This Week: We are featuring online events that you can participate in from the comfort of your own couch plus a few calls for entry to get involved locally and nationally. Stay home, stay healthy, stay engaged in the arts.
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Orphaned Light
ongoing through May 29
@ Full Circle Gallery
Full Circle Photo Gallery presents Orphaned Light, a solo exhibition featuring the work of Finnish artist Marja Pirilä. On view April 10–May 29, 2021, photographs of room-sized camera obscura projections from two series are featured. For these enigmatic images, rooms in two abandoned buildings were set up as camera obscuras: a former psychiatric hospital and an abandoned and unfinished mansion whose owners died suddenly before its completion. By infusing these rooms with light from the outside environment, they are brought back to life, though in a dream-like state.
Latin for “dark chamber,” the phenomenon of the camera obscura has a long history going back as far as the fifth century BCE in China. They were popular in eighteenth-century artistic circles as optical aids, in the nineteenth century as tourist spectacles, and with contemporary photographers such as Abelardo Morell. While Pirilä uses the same phenomenon, she uses it in an entirely different way, netting results that carry the unhappy histories of the interior spaces. The process of preparing the room is slow, and the aperture is critical to gain clarity and strength of the projection, which is completely dependent on good weather for a clear image. It is unpredictable and requires patience waiting for the magical and decisive moment. The duality captured in the image—the exterior and interior spaces—challenges the existence of a singular space and one time. Moody and filmic, incorporated into the images are partially open doorways through which light beckons one to reality once again.
Photographs from the series Speaking House, 2006, were taken in an abandoned former mental hospital. These images consider themes of disintegration, fragility, loss, and the death of the artist’s mother. While the exterior imagery is unrelated to the history contained in the hospital walls, it nonetheless takes on a feeling of dystopian tension. Images from the Milavida series, 2013, were taken in the eponymous mansion, which has been abandoned and empty for years in the artist’s hometown of Tampere, Finland. The mansion’s original owners died shortly before its completion and left four small children orphaned. The projected images are not just of the outside world cast inwards, but also conjure the family home that could have been. Pirilä’s photographs give us imagined memories of joy. Orphaned Light offers these wraithlike reflections born by light, to raise questions of our own spaces, histories, and experiences. These light meditations bring forth the past and the present where they not only coexist but also engage in constant dialogue.
Marja Pirilä graduated in 1986 as a photographer from the University of Art and Design in Helsinki, Finland, and as Master of Science from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Helsinki. Pirilä’s photographs have been exhibited in Europe, North and South America, and Asia and it has been collected by major European public and private collections. Carried by Light, a monographic book on her output, was published in 2014.
Peanuts, Corned Beef, and History: Lexington Market Community Storytelling
Wednesday, April 28 • noon-1 p.m.
presented by The Peale
Join us to hear community-sourced stories about the world-famous Lexington Market, learn about surprising new facts that have been unearthed about the market, and share your own stories about food, family, and fun. Part of the Lexington Market Public History Initiative.
If you have a memory of Lexington Market, had friends or family who worked there, or any stories you’d like to share about the market, the Peale would LOVE to hear from you as part of a brand new public history project documenting the market. We are listening to Baltimoreans’ stories! Attend and share your OWN story!
Celebrating Culture and History Through Baltimore City Planning
Wednesday, April 28 • noon-1 p.m.
presented by AIA Baltimore
Architecture is a manifestation of culture. On the occasion of AIA Baltimore’s 150th anniversary, the AIA Baltimore and Baltimore Architecture Foundation 2021 Lecture Series will explore how the built environment simultaneously reflects and influences culture, in Baltimore and beyond. Each lecture will expose how cultural values shape design. The three lectures are focused around themes with specific local resonance in Baltimore, a city in which the arts and culture are key to community identity, history, and future vitality: Architecture and Identity, Art and Architecture, Architecture and Social Justice. Visiting and local speakers will examine and highlight the built environment and its relationship with the arts, community initiatives, sustainability goals, preservation, equity, the vernacular, and more, as we reflect on how these have been shaped by design practice throughout AIA Baltimore’s 150-year history.
