BmoreArt

This Week:  Curator Jessy DeSantis hosts a closing reception + artist talk at Motor House, Musica Spira performs at George Peabody Library, Deborah Patterson opening reception at JELMA, Philip Muriel, James ‘Alpha’ Massaquoi, and Laurel Stewart opening reception at Bromo Arts Tower, Stoop Storytelling at AVAM, Signe Wilkinson and  Jonathan Zimmerman speak at MICA, opening reception for Sue Lowe at Creative Alliance, Gunz of Steel at Current Space, Art After Hours at the BMA, and The Blaq Skate Day Party at Shake & Bake — PLUS MAP’s UNDER $500 call for entry and more featured opportunities!

 

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]!

 

BmoreArt Newsletter: Sign up for news and special offers!

Subscribe

 

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.

 

 

< Events >

 

Return To The Land by Jessy Desantis | Closing Reception + Artist Talk
Tuesday, October 10 :: 7-10pm, Artist Talk 8pm
@ Motor House

Guest curator and Baltimore based artist Jessy DeSantis invites viewers to reflect on artists’ interpretive expression of their relationship with the Land. Return to the Land features multidisciplinary art, including spoken word, video, illuminated aerial sculptures, paintings, photography and textile works by Baltimore based artists.

“Generations of separating ourselves from nature has led to our current lived experiences of this ecological emergency. For reversal, our way of human living would have to change drastically, it would need to be revolutionary. However unattainable that may feel, a manageable step towards that is of that internal revolution in returning to who we fundamentally are. Returning to the land is essentially returning to yourself because you are the land” – Jessy Desantis

 

 

In the Stacks: Musica Spira
Wednesday, October 11 :: 6:30-7:30pm
@ George Peabody Library

We’re back! After three years, we’re so excited to bring music back to the George Peabody Library. For our first performance, early musical ensemble Musica Spira will explore the fascinating variety of venues that 17th-century Italian women composed in, including courts, convents, and private academies. Isabella Leonarda and Lucrezia Vizzana spent their lives in convents, Francesca Caccini was the highest-paid musician at the Medici court, and Barbara Strozzi published cantatas that she performed in her father’s private salon. Although the contributions of women have often been overshadowed in our historical narratives, the musical works of these four women came to define the most important genres of the Baroque period.

Enjoy an evening of music in one of the most beautiful libraries in the world, along with a one-night only display of women-authored rare books from the Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries Special Collections.

This event is free and advance registration is strongly encouraged.
Doors open at 6 pm.

• Seats for registered attendees will be held until 6:20 and then will be released for open seating.
• A standby line will begin at 5 pm and let additional people into the concert if seats are available after 6:20 pm.
• We encourage patrons without advance registration to join the standby line. Most standby patrons are able to be accommodated.

 

 

Depths of Being | Opening Reception
Thursday, October 12 :: 1-3pm
@ JELMA, Morgan State University

This groundbreaking exhibition features six large oil paintings by Deborah Patterson that interpret the six “Depths” of Jin Shin Jyutsu (JSJ), a Japanese healing art used to restore harmony to the body by simply holding one’s fingers. Deborah’s nearly fifteen year experience with JSJ has been so positive, her goal is to share it widely. Accompanying the paintings is original music by experimental musician/composer, Charles Emmett Freeman. In 2022 Charles suffered a hemorrhagic stroke, which has led both to an interest in healing and an entirely different approach to his music. For this project, he has tuned his compositions to healing frequencies that can be traced back to Sanskrit chants, 8th c. Gregorian chants, and 11th c. harmonics. Participants will experience JSJ firsthand as they engage with the paintings and music. Both artists received grants from the Maryland State Arts Council to complete their work.

October 12, 1:00-3:00 P.M. Exhibition opens to the public with reception made possible by a Free Fall Baltimore grant from Baltimore Promotion and the Arts.
October 26, 1:00-3:00 P.M. Public conversation about the exhibition and the place of the arts in medicine and healing, facilitated by MAM4Healing (Music, Art and Medicine for Healing), a group comprised of Professor of Music at Morgan, Dr. Samuel Springer, medical doctors, Dr. Tramar Murdoch and Dr. Garry Jennings, and artist Deborah Patterson. This event is also made possible by the Free Fall Baltimore grant from Baltimore Promotion and the Arts.

