BmoreArt

This week’s news includes:  Samuel Hoi to retire from MICA, Krystal C. Mack named VisArts’ 2022-2023 Art + Social Justice Fellow, Baltimore Jewelry Center awarded a grant, BMA to exhibit Matisse etchings, Smithsonian galleries reopen, BSO welcomes Jonathon Heyward, Chef Dae at Motor House, Artscape murals and fashion showcase, Common Ground to reopen as worker’s co-op, and more reporting from The Real News Network, Baltimore Fishbowl, Baltimore Banner, and other local and independent news sources.

Header Image: Henri Matisse. Bourgeat Resembling Vassaux. 1914. The Baltimore Museum of Art: Marguerite Matisse Duthuit Collection, BMA 2010.104. © Succession H. Matisse/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

MICA president Samuel Hoi to retire
by Hallie Miller
Published August 29 in The Baltimore Banner

Excerpt: Maryland Institute College of Art president Samuel Hoi will retire at the end of the year, opening the search for a new leader of the prestigious Baltimore arts institution still in the throes of strong economic headwinds, the college announced Tuesday.

Hoi, known by the campus community as “Sammy,” has led the school since 2014. He oversaw the campus’ response to the coronavirus pandemic, which hit the small college’s finances especially hard and led to an institutional “restructuring” effort that condensed the size of the school.

MICA, considered a cultural gem of the city, has long been considered a vital “brain draw” for Baltimore. It boasts a significant real estate portfolio in the Bolton Hill area and the area adjacent to the Station North Arts District, and owns property and equipment valued at more than $160 million as of 2022, according to its latest public audit. It also reports a more than $100 million endowment.

See also:

MICA President Samuel Hoi Announces Retirement
via MICA website

Baltimore Jewelry Center Awarded Maryland Makerspace Initiative Grant from TEDCO
Press Release :: August 29

TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced the awardees for the first round of the new Maryland Makerspace Initiative Program (“Makerspace Program”). Funding will be awarded to 20 projects spanning 11 counties and Baltimore City, including 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 twenty-two years. Today, the nonprofit is providing a rigorous academic program and robust studio access program for metal and jewelry artists.

“TEDCO is always working to support and grow businesses in Maryland. This includes creating and supporting opportunities for entrepreneurs to learn, grow, create and innovate,” said Terry Rauh, TEDCO’s chief finance and operations officer. “That is why we are excited to announce the 2023 Maryland Makerspace Initiative Program financial assistance grants—these spaces are designed to provide entrepreneurs with resources to help grow their businesses, such as technologies to support prototyping and product creation, as well as training and educational opportunities.”

The Baltimore Jewelry Center will utilize the grant to expand three of their existing programs (Youth Education/Workforce Development, Artist Residency, Teaching Fellowship) and to initiate a strategic reenvisioning process in conjunction with their tenth anniversary in FY2024.

What is the Makerspace Program?

Created through legislation passed by the Maryland General Assembly, the Makerspace Program provides grants up to $100,000 and technical assistance for qualified entities looking to establish a new Makerspace, expand an existing Makerspace, or develop Makerspace programming. The goal is to grow a state-wide community of Makerspaces that provides entrepreneurs with access to tools, technologies and knowledge to support their growth and development as well as expand workforce training.

About the Baltimore Jewelry Center:

Founded in June 2014, the Baltimore Jewelry Center is the successor organization to the MICA Jewelry Center. 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. The Baltimore Jewelry Center’s offerings are open to anyone regardless of educational or artistic background, and the program provides affordable educational opportunities by subsidizing class, workshop, and studio rental costs. 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.

VisArts Announces 2022-2023 Art + Social Justice Fellow
Press Release :: August 25

VisArts is pleased to announce that Krystal C. Mack has been selected as the 2022-2023 Art + Social Justice Fellow.

VisArts’ Art + Social Justice Fellowship

VisArts’ Arts + Social Justice Fellowship is open to visual activists whose current research, curatorial or visual activist practice and passion center on social, racial, economic, and/or environmental justice.

The year-long experience, which includes a $500 monthly stipend, is an opportunity to explore how thoughtfully curated art, dialogue, communication, and collaborations between artists and communities can productively navigate political flashpoints, chronic systemic inequities, and entrenched perspectives to inspire change toward a more equitable, just, and inclusive society.

