This Week: We are featuring online events that you can participate in from the comfort of your own couch and some that you can safely leave the house for, 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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Announcing the 2021 Art to Dine For Parties
presented by Creative Alliance
This year marks the 21st anniversary of Creative Alliance’s Art To Dine For series! For over two decades we have gathered to celebrate art, culture, community, and delicious food, with every ticket bought going directly to support our free community arts programs. To help us reach our goal while continuing our focus on our community’s collective health, our 2021 Art to Dine For events will be held outside, virtually, or in small host-led private parties.
Mike McQuade: DaDa mixed With Data
Tuesday, August 17 • 7-8pm
presented by SODA
Join the Society of Design Arts (SoDA), AIGA Baltimore, and Stevenson University for this online event with Mike McQuade.
Mike McQuade pairs old magazine images with color blocks, numbers, and iconography to deconstruct the illustration process visually. That approach has since informed his commissions for the Wired, Atlantic, the New Yorker, New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Institutional Investor. McQuade uses Photoshop throughout his process to slice up scanned and created images, make grids, and organize hundreds of layers to form the final product. These days, he’s moving into the realm of collages with a 3D look.
HOW TO ATTEND THE EVENT
1) The 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.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER
Mike McQuade is an American graphic artist living in Richmond, VA. His work has graced the pages of The New Yorker, and the covers of major publications such as WIRED & The New York Times Magazine. Mike also runs a small design studio, themcquades.com — working with respected institutions, brands, publishers, and entrepreneurs.
Arts & Drafts Summer Music & Arts Festival
Friday, August 20 – Sunday, August 22
presented by Baltimore County Arts Guild
The Baltimore County Arts Guild presents the first Arts & Drafts Summer Music & Arts Festival on Friday, August 20 through Sunday August 22nd. The Guild is thrilled to officially partner with The Guinness Open Gate Brewery who will host the outdoor festival. A ticketed concert will kick off the weekend-long event at 7:30 pm on Friday, August 20th featuring Cris Jacobs and Kelly Bell Band. The Festival continues on Saturday and Sunday where guests are invited to experience more than 60 visual artists from the Baltimore area displaying and selling art work, glass blowing and other artisan demonstrations, an interactive creativity zone and continuing live musical performances. On Saturday and Sunday, the family-friendly event is free and open to the public, guests under the age of 21 must be accompanied by an adult.
Baltimore County Arts Guild President, Barbara Cox says;
“We’re excited to sponsor this event and to introduce some very talented emerging and experienced artists to our festival visitors.”
Arts & Drafts Weekend Line-Up
Friday, August 20th, 7:30 p.m.: Kickoff concert featuring Cris Jacobs and Kelly Bell Band (doors open at 6:30pm). Tickets are required ($20) and can be purchased at www.artsanddraftsfestival.org.
Saturday, August 21st, 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.: Free Music & Arts Festival
Sunday, August 22nd, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.: Free Music & Arts Festival
Live music all weekend long at the Festival Stage will feature: The Aaron Hill Trio, RED SAMMY, Carl Grubbs, Jr. Geraldine, Sweet Leda with Ron Holloway and American Idol finalist, Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon.
Family-friendly creativity zone featuring:
A collaborative art project with the Baltimore County Arts Guild
Take-home ‘maker kits’ by Baltimore County Public Library
Musical instrument ‘petting zoo’ with Bill’s Music
Demonstrations, ongoing throughout the weekend, include glass blowing, pottery and Zentangle ®
PriceFest 2021
Friday, August 20 – Monday, August 23
presented by The International Florence Price Festival
The International Florence Price Festival (Price Fest) is an annual festival dedicated to the music of composer Florence Price. Due to COVID-19, The inaugural festival will take place in an online setting in digital events taking place throughout August 2020. Watch our recent special event and register for the online festival here. Price Fest 2021 is scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C. during the summer of 2021.
Mission
The International Florence Price Festival is dedicated to celebrating the life and legacy of composer Florence Beatrice Price through an annual festival featuring all of Price’s musical output as well as scholarly, educational, and advocacy-oriented events.
Current Space Members Party
Friday, August 20 • 8pm
@ Current Space
We’re throwing a party on Friday, August 20th from 8-11pm to thank all of our studio members and supporting members! We’ll have an open bar, snacks, and EJ will be playing music. This private event is for members and their guests ONLY, so if you’re not a member yet, become one and join us! Memberships start at just $5/month and include perks like shop discounts, ticket discounts and private events (like this party!).