About the Artists:

Deborah Patterson completed her art training at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia and holds a masters degree from Yale University’s Institute of Sacred Music and the Arts. A Baltimore native, she returned to the city to collaborate with composer, Robert Sirota, former director of the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, on two large painting and music projects: “Triptych: A Commemoration to the Victims of 9/11” and “The Passion of Jesus Christ: A Visual Oratorio.” Her work is in private collections throughout the U.S., Italy, Greece, and the U.K.

Charles Emmett Freeman, also a Baltimore native, recently released an album with musician, Anne Watts, about John Englehart, a lifelong institutionalized man in his seventies, whose life was transformed and healed through his own art making. Charles’ own experience with art and music collaborations include: three compositions as part of a conceptual sculptural installation at the Jewish Museum in Berlin, Germany, and the composition/performance of music with the Baltimore band, Boister, to accompany films at venues throughout Maryland, DC and Virginia.

 

 

Emerge 3.0 This is Baltimore Too | Opening Reception
Thursday, October 12 :: 6-8pm | Ongoing through December 17
@ Bromo Arts Tower

“This is Baltimore Too” is a platform that highlights the exceptional talents of three emerging artists from Baltimore. Among them, Philip Muriel, a dedicated photographer whose work seeks to evoke empathy, capture attention, and contribute to an archive that empowers his community. James ‘Alpha’ Massaquoi Jr. specializes in intricately textured drawings that infuse his subjects with vitality, radiating warmth and vibrancy in his artistry. Lastly, Laurel Stewart is renowned for her mixed-media paintings, seamlessly blending elements from the natural world into her creations. Stewart’s artistic process includes the craft of pigments from local rocks, the delicate preservation of native plants, and the incorporation of the environment’s vivid colors. She further explores diverse mediums, such as resin and wood, and skillfully produces hand-punched rugs that pay homage to Maryland’s rich biodiversity

Lobby Gallery: Philip Muriel ”Us”

Mezzanine Gallery: James ‘Alpha’ Massaquoi “Tales of Two Cities”

Members Gallery: Laurel Stewart ”Standing Silent in the Sun”

Exhibition closes on Sunday, December 17, 2023.

 

 

Creating Art, Creating Change: Art as a Tool for Social Justice
Thursday, October 12 :: 7-8:30pm
@ American Visionary Art Museum

Join us for an extraordinary evening of art and storytelling, as we explore the  connections between racism, anti-Semitism, and the transformative power of art and stories to counter hate and build a thriving democracy. Featuring:

• Eric Ward, one of the nation’s leading experts on extremism and winner of the International Civil Courage Award, and
• Baltimore’s own The Stoop Storytellers, showcasing authentic and personal narratives from local residents who have harnessed their art to bring about social change.

The program draws inspiration from the powerful artwork of Holocaust survivor Esther Nisenthal Krinitz, Esther and the Dream of One Loving Human Family, now on exhibit at the American Visionary  Art Museum. Hosted by AVAM in partnership with Art and Remembrance.

 

 

Free Speech & the Arts
Thursday, October 12 :: 7-8:30pm
@ MICA Brown Center

Nationally recognized cartoonist and Pulitzer Prize winner Signe Wilkinson and historian and author Jonathan Zimmerman will headline “Free Speech & the Arts” at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). The duo, who collaborated on the 2021 book “Free Speech: And Why You Should Give a Damn,” will examine the history of free speech in America and its age-old connection to censorship, recent attempts to suppress ideas and images, and why artists are at the forefront of these issues.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place on Thursday, Oct. 12, from 7 – 8:30 p.m. in Falvey Hall, located within the Brown Center at 1301 W Mount Royal Ave.

“Disputes over freedom of expression have long vexed cultural institutions, schools and universities, but in recent years such disputes have grown conspicuously acute. At a time when activists and politicians around the country are insisting that books be pulled from libraries and curricula, we are fortunate to have Signe Wilkinson and Jonathan Zimmerman to help us think more deeply about free speech in the arts,” said Paul Jaskunas, professor of Creative Writing and Literature at MICA.