VisArts’ 2022-2023 Art + Social Justice Fellow: Krystal C. Mack

Krystal C. Mack is a self-taught designer and artist using her social practice to highlight food and nature’s role in collective healing, empowerment, and decolonization. Through comestible and social design, Mack seeks to publicly unpack and heal personal traumas relevant to her lived experience as an autistic Black woman. A critical element of her work involves the exploration of food and nature beyond the limits of traditional consumption.

Mack uses food design to construct spaces for dialogue and inquiry into the cultivation, or lack thereof, of sustainable and accessible practices supporting or hindering reparative futures for marginalized communities. With her practice, she creates worlds and objects that invite the community to engage with food and the more-than-human world in multidimensional ways that elicit a sensory call and response, acting as a transformative tool for all.

Mack’s recent work with the mycelial network (described below) is the inspiration for VisArts’ F.E.A.S.T. 2023’s theme of REMEDIATION (described below).

Artist Statement: For the past two years, i’ve been working with mycelium in my practice as a creative medium because of its natural beauty as a material and the similarities that i see between mycelium, people of the African diaspora, and the communities that both create. There is strength and resilience in mycelium, but there is also a beauty and vulnerability that shows up in its structural networks and fruiting bodies (mushrooms). i believe the same is true of communities of the African diaspora.

There is power in our varying cultures collectively, but there is also so much softness and nuance in the communities that make up the African diaspora and its respective networks. Like many creatives in global communities of a diaspora, my work as a social practice artist is an attempt to remediate the colonized ways of thinking and creating that i have been inoculated with living in a white supremacist, patriarchal, ableist, and capitalist world. This past year, that work has primarily explored the mycelial nature of Black cultural work, ancestral wisdom, and how one could understand remediation and decolonization by observing and replicating natural processes of the more-than-human world in art, place-making, and social justice work.

It has been an honor to serve as the 2022-2023 VisArts Art + Social Justice Fellow. As i embark on the journey of creating a public-facing social design studio and cultural arts garden in my hometown of Baltimore, i cannot begin to express how crucial this time afforded to me by VisArts has been. i have been able to take this time to dive more deeply into biomimicry as a social practice artist and embrace remediation through the creation and celebration of living containers of culture, both mediated and imagined. i have been given the opportunity to rediscover alternative approaches to community organization and support that have existed long before the human-made inequities of the world as we know it today.

About the Artist

Krystal C. Mack’s work has been highlighted by the “New York Times,” NPR, “Food & Wine Magazine,” and “MOLD Magazine.” She has been named a ‘Woman to Watch’ by the “Baltimore Sun” and featured on the Cherry Bombe 100 Women in Food list by “Cherry Bombe Magazine” as a food industry ‘Change Agent.’ In 2023, she was awarded the United States Artist Fellowship in Architecture & Design, becoming the first artist in the history of the USA Fellowship to be honored for working with food. Mack currently resides in her hometown of Baltimore, Md.

Etched in Memory: Matisse’s Early Portraits to Open in BMA’s Ruth R. Marder Center for Matisse Studies
Press Release :: August 30

On November 5, the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) opens Etched in Memory: Matisse’s Early Portraits, a focus exhibition that offers a rare look at some of the first etchings made by French artist Henri Matisse (1869–1954). During the tumultuous early years of World War I, Matisse’s home served as a meeting point and respite for friends, neighbors, and refugees—many of whom became subjects of his early etchings. The exhibition features 14 of these works, offering a compelling view both into the artist’s first forays with the etching process and individuals such as Madame Matisse, Josette Gris, and Walter Pach who comprised his inner circle in 1914-15. On view through April 21, 2024, the exhibition is presented in the BMA’s Jay McKean Fisher Gallery in The Ruth R. Marder Center for Matisse Studies and draws on the museum’s extensive Matisse holdings.

