MSAC uses the roster to promote artistic collaboration between Maryland touring artists and Maryland presenters with the goal of increasing touring engagements for Maryland professional performing artists.

• Maryland Touring Grant funding is available to eligible Maryland-based non-profit organizations to support Roster Artist booking fees.

• MSAC promotes the Roster and funding opportunities to presenters.

• New! MSAC’s new website (coming in late summer 2020) will allow each Roster artist to update their profile with current booking information and work samples and provide  easier navigation and search capabilities for presenters.

Applications for the Roster are now available. Applicants must submit an application by clicking here. Guidelines and further details may be found here.

Made In Baltimore Film Festival | Call for Submissions

deadline August 15
hosted by Creative Alliance

Festival Screening Date: SAT SEP 26, 2020
This festival honors and awards the best filmmakers in the Greater Baltimore region. We’ll select short films that push the envelope and inspire audiences to view film and video through a uniquely Baltimore lens. Made In Baltimore will accept fiction, documentary, animation, experimental, horror, mockumentary—you name it! Submissions will be judged on technical excellence, originality, and Baltimore flavor. Those who live, work, or study in Baltimore are encouraged to submit. Films selected to be in this film festival will each be awarded cash prizes!

Color & Identity in the Ancient World, Online Talk

wednesday, June 3 • 1pm
hosted by SODA

Color has always been essential to both life and art. How could some colors be lost over time, and what are the textual and visual clues for reconstructing them? What role did color play in constructing and (re)presenting identity?

Join the Society of Design Arts and AIGA Baltimore for online talks that will explore the connections between color, emotion, and identity in the ancient world.

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS

Rosanne Liebermann is the Friedman Postdoctoral Fellow in Jewish Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. She received her Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible and Northwest Semitic Philology from Johns Hopkins University in 2019. Her research is on how the book of Ezekiel uses body imagery to construct Judean identity.

Michele Asuni is a doctoral candidate in Classics at Johns Hopkins University. His research explores the aesthetics of color in ancient Greece, with a particular focus on the relationship between color, affect and emotion in Greek culture.

HOW TO ATTEND THE EVENT

1) This event will be online using Zoom. Click here to register for free

2) Please ensure you download the app for your computer or mobile device prior to the event here on Zoom

3) Registered attendees will receive a link and password when they complete their registration. The link and password will also be sent 24 hours and 1 hour before the event. Make sure to check your spam folder for the email.

HIGH FREQUENCY: A BENEFIT IN SUPPORT OF ARTISTS AND WPA

** postponed**
hosted by Washington Project for the Arts

Washington Project for the Arts (WPA) is thrilled to present HIGH FREQUENCY: A BENEFIT IN SUPPORT OF ARTISTS AND WPA, hosted online in partnership with Artsy.

HIGH FREQUENCY replaces Collectors’ Night this year, offering an amazing selection of nearly 200 artworks by artists living in the DC area and beyond. MacArthur Genius Award winners Ida Applebroog and Fred Wilson, 2001 Turner Prize winner Martin Creed, Sherman Fleming, linn meyers, Maggie Michael, and Jonathan Monaghan are among the artists participating.  You can view the catalog online here

50% of the sale proceeds will go directly to the participating artists, and the other 50% will provide crucial operating support to WPA, enabling WPA to continue producing artist-driven programs throughout the year while adapting to new challenges and a changed environment.

The auction will be live from Thursday, June 4 to Thursday, June 18. By the end of this month, you will be able to preview the artworks online, sign-up for updates, and register to bid before the auction goes live.

Locus amoenus, Locus terribilis & Safe House | Online Exhibitions

Thursday, June 4 | Ongoing through June 24
hosted by Maryland Art Place

Maryland Art Place (MAP) is pleased to be partnering with the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA’s) Curatorial Practices Program this spring. MAP will be hosting two exhibitions simultaneously by students of the program.

Locus amoenus, Locus terribilis is a multimedia group exhibition curated by Ashley He with works by artists: Antonio McAfee, Cooper Holoweski, Rebecca Ou, Dana Matthews, and Seungkyung Oh. The exhibition explores the transformation of the human body and psyche under various apocalyptic conditions, tracing the emergence of progression or degeneration in the endless cycle of birth, death, and re-birth.

Locus amoenus, Locus terribilis also examines the development and aftermath of human-related cataclysmic events at various levels from interpersonal to global, using forms of hybridity to break the boundaries between the real and imagined, the physical and metaphysical, the known and unknown. The title Locus amoenus, Locus terribilis derives from the Roman poet Ovid’s Metamorphoses, meaning the place of pleasure and the place of fear, referring to this sharp contrast in human beings, humanity, and the world. Locus amoenus, Locus terribilis provides an opportunity for artists and audiences to investigate the decisions and actions that led us to our current reality, the repercussions of those decisions and actions in a time of crisis, and the labyrinthine complexity of the relationship between the individual, humanity, and the environment.

