This Week: Shanita Hubbard in conversation with D. Watkins at Enoch Pratt, Made in Baltimore Pop-Up closes, Baltimore Crankie Festival at Creative Alliance, artist talk with Micah E. Wood and Christopher J. Chester at Creative Alliance, A Feast In The Desert artist talk at The Peale, and the Howard Street Kiosk reception and artist talk at Current Space — PLUS Rapid Lemon Productions Variations Party and more featured opportunities!
To submit your calendar event, email us at [email protected]!
BmoreArt Newsletter: Sign up for news and special offers!
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.
Writers LIVE! Shanita Hubbard
Thursday, January 5 • 7-8pm
@ Enoch Pratt Free Library Central Branch
Shanita Hubbard argues that Black women have sacrificed their own personal and professional lives for the well-being of others. She posits that this mentality needs to be addressed to ensure that a Black woman’s self-worth is not defined by the amount of time she puts in everyone but herself. Shanita Hubbard will be joined in conversation by bestselling author D. Watkins.
Shanita Hubbard is a writer and professor whose work has appeared in several publications, including The New York Times, The Guardian,Essence, and The Huffington Post.
D. Watkins is the author of five books, editor-at-large for Salon, and a University of Baltimore lecturer.
Virtual Meeting Information
To join virtually visit the Enoch Pratt Free Library’s Facebook or Youtube page.
Holiday Pop-Up Made in Baltimore | Closing Day
Friday, January 6
@ HEX Superette
Until Jan 8, Thur-Sun, 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM
HEX Superette, 5718 York Rd, Baltimore
Free
You can also host company holiday parties and private shopping events in at no charge – email Brian Seymore: [email protected]
Baltimore Crankie Festival 2023 | [SOLD OUT In-Person / Virtual Tickets Available for January 6]
Friday, January 6 – Sunday, January 8
@ Creative Alliance
The festival, the largest of its kind in the country, works with artists to showcase crankies from Baltimore and beyond! A crankie is basic in concept: it is a scroll that provides the visual narration to a story or song. Versions of the crankie have been around for hundreds of years, if not longer; their most recent iteration is directly linked to moving panoramas popular in the 19th Century. In recent years, artists have begun to embrace the intimacy of the format, creating multi-layered, immersive experiences for audiences.
Full lineup of artists and musicians to be announced in the coming weeks. All performances feature the same lineup of artists and musicians!
4 Shows! January 6th at 8pm, January 7th at 4 & 8pm, & January 8th at 2pm
Virtual Ticket available for January 7th at 8pm
First Friday: Artist Talk with Micah E. Wood and Christopher J. Chester
Friday, January 6 • 5pm
@ Creative Alliance
Join artists Micah E. Wood and Christopher J. Chester in conversation with curator Joy Davis as they talk about their work, friendship, and coming of age in the Baltimore music scene. Christopher hopes his posters will build excitement around a show and bring in new and familiar audiences. Micah strives to photograph musicians how they want to be seen and on their terms. Together, their work prioritizes musicians in the foreground.
Artist Bios
Christopher Chester (born February 7, 1990) is a Black graphic designer native to and based in Baltimore City. A MICA alumnus (2016), Christopher studied graphic design and continues to be interested in its influence and use within music, especially in local underground spaces where one’s identity is more experimental. Traditional printmaking and poster design have influenced Christopher’s work over time, taking elements of texture, simplicity, collage, and image manipulation to create his visual compositions. The silkscreen process of halftone, which uses single-color dots and spacing to create imagery, is a consistent element in his work. He currently teaches within the graphic design department at MICA and works at The Atlantic as a Senior Product Designer.
Micah E. Wood’s portrait photography flows with the vibrancy of the Baltimore music scene. Exploding with color, the work builds a sense of belonging and intimacy to the subject that can only be achieved by a thorough understanding of the specialness and sense of place in Baltimore. His portrait work from 2012-2016 culminated in his book Features, in which Micah turns his gaze adoringly on his favorite artists. Over the past eight years, Micah has continued to document individuals of the microcosmic Baltimore music scene, including emerging artists such as Snail Mail, to underground post punk bands, to electropop legend Dan Deacon. Micah disarms subjects, and curates intimate moments with the artists he photographs, and you can see that in his work. His approach to using light as a three-dimensional or sculptural form on the human is a playful feature that links both his portrait and landscape work.
