BmoreArt

This week’s news includes: Remembering Dereck Stafford Mangus, Creative Alliance’s first Performing Artist-in-Residence Brinae Ali, The Crown announces it is closing, Ghost Rivers movie night, new BMA acquisitions, Topside’s new chef Amy Hessel, road closures for Artscape, Ricki Lake reunited with John Waters, and QLab’s 20th birthday — with reporting from Baltimore Magazine, Baltimore Fishbowl, Baltimore Brew, and other local and independent news sources.

Header Image: The front door of The Crown Baltimore at 1910 N. Charles St. Photo by Ed Gunts. (Baltimore Banner)

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Dereck Stafford Mangus, Beloved Baltimore Artist and Museum Guard, Dies at 46
by Cara Ober
Published July 19 in Hyperallergic

Excerpt: Dereck Stafford Mangus, a beloved Baltimore-based artist, writer, and cultural worker, passed away on Sunday, July 7 at the age of 46. His death was confirmed by his brother-in-law Peter Melish.

I met Dereck Mangus close to a decade ago at the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA), where he worked as a museum guard and where I attended countless press events as an arts journalist. I knew that he was a published art critic and, whenever possible, we would discuss the current exhibition and trade museum gossip. It was only within the past year that we began working together regularly as editor and writer, when he pitched BmoreArt a story about an experimental performance he attended that was so confounding and odd, it kept him up all night, writing. After that, his story pitches came in fast and furious, and our team of editors did its best to keep up with him.

Brinae Ali, Creative Alliance’s first performing artist in residence
Press Release :: July 27

Alexandria “Brinae Ali” Bradley, a powerhouse in dance, music, and theater, is an incredible local artist who has not yet gotten the attention I think she deserves. She has been selected as the Creative Alliance’s first performing artist in residence. Her week-long residency will take place from August 13-19, culminating in an open rehearsal on August 19. During her residency, Brinae will collaborate with esteemed local artists and musicians, including Wendel Patrick (music production/sound effects), Sarah Berns-Zieve (film/media), Eric Kennedy (percussionist), Baakari Wilder (tap dancer), and Sean Jones (musical director/trumpeter).

In February, Brinae will premiere a new project at the Creative Alliance, inspired by the legendary Baltimore tap dancer Baby Laurence, the only tap dancer to release a jazz album. Developed since 2022, Ali’s “Baby” Laurence Legacy Project includes a show and curricula aimed at middle school to college students, focusing on revitalizing the jazz community and incorporating dance into the broader cultural conversation.
Brinae’s artistic journey began at home in Flint, MI, where she started tap dancing at age 3 and trained in dance, theater, and music under the guidance of her father, Bruce Bradley (founder of Tapology). She honed her skills in theater at Marymount Manhattan College and furthered her dance training with legends like Ted Levy, Savion Glover, and Dianne Walker. Her impressive Broadway and off-Broadway credits include roles in “Shuffle Along: The 1921 Sensation And All That Followed,” the NY and touring cast of “STOMP,” and performances in the “Cotton Club Parade” with Wynton Marsalis. She has also made her mark as the artistic director of the Tapology Youth Tap Festival in Flint, MI.

Brinae’s impact in Baltimore is amplified through her collaborations with local community partners such as JHU Billie Holiday Center for Liberation Arts, Peabody Jazz and Dance departments, the Eubie Blake Cultural Center where she hosts tap classes, WombWork Productions Youth Ensemble, and Fayette Street Outreach. At Fayette Street Outreach, she will launch youth programming that includes middle to high school students in her creative process through discussions, community mapping, and music and dance training.

Currently, Brinae is a lecturer at Johns Hopkins Peabody Institute for Music and Dance. She will have a two-week residency at Jacob’s Pillow in early December and a residency at Dance Space in DC in January. Brinae has been recognized with numerous awards and grants, including the Ruby’s Award and the New Jazz Works award from the Chamber Music Association. She also received a National Dance Project grant two years ago, underscoring her impact and promise in the arts community.