Wilkinson has drawn political cartoon commentary for over 40 years. Winner of numerous cartooning awards, she became the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning in 1992. She has worked for the San Jose Mercury News, the Philadelphia Daily News and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Though she is no longer cartooning daily, Wilkinson continues to draw the Sunday editorial cartoon for the Inquirer Opinion section. In addition to publishing two small collections, “Abortion Cartoons on Demand” and “One Nation, Under Surveillance,” Wilkinson has had work has appear in anthologies that include “Drawn to Purpose: American Women Illustrators and Cartoonists” by Martha H. Kennedy.

Zimmerman, who is Judy and Howard Berkowitz Professor in Education at the University of Pennsylvania, is one of the foremost education historians working today. His work examines how education practices and policies have developed over time, and the myths that often cloud our understanding of teaching and learning. He has a particular interest in how political and social movements come to shape education. A former Peace Corps volunteer and high school teacher, Zimmerman has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Chronicle of Higher Education, The New York Review of Books and The Atlantic.

“Censors have always attacked artists because the best art challenges our received wisdom about the world. And that’s why artists should be the first sentinels in the defense of free speech. When freedom goes away, so does art,” Zimmerman said.

Wilkinson added, “Unlike artists and cartoonists in many other countries who can be jailed or worse for their views, we Americans enjoy broad protection for artistic free speech. Let’s use it!”

 

 

Sue Lowe: Curtains Exhibition | Opening Reception
Friday, October 13 :: 6-9pm | Ongoing through December 2
@ Creative Alliance

The exhibition Curtains is about family and masks in figurative and literal. This collection of work is dedicated to Susan Lowe’s grandson Devin who passed away from leukemia in 2017.

Lowe felt compelled to construct a series of paintings that depict images of objects she saw every day when she visited Devin in the hospital: curtains, hallways, windows, stairs, and doors. Curtains were disturbing to the artist because the sound of the swish of the curtain was heard and seen—ominous. Many other images depict ideas of passage, water, bridges, rafts, and idyllic landscapes.

“I was determined to make the faces of the figures non-morbid. This was a demand I put on myself. In remembering the event, I realized that the whole family paused before entering the hospital room. Thus the mask, a powerful concept, not crying, and not laughing. The image of crows symbolizes the connection to the other world. In the end, I noticed that much of the content was really about motherhood and family.” –Sue Lowe

 

 

Gunz of Steel
Friday, October 13 :: 6:30pm
@ Current Space

Gunz of Steel is a female and non-binary arm-wrestling show that brings community together through a combination of empowerment and absurdity. We showcase strength through elaborate costumed personas that are created by volunteer participants. Each show features new and returning wrestling characters that are encouraged to take the stage and strut their stuff in a safe and supportive community of cheering audience members. In other words, everything is fake except for the wrestling.

The two women that head up Gunz of Steel are Erin Stellmon and Amanda Dice. Erin is a multimedia artist and educator that fell in love with Charm City 8 years ago. She brought her former competitive arm-wrestling chops from New York City to train a growing army of empowered folks here in Baltimore. Amanda comes from a community performance art background and enjoys enabling others to embrace their alter egos through costumed shenanigans.

Each Gunz of Steel event sponsors a different non-profit that supports women and/or LGBTQ persons in the Baltimore community. This October we are donating our proceeds to Black Women Build Baltimore, a home ownership and wealth building initiative that trains Black women in trades-related skills by restoring vacant and deteriorated houses in West Baltimore.

For more information and photos of past events, please go to the Gunz of Steel website

 

 

Art After Hours: Making Her Mark
Friday, October 13 :: 8-11pm
@ Baltimore Museum of Art

Experience a night at the museum. Baltimore’s best late-night art party is back celebrating local women artists in response to the exhibition Making Her Mark: A History of Women Artists in Europe, 1400-1800.

Hear DJ Pangelica spin a mix of deep house with classical influences and female vocals. Enjoy European-inspired appetizers and cocktails by H3irloom Food Group, and don’t miss a pop-up violin performance by genre-spanning violinist Melissa Hullman.

Art After Hours also features late-night access to the galleries, free admission to Making Her Mark and one free food or cocktail item with the price of admission.