Baltimore is one of the oldest cities in America. Its development and neighborhoods are not only an impression of its past but a reflection of its present and future. Today, many of our present spaces and buildings pay homage to the many years of life, people, and culture that preceded this moment. The Frederick Douglass- Isaac Myers Maritime Park, the Chick Webb recreation center in the Perkins/Somerset/Olde Town redevelopment project, and the Pennsylvania Arts District are examples of the evolution of how that culture is expressed in community development.
On its face, it may seem that these are extremely different, but they both represent pivotal points, and the importance of the African-American presence, commerce, culture, and development of Baltimore. Today we celebrate them in place and design for all to experience through not only historical interpretation, but allowing their stories to continue by breathing new life into the buildings and sites. The Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park, the Chick Webb recreation center, and the Pennsylvania Arts District represent the intersection of how the built environment meets everyday life, the arts, community design, preservation, and the evolution of equity and social justice in a 21st Century Baltimore.
Recalibrate | Online Exhibition
Thursday, April 29 – May 9
presented by Cade Art Gallery
Exhibit to be presented on the Cade Gallery Instagram Account @cadegalleryaacc
Dates: One artwork will be posted each day from April 17-27
Artists: Travis Childers, Pierre Davis, Michelle Dickson, Lila Ferber, Sarah J. Hull, Zofie King, Kerry Hentges, John Herndon, Lisa Rosenstein, Matthew Russo.
Exhibit Theme: Art made during the pandemic faced a different world, both at home, and outside. We examine our human structures and incorporate chance discoveries and mistakes. What levels of intuition change, when the rest of the world around us makes a drastic social change? What do we use to put structure back in our lives? How do we outsource fabrication, use materials, and how do we still collaborate? What happens when artists are locked out of studios, stressed by a global pandemic, and have limited access to supplies? Artists found themselves in a productive boom and gave themselves permission to try out new things. We recalibrated.
About the Curator: Elizabeth Ashe is a sculptor who earned her MFA from the Mount Royal School of Art at the Maryland Institute College of Art. She began curating as a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. While serving as the Director of Mavi Contemporary Art, she curated over a dozen exhibitions. In 2019, she curated “Play, Protection, or Peril”—a project addressing gun violence in our culture—partially funded by a grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH). In 2020, she was lead curator for “Not So Concrete”—a project that looked at how architecture shapes our world—funded by the Curatorial Grant from CAH. She was awarded an AHFP grant. Ashe lives in Washington, D.C., where she has an active studio practice. She works as the Gallery Manager for the DC Arts Center, and Exhibit and Event Technician for the Katzen Center at American University.
About the Gallery: The Cade Center for Fine Arts Gallery is on the western side of AACC’s Arnold campus, 101 College Parkway. Located on the main floor of the Cade building on West Campus, The Cade Art Gallery at Anne Arundel Community College features seven exhibits a year. The span of exhibiting artists is broad, yet each exhibit is focused by theme or medium. You can encounter an installation project juried by a museum curator, or the latest painting by an AACC student. Since March 2020 the Cade Gallery Instagram account, @cadegalleryaacc has supported the gallery’s mission with exciting exhibits and content throughout the year.
The Business of Arts Networking Series
Thursday, April 29 + Friday, April 30
presented by BOPA
Join the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA) for the second round of programming in The Business of Arts Networking Series. This quarterly virtual program supports emerging artists and creatives in Baltimore City by providing a series of professional development, networking, performance, and showcasing opportunities. This next round of programming, The Art of Finance, takes place on Thursday, April 29, and Friday, April 30, 2021, with sessions curated specifically for artists on the topics of building a financial foundation, successful financial planning, fundraising, and more.
The Art of Finance will be led by both finance experts and creatives for practical and inspiring conversations about successful financial practices for creatives. Join The Art of Finance to hear from: Chi Eze, Small Business Consultant Manager at Bank of America; Lewis Weil, founder of Money Positive; and Trevite Willis, award-winning producer of Forty Year Old Version. The Art of Finance will conclude with a special mini concert performance from Rae The Conjurer.
Learn more and register for April’s programming at www.promotionandarts.org. The Business of Arts Networking Series is sponsored by Bank of America and Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC).