“Etched in Memory perfectly embodies the vision of The Ruth R. Marder Center for Matisse Studies, inviting our community to see works that are rarely shown and offering new insight into Matisse,” said Asma Naeem, the BMA’s Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director. “Matisse’s artmaking and legacy is unparalleled in continuing to move so many and inspire artists and thinkers from all over the world. These beautiful and intimate portraits provide a unique glimpse of him as both a person and artist living and working during a perilous time.” […]

Smithsonian American Art Museum To Unveil Reinstalled Modern & Contemporary Galleries
Press Release :: August 29

The Smithsonian American Art Museum reopens its modern and contemporary galleries Sept. 22 with a new installation of its permanent collection that freshly examines the explosion of possibility in American art between the 1940s and today. Artists using new materials and techniques—and inspired by the social, cultural and technological changes around them—are featured in “American Voices and Visions: Modern and Contemporary Art.” This is the initial phase of a multiyear renewal and reinstallation of the museum’s permanent collection galleries slated for overall completion in 2026 in honor of America’s semiquincentennial.

The reopening of the modern and contemporary galleries is the first reinterpretation of its holdings since the museum’s National Historic Landmark building reopened in 2006 after an extensive renovation. The selected works on view highlight established strengths of the museum’s collection, such as its leading collections of work by Black and self-taught artists, while featuring new areas of collection growth since 2006, including post-World War II and contemporary art, time-based media and Latinx art. The installation acknowledges the multifaceted narratives, identities and artistic practices that exist in the United States by including the often-overlooked histories and contributions by Asian American, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, LGBTQ+ and women artists, part of a museum-wide effort to provide a more expansive view of American art.

“It would be too simplistic to reduce the development of American art to a linear series of artistic movements since it is a messy, dynamic, ever-evolving history that reflects the American experience through a multitude of perspectives and geographies,” said Stephanie Stebich, the Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. “As the flagship museum for American art, the reinstallation of our modern and contemporary collection is an important marker in revisiting dominant narratives to illuminate often-overlooked contributions, something that will echo throughout the reinstallation of all our galleries over the coming years.”

The third-floor galleries have been redesigned in collaboration with Selldorf Architects
under the leadership of Annabelle Selldorf to create a unified space that highlights the historical architectural elements of the building while offering improved conditions for displaying artworks. The new spaces double the available wall area for installing art and allow for dynamic circulation patterns that reinforce the fluidity between artistic disciplines and historical narratives. Now, 57% of the works on view are by artists of color and 44% by women, which together reflect a more nuanced and representative survey of American art since 1945.

“American Voices and Visions” brings together more than 100 artworks from the museum’s wide-ranging collection, integrating a range of media and practices from across the museum’s collection areas—including photography, video, craft and work by self-taught artists. The reinstalled galleries feature 42 artworks recently added to the museum’s collection, including works by Firelei Báez, Tiffany Chung, Audrey Flack, Jeffrey Gibson (Mississippi Choctaw/Cherokee), Tseng Kwong Chi, Miguel Luciano, Martha Rosler, Alison Saar, Hank Willis Thomas and Kay WalkingStick (Cherokee Nation) among others—many of which are being shown for the first time—alongside iconic works from the collection by Alexander Calder, Jenny Holzer, Morris Louis, Kerry James Marshall, Nam June Paik, Martin Puryear, Sean Scully, Alma Thomas and Mickalene Thomas.

“With a collection spanning the 18th century through the present, SAAM has a unique opportunity to reexamine 20th- and 21st-century artistic practices across a range of media and within a wider sweep of American history to tell a rich and deep story of art in the United States,” said Randall Griffey, head curator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. “The collection offers opportunities for connection and dialogue—between artists and ideas, between artworks and viewers, and among the artworks themselves. Our hope is that visitors are inspired to engage in this vibrant conversation as they explore our new and refreshed galleries.”

Highlights in the new galleries for modern art include:

• An introduction to abstract expressionism that includes works by well-known figures such as Willem de Kooning, Clyfford Still and Joan Mitchell as well as the important contributions of underrecognized artists such as Claire Falkenstein and George Morrison (Grand Portage Band of Chippewa)
• A tracing of the rise and impact of feminism in the 1970s through artworks by Judith Baca, Audrey Flack, Martha Rosler and Miriam Schapiro
• A grouping of painters Melesio Casas, Fritz Scholder, Carlos Villa and Kay WalkingStick (Cherokee Nation) highlights the ways in which artists have drawn on expressionism, pop art and other movements to create work that challenges stereotypes and reflects diverse identities

• A selection of artists who experimented with color and form and were based in Washington, D.C., a flourishing center for abstract art in the 1960s and 1970s, including Sam Gilliam, Alma Thomas and Anne Truitt. Morris Louis’ majestically scaled “Beta Upsilon” was recently conserved and now returns to public view for the first time in more than 30 years