Locus amoenus, Locus terribilis urges for deep contemplation about: What happens in the time of awaiting the advent of this final destination of humanity? When it comes to our fatal reality, how can we move forward? What does it mean to see life as a series of violent and radical transformations? Whether considering an apocalypse as the world without human beings, the fall of civilization, life after the deluge, personal tragedy, religious prophecy, or natural disaster, the artists and their works in this show which in turn prompt us to grow in the place of the perilous, ruminating on the radical transformations humans have wrought, speculating as to what it means to be human and how we might continue as a species

Safe House curated by Sungah Kang features the artwork of seven feminist artists based in Korea and the US. Each artist expresses their own perspectives on Feminism in different mediums. Artworks range from pop art painted images, video, collage and ground installation. From the various angles of feminism, Safe House contains diversities in big movement. As most of the artists are in Korea, the exhibition promotes cross-cultural understanding for visitors based here in Baltimore. Exhibiting artists include: HeeJung Nam, Gyeongyeon Kim, Youngjoo Cho, Sunwoo Jung, Gyuwon Kim, and Seyun Moon.

Feminism in Korea only really began to take root as a radical movement in the 1980s, and it remains controversial in public discourse. However, in the past few years the women’s movement in Korea has grown into a sizable online community thanks to social networking sites. It has also manifested in public actions and demonstrations, particularly in response to the #MeToo movement.

This global revolution to assert the rights of—and respect for—women’s social phenomenon has already transformed attitudes in gender, politics/social awareness/cultural standards in schools, workplaces, and life, generally, and has inspired women to speak courageously and publicly. But despite its evolution, it is still difficult in Korea for anyone to declare “I am a feminist.” Claiming to be feminist is some in Korean society and keep could cost you friendships or other relationships —in fact, it’s possible that you could be physically attacked for it.

Since I know how difficult it is for Korean women to be the feminist, as a curator, I’m holding a feminism show comprised of Korean women artists and am building this ‘Safe House’ for them to speak their aims.

In light of COVID-19, we are all in an unprecedented and difficult moment. Every aspect of life has been interrupted, including cultural programming. As a response to the current uncertainty,  Ashley He,  Sungah Kang,  and MAP are launching an online exhibition which will also document the transition of this project under the pandemic. The online exhibition will be hosted on MAP’s new virtual exhibitions page  June 4 – June 27.

Virtual Program: Quarantine Fashion: A Love Letter to Baltimore Vintage

** cancelled **
hosted by Maryland Historical Society

Alexandra Deutsch whose vintage persona on Instagram is @volumes_of_vintage, is a fashion historian, vintage collector and creator of the #lovelettertobaltimorevintage social media campaign. In her talk, Quarantine Fashion: A Love Letter to Baltimore Vintage she will discuss the phenomenon of fashion in quarantine. Her illustrated chat will explore how people are connecting through clothing not only in Baltimore, but on a global scale. By highlighting various fashion in quarantine campaigns such as the ones created by local art and fashion influencers like Bmore Art and Baltimore Snap, she will explore how shopping your own closet to express yourself when you are just staying home can be a means of linking people together in new and interesting ways. Great fashion, like all great arts, is so often born out of tragedy and this inspiring talk will explore a side of fashion, and vintage in particular, that is about connectivity and community.

This virtual program is free and open to all audiences; however, registration is required. After registering for the webinar, attendees will receive an automated confirmation email with connection instructions. We will connect via Zoom which is available for free download here: https://zoom.us/download.

Here is the registration link.

Creatives Connect: The Art of Activism

Thursday, June 4 • 7-8:30pm
hosted by Banneker-Douglass Museum Foundation

Join us for a “Virtual BDM” online panel discussion exploring art as a tool to improve social justice in African American communities in Maryland. Speakers will share their experiences with the Black Vote Mural Project, voter suppression, mass incarceration, and policies that adversely affect communities of color.
Meet the Panelists
Greta Chapin-McGill studied painting and art history at Howard University and The Corcoran School of Fine Art. She spent time living in Florence, Italy, the birthplace of renaissance art. The museums and churches throughout Tuscany became pivotal influences along with color and “absorbed DNA” of artists of the diaspora, such as Jacob Lawrence, Lois Mailou Jones, and Romere Bearden. Most recently Chapin McGill visited and sketched in the studio of Paul Cezzane in Aix-en-Provence, France. Her international influences have produced an artist finding color, music and sensuality in everything.