The Business of Arts Networking Series: The Art of Finance
The Fundamentals of Building a Financial Foundation – Presented by Bank of America
Thursday, April 29, 2021, 5:30–6:30 p.m. (led by Chi Eze from Bank of America)
Fund Your Dream Projects: Financial Planning for the Independent Artist
Thursday, April 29, 2021, 6:45–7:45 p.m. (led by Lewis Weil)
Fundraising – You Can Do It! Creating a Network of Wealth and Opportunity
Friday, April 30, 2021, 6–7 p.m. (led by Trevite Willis)
Mini Concert Series:
Friday, April 30, 2021, 7 p.m. (performance by Rae the Conjurer)
Virtual Meet & Greet 7 p.m.
Virtual Mini Concert 7:30 p.m.
Streaming on BOPA’s Facebook and YouTube.
MICA MFA in Studio Art 2021 Graduates | Virtual Reception
Friday, April 30 • 5–7 p.m.
presented by MICA + VisArts
Our Virtual Reception, taking place Friday, April 30, 2021, from 5–7 p.m., includes artist talks from exhibiting artists anderson funk, Mary Stuart Hall, Nugent Koscielny, Liz Miller, and Michelle Lisa Herman.
Honey, I Shrunk the Kinetic Sculpture Race
Saturday, May 1 • 11 a.m.
presented by American Visionary Art Museum
The Kinetic Sculpture Race is model perfect this year. Watch as miniature model “Dream Machine” 3D artful sculptures made by members of the public like YOU, compete over miniature land, sea, mud, and sand.
The museum’s annual race of wacky, imaginative, human-powered works of art is model perfect this year. Watch as miniature model “Dream Machine” 3D artful sculptures made by members of the public like YOU, compete over miniature land, sea, through mud and sand obstacles.
SOCIAL DESIGN EXCHANGE 2021
Monday, May 3 • 6-7:10 p.m. | Ongoing through May 4
presented by MICA
Join us for two interactive evenings with the MA in Social Design (MASD) class of 2021 as they share their capstone projects and processes.
Evening 1: Monday, May 3, 2021
6–7:10 p.m. EST
Register here for May 3rd!
Featuring:
Alanah Nichole Davis
Rishika Dhawan
Estela Duhart Benavides
Isaac Farley
Kathleen Harmanson
Kalyani Jhaveri
Evening 2: Tuesday, May 4, 2021
6–7 p.m. EST (Zoom)
Register here for May 4th!
Featuring:
John Benton Denny
Damella Dotan
Bryn Dunbar
Asheeta Khanna
Lydia Tonkonow
The Social Design Exchange is a free online event and open to the public! Please note that if you plan to join us for both evenings (and we hope you will!) you will need to register separately for each evening using the two registration links above.
Calls for Entry // Opportunities
2021 Maryland Arts Summit | Call for Proposals
deadline April 27
sponsored by Maryland State Arts Council
The 2021 Maryland Arts Summit: Art of the Community is currently accepting proposals for video content, in a variety of formats, addressing specific arts communities within the Maryland creative ecosystem that connect with the Summit’s themes. All accepted proposals will be available for viewing after the virtual Summit on June 3rd and 4th.
There is a $500 stipend for each session, which includes preparation and the submission of session recording.
The deadline to submit a proposal is April 27, 2021, by midnight.
Tiny Treasures, Gracious Gifts | Call for Entry
deadline May 2
sponsored by Towson Arts Collective
Works 12” or smaller in any dimension, and fine crafts. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are coming soon, unique gifts for our closest family. This show will allow patrons to take their purchases with them at time of purchase. Prices should be $150 or less.
TIME LINE
Sunday, May 2 | Drop off from noon–3 p.m.
Thursday, May 6 | Virtual Reception via Zoom at 5 p.m. (link to come)
Sunday, May 30 (& possibly June 1) | Pick up from noon–3 p.m.
BIPOC Scholarship for Professional Practices Spring 2021
deadline May 3
sponsored by Baltimore Jewelry Center
This BIPOC scholarship application is currently available for the online class Professional Practices running May 6 – 27 . This class will provide you with the resources necessary to create a polished presentation of your work; from concise and engaging artist statements, to professional looking photographs. We have created this google form to formalize the process of accepting interested students to fill this scholarship position. This is not a first come, first serve opportunity but there is a limited application window. The application window will close on May 3rd. Recipients will be chosen based on need and interest with a commitment to bringing in more new artists and makers into our space.
