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BmoreArt’s Picks: December 14-20

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This Week: Christopher Bathgate in conversation with Cara Ober and Suzy Kopf at Collect + Connect, A.WAKE / EULOGY featuring Jordan Tierney, David Page, and Rev. Jé Exodus Hooper at Area 405, Marin Alsop documentary screening at SNF Parkway, UNDER $500 at MAP, Check Please opens at Creative Alliance, and Towson University MFA student exhibition reception at Hamilton Gallery — PLUS Baltimore Jewelry Center’s open call for A WORD AFTER A WORD exhibition and more featured Calls for Entry.

 

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.

 

 

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Bodies of Information: Understanding Slavery through the Stearns Collection
ongoing through January 4
@ Reginald F. Lewis Museum

Bodies of Information: Understanding Slavery through the Stearns Collection explores how archives help us tell nuanced stories of slavery. The exhibit features select items from the Stearns Collection, an 87-piece collection spanning more than 100 years, painstakingly collected by Herbert Stearns. Through this exhibit we can examine how people – from researchers, educators, and historians to students and family genealogists – use documents to confront the complicated role that slavery played in American life. By looking closely at the newspapers, images, ads, and bills of sale from the period, we see how slavery existed in every part of life in the United States.

 

 

Craft as Muse in the Age of Digital Manufacturing | Zoom Artist Talk
Wednesday, December 15 • 6:30pm
presented by Connect + Collect

Join BmoreArt’s Suzy Kopf and Cara Ober for a conversation with artist Christopher Bathgate and collector Juan Sanchez for a discussion about Bathgate’s current exhibition at BmoreArt’s Connect+Collect gallery: Craft as Muse in the Age of Digital Manufacturing, the evolution of his career, and strategies for building relationships with collectors that are relational rather than transactional.

Chris Bathgate is a self-taught machinist and machine builder. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, he has spent 21 years building and modifying a variety of metalworking tools and machinery. He employs these tools in the making of intricately machined metal sculptures that defy easy classification. His works are fundamentally engineered, every detail methodically designed from the ground up. Some of his sculptures take the form of small mechanical objects with tactile functionality, while others represent a more traditional approach to sculpture through his unique medium. Detailed schematic blueprints that illustrate his complex assemblages often accompany each sculpture.

Bathgate has been featured in American Craft Magazine, Make Magazine, the Russian edition of Popular Mechanics, Sculptures Pacific, and Best of American Sculpture Volume II. He was awarded grants in 2007 and 2011 from the Pollack-Krasner Foundation. He has also earned recognition in his own hometown, having received the Mary Sawyers Baker Prize in 2014, a Baltimore “B” grant in 2011, and a Creative Baltimore grant in 2008. Bathgate’s works have been exhibited in a variety of museums and galleries across the United States, including the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the National Museum of Industrial History, The Baltimore museum of Industry, the American Craftsmanship Museum, and the Dennis and Phillip Ratner Museum. Bathgate’s sculptures are held in numerous private collections around the world.

 

 

A.WAKE | Eulogy
Thursday, December 16 • 3-9pm
@ Area 405

Eulogy,” takes place this Thursday, December 16. The gallery will be open from 3 to 9 p.m., and from 6 to 7 p.m. the “order of service” will consist of a short documentary film about Area 405, a ritual by the Rev. Jé Exodus Hooper, and the creation of “a final work” in the gallery.

Read about the first two events here.

 

 

THE CONDUCTOR
Friday, December 17 • 6:30pm
@ SNF Parkway

The SNF Parkway Theatre is delighted to welcome the team behind the new documentary The Conductor home to Baltimore for a celebratory screening after their successful festival run. The screening will be preceded by a musical performance by the vibrant Triple Threat Brass Band formed out of members of OrchKids. After the screening, there will be a Q&A with The Conductor team, including Maestra Marin Alsop, director Bernadette Wegenstein, and producer Annette Porter.
The Conductor takes the audience into the heart of classical music, and into the soul of one of its top, most beguiling artists, the internationally renowned conductor Marin Alsop. In spite of rejections at every turn from the classical music establishment, Alsop persisted and never let go of her childhood dream. The Conductor is a narrative-driven story, directed by Bernadette Wegenstein who deftly weaves together the past and present bringing Alsop’s emotional journey to life and has the viewer bear witness to an artist at the height of her powers.