Additionally, Brinae coordinates and hosts a National Tap Dance Day event every May, a recurring celebration that brings together tap dancers and enthusiasts to honor the rich history and vibrant future of tap dance.

The Crown Baltimore is closing permanently in Station North; owners plan to establish a GoFundMe site for some employees
by Ed Gunts
Published July 26 in Baltimore Fishbowl

Excerpt: The Crown Baltimore, a night spot that has become one of the anchors of Baltimore’s Station North Arts District, is closing permanently.

Owners disclosed Thursday on social media that the 11-year-old bar, restaurant and entertainment venue at 1910 N. Charles St. is shutting down one week after the Artscape festival on Aug. 2 to 4.

“With a heavy heart, today we announce that The Crown will be ceasing operations as of August 12, 2024” their message said. “Shows and business will be going on as planned through the August 11th weekend, and we will be hosting some very special farewell events and specials throughout our remaining time!”

The Crown is closing. Patrons of Station North venue declare it’s the end of an era
by Lillian Reed, Taji Burris and De’Andre Young
Published July 26 in The Baltimore Banner

For a decade, The Crown has been a popular Station North live music venue known for giving local talent a place to shine. It has become nationally recognized on the independent music circuit.

Filmmaker John Waters has said it is one of his favorite spots in Baltimore.

But, in what some fans of the venue are calling an end of an era, The Crown said in a surprising announcement on social media that it will close Aug. 12 “with a heavy heart.”

The posts did not give a reason but hinted that the decision was made due to circumstances beyond control. The owners did not return calls for comment and were not at the venue Friday evening. Kim Eunhyi, who goes by Yumi, said she has worked at The Crown in the kitchen for 11 years for her husband, the venue’s owner.

“For the last year business has been slow, so it’s just been a headache,” she said.

Known for its diverse crowds and LGQBT-friendly vibe, The Crown’s departure will leave a major void in the Baltimore arts district. The venue, which opened in 2013, hosted events such as Pride celebrations and the upcoming Version: A Queer Dance Party. It offers performance spaces at reasonable prices, making live music opportunities accessible to up-and-coming talent and securing a place as a beloved fixture in the arts community.

Patrons took to social media to mourn the news and share memories of the blue, red, pink and aluminum foil-cloaked rooms where they danced, performed and fell in love.

In addition to the live music, people come to The Crown for its Korean fusion cuisine, including K-fries and K-style wings.

“Finding out the Crown in Baltimore is closing is like my 9/11. I love going to shows there and getting Korean food before seeing some extreme music act. One of the best in that city it will be so missed” wrote one follower on the social platform X.

News of the closing caught many people by surprise. Those who came to the venue Friday, where 51 Peg, Talking to Shadows, Amazing Destroyer and Vice Birds were scheduled to perform, were still taking the news in.

Greg Palmer, with Talking to Shadows, has played The Crown since 2019. “This venue’s been reliable for touring bands, local bands, any kind of genre; there’s always been at least two stages here,” Palmer said. “Yeah, I think it’s definitely a hit to the underground scene for sure.”

Darien Smith, 27, stopped in for the good food but hadn’t been to The Crown since before COVID. “Before the pandemic, I used to come here. It used to be fun; it was like a club,” Smith said. “I think it sucks; it’s like one of the funnest places here. It’s not many clubs in the city.”

Others wondered if the closing was a sign of a struggling music scene — and if venues were still trying to recover from the loss of business during the pandemic.

“The crown in Baltimore closing is really sad, wrote another person on X. “I think we need to be more grateful of these spaces and realize that sometimes the reason these venues aren’t always offering the best deals, is because they are suffering too. The venue crisis worsens in Baltimore without the crown.”

Earlier in the day, Shepsworth Bentley, a pop and rap musician, told a reporter he has performed at The Crown several times, but his favorite memories are “partying with some really cool people” and seeing top local talent such as Kotic Couture, Ducky Dynamo and Eze Jackson perform there.