If you have any questions, feel free to email us at [email protected]. We look forward to reviewing your application!
Out of Order + KIDOOO Online | Call for Entry
deadline May 4
sponsored by Maryland Art Place
Maryland Art Place (MAP) is pleased to announce its 2nd Virtual Out of Order exhibition event and very first, virtual KIDOOO (see link for details). This year marks the 24th year of MAP’s signature, spring, art auction. Using a virtual platform, Out of Order will be available to anyone on an electronic device for free!
As one of Baltimore’s longest-standing consecutive contemporary exhibitions, Out of Order has successfully continued to stay relevant and fun. Last year (2020) Out of Order expanded to include artists from outside the state with over 300 participating artists.
This year OOO is open for bidding for an entire week as opposed to one evening. Participants may bid from their homes, offices, or vacations while perusing hundreds of works of art from the many talented artists throughout the state and region. You may text to bid and can expect text messages when you have been outbid throughout the auction.
To submit an application for OOO simply click HERE fill out the application and upload ONE image. Artists working at any skill level are encouraged to participate.
Roddenberry Fellowship | Call for Applicants
deadline May 7
sponsored by the Roddenberry Foundation
Launched in 2016, the Roddenberry Fellowship is a $1 million investment in innovators, community leaders, and changemakers whose work has the greatest potential to protect the most vulnerable and to reinvent systems and structures that have served to oppress and disadvantage far too many for far too long.
To date, there are 70 Roddenberry Fellows, from across the country and from different disciplines, taking action on issues as diverse as immigrant detention, voting rights, and domestic abuse. Join them!
Potomac Yard Metrorail Station Public Art Project | Call for Entry
deadline May 14
sponsored by WMATA
AIT is working with the City of Alexandria Public Art Program to organize and facilitate an Art Selection Panel to select site-specific public artworks following the principles of Biophilic Design for the future Potomac Yard Metrorail Station on the Yellow and Blue Lines. The selected artworks will be the first in a US Transit system to introduce biophilic elements and provide credit towards LEED Transit accreditation of a Metrorail station.
The project, part of the requirements associated with approval of the Development Special Use Permit (DSUP), is fully funded by the City of Alexandria, Virginia.
SAY IT LOUD | Call for Entry
deadline May 30
sponsored by Bmore NOMA + Baltimore Architecture Foundation + AIA Baltimore
Baltimore Architecture Foundation, AIA Baltimore, and Bmore NOMA announce SAY IT LOUD Maryland, an exhibition that will spotlight the contributions of diverse design professionals to the built environment. Created by Beyond the Built Environment, SAY IT LOUD will launch a virtual exhibition in Summer 2021 and a physical exhibition at the Baltimore Center for Architecture and Design in Fall 2021. This will be the first major exhibition at the Baltimore Center for Architecture and Design. The exhibition will be designed by Pascale Sablan, FAIA, founder of Beyond the Built Environment, and recipient of the 2021 AIA Whitney M. Young Jr. Award.
This week's news includes: Peabody's new Hip Hop Degree with Wendel Patrick and Lupe Fiasco, MCHC receives grant from Lilly Endowment, Shawn Chopra, remembering BSA's Anthony M. ‘Tony’ Carey, Dave Portnoy's pizza party, and more!
“The light entered my grandfather and, as a third-generation survivor, the light has been passed down through me. I pass it on through my work,” says Baltimore-based artist Kei Ito.
This Week: Baltimore Clayworks' artist walk with curator Leigh Taylor Mickelson and opening reception for Garden Reverie, ImprovScape with Erin Barry-Dutro at Peabody Heights Brewery, opening reception at BCS's Indigenous Art Gallery, Iron Crow Theatre's 'Act of God,' and more!
This Week: NYE Inner Harbor Countdown and Fireworks, NYE Party at BLIFTD STVDIOS, Erik White at Alchemy of Art, I've Endured exhibit at Creative Alliance, Book celebration for Micah E. Wood and Christopher Chester at Metro Gallery, Rapid Lemon Productions' Honey Bee Baby, and more!