The Conductor pulls the curtain back on the mysterious art of conducting and shows how a conductor becomes the conduit for a composer’s message. The Marin Alsop that unfolds before us is a person who makes no secret about the fact that she fought every moment of her life to achieve her place in the classical music world. Throughout the film we meet both people who inspired her and the next generation of musicians to whom she is committed, like Valentina Peleggi who was taught and mentored by Marin. We feel the link between Alsop’s empathy for the struggles of these young talents and the hurdles she faced in becoming a conductor with no female role models.

Marin Alsop blows up the idea of a stodgy and elitist classical canon with her devotion to mentoring young people for whom race, gender, or economic class has been a barrier to musical achievement and leaves you rooting for the future of kids, teachers, music and Baltimore. The Conductor, which tells the incredible life story of Marin Alsop the conductor and musical innovator, ultimately becomes a metaphor for passion, leadership and the role that we all play in giving “outsiders” a chance.

 

 

UNDER $500
Friday, December 17 • 6-10pm
@ Maryland Art Place

UNDER $500: Friday, December 17: 6pm to 10pm | Tickets

Last Chance: Saturday, December 18: 12 to 4pm

Virtual Exhibition & Sale: Saturday, December 18, 10 am – Wednesday, December 20, 10 pm

To view the virtual exhibition click HERE
Maryland Art Place is postponing our ninth annual UNDER $500 affordable art sale to Friday, December 17 from 6 pm to 10 pm (ticketed) and Saturday, December 18, 2021 (last chance). We apologize for the inconvenience. All tickets will be honored or refunded if needed.

UNDER 500 will promote the sale of artwork by artists in the Maryland region. Guests can expect to mingle with other artists, collectors, patrons, and general art enthusiasts at the event. Take your purchases home with you the night of the event. Gift wrapping will be available on-site.

This year’s theme is tinsel, come in your shiniest attire. We will have a wonderful trimmed tree on display! We will be keeping the atmosphere cheerful with some holly jolly tunes and decorated Xmas trees. Light confections will be served and beer and wine will be available at the open bar.

The virtual sale and exhibition will be featured online HERE from Saturday, December 18 at 10 am– Monday, December 20 at 10 pm. Artwork will not be available online until December 18 at 10 am but be sure to register in advance!

Sales: Once the auction closes on December 20 at 10 pm, we will coordinate with the artists to have the work delivered to MAP. We will contact you once your purchase is secured at MAP to pick up. We’re aiming for all sold work to be at MAP before December 24th, in time for the holidays. Artwork will be wrapped and ready to fulfill its destiny as the perfect holiday gift!

 

 

Check Please: The Final Foodscape | Opening Reception
Friday, December 18 • 6-8pm | Ongoing through January 29
@ Creative Alliance

Waiter! For 36 years a band of Baltimore artists has been creating Foodscape, a food-themed art exhibit to tease the focus Artscape had in its early years…on food rather than art. But like all good meals, this one is coming to an end. “Check Please. The Final Foodscape” will open at Creative Alliance from 6-8PM on Saturday, December 18th, and run through Saturday, January 29th, with a Last Call Closing Reception from 6-8PM.

All 57 Foodscape artists, representing over three decades of fun and a smorgasbord of incredible talent, have been invited back to take a bow. More than 40 of these artists are participating with both new and historical Foodscape artwork. At the end of the opening, the artists will pose in front of a giant Mt. Royal Tavern mural for one final group photo. This is the last chance to order up an authentic helping of Foodscape art.