 

 

The Black Skate Day Party
Saturday, October 14 :: 1-4pm
@ Shake & Bake Family Fun Center

This inclusive and affirming event is open to everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or ethnicity. The Blaq Skate Day Party aims to promote unity, celebrate individuality, and foster a sense of belonging within our diverse communities.

Roller Skating: Glide around the rink with your friends and enjoy a day of fun-filled roller skating. Whether you’re a seasoned skater or a first-timer, this event is for everyone.

Live Music: Skate or dance to House Music from DJ Neal and experience a musical journey that celebrates LGBTQ+ and Black culture. Our music lineup promises to keep the party alive all day long, with surprise performances by some great Baltimore artists.
Food and Beverages: Satisfy your taste buds with a variety of delicious food and refreshing beverages from local vendors. There’s something for every palate!

Community Engagement: Connect with local LGBTQ+ and Black community organizations, learn about their work, and find opportunities to support their initiatives.
VIP Lounge: For a few extra bucks, join us in the sexy adult-only lounge for some Blaq Grown & Sexy Fun. Enjoy swag bags and a fantastic buffet from a local chef.
Art and Fashion Vendors: Support our talented local artists and fashion vendors by showcasing their unique creations.

Don’t miss out on this one-of-a-kind event that celebrates unity, culture, and community. Tickets are available now at Blaq Skate Day Party Eventbrite.

 

 

< Calls for Entry >

 

Gallery Operations Specialist | Job Opportunity
posted by UMBC

CADVC is seeking a Gallery Operations Specialist who will help to oversee and coordinate the day-to-day business, facilities, and procedural operations of the CADVC. This is a key position at the CADVC, a research center and art gallery in a public R1 University in Baltimore, the most dynamic and interesting cultural town in the nation. The ideal candidate will be detail-oriented, a good problem-solver, and love working with students, artists, and audiences.

 

 

Rotterdam Photo 2024 – Project Open Call Imagine
deadline October 16

Selected photographers through the Project Open Call will be invited to showcase their projects and create their exhibition in the container during the Rotterdam Photo 2024. Photographers get an opportunity to sell their works, and meet gallerists, potential art buyers, as well as international press professionals. Rotterdam Photo doesn’t charge any commissions for the sales during the festival.

Imagine – a word that evokes imagination, creativity, and limitless possibilities.

This edition of Rotterdam Photo focuses on the theme ‘Imagine’ and invites photographers and artists to question and transform our world’s perception with their imagination.

This theme raises the following questions: How does our imagination influence our reality? What possibilities do we find when we open ourselves up to new ideas? What is the role of photography in shaping our understanding of the world around us?

In today’s complex society, we need the imagination more than ever. It can serve as a tool of hope and positivity. Whether that entails the creation of innovative solutions or the stimulation of dialogue on cultural and social issues. It is the creative expressions that often act as a catalyst for change. In moments of uncertainty, turmoil, and chaos, art reminds us of the resilience of the human spirit and the ability to transform the current situation.

As we make our way through the complex dynamics of today’s world, Rotterdam Photo makes space for a platform where imagination, innovation, and critical thinking come together. This year’s edition offers a unique opportunity to dive into the boundless world of imagination. The festival promises to be an absolutely unforgettable experience for photography enthusiasts and anyone looking for new perspectives.

 

 

Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans
deadline October 26

This fellowship supports thirty New Americans— immigrants or the children of immigrants—who are pursuing graduate or professional school in the U.S. Each Fellowship supports one to two years of graduate study in any field and in any advanced degree-granting program in the U.S. up to a total of $90,000.

 

 

Grants for Organizations Panelist
deadline October 27
posted by Maryland State Arts Council

The Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) invites applications for panelist service supporting the Grants for Organizations (GFO) program, which provides general operating support to nonprofit organizations, units of government, and colleges and universities that produce or present ongoing arts programming that is open to the public.

MSAC relies on a diverse array of experts from across the state to do the important work of evaluating applications. MSAC selects GFO panelists with a focus on diversity of experiences, diversity of location, and expertise in the disciplines of the organizations under review. Panelists must be Maryland residents.