He was sad but not surprised the venue was closing.

The Crown had recently reduced the number of smaller performance spaces for one big space in recent years, and Bentley was not a fan of the change.

Pitchfork has said The Crown is one of America’s best independent music venues, and Waters listed it as one of his favorite Baltimore hangouts in a 2020 article in Fodor’s Travel. “If you want new, young music in Baltimore, go there. It definitely has edge, but at the same time, it’s very welcoming. It’s the coolest music,” he wrote.

Artist Chris Cassius has performed and attended shows at The Crown “more times than I can count.” He said at one point The Crown was the hub for underground talent in Baltimore.

”I’m sure we all as a community hate to see The Crown go with all of the memories made,” he said. “We all have bonded with Tony [security] and Heather [ticket taker] after a drunken night and tiring performance.”

Cassius is remorseful about The Crown closing but said it served its purpose for an era that needed it. “Now it’s opening an opportunity for something new to be a catalyst for the underground to come,” he said.

The social media announcement of the closing invited people to stop by in the coming weeks to say farewell. It will continue with scheduled events through Aug. 11 and touted plans for an additional “Farewell to The Crown” send-off party during its final weekend. Shows scheduled after Aug. 12 will take place elsewhere, according to the announcement.

“It has been a hell of a ride, and has meant the world to us,” the post said.

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

Free movie night to celebrate completion of Ghost Rivers trail
by Aliza Worthington
Published July 25 in Baltimore Fishbowl

Excerpt: The Ghost Rivers project is complete, and by way of celebration, the public is invited to a free outdoor screening of water-themed vintage 16mm films in Wyman Park Dell on Aug. 1 from 8 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Bob Wagner and Teresa Duggan (hosts of Bob & Teresa’s 16mm Movie Night) are diving deep into the depths of their vintage film collection and Enoch Pratt Free Library’s film archive to share an evening of water-themed movies, including “Jones Falls: The Stream that Shaped a City.” This is a rare 1983 documentary film of Baltimore history.

Before the film begins, attendees are invited to explore the first two Ghost River sites (1 and 2) which are located in the Dell.

BMA Acquires More Than 200 Works, Including Significant Contemporary and Historical Objects
Press Release :: July 30

The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) today announced that it has acquired more than 200 works across its encyclopedic collection. The acquisitions reflect the BMA’s ongoing commitment to expanding its holdings with works that represent global voices, across time and culture, as well as those by artists with ties to the Baltimore region. This approach to collection growth ensures that the museum can share with its audiences a depth of perspectives, experiences, and artistic innovations, from its own arts community and well beyond.

Among the contemporary works acquired are paintings, sculpture, ceramics, and mixed media objects by Bernadette Despujols, Rhea Dillon, Hew Locke, Roberto Lugo, Raúl de Nieves, Dyani White Hawk, and Billie Zangewa, and photographs and works on paper by Bethany Collins, Shihoko Fukumoto, Lyle Ashton Harris, Naoya Hatakeyama, Rinko Kawauchi, Nikki S. Lee, Samella Lewis, and Stacey Lynn Waddell.

Works by artists from the Baltimore region include a suite of 25 black and white photographs by I. Henry Phillips Sr. that capture daily life in and around Baltimore in the 1950s and 1960s; two major works by Joyce J. Scott, whose 50-year career retrospective recently closed at the BMA; photographic portraits of Joyce J. Scott and her mother Elizabeth Talford Scott by Carl Clark; an expansive installation made of found and collected fabrics by Erick N. Mack; a painting by Louis Fratino that explores queerness, love, and intimacy within a domestic environment; and a mixed media work on paper by Jowita Wyszomirska that speaks to natural cycles of growth and decay that have occurred across the mid-Atlantic region for centuries.

