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BmoreArt News: August Wilson, Joyce J. Scott, Sondheim Finalists

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This week’s news includes: Baltimore August Wilson Celebration, national press for hometown hero Joyce J. Scott, Sondheim Finalist exhibition opens at The Walters, regenerative farming and restaurants in Baltimore, SNF Parkway + Mobtown Ballroom partnership, sneak peek of the new restaurant replacing Cafe Hon, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, swimming installation by Monica Jahan Bose, Pratt Library refurbishment, Hunting Ground to close, and new public artwork and the tale of two Brentwoods — with reporting from Baltimore Magazine, Baltimore Fishbowl, Baltimore Brew, and other local and independent news sources.

Header Image: Joyce J. Scott and Elizabeth Talford Scott, “Monsters, Dragons, and Flies” (1982), fabric, thread, beads

Exciting News Gif
 

—Photography by Mike Morgan

Baltimore Thespians Unite to Honor to August Wilson, “Theater’s Poet of Black America”
by Laura Farmer
Published July 16 in Baltimore Magazine

Excerpt: Lesley Malin will never forget the moment she met August Wilson. It was 1988, and she was giving the student commencement speech for Washington University in St. Louis, sharing the stage that day with the renowned playwright, who was receiving an honorary degree.

“I had not seen any of his work yet, but he was really lovely to me,” says Malin, pictured right, who was told afterwards that he had complimented her speech. The encounter left an indelible impression on the aspiring thespian, who went on to see a number of his Broadway premieres in the early days of her career, before eventually co-founding Baltimore’s Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, where she now serves as producing executive director.

“Over time, he’s become this towering figure in American theater,” she says. “I admire his work very deeply.”

 

 

Installation view of Joyce J. Scott: Walk a Mile in My Dreams at the Baltimore Museum of Art (all photos Isabella Segalovich/Hyperallergic)

The Serious Joy of Joyce J. Scott’s Beaded Art
by Isabella Segalovich
Published July 12 in Hyperallergic

Excerpt: Joyce J. Scott’s half-century retrospective at the Baltimore Museum of Art is an invitation to wander in her dreams. Those of us who accept that invitation will likely never forget both their beauty and their urgency. The artist, known to some as the “Queen of Baltimore,” is a master of beading, quilting, printmaking, weaving, and performance. She has crafted an oeuvre so entrancing that I found myself meandering through the exhibition three times in an attempt to soak up every last detail, whether luscious, disturbing, or somehow both.

Upon entering the show, I was immediately struck by “I Call Her Name” (2023), a huge, impossibly intricate sculpture composed of undulating waves of beads. I was delighted to find “Monsters, Dragons, and Flies” (1982), a quilt Scott created with her late mother, the extraordinary Elizabeth Talford Scott. On an adjoining wall, dancing figures and skeletons are held together by delicate connective tissue, made entirely out of beads. More enchanting heritage quilts hang on a large, spindly structure looming over piles of books, dolls, and beaded sugar skulls that surround a soft quilted chair. Just outside this room are five mannequins decked out in resplendent fabrics. Look closer, and you’ll realize that the mannequins themselves are crafted from beads. Look behind the mannequins, and you’ll see that you’re just at the start of the show.

 

 

Artists and art enthusiasts attend reception for the 2024 Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize Finalists Exhibition at the Walters Art Museum on Tuesday. Photo by Ed Gunts.

Walters Art Museum opens Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize finalists exhibition for 2024
by Ed Gunts
Published July 17 in Baltimore Fishbowl

Excerpt: The Walters Art Museum on Wednesday opened an exhibit showcasing the work of three finalists competing for the 2024 Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize, whose winner will be announced next month.

Now in its 19th year, named for two champions of the arts in Baltimore, the award is one of the Maryland’s most prestigious art prizes. The three finalists – weaver Hellen Ascoli, mixed-media artist Amy Boone-McCreesh and ceramicist Sam Mack — are competing for a top award of $30,000.

The Walters Art Museum presents the exhibit in partnership with the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA); M&T Bank and the Maryland State Arts Council.

