One of the best aspects of city life is to never have to ride in a car, to be able to walk to work, shopping, and for recreation. In many cities, it has become common to host walkable, collaborative cultural events where a variety of different venues choose to open their doors and host simultaneous receptions and performances. Each summer, Baltimore’s Station North Arts District organizes a monthly art walk to showcase a variety of different art galleries, studios, retail, and food, all located within reasonable walking distance of one another. They print out free maps, available at each participating location for self-guided tours, and offer modest funding to cover hospitality.
Since Station North is an extra-long and odd-shaped arts district, they tend to emphasize one end or the other in each walk. On Friday, August 25, they hosted a Greenmount-West focused walk, with Open Works serving as an anchor with plentiful maps and an outdoor makers market.
“What I love most about our art walks is that we invite the public into the intimate, imaginative, unusual spaces where artists make their work,” says Abby Becker, the Director of the Station North Arts District, which is a program of the Central Baltimore Partnership. “Over a dozen artists opened their studio doors at spaces including Area 405, where we also hosted the inaugural Greenmount West Community Art Show. The work of being an artist is wrapped up in a certain mystique, and these events are a chance for people of all ages, from all walks of life to experience the way that arts and culture bring us together.”
Photographer Jill Fannon visited as many of the following locations on the SN Map and captured the energy, enthusiasm, and participants.