The Foodscape artists include:

Mark Adams, Jesse Alfriend, Bob Alholm, D.S. Bakker, Marc Boone, Matt Bovie, Kevin Bulger, Jim Burger, Jenny Campbell, Katy Clark, Kini Collins, Pete Cullen, Lania D’Agostino, Dick Deurer, John Ellsberry, Eamon Espey, Cathy Evans, Benjamin B. Franklin, Jamie Frailey, Mark Garner, Martha Gatewood, Joe Giordano, Joanne Goshen, Mike Hamilton, Terry Haney, Mark Harrell, Chris Hartlove, James Hennessey, Millie Hoffman, Sydney Hopkins, Annie Howe, Joe Kohl, Minas Konsolas, J. Kelly Lane, Kevin Lynch, Janet Mathias, Heidi Minken, Micah Moon, Nik Moon, Allison Morgan, Kevin O’Malley, Mallory Porter, Ronnie Potter, Richard Roth, Laura Vernon Russell, Ronald R. Russell, Rick Santiago, Martha Simons, Kathy Straus, Shannon Strong, Jennifer Strunge, Ted Young, Peter Yuill)

 

 

Focus: M.F.A. Group Exhibition | Artist Reception
Sunday, December 19 • 1-3pm | Ongoing through January 2
@ Hamilton Gallery

Focus features artwork by Towson University M.F.A. candidates David Calkins, Grace Doyle, Amelia Gossman, Katherine Nonemaker, and Andrew Thorp. This group show brings together a selection of pieces by each artist and spans across mediums of painting, print media, and more, exploring various themes that are the focus of their practices.

 

 

 

Calls for Entry // Opportunities

 

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On the Other Side | Call for Submissions
multiple deadlines
sponsored by SNF Parkway

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and the unprecedented shutdowns have forced us to consider what a new world could look like. As we embrace the new normal of an enduring global pandemic, it is prime time to reimagine possibilities for the new age. We are looking for images that reframe our world in ways that are more sustainable, void of exploitation and healthy for all.

The work will be projected on the North Charles Street side windows of the SNF Parkway, viewable to those both inside the first floor lounge and outside of the building.  Artwork should be engaging, meaningful and visually appealing.

We welcome work that pushes boundaries and challenges viewers. However, we ask artists to be mindful of the diverse community where the Parkway calls home. This means explicitly violent, sexual or derogatory content will not be accepted. Submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Participating artists will receive a $250 stipend.

Submissions can be completed online via this link: https://forms.gle/GuwyWkGkqa7WBNQv5

January’s theme is: “TRANSFORMING SELF”
Understanding that real change starts with self, we are exploring the concept of self transformation, becoming anew, and moving forward.
Submissions for January are due on December 8th

February’s theme is “AFRO FUTURES”
There’s an old saying that when America catches a cold, Black people catch the flu. What are the projected possibilities of a world where Black people are thriving and free? What would the world look like in these circumstances?
Submissions for February are due January 1st. (preference to artists of African descent)

March’s theme is “FEMME THE FUTURE”
What would the world look like if femme identified folks were truly empowered and treated equally? We are accepting submissions that explore Femme driven future! Submissions for March are due on February 1st. (preference to Femme identifying artists)

 

 

 

AAPI Women’s Voices Theater Festival | Call for Submissions
deadline December 31
sponsored by The Asian Pasifika Arts Collective + The Strand Theater

The Asian Pasifika Arts Collective is teaming up with Strand Theater in Baltimore to produce a series of new and original short plays written by and for AAPI Women. Through this festival, we hope to bring awareness to the stories and experiences of Asian American and Pacific Indigenous women throughout the United States, as well as highlight the works of AAPI writers and artists.

Submissions are open to all female and non-binary identifying AAPI writers in the United States. Five (5) pieces will be selected and produced for the stage and recorded for virtual accessibility. This festival will take place from May 6-22, 2002 in celebration of APA Heritage Month.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

All submissions must include the following:

  • Plays can be as short as 10 minutes and no longer than one act
  • Must have at least 2 female/non-binary AAPI characters
  • Plays can include up to 2 non-AAPI characters
  • Maximum 5 characters per play
  • Plot must include the following three ingredients:
  • A misunderstanding
  • A memory
  • A family recipe

All writers must identify as Asian American or pacific indigenous and female or non-binary to participate.

 

 

 

More Than One | Call for Submissions
deadline January 2
sponsored by Towson Arts Collective

Artists often produce work in multiples; photographs, digital images, casts, prints and work in series; are all made as More Than One.