 

 

Woodberry Kitchen owner Spike Gjerde is working with exclusively sustainable and regional growers. (Ronica Edwards/The Baltimore Banner)

Enjoy the Snake Oil at Woodberry Kitchen? Thank regenerative farming.
by Matti Gellman
Published July 12 in The Baltimore Banner

He had never seen a fish pepper before. The thin, cone-shaped capsicum with green and white stripes stunned Dan Miller, who, like the fruit, was raised around the Chesapeake Bay.

While studying the pepper at the since-shuttered Five Seeds Farm in the Belair-Edison neighborhood, Miller learned the seeds were spread along Maryland’s Eastern Shore by enslaved Black Americans, that they carry heat 12 times that of a jalapeño and, when cultivated properly, can ground the perfect tangy hot sauce or savory seasoning, as proven by Baltimore’s farm-to-table restaurant Woodberry Kitchen. But Miller didn’t know how little money there was in growing them.

Now almost a decade later, his firm, Steward, is funding both small urban farms and thousand-acre livestock operations intent on producing less conventional crops in ways that don’t overwork or over-pollute the land. The goal is to boost businesses like Five Seeds Farm — which closed in 2016 — that using sustainable farming practices to create food for their region, since these producers are seen as less competitive for many Department of Agriculture grants and, at times, bank loans.

Miller, then working in real estate, had been shocked to find funding for the Chesapeake peppers was hard to come by. Five Seeds Farm owner Denzel Mitchell applied to grants and pitched to banks his goal to scale the crop’s production. But none were interested.

“They don’t know what a fish pepper is,” Miller said. “It’s not a global commodity. They don’t assign it any value and they won’t fund it, and so that opened my eyes.”

Mitchell, who now runs the Farm Alliance of Baltimore nonprofit supporting urban farms around Baltimore, could not be reached for comment, but his Black Butterfly Farm may be among the next round of groups to benefit from the Steward loan program, Miller said.

Spike Gjerde, the owner of Woodberry Kitchen and Baltimore’s only James Beard Award-winning chef, has seen many regional farms perish for lack of funding. These businesses don’t have the same opportunities as producers working through established family farms or operations trading in popular commodities such as wheat and cattle, he said. They have to spend a lot of money up front, and then it’s more expensive to maintain the land in a way that keeps the soil healthy and able to regenerate, otherwise known as regenerative farming.

“It’s a universal problem,” Gjerde said. “Now prices are higher, and most farms don’t make it.”

Despite not growing their own produce, Gjerde’s restaurant received about $280,000 in loan financing from Steward for working with exclusively sustainable and regional growers. It is the only restaurant funded by Miller’s firm, which Gjerde said is because the business has “returned value to local producers” by paying them a cumulative $25 million in the restaurant’s roughly 17-year life span. The loan is said to go toward buoying the eatery through slower seasons and building out their event space.

Restaurants across the country have taken up similar initiatives surrounding regenerative agriculture in what’s predicted to be a rising trend for 2024, according to the Sustainable Restaurant Association. That means new investments in farms looking to reduce carbon emissions, diversify their crops and maintain healthy soil and runoff for local waterways. These eateries have been called upon to work as “anchors of change” in their respective food systems, translating the process of sourcing and preparing food from farmers to customers, according to a Forbes report. More than half of land in the United States is used for farming, according to the USDA.

As of Friday, Miller’s firm has over 100 projects funding regional producers, including Fireside Farms and Our Family Farms along the Chesapeake. “The gap in capital isn’t just small businesses, it’s any unconventional grower … even a producer with tens of millions of dollars and very low leverage still couldn’t get the right funding,” Miller said.

The funding allows the businesses to scale up into removing the usual packers and middlemen from the sale of their produce, preventing them from getting taken advantage of by a third-party seller, Miller said.

Every item at Woodberry Kitchen is sourced from a regional farm. Gjerde said he’s purchased peppers from Mitchell, which he used to create his sweet vinegar hot sauce — referred to as Snake Oil in his kitchen — and custom seasoning for rich sauces and proteins. His beloved tavern board appetizer mixes salami from Liberty Delight Farms in Reisterstown and cucumber from Karma Farm in Monkton, among others. It’s a pricey endeavor: There’s no Sysco truck to drop off mounds of produce, but instead individual vendors selling directly to Gjerde.