A Feast In The Desert: Exhibition Artist Talk
Friday, January 6 • 6-7pm
@ The Peale
“A Feast In The Desert, ” curated by Alexis Tyson, shares the artist’s voices in appreciating the role food plays in strengthening our bonds and educating our community on food disparity in Baltimore. An intimate exhibition that showcases 4 artists across Baltimore – each offering a story of how food affects them and their lifestyles. Along with educating our community on the food deserts that exist around Baltimore, the exhibition also accepts canned goods donations that will in turn be shared with our 3 partners; The Baltimore Hunger Project, The Dia Network and Outcast Food Network, to help disrupt the effects of food insecurity in Baltimore.
The exhibition is also a chance for viewers to examine their own relationships with food and how it fits in their lives. We encourage our audience to look outside of the lens of food insecurity and consider the conditions and circumstances that led our city here. To fix the problem we must address both the cause of the insecurity and the direct consequence
Featured artists include:
Howard Street Kiosk Reception
Friday, January 6 • 7pm
@ Current Space
Please join us in celebrating the new public art on the 300-400 blocks of Howard Street with a reception from 6-9pm and artist talks at 7pm!
Including:
Bryan Robinson of Black Genius Studios
SHAN Wallace
Takia Ross
Wickerham & Lomax
You Wu
View the works in person along Howard Street and enjoy refreshments and an artist talk in the gallery at Current Space (421 N Howard Street).
These new art installations are a project initiated by Market Center CDC and features public artwork on three kiosks. This project has been sponsored and funded by PNC Bank; site preparation support provided by Downtown Partnership. Additional funding, curatorial and technical support on the 400 block was provided by Current Space.
Rapid Lemon Productions Variations Party
January 14 • 2-5pm
@ Pariah Brewing Company
Audiences at 2022’s Variations on Change picked a great theme for the 2023 Variations Project. Now, you’re invited to the annual Variations Party – a fun, free, and engaging community event where we’ll generate ideas that’ll become this year’s plays. It’s all happening on Saturday, January 14th, from 2pm to 5pm at Pariah Brewing Company in Baltimore.
What does “the end” mean to you? What kinds of stories does that theme suggest? The possibilities are endless! Whether you’re an experienced playwright, or someone who’s curious about writing for the stage, the Variations Project is an excellent way to put your creativity to work.
Writers from all over the Baltimore area are welcome to participate. There is never a fee to submit, and if your script is chosen to be included in our June stage production, you’ll be paid a small royalty.
Find all the dates, details, and guidelines on our website: https://www.
Invisible Architectures: Archival Silence Noise | Call for Submissions
deadline January 17
The architectures of oppression and liberation are not easily gleaned. Institutions and systems cannot hold themselves accountable for the oppression they foster nor are they able to liberate themselves from oppression when the stories they tell about themselves are incomplete. To borrow from the framework of reconciliation, speaking truths fosters accountability, redress and helps prevent future injustices. The reconciliation process is not easy, and if not done thoughtfully, can lead to further harm. Speaking of the role of performance in social justice activism, D. Soyini Madison suggests it is both an effective and an affective tactic.
Performance is a “means and a space from whatever elements or resources are available to resist or subvert the strategies of more powerful institutions, ideologies or processes.” The same can be said for a myriad of forms of artistic expression, from visual arts, to dance, to music, to filmmaking.
This year as part of Towson’s College of Fine Arts and Communications’ CoLab (Invisible Architectues), we will host Archival Silent Noise, a conference that considers the invisible, ignored and silenced areas of our artistic disciplines. By exploring approaches to re-visibiizing and reimagining the archives of our disciplines in the field and in the classroom, Archival Silent Noise will create a space to honor and generate joyful noise and good trouble.
A publication will bookend the conference in 2024.
The Gottlieb Foundation Individual Support Grant
deadline January 18
The Foundation wishes to encourage artists who have dedicated their lives to developing their art, regardless of their level of commercial success.
Please note that these grants are available only to mature individual visual artists. The Foundation defines maturity in this case as having worked for 20 years or more in a mature phase of art.