Details:
– 21+
– The event is free for all membership levels, studio members, and screenprinting members, but please RSVP to attend.
– Members + guests only 
– Each member can bring one guest.
Small Quiet Things | Closing Reception
Saturday, August 21 • 4-6pm
@ Gallery Blue Door
What sorts of stories do bees tell each other when they dance? Do rabbits dream? Do buildings have memories? These fleeting thoughts and others like them are the basis for my recent drawings and prints. The work continues my use of narrative as a means of explaining my fears and anxieties for the natural world as well as trying to determine my place it. This has become especially important over the past year as the world simultaneously became very large and very small.
Intensely layered images are used to create visual depth as well as layers of meaning. The decorative patterns, inspired by traditional Amish and Mennonite quilt stitching patterns, connect the work to my cultural heritage. The process used to create and hand-cut the shapes is similar to the meticulous skill needed for quilting and serves to make the connection even stronger. There is a tension created between traditional forms presented in a contemporary context that forms an important element to the work and to my story.
The use of animals and other images closely tied to the realm of fairy tales continues the connection to the domestic, to a space where it is safe to explore ideas that are dangerous or alarming. The layered meaning and accessible imagery provide the opportunity for conversations about the beauty of traditional folk forms, contemporary interpretations of fairy tales and the impact our actions have on the fragile world around us.
HEAT | Opening Reception
Sunday, August 22 • 6-9pm | Ongoing through September 25
@ York & Penn Gallery
HEAT is a group exhibition at York & Penn Art Gallery, curated by Grace Doyle, featuring MFA candidates in Towson University’s Studio Art program. Included are works by David Calkins, Claudia Cappelle, Grace Doyle, Amelia Gossman, Danielle Hawk, Kat Navarro, Katherine Nonemaker, Aral Olgun, Sookyyung Park, Cody Pryseski, and Tara Youngborg. These artists showcase recent summer works in a variety of media such as painting, ceramics, printmaking, sculpture, and video. The opening reception is Sunday, August 22 from 6-9pm.
Housed in the historic Wagner Building at 501-A York Rd in Towson, the York & Penn Fine Art Gallery proudly sponsors local fine art, hosts local art communities, and provides an excellent environment for living classrooms. With sister galleries in New York City, their mission is to support, and provide a space for the blossoming creative community of Towson.
Calls for Entry // Opportunities
Visual Arts Director | Employment Opportunity
@ Creative Alliance
The Creative Alliance is Baltimore’s premier multi-arts venue with a mission to present and promote artists, performers, and filmmakers; engage diverse audiences; and improve the quality of life in Baltimore City through community-based arts and education programs. Creative Alliance is entering an exciting time as it lays out a new strategic plan for the future and has broken ground on a second building, the Creativity Center.
As an inclusive community that works toward being an anti-racist organization, Creative Alliance strongly encourages applicants of all ages, races, classes, gender identities, sexual orientations, religions, and physical abilities.
Position Overview: The Visual Arts Director is a key member of Creative Alliance’s leadership team, strategic programmer, and is responsible for supporting regional artists and art enthusiasts in our community. The Visual Arts Director is responsible for setting vision and strategy for their four main program areas and collaborating across teams. They are responsible for managing program logistics, contractors, and a budget of approximately $25,000-$30,000 for their department. The Director curates two gallery spaces hosting up to 15 shows per year. The Amalie Rothschild Gallery is a space that hosts exhibits through an open call application process which the Director oversees. The Director recruits, supports, and manages Creative Alliance’s artists in residence program which hosts 8 resident artists each year. The Director leads Creative Alliance’s film program. The Director also coordinates Creative Alliance’s multi-disciplinary workshops program which are facilitated by community artists. Annually, Creative Alliance hosts more than 30 free and fee-based workshops serving 300 participants.
CPR’s 2022 Artist-in-Residence Program | Open Call
deadline September 7
sponsored by Center for Performance Research
Established in 2012, this year-long residency seeks to support a wide range of artists, from emerging to established, working within various perspectives of contemporary dance and performance, and time-based forms.
CPR’s AiR Program provides rehearsal space, presentation and performance opportunities, curatorial and project support, professional development, and peer dialogue, all of which are designed to support the individualized creative process and an open environment for research, experimentation, embodiment, exchange, and creation.