The airy, expansive gallery dedicated to contemporary art features artworks that open conversations about what art can do, who can make it and who it is for. Highlights include:

• A grouping of works that make use of found materials by artists, including Thornton Dial Sr., Theaster Gates, Louise Nevelson and Alison Saar

• The return to public view of Nam Jun Paik’s monumental video installation “Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii” (1995), an iconic work in the museum’s collection that is complemented by selections from the museum’s Nam June Paik Archive

• A presentation of works grounded in political and social activism by Luis Jiménez, Barbara Kruger, Consuelo Jimenez Underwood and AfriCOBRA members Jeff Donaldson and Barbara Jones-Hogu

• A new gallery dedicated to photography presents works that challenge representations and misconceptions of identity by Diane Arbus, Tseng Kwong Chi and Ken Ohara, part of an overall curatorial effort to incorporate photography throughout the permanent collection galleries

• A grouping of artworks that explore themes of language and communication by artists James Castle, Dan Miller, Judith Scott, George Widener and Jenny Holzer

• A selection of works that explore notions of national and personal identity by Nick Cave, Jeffrey Gibson (Mississippi Choctaw/Cherokee), Miguel Luciano, Mickalene Thomas, Hank Willis Thomas and Marie Watt (Seneca)

Dedicated Time-Based Media Gallery
The modern and contemporary reinstallation opens concurrently with a new state-of-the-art gallery dedicated to time-based media, also located on the third floor. Inaugurating the space is “Carrie Mae Weems: Looking Forward, Looking Back,” on view through July 7, 2024. This focused exhibition pairs two newly acquired projects in which Carrie Mae Weems invites others to step back in time: a multimedia installation titled “Lincoln, Lonnie, and Me—A Story in 5 Parts” (2012) and eight photographs from her series “Constructing History” (2008). More information is available in a fact sheet on the museum’s website.

Audio Tours From Smartify
The museum’s education and curatorial staff collaborated on an interpretative approach that emphasizes the individual voices of the artists represented through first-person quotes on the wall labels and a new audio guide available through Smartify that features new and archival audio in which the artists speak to the works on view. Additional tours, created in collaboration with the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery that shares the museum’s historic building, provide insights into the history of the museum’s Greek Revival building and feature highlights of selected works on view. The public can access these tours online or in gallery using personal devices. Tours will be available in English, Spanish, American Sign Language and Descriptive Audio.

Free Public Programs
Weems presents a virtual talk Wednesday, Sept. 20, at 6:30 p.m. ET; registration is required. On Friday, Sept. 22, Melissa Ho, curator of 20th-century art, leads a gallery tour of the newly reinstalled modern art galleries at 1:30 p.m.; Sarah Newman, the James Dicke Curator of Contemporary Art, leads a gallery tour of the newly reinstalled contemporary art galleries at 2:30 p.m.; and museum conservators share stories about preparing selected artworks for public view at 3:30 p.m. Additional information is available on the museum’s website.

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Welcomes New Music Director Jonathon Heyward with a Three-Day Season Opening Gala Celebration
Press Release :: August 29

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) excitedly launches incoming Music Director, Jonathon Heyward’s, historic tenure in an expansive three-day season opener. Featuring performances by the world-renowned Dance Theatre of Harlem and world-class Baltimore Symphony musicians, the program pays tribute to the performing arts through a powerful display of ballet and orchestral music. With Maryland Governor Wes Moore and First Lady Dawn Flythe Moore serving as Honorary Gala Chairs, the BSO Gala provides an opportunity for all Marylanders to take part in the celebration at the BSO’s two year-round homes – The Music Center at Strathmore on Friday, September 22, the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall on Saturday, September 23, and a Meyerhoff finale during a free community concert as a part of the return of Artscape 2023 on Sunday, September 24.

“Music elevates, validates, and inspires us every day — it is how we tell our stories. Thanks to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, a beautiful story is being told in Maryland, with music resounding on traditional and unexpected stages in every corner of our state,” said Governor Wes Moore and First Lady Dawn Flythe Moore. “We are proud to serve as Honorary Chairs of this year’s three-day, statewide gala celebration. We are so excited to honor the incredible power of the arts and give the warmest Maryland welcome to Jonathon Heyward.”