He’s tried to get other restaurants on board. Often he’s told it’s too expensive or difficult to manage that many producers. Gjerde hopes others take advantage of the new opportunities for funding, but understands how especially in catering, a specialty that Woodberry Kitchen has increasingly leaned on for revenue, purchasing only seasonal items from local growers can be limiting.

But to Gjerde, the stakes are too high.

“Farming, when its done well … improves human health. … When it’s done poorly, it does the opposite,” he said. He referred to pollutants in the Chesapeake Bay, dramatic heat weaves and increasingly volatile climates as reason to take the funding of regional farms seriously.

“What’s at stake?” he said. “Everything.”

This story was republished with permission from The Baltimore Banner. Visit www.thebaltimorebanner.com for more.

 

 

Photo credit: Jerry Almonte

The SNF Parkway Theater is ready to swing!
by Aliza Worthington
Published July 16 in Baltimore Fishbowl

Excerpt: The SNF Parkway Theater has partnered with four Baltimore mainstays to create a “film plus” experience all around swing dance on Friday, July 26 and Saturday, July 27.

Mobtown Ballroom, The Club Car, Baltimore Comedy Festival, and Made in Baltimore have joined hands (and feet?) with The Parkway to create a unique all-around set of events composing a “ballroom bonanza.”

They have created a line-up for everyone: “hard-core dance hall pros; the ballroom-curious; and, yes, even you ‘please don’t make me dance but I do love to watch you go’ film aficionados,” according to the press release.

 

 

A new restaurant is expected to move into the building at 1000 W. 36th St. in Hampden, which housed the former Cafe Hon for 30 years before it closed its doors in 2022. Photo by Ed Gunts.

From blistered shishito peppers to pork tomahawk katsu, here’s a preview of the Asian-themed ‘sample menu’ planned for the restaurant that will replace Café Hon in Hampden
by Ed Gunts
Published July 12 in Baltimore Fishbowl

Excerpt: Hungry for Blistered Shishito Peppers ($12)? Spam Musubi ($12)? Ahi Tuna Poke ($25)?

How about some Grilled Chicken Don Buri ($26)? Fish ‘n Chips ($38)? Pork Tomahawk Katsu ($50)?

Then top it off with Nutella Turon for dessert ($11), Chocolate Namalaka ($14), Boba Panna Cotta ($11) or Shisho Lime Shaved Ice ($14).

Those are a few of the menu items that diners are likely to find in the Asian-themed restaurant coming soon to the space vacated in 2022 by the comfort food-themed Café Hon in Hampden.

 

 

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company performs "A Midsummer's Night Dream" at Carroll Park on July 1, 2024. Photo courtesy of Chesapeake Shakespeare Company.

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company presents free ‘Midsummer’ performances in parks with a Motown twist
by Marcus Dieterle
Publisehd July 12 in Baltimore Fishbowl

Excerpt: Fairies, sprites, and other Shakespearean characters could be coming to a park near you.

For its second year, the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company is hosting its “Shakespeare Beyond” series, with free performances of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” in Maryland parks.

“This is a beautiful, accessible, magical and fun story that works really well in an outdoor setting,” said Séamus Miller, the production’s director and CSC’s Associate Artistic Director. “The play itself is one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, and one that audience members might have some familiarity with, but we wanted to take a show that people may or may not know and add another layer of fun and excitement and accessibility to it.”