In an effort to create a more inclusive and equitable selection process, starting with the 2020 cohort, applications are accepted through an open call and are reviewed by a peer committee of artists and community stakeholders. With this approach, CPR aspires to increase visibility, opportunities, and resources for a more diverse range of artists in the field.
CPR is committed to supporting artists from every background with an expansive approach to performance, and at all stages in their creative careers. We strongly encourage artists of color, LGBTQ+ artists, immigrant artists, and artists with disabilities to apply.
Art in the Round | Call for Art
deadline September 10
sponsored by The Arc of Baltimore
Artists of all ages with developmental disabilities looking to have their art showcased and auctioned off at this year’s Art in the Round must submit their artwork by Friday, September 10th. Please don’t delay! All artwork must be accompanied by a completed Artist Packet.
SHAOLIN JAZZ Album Cover Design Contest
deadline September 10
sponsored by SHAOLIN JAZZ and DC Design Week
Calling all creatives! To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of SHAOLIN JAZZ and our first mixtape: “SHAOLIN JAZZ The 37th Chamber,” we’re partnering with DC Design Week to launch a very exciting contest.
Originally released in 2011 by Gerald Watson and DJ 2-Tone Jones – “SHAOLIN JAZZ The 37th Chamber” is a jazz and hip-hop infused collection of songs that features Wu Tang Clan acappellas that are cleverly fused with instrumentals from select jazz greats. And to celebrate our 10 year anniversary we’re asking for your creative talents.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to remix the original cover art of our first album or create your own original artwork. You can work in any medium you choose, but we’ll be looking for inspired graphic design, illustration or typography that captures the spirit of our project. The deadline for submissions is Friday September 10, 2021, 12am EST.
Click here to enter and for more info.
The Young Saturday ‘Visiter’ Awards
deadline September 15
sponsored by Baltimore National Heritage Area + Poe Baltimore
***NOTE: this Young SVA is a category separate and apart from the Saturday ‘Visiter’ Awards open to adults. Please visit http://SaturdayVisiterAwards.org to be taken to the main page. Unless you are a High School Student in Maryland, do NOT use this form to submit an entry.***
The Young Saturday ‘Visiter’ Awards (SVAs) are a new honor, presented by Poe Baltimore and the Baltimore National Heritage Area, recognizing High School students in Maryland who create artistic works inspired by Edgar Allan Poe. The prizes honor media, art, performance and writing that adapts or is inspired by Poe’s life and works, created by a High School student (grade 9 – 12 or equivalent during the 2021-22 School Year) in the State of Maryland.
Works in any medium and genre (including digital or web-based works) are eligible. Entries are not limited to writing; graphical works, film, comics, music, live performance etc. may all be eligible. Only works created or performed by an individual who is a Maryland High School Student (grades 9-12 or equivalent during the 2021-22 School Year) are eligible to be entered. Works published or created in a language other than English are eligible, but at this time the work must provide English-language subtitles.
Entries may be submitted by any student artist, producer, publisher, author or any member of the creative team. Only works created by the student are eligible: ensemble teams may not include non-student members except in an advisory role; if the student contributed to a greater ensemble work, only the portion created/performed by the student will be considered. (Should you have questions about eligibility before submitting, please contact the Awards administrator [email protected])
Nominees for the Young Saturday ‘Visiter’ Awards will be announced at The International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards October 2, 2021, and the award presented later, October 30, 2021, during a virtual ceremony. One award will be presented in each of two categories: Adaptation of Poe’s life and/or writing; Original works inspired by Poe’s life or writing.
For a complete description of eligibility and requirements, please see the “Young SVA Guidelines for Entry” at https://poefestinternational.com/young-sva. We advise you to prepare your entry form in a separate document and paste responses into fields as you will NOT be able to save your progress.
SCENE SEEN at Greedy Reads and Bird in Hand, VIVA Books donation drive, Slavery in Motion at the BMA, Rapid Lemon's Variation Project, Baker Artist Portfolios closing reception at The Peale, and MLK Day celebrations - and calls for entry!
I met with Becker at the newly relocated Mobtown Ballroom to learn more about her work as an arts leader, and our conversation ranged from the complexity of demands that she balances, to her origins and identity as an artist and why art matters to us as humans.
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.