Jabari C Jefferson is a mixed media trained artist born and raised in Washington DC. Expressing creativity since a young child, Jabari confirmed his pursuits in the arts after displaying his work in the Washington Kennedy Center at the age of eight. Jabari later went on to study at Lincoln University PA; but finished his undergrad degree at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago studying advance painting and film directing. Through SAIC, he traveled abroad completing his first residency in Umbria, Italy. Since then, Jabari has been focusing on developing his studio practice, as well exhibiting throughout the east coast.

Michael “Zaki” Smith is a policy entrepreneur at Next100 and an entrepreneur and activist with more than fifteen years of experience in youth empowerment and social justice. At Next100, Zaki’s work focuses on dismantling the collateral consequences of incarceration. As a formerly incarcerated person, Zaki has felt the full impact of collateral consequences. In 2017, Zaki lost his ability to work in a school he had worked in for five years all because of a past criminal record. In 2018, he co-founded Feast for Fair Chance, an organization with a mission to increase awareness around the 47,000+ policies that continue the silent life sentence of “perpetual punishment” for formerly incarcerated individuals after their terms are served. Feast for Fair Chance aims to change national legislation in the key areas that most impact an individual’s ability to reintegrate into society post-incarceration, including employment, housing, education, and voting.

Join us at https://gotomeet.me/creativesconnectmd

This event is made possible by the support of Four Rivers Heritage Area, Maryland Humanities, the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture, and the Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives.

Cherry Hill Arts & Music Waterfront Festival

Thursday, June 4 • time TBA
hosted by Cherry Hill Community Coalition

The Covid-19 pandemic has altered the way arts and entertainment functions for the foreseeable future. Local organizations have devised ways to continue to bring joy and community to the people they serve.

On Saturday, July 4, 2020, the Cherry Hill Arts & Music Waterfront Festival will hold a free and virtual benefit concert. Lineup, streaming information and time will be announced at a later date.

“Cherry Hill Arts & Music Waterfront Festival organizers remain committed to providing long- term arts education and experiences that serve as a cultural and social/emotional lifeline for children, youth and elders in Cherry Hill,” said Navasha Daya, festival co-director and Youth Resiliency Institute director of the healing and performing arts.

Organizers transitioned the festival to virtual format after guidance and instruction from local and state authorities. “Through our virtual benefit concert, we will use art to create a space where all are welcome and reminded that art has no boundaries, even during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Daya said.

The festival will raise funds for critical educational arts and crafts supplies in the Cherry Hill community. There are opportunities for supporters to donate to the festival arts relief fund leading up to and during the virtual concert.

“We hope that this year’s virtual festival serves as a beacon of hope during this difficult time,” said playwright and great-grandmother Shirley Foulks of the Mama Shirley’s Cultural Arts & Wellness Center, who co-founded the festival in 2017 with cultural arts organizer and Youth Resiliency Institute executive director, Fanon Hill.

The center, named in Foulks’ honor and located in the heart of the Cherry Hill Community, partners with the Waterfront Festival to provide yearlong arts education, arts mentorship and outreach with a focus on cross-generational arts engagement.

Equally important, the center provides important arts training and employment opportunities for Cherry Hill artists so that they can become better at their own creative practice and experience a greater level of visibility and sustainability.

Since early March, festival organizers have been working in partnership with Cherry Hill-based organizations helping to distribute food and care packages to residents facing hardships as a direct result of the COVID-19 crisis. Equally important, festival organizers have been working to strengthen critical art-based educational supports for children and youth in the South Baltimore’s Cherry Hill community.

“Cultural arts provides that avenue of exploration, connectivity, and creativity. Without it, our children may see their world, during this pandemic, as one that restricts and offers no opportunity for the expression of life!” said Cherry Hill Community Education Coordinator Peggy Jackson-Jobe.

For more information, visit www.cherryhillfest.com or connect on social media at @cherryhillfest.baltimore or using hashtags: #CherryHillFest #HistoricCherryHill #CherryHillVirtual

ART ESCAPE DRIVE-THRU: Unveiling of The Platform Gallery featuring artist Theresa Chromati

Friday, June 5 • 5-8pm
hosted by Delaware Contemporary Museum

Join us for this unique, inside-out art opening and enjoy art and entertainment from the comfort of your own vehicle! In lieu of First Friday Art Loop, we’ve planned a drive-thru event at The Delaware Contemporary to debut The Platform Gallery, our exterior gallery and launch pad for our new public art initiative. This inaugural show, Stepping Out to Step In, features three massive banners by artist Theresa Chromati, enhanced with a soundscape conceived by Chromati and composed by pop and electronic artist Pangelica.