Guests will enjoy performances of Dvořák’s Slavonic Dance, Op 46, No. 1, Tchaikovsky’s Mazurka from Act III of Swan Lake, Bach’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, and a world premiere choreography of Hailstork’s Symphony No. 1, among other pieces. Members of the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestra and BSO OrchKids are also highlighted in this exciting performance.<

“Our upcoming three-day opening gala is a celebration of music’s ability to transcend boundaries and unite communities,” said Jonathon Heyward. “I am particularly honored to collaborate with the Dance Theatre of Harlem, the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestras, and the BSO OrchKids during these celebratory performances as these partnerships underscore my belief in the transformative power of the arts and its capacity to inspire and uplift. The opportunity to stand at the helm of such a distinguished orchestra, alongside the immensely talented BSO musicians, fills me with tremendous pride and I can’t wait to get started.”

The debut of a new music director is an exciting time for any symphony orchestra, but especially so as the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra welcomes Jonathon Heyward, the Orchestra’s youngest and first-ever Black Music Director and the only American-born leader of any major American orchestra. His five-year tenure will begin with the BSO Gala celebration. Those eager to get in on the excitement of Jonathon’s arrival can join the BSO for a fun game of “Find the Golden Converse.” This scavenger hunt-style game is inspired by Jonathon’s “Converse Conductor” moniker and pays tribute to his affinity for the footwear brand. Pairs of mini-converse sneakers are hidden in various locations throughout Baltimore City and Montgomery County. Participating locations like the Walters Art Museum, Reginald F. Lewis Museum, the Maryland Zoo, and others encourage visitors to try their luck at finding the Golden Converse during their visit for an opportunity to win tickets to the Season Opening Galas. More details about the game and rules can be found at BSOmusic.org/gala. Follow the fun and see the full list of participating cultural institutions on social media @BaltSymphony on Twitter (X), Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

THE DETAILS

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2023
The Music Center at Strathmore
5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD 20852

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2023
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
1212 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
8 PM | GALA CONCERTS
Features special guests Dance Theatre of Harlem and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Jonathon Heyward in his debut performances as BSO Music Director.

POST-CONCERT (Strathmore and Meyerhoff Gala Performances Only)
Celebratory toast and After-Party with BSO Artists.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2023
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hal
1212 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201

4 PM | ARTSCAPE COMMUNITY CONCERT
A free, community concert in Baltimore City as part of the return of Artscape. Features special guests Dance Theatre of Harlem and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Jonathon Heyward in his debut performances as BSO Music Director. Tickets for the Artscape event are distributed by local charities and community organizations.

“I am extremely proud of the hard work, dedication and talent that will be displayed during our first-ever, three-day Gala celebration,” said Mark C. Hanson, BSO President and CEO. “We are thrilled to gather once again, by bringing together the power of music and the grace of dance, as we embark on a new musical journey with Jonathon Heyward as our new Music Director. Because of the ongoing support and generosity of our cherished donors, the dedication of our community partners, and the enthusiasm of our loyal ticket holders and supporters, the Gala and the exciting season ahead of us is possible.”

The BSO Gala is just the starting point of a thrilling new concert season. Music lovers can look forward to an exciting season that sees the return of the Fusion Series, Films with Orchestra, family, youth and holiday programming, and new programs that feature world-premiere performances, Casual Conversations with Jonathon, and other innovative concerts and events. Jonathon and the BSO’s new musical journey also provides a great opportunity to get closer to the music and take part in its Ovation series, a brand-new event series (for members and subscribers including passport holders) that explores an innovative and personalized approach for new and existing concertgoers. From Open Rehearsals to Virtual Afternoon Tea with Jonathon Heyward, the Ovation Series is an exciting roster of events that pairs concerts with opportunities to listen, learn, and connect with like-minded music lovers.

Visit my.BSOmusic.org for tickets and detailed information on concerts, memberships and more.