Historical works entering the collection include the paintings Portrait of Sultan Abdulhamid I (r. 1774-89) (early 19th century) by an unknown artist who may have been a follower of Konstanin Kapidagli, Peonies (c. 1918) by Norwegian artist Margrethe Jensen, and a pastel drawing of a Young Girl with Headscarf (c. 1885) by Henriette Daux; a vessel with human figure (before 1928) by Voania of Muba; decorative and functional objects such as a Deccan embroidered floor spread (late 18th century), a dandelion clock (1903), and two vases (c. 1903) by Alfred Daguet; and a cribbage board with high-relief decoration of fish, a seal, a wolf, and foxes (c. 1910) attributed to an unidentified Cup’ig artist.

Additionally, the museum received two major gifts that expand the BMA’s already strong holdings, including 181 copper plates, three linoleum blocks, and an illustrated book by French artist Henri Matisse. The BMA is home to the largest public collection of Matisse works, and this transformational gift further provides scholars, researchers, and conservators opportunities to learn about Matisse’s printmaking practice in the BMA’s Ruth R. Marder Center for Matisse Studies.

BMA Trustee Amy Gould and her husband Matthew Polk also donated a remarkable group of historic and modern textiles representing the cultures of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. These artworks help the BMA tell the stories of these peoples and their long histories of artistic excellence across time and space while making a significant step forward in the museum’s mission to present art that speaks for diverse cultures, past and present, across the globe. […]

Artscape road closures have already started. Here’s the full list.
by Daniel Zawodny
Published July 29 in The Baltimore Banner

Artscape, Baltimore’s favorite (and hottest) weekend for concerts, culture and more, kicks off this Friday, Aug. 2. But some roads are already closing to make way for the setup.

Here’s the full list of road closures for the week.

* Mount Royal Avenue between West North Avenue and St. Paul Street (Note: Access to Mount Royal Avenue at the I-83 Exit Ramp to Mount Royal will be closed)

* Cathedral Street between West Biddle Street and Mount Royal Avenue

* Dolphin Street between Howard Street and Mount Royal Avenue

* Preston Street between Cathedral and N. Howard Streets

* Oliver Street between Mount Royal and Maryland avenues (access to the Fitzgerald Garage and UB Lot will be maintained)

* Lanvale Street between Mount Royal Avenue and Rutter Street

* Lafayette Street between Mount Royal Avenue and Rutter Street

* Preston Street between Maryland Avenue and Cathedral Street (access to garage and Artscape permit parking will be maintained)

* McMechen, Malster, and Dickson Streets will be closed behind the MICA Bunting Center and Fox Building

* Charles Street between West Preston Street and North Avenue (Ramp to I-83 closes at this time, and local access between Biddle and Preston streets will be maintained)

* Lanvale Street between Maryland Avenue and Lovegrove Street (access to Amtrak parking at St. Paul Street will be maintained)

* Lafayette Avenue between St. Paul Street and Maryland Avenue (access to gas station and Schuler School will be maintained)

* Charles Street between North Avenue and West 21st Street

* 20th Street between Maryland Avenue and St. Paul Street

* North side parking/curb lanes on North Avenue from North Howard to St. Paul streets

* South side parking/curb lanes on North Avenue from Maryland Avenue to North Charles Street

* Falls Road from West Lafayette Street to Maryland Avenue

* Southbound Jones Falls Expressway ramp to Maryland Avenue

* A temporary traffic pattern will be installed along Maryland Avenue from Oliver Street to North Avenue — vehicles will only be able to turn north onto Maryland Avenue at Oliver Street. Local access to the Fitzgerald Garage will be maintained, and Fitzgerald residents and UB students will be able to turn right onto Maryland Avenue at Oliver Street.

* Northbound Maryland Avenue traffic must turn right at North Avenue

* Intersection of Mount Royal and Maryland avenues will remain closed until Monday at 6 a.m.

Baltimore’s transportation department is encouraging drivers to use mobile navigation apps like Waze to find the quickest, safest routes.