 

 

2023 Community Making Challenge This Must Be the Place
deadline October 27
posted by Baltimore Jewelry Center

Image and artifact have the ability to transport us to places of memory and imagination. Distinct detritus speaks of a specific place, while concrete and rebar outline familiar landscapes that constitute more than mere architecture. Accumulated history builds stories that inspire us across boundaries of time. Our personal maps of spaces define more than the physical territory of nation, identity or memory. Modes of making explore form and texture, evoking a sense of place and providing more than simple factual information. What remains when we distill down our idea of and connection to place?

For this year’s community challenge, we invite artists to create jewelry or personal objects that evoke a sense of place. How artists choose to interpret place may be political and speak of a sense of identity and nationality, may be personal and resonate with a sense of home, or may be associated with memory and imagination.

 

 

Open Call: 2024-25 QM-Jerome Foundation Fellowship for Emerging Artists
deadline October 29
posted by Queens Museum

The Queens Museum (QM) is pleased to launch its sixth QM-Jerome Foundation Fellowship for Emerging Artists in New York City. Two visual artists will receive $20,000 each, individual studio space at the Queens Museum, professional development consultations, close mentorship from QM staff members, and a solo exhibition that will open in 2025. Fellows will move into the studios in January 2024 and will have access to studio space through January 2025.

On the occasion of the upcoming 60th anniversary of the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair, this year’s Open Call invites applications that respond to the complex history of the Queens Museum’s site and Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Applicants are encouraged to join the Museum in critically engaging with the present-day implications of the Fair, which idealized American democracy by promoting industrial, international, and domestic cooperation through technology and culture. At the Fair, the Queens Museum building served as “The New York City Building,” a pavilion dedicated to the country’s most populated metropolitan community. The New York City Building envisioned the future of American cities, hosted the awe-inspiring Panorama of the City of New York, and celebrated the rapid industrialization of New York City in the first half of the twentieth century.

To learn more about the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair, possible themes for artists to respond to, and access a list of available resources, click here.

 

 

Call for Submissions, SE Center Open
deadline October 29
posted by SE Center for Photography

Open Call is just that, an open theme – all subjects, The SE Center is looking for images of any theme, media, digital, analog, or antique processes that show your best work. Analog and digital manipulation in all its forms are welcome. Monochrome or color, all subjects, analog, digital or antique processes, photographers of all skill levels and locations are welcome.

Our juror for the SE Center Open is Frances Jakubek. Jakubek is an image-maker, independent curator, and consultant for artists. She is the co-founder of A Yellow Rose Project, past Director of the Bruce Silverstein Gallery in New York City, and Associate Curator of the Griffin Museum of Photography in Massachusetts.

35-40 Selected images will hang in the SE Center’s main gallery space for approximately one month with the opportunity to be invited for a solo show at a later date. In addition, selected images are featured in the SE Center social media accounts (FB, IG) and an archived, online slideshow. A video walkthrough of each exhibition is also featured and archived. Openings are timed to coincide with Greenville’s First Fridays, a celebration of art, food and music.

 

 

Gutierrez Memorial Fund’s Legacy Grant
deadline October 30

The Gutierrez Memorial Fund is pleased to present its 2023 Legacy Grant. The project-based arts grant calls for proposals from arts organizations, individual artists, and educators who are residents of Maryland and whose programs or projects serve Maryland communities. Special consideration is given to projects that build skills, engage community and transform the built environment. For more information on eligibility and to download an application please visit https://gutierrezmemorialfund.com/grant-info/.

The deadline for submissions is October 30, 2023.

 

 

Under $500
deadline October 30
posted by Maryland Art Place

Have your work noticed and purchased by local buyers & collectors, just in time for the holidays! Maryland Art Place (MAP) is seeking artists for “UNDER $500”, our upcoming winter benefit exhibition & affordable art sale. The exhibition will include approximately 1-3 works by each selected artist (scale dependant – in the case of smaller works more than 3 pieces may be accepted). Each individual piece must retail for $500 or less. If selected you will be issued an UNDER $500 profile form to fill out with anecdotal information to help better engage patrons with the artists and their work alike.

UNDER $500:
Application Form 

UNDER $500:
Prospectus