Motor House Welcomes Chef Dae Of Dream Street Cuisine to the Showroom Bar!
Press Release :: August 25

For weeks, the public has made inquiries about one thing specifically, “When will Motor House have food again?!” After an extensive search, Motor House is proud to announce new culinary partnership with Chef Dae of Dream Street Cuisine! This collaboration leans heavily on fusing Chef Dae’s background with food trucks and seafood with Showroom Bar’s craft cocktails and homemade syrups for menu items exclusive to Motor House! Along with the menu items, each Wednesday is “Wing Wednesday!” Customers will be able to purchase Dream Street Cuisine wings from the Dream Street Cuisine food truck in front of Motor House. Chef Dae’s hours of operation are Tuesday – Friday from 2 – 9 PM and Saturdays from 4 -10 PM.

About Chef Dae:

Chef Dae’s passion has always been food. It started from watching her aunts (Teonta & Tarshella) cook for family and friends. But it was seeing the way food truly brought people together that ignited her fire for cooking. It made her want to pay attention not only to the way a dish was prepared, but to see how it made people happy. She started experimenting with food and whether it turned out to be good or bad the pure art of trying was what was most important, and kept her going! Her first job was an ice cream server at Phillips Seafood Restaurant at the Baltimore inner harbor. It was there that she learned how to run a kitchen, often taking advantage of the opportunity to go into the kitchen and ask questions. After that her experience and discipline blossomed, while working in various kitchens learning and studying to become a chef. That is what molded her structure for her craft.

Dream St. Cuisine Catering was built from her dream to make families, friends, coworkers and just people from all walks of life come together to EAT, LAUGH , and ENJOY her creative creations.

“A seed can get as big as an elephant, but you can take it beyond the universe!” – Chef Dae

Before it even opens, Artscape 2023 is brightening up the Station North area with murals and sculpture
by Ed Gunts
Published August 25 in Baltimore Fishbowl

Excerpt: Baltimore’s Charles Street corridor is getting a little brighter, thanks to Artscape 2023.

As part of their preparations for the arts festival and its expansion this year into the Station North Arts and Entertainment District, organizers have planned a series of murals, sculpture and other “art installations” that are designed to transform some of the dreary blocks and empty lots that form a sort of No Man’s Land between Mount Vernon and Charles Village.

The public art program is an initiative of the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA), the non-profit organization paid to produce the festival, and the Mayor’s Office in City Hall. The idea is to use the energy of the three-day arts festival to create some physical improvements that will last long after the event is over.

Artscape to showcase local designers in new two-day fashion runway event
by Marcus Dieterle
Published August 25 in Baltimore Fishbowl

Excerpt: As Baltimore prepares to welcome back Artscape next month for the first time since 2019, a new addition to this year’s festival will highlight works by local fashion designers in two days of runway shows.

Project Artscape will be a fashion-focused event on Sept. 23 and 24, featuring 31 designers in total. The runway shows will take place at the Baltimore Improve Group’s parking lot at 1727 N. Charles St.

“There are so many great designers in this city that more people should know,” said Devin Shacklett, Senior Program Coordinator for BOPA, who came up with the idea for Project Artscape and is coordinating the program. “I am incredibly excited for the Baltimore City fashion community. Without a doubt, this is going to be a phenomenal experience!”

After beloved Baltimore coffee shop abruptly closed, workers reopen as co-op
by Rebekah Kirkman
Published August 25 in The Real News Network

Excerpt: Jake Urtes and Jonah Gallagher were getting ready to play a show in Brooklyn when they found out they had lost their jobs. The pair had taken the week off work for a short tour with their band, Shift Meal. To everyone’s surprise, their boss and owner of Common Ground Bakery Cafe, a long-established and beloved coffee shop in Baltimore’s Hampden neighborhood, had abruptly shut down the shop.

On the Common Ground internal Slack channel, workers read owner Michael Krupp’s brief message to all staff informing them that they wouldn’t need to come to work the next day, Monday, July 3. “For multiple reasons, today I have made the very difficult decision to cease operations,” Krupp wrote, in part. Managers had only learned about the closure a few minutes before staff, and the public found out on Monday morning, thanks to a sign taped to the store’s window.

“It didn’t really feel real,” Urtes told TRNN. “All of our hard work just up in flames in a second with no warning at all.”

See also:

Hampden’s Common Ground cafe to reopen as worker-owned cooperative
by Christina Tkacik
Published August 25 in The Baltimore Banner

Hampden’s Common Ground Bakery Cafe is Reopening as a Worker-Owned Co-Op
by Joe Martinak
Published August 25 in Baltimore Magazine