CURRENT MEMBERS: $10 for entry of 1-2 pieces, maximum 3’ x 3’ space OR $20 entry for 3-6 pieces, maximum 6’ x 6’ space

NEW MEMBERS AND RENEWING MEMBERS: $25, 1 year membership fee (does not include entry fee)

NEW STUDENT MEMBERS AND RENEWING STUDENT MEMBERS: $15, 1 year membership fee (does not include entry fee)

TIME LINE

Drop Off: Sunday, January 2,| 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Bring artwork, entry form, and payment to the TAC gallery located at The Shops at Kenilworth; 800 Kenilworth Drive, Towson, MD 21204; 2nd level across from AboutFaces

Enrty form PDF is found on our Call for entry web page http://www.towsonartscollective.org/call-for-entries

 

 

A WORD AFTER A WORD | Open Call
deadline January 5
sponsored by Baltimore Jewelry Center

Do you remember learning to write? Did you learn to write cursive in school or did you teach yourself? Is your handwriting neat or messy? Has it ever changed in the course of your life? This exhibition explores the marks we utilize to communicate with one another, their aesthetics and their meanings and how artists manipulate them for their own means.

Language, and the written word, is integral to our ability to communicate with one another, to share our ideas, thoughts, and feelings, in both an informative, but also expressive way. We utilize language in very basic ways, but also manipulate it for creative purposes. In the Art Jewelry Forum article article “Tilling Time/Telling Time,” gallerist and writer Karen Lorene says “Ideas appear, and then words, and then, strangely enough, a novel”; this progression is also mirrored in the work of visual artists. For this exhibition, we are seeking work by metalsmiths and jewelers who use text and language in their work, to visually and literally communicate their ideas, as a method of mark-making, or as an inspiration point. Work might include actual written language or text, universal signs or symbols, or explore coded language, such as emojis or the coded language of flowers. We are also interested in work by artists who directly reference or are inspired by literary works or language, and who use these external works as a creative launching point or call and response for their endeavors. What about the spoken word? For jewelers the body serves as a landscape and meeting ground, inviting intimate conversations between the viewer and wearer. As such, we are interested in highlighting work in which the artist uses the physical object to stimulate or instigate communication. How else do we communicate? And how do we as visual artists bring language and text into our practice and process in new and exciting ways?

Former BJC Exhibitions Director, and curator for this exhibition, April Wood, has a fascination with text and the written word. She was enthralled by Egyptian hieroglyphics and calligraphy as a child, enjoyed hand drawing fonts when studying typography and graphic design, and has found inspiration for her work in the pages of books, such as Michael Pollan’s Botany of Desire.

The exhibition will be on view February 11, 2022 thru March 26, 2022, with an opening reception Friday, February 11, 2022 from 5 -8 pm.

Deadline to apply is by midnight on Saturday, January 5, 2022.

 

 

The Literary Arts Emergency Fund
deadline January 8
sponsored by The Academy of American Poets, Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) + National Book Foundation

Applications are currently open for the second round of funding through the Literary Arts Emergency Fund.

apply >

In 2020, with thanks to a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Academy of American Poets, Community of Literary Magazine and Presses (CLMP), and the National Book Foundation came together in a historic collaboration to establish The Literary Arts Emergency Fund, which will provided $3.5 million to the literary arts—a field that has been disastrously impacted by COVID-19. Regrants from this fund were distributed in September, 2020 to 282 nonprofit literary arts organizations, magazines, and presses across the nation.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation renewed its support of the Literary Arts Emergency Fund in 2021, awarding an additional $4.3 million, which will be distributed in 2022.

Applications for the second round of grants through the Literary Arts Emergency Fund may be submitted between now and January 5, 2022 at 11:59 PM EST. Teri Ellen Cross DavisAlberto Ríos, and Janice Lobo Sapigao will serve as the judicial panel, reviewing applications on behalf of the Academy of American Poets

 

 

header image: from Focus: M.F.A. Group Exhibition at Hamilton Gallery

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The best weekly art openings, events, and calls for entry happening in Baltimore and surrounding areas.

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Baltimore news updates from independent & regional media

Six Baltimore Artists Selected for Acquisition by JHU, Joyce J. Scott interviewed about her BMA retrospective, Lane Harlan, Carlos Raba, and Rey Eugenio's Mexican + Filipino Pop-up, Monica Ikegwu on CNN's "Art is Life" segment, Mark Rothko works on paper at the National Gallery of Art, and more!