The Charm City Circulator Purple Route, which runs north on Charles Street and south on St. Paul Street through the middle of the city, is operating on a modified route from today until Wednesday Aug. 7. Bus riders can use the mobile Transit app for real-time updates.

On Sunday Aug. 4, Maryland Avenue will briefly be converted to a two-way street between Mount Royal Avenue and Preston Street from 9 a.m. to noon to allow religious worshipers access to parking at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation.

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

People go to Topside for the view. She wants them to love the food, too.
by De’Andre Young
Published July 28 in The Baltimore Banner

Excerpt: You might say the view of Baltimore’s dreamy skyline from the windows at Topside, Hotel Revival’s rooftop dining experience, is alone worth the trip. But for Amy Hessel, Topside’s newly appointed executive chef, that simply isn’t enough.

Hessel will be supervising the hotel’s dining operations from top to bottom, which also includes B-Side Cocktails & Karaoke and the cafe, Dashery.

Coming from two years at the Tilted Row in Bolton Hill, Hessel’s culinary journey has been fraught with change and a desire to be “breaking ceilings” as a chef. Her ultimate goal is to cultivate community around good food.

… this story continues. Read the rest at The Baltimore Banner: People go to Topside for the view. She wants them to love the food, too.

Ricki Lake Closing ‘John Waters: Pope of Trash’ Exhibit At Academy Museum With Curator Talk
by Glenn Garner
Published July 27 in Deadline

Exerpt: From ‘Good Morning Baltimore’ to ‘good night Los Angeles,’ Ricki Lake is paying tribute to her beloved longtime collaborator John Waters.

The Hairspray star will host ‘Let’s Talk w/ Ricki Lake‘ along with the curators of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures‘ ‘John Waters: Pope of Trash‘ to close out the exhibit on August 3.

The conversation with senior exhibitions curator Jenny He and associate curator Dara Jaffe will touch on Lake’s decades-spanning career of work with Waters, who directed her in such cult classics as Hairspray (1988), Cry-Baby (1990), Serial Mom (1994), Cecil B. Demented (2000) and A Dirty Shame (2004).

Figure 53, makers of QLab, celebrates 20 years.
Press Release :: July 25

Figure 53 is thrilled to announce The QClass, a comprehensive three-day QLab 5 workshop at The Voxel in Baltimore, MD, from August 28th to 30th, 2024. This event will also be live-streamed on QLab.tv, ensuring accessibility for participants worldwide.

The class, taught by Sam Kusnetz, Charles Coes, Chad Sellers, and Chris Ashworth, The QClass offers an in-depth exploration of QLab 5’s capabilities. From audio and video features to MIDI, OSC, lighting, timecode, and scripting, participants will gain valuable insights regardless of their skill level—from advanced beginners to seasoned professionals.

The QClass is open to anyone with a basic working knowledge of QLab. Attendees will receive a free two-week demo license for QLab 5. To participate, simply bring a Mac with macOS 11 or newer, though it’s not required for attendance.

We encourage all interested individuals to register early. Space is limited, and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis.”

In addition to The QClass, Figure 53 invites everyone to celebrate QLab’s 20th birthday at a special party on August 31, 2024, at The Voxel. The festivities will include music by DJ Brooks Long, an open bar, and delicious food from Baltimore favorites Ekiben and Taharka Bros. The event is free, and everyone is welcome! Please RSVP to save your spot!

Register for the QClass https://voxel.org/classes

RSVP for the free Baltimore party! pp.events/qlabbmorebash

For media inquiries or further details, please contact [email protected].

About Figure 53: Figure 53 creates software for live events. Their flagship product, QLab, is used by professionals worldwide for multimedia playback, audio routing, and show control. Learn more at figure53.com.

Contact: Allison Clendaniel, [email protected], 443-938-3858

Additional Links:

https://qlab.app/

https://voxel.org/