 

 

Artist Monica Jahan Bose in her Swimming installation, 2024 (photo:Paris Preston)

East City Art Features—Monica Jahan Bose’s Swimming Installation Highlighted Historical Inequities and Community Resilience
by Ian Kibria
Published July 10 in East City Art

Excerpt: This year, Washington DC’s vibrant Adams Morgan neighborhood celebrated Juneteenth with an immersive art installation by Bangladeshi American artist Monica Jahan Bose, who lives in Adams Morgan. The work titled Swimming looks at inequities in access to water and swimming, as the world experiences increased flooding, drought, and sea level rise due to climate change. Bose considered the historical barriers to swimming experienced by Black Americans which is correlated to an inequity of death by drowning in the Black community. According to the USA Swimming Foundation, 64% of Black Americans have little to no swimming ability compared to 40% of White Americans. The disparity is wider between children. Over 58% of black children are unable to swim—nearly double the rate of white children— and they are three times more likely to die by drowning.1

The Adams Morgan neighborhood, named for the integration of the Black Thomas P. Morgan Elementary School and White John Quincy Adams Elementary, has an enduring legacy of community engagement vividly encapsulated by Bose’s latest work. Installed in the heart of the neighborhood at the Marie Reed Aquatic Center, Swimming is visually anchored by over 200 feet of unraveled blue saris strung around lighting structures in the center’s adjacent courtyards in the shape of a swimming pool. Coalescing with the natural elements of light and wind, the translucent cotton saris are adorned with woodblock prints and poetry inspired by prompts about our symbiotic relationship to water.

 

 

The Southeast Anchor Enoch Pratt Free Library branch, one of the 22 locations of the library system that would receive repairs from the near $300 million the system is asking for. (Kerry Graham/The Baltimore Banner)

Pratt Library seeks nearly $300M to revamp branches amid record circulation
by Ela Jalil
Published July 15 in The Baltimore Banner

Excerpt: The Enoch Pratt Free Library system is seeking nearly $300 million to address critical needs and to provide state-of-the-art services for the community.

In a five-year strategic plan released earlier this month, Pratt Library interim CEO Darcell Graham called for a focus on infrastructure after building assessments showed about $300 million was needed to cover repairs and expansions across the system’s 22 locations. That figure, however, isn’t limited to a five-year timeline.

An assessment over the past year with a vendor and the Baltimore City Department of General Services showed there was $197,300,000 in critical need, with the numbers fluctuating as improvements are made, said Meghan McCorkell, chief of marketing, communications and strategy for Pratt Library. This would cover things like building repairs and HVAC updates. Another analysis with Gensler and Margaret Sullivan Studio regarding the modernization and expansion of the library system — things like ensuring the size of its branches are commensurate with the growth of the communities they serve — yielded a need for $80 million.

… this story continues. Read the rest at The Baltimore Banner: Pratt Library seeks nearly $300M to revamp branches amid record circulation

 

 

The entrance to Hunting Ground at 3649 Falls Road. Photo by Ed Gunts.

After nearly 13 years, Hunting Ground is closing in Hampden
by Ed Gunts
Published July 15 in Baltimore Fishbowl

Excerpt: After nearly 13 years in Hampden, Hunting Ground is closing permanently.

Owners of the popular boutique at 3649 Falls Road have set a closing date and are holding one last sale.

“After almost 13 years in the old church in Hampden, Hunting Ground will be closing our doors on July 31st,” owners Jenna Hattenburg and Jess Soulen announced in a message on Instagram.

 

 

A sculpture by artists Nehemiah Dixon III and Wesley Clark commemorates the segregation-era barrier between the towns of Brentwood and North Brentwood in Maryland.Alison Beckwith

After 67 years, two small Maryland towns tore down the racial barrier dividing them
by Ryan Teague Beckwith
Published July 4 in MSNBC

Excerpt: One day in 1957, a road crew pulled up to Windom Road and put a corrugated metal highway barrier sideways across the street.

The barrier stopped cars from going down the road connecting two small Maryland towns just north of Washington, D.C. But it also made clear the danger for residents of the historically Black town of North Brentwood if they crossed the border into majority-white Brentwood, a “sundown town” where they would be at risk of violence after dark.

The barrier wasn’t unique. Across the country, in cities as far apart as Miami, Detroit, Atlanta and Fort Worth, Texas, people in white neighborhoods and towns put up similar “segregation walls” in the 20th century to create physical barriers that would reinforce racial divisions. Some have been torn down or fallen into disrepair. A few have historical markers to explain the racist reason they were built.

 

 

Header Image: Joyce J. Scott and Elizabeth Talford Scott, “Monsters, Dragons, and Flies” (1982)

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