ADDITIONAL EVENT FEATURES

DJ Skinny White
Spinning tunes in our back parking lot

Art Toss Interactive Canvas
Toss, splash, and splatter color-filled water balloons from the safety and comfort of your vehicle. Watch this collaborative painting come to life with the reveal of a secret message.

Stay tuned for more details as we continue planning this innovative approach to hosting an art opening while maintaining Phase 1 social distancing.

This event is designed to adhere to all DE Division of Public Health regulations to contain the spread of COVID-19. All staff on site will be temperature checked and geared up with face masks, gloves, and a routine sanitation protocol throughout the event. All guests will be required to remain in their vehicles at all times.

Site Effects: Jewelry on both sides of the Atlantic | Virtual Opening Reception

Friday, June 5 | 6pm
hosted by Baltimore Jewelry Center

The Baltimore Jewelry Center will host Site Effects, an exhibition of contemporary art jewelry that illuminates the relationship between Europe and the US from the perspective of adornment. Through the exhibition, curators Anja Eichler (EU) and Katja Toporski (USA) pose the question: if jewelry is considered a form of communication, do people speak the same language on either side of the Atlantic? Site Effects will be on view in the BJC’s gallery in Baltimore’s Station North Arts & Entertainment District (10 E. North Ave.) from June 3 through July 10. We will host special preview of the exhibition through Art Jewelry Forum on June 3 at 12pm EST and a virtual opening reception on June 5 at 6pm EST via Instagram Live (@baltimorejewelrycenter). There will also be a special event featuring music composed in response to the exhibition and performed on the cello and violin on June 19. These events are free and open to the public.

Founded in June 2014, the Baltimore Jewelry Center is the successor organization to the MICA Jewelry Center, which had served the metalsmithing and art jewelry community in the Baltimore area for twenty-two years. Today, the nonprofit is providing a rigorous academic program and robust studio access program for metal and jewelry artists.

Observations from the last century suggest that the differences in jewelry styles on both sides of the Atlantic were pronounced. The American style was perceived as opulent and ornamented while the European seemed to be reductivist and less playful. But what is the situation in the 21st century? Have aesthetic differences been blurred in the wake of globalization and instant access to images from around the world? If not, then what differences are there currently? To what extent does one only perceive a difference because knowledge of an artist’s name and location results in cultural stereotyping? Anja Eichler and Katja Toporski aim to shed a light on these questions in Site Effects with the work of 24 jewelry artists from Europe and the US. Additionally, they would like to invite visitors to ask themselves the following questions: What do you see if you have no background knowledge? Does the Atlantic exist as a dividing line or are there more similarities than we think?

Participating artists are: Kristen Beeler, Sofia Björkman, Caroline Broadhead, Liesbet Bussche, Thea Clark, Nikki Couppee, Emily Culver, Anja Eichler, Rebekah Frank, Maria Rosa Franzin, Don Friedlich, Sara Gackowska, Lena Grabher, Peter Hoogeboom, Holland Houdek, Anastasia Kandaraki, Anya Kivarkis, Kristiina Laurits, Nanna Melland, Seth Papac, Estela Saez, Sondra Sherman, Marjorie Simon, Katja Toporski.

ABOUT THE BALTIMORE JEWELRY CENTER:

Founded in June 2014, the Baltimore Jewelry Center is the successor organization to the MICA Jewelry Center, which had served the metalsmithing and art jewelry community in the Baltimore area for the past twenty-two years. Located in Baltimore’s Station North Arts & Entertainment District, the 501c3 educational nonprofit is dedicated to building a vibrant creative community for the study and practice of metalworking for new and established artists, offering classes, workshops, and studio space access. In addition to its education program, the Baltimore Jewelry Center helps metal and jewelry artists grow sustainable business practices by offering professional development, sales opportunities, and a promotional platform. For more information, visit baltimorejewelrycenter.org.

BmoreArt Launches Print Issue 09: Craft with a New Subscription Service

After Covid-19 postponement, Issue 09: Craft is coming! If you want to own it, please subscribe via our website by June 15, 2020, to guarantee your copy.

Issue 09 recognizes a broad and diverse community of creative makers thriving in Baltimore, including crafters, quilters, woodworkers, fashion designers, jewelers, and small creative business owners, to expand a conversation around the way these practices enrich our cultural ecosystem every day.

Order Issue 09: Craft !

Your copy will be printed in early July and mailed directly to your home!