The Gottlieb Foundation does not fund organizations, educational institutions, students, graphic artists, or those working in crafts. The disciplines of photography, film, video, or related forms are not eligible unless the work directly involves, or can be interpreted as, painting or sculpture. The Foundation does not fund exhibitions, installations, or projects of any kind.
Last year, the Foundation awarded grants of $25,000 each to 20 artists.
Japan Parade Art Contest 2023
deadline January 20
We’re thrilled to announce that the “Japan Parade Art Contest 2023” application is now open. It’s time to show us your ideas and creativity!
Our Art Contest began in 2012 as the Japan Day Art Contest, when we first invited the public to submit illustrations for our official posters, flyers, and programs. The contest was such a success, resulting in so many splendid entries and yielding such wonderful winning artwork, that we decided to make the art contest an annual part of the Japan Day event. This year marks the 11th annual Art Contest and the second Japan Parade Art Contest, and we can’t wait to see your work!
About “Japan Parade”
Japan Day @ Central Park was an annual event celebrating Japanese culture, art, and tradition in Central Park since 2007, with three objectives: to promote cultural exchanges between Japan and the U.S., to express appreciation for New York City, and to strengthen the solidarity of the Japanese-American community.
After years of cancellations due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event was reborn as the Japan Parade in 2022, with the inaugural parade being a fantastic success. The Japan Parade will return in 2023, and with the help of your artwork, we hope to make it every bit as memorable and enjoyable as the first.
Virtual Artist-in-Residence (2023-2024 Season)
deadline January 22
posted by Montgomery College
The artist-in-residence (AIR) program will be in person and/or virtual. We are looking for artist(s) to creatively capitalize on available in-person and virtual learning environment to engage our students, support and enhance the artistic and educational environment within the Visual and Performing Arts Department and add to the visibility of the arts at Montgomery College (MC) Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus.
The AIR Program will provide opportunities for up to two working professional artists to produce work and engage in projects involving the academic programs in an interactive setting designed to augment the Visual Art and Design programs. The program will be one semester in duration. To maximize interaction with academic programs, residencies will align with the academic calendar.
King Street Gallery Application
deadline January 22
posted by Montgomery College
The King Street Gallery in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at Montgomery College is calling for artists to explore, expand, define, engage, meditate on, interrogate, and converse with the color blue. Proposals for solo or group exhibitions are invited.
The deadline for proposals is January 22, 2023, at 11:59 p.m.
The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Arts Center has a number of spaces available for mounting exhibitions that support the academic mission of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts. This open call is for our King Street Gallery, the largest exhibition space in the Cafritz Arts Center. This light filled, 1050 square foot gallery is in the main atrium of the building. Its prominent location, open design, and extremely high ceilings (30 feet+) make it a great venue for major exhibitions. While much of this gallery space is visible from the main lobby of the building, and through the windows that front onto the street, it does maintain gallery hours and is locked after hours. The gallery hours are Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.– 4 p.m.
Exhibitions are generally scheduled a year in advance to compliment the academic calendar. Exhibitions in the King Street Gallery are 4-5 weeks long, and emphasize two person or small group shows. Single artist applications may be paired with a complimentary artist or artists to better utilize the space. Curated proposals are encouraged.
This Week: Levester Williams opening reception at UMBC, High Zero Festival, Suchitra Mattai exhibition opens at NMWA, Ada Pinkston opening reception + meet the artist at Transformer DC, Tea with Myrtis and Monica Ikegwu, and Preoccupied free community day at the BMA - Plus Calls for Entries!
"Central to all the work that I’ve done, is how do we acknowledge the value that we have as creators, and demand the compensation, space, and honor that we deserve?"
This week's news includes: Amy Sherald profiled in NYT, Sweaty Eyeballs: Animation Adjacent coming to Area 405, Little Havana's Hemingway Room plays host to Baltimore jazz performers, VisArts Wingate Grant to fund craft studies, Miss Maryland Bailey Ann, Jason Buckwalter, and more!
Ashworth emphasizes that while the space has technological origins, its primary mission is to serve as a venue for human creativity, allowing individuals to engage authentically and expressively in theater.
