BmoreArt

This week’s news includes: Celebrating André De Shields, BOPA bailout, Creatively Black Baltimore exhibition at Harborplace, Pedro Ledesma III wins the Trawick Prize, Ammoora makes NYT best restaurants list, Esther Kläs at CPM, Good Sports exhibition at AVAM, B-360 profile in The Guardian, Sarah Danger memorial, BMA’s 110th anniversary, Leslie Malin of Chesapeake Shakespeare Co interviewed by Rob Lee, and the Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum  — with reporting from Baltimore Magazine, Baltimore Fishbowl, Baltimore Brew, and other local and independent news sources.

Header Image: Joyously celebrating on André De Shields Way, photographed this past July. —Photography by Mike Morgan, Grooming by Brian Oliver, T.H.E. Artist Agency, Styling by Zinda Williams for Baltimore Magazine

A Pristine Dream: André De Shields Made It To the Top With Patience, Grace—And a Whole Lot of Talent
by Lawrence Burney
Published September 25 in Baltimore Magazine

Excerpt: Around this time last year, the 1800 block of Division Street in the city’s Upton neighborhood looked a little different than it would on a regular day. For one, the street was blocked off, which would typically be a significant inconvenience for Westside residents trying to cheat the steady traffic flow going up and down Pennsylvania Avenue. Secondly, there was a podium set up in the middle of the street, prepped for city officials like Mayor Brandon Scott and City Council President Nick Mosby to speak.

In Baltimore, scenes like this, unfortunately, are often associated with responses to tragedy in which politicians show up to assure folks of how they’ll do everything in their power to guide the city to a place of healing and restoration. But luckily, on this day, all of the commotion—students dancing, news cameras everywhere, and community members passing by—was in celebration of André De Shields, the 78-year-old theater virtuoso whose formative years were spent on this very street, which was now being named after him.

“I always want to create opportunities to celebrate individuals while they are still here, to feel the love we have for them, and that’s what brings us all here: sharing the love, respect, and admiration we have for Mr. André De Shields and all that he has done to represent Baltimore and make us proud on the world stage,” Mayor Scott told the crowd. “He is many, many things: an artist, activist, philanthropist, Broadway deity, culture connoisseur, and one of the best dressed men on the planet.”

‘Creatively Black Baltimore’ art exhibition, along with installation by Tyree Guyton, to open at Harborplace
by Ed Gunts
Published September 25 in Baltimore Fishbowl

Excerpt: As part of a push to activate Baltimore’s Harborplace pavilions with arts-oriented attractions, MCB Real Estate has filled the space formerly occupied by the Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum with an exhibition called Creatively Black Baltimore (CBB).

It is also providing space for an immersive art installation by Detroit artist Tyree Guyton, the husband of Jenenne Whitfield, former director of the American Visionary Art Museum on Key Highway and now Harborplace’s Director of Art and Culture.

Creatively Black Baltimore will officially open to the public on Saturday, September 28, with a ribbon-cutting event from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the second floor of the Light Street Pavilion at 301 Light Street.

Broke BOPA wants a $1.8M bailout. The mayor wants a forensic audit first.
by Lee O. Sanderlin
Published September 19 in The Baltimore Banner

Leadership at the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts knew things were getting dicey in May when they were pressed to pay their bills. And then again in June, as they missed their window to negotiate a new contract with the city, they were standing on the precipice.

“What I will tell you is that, in full transparency and honesty, this organization has been functioning in a cash crunch since the day I walked through the door,” BOPA CEO Rachel Graham, who joined the arts nonprofit in March, told her board in an emergency meeting Thursday.

But even with all those warning signs, BOPA kept walking. And it appears they’ve now walked right off the cliff.

BOPA hired accounting firm Marcum LLP to review its books, which determined that without changes, the nonprofit will operate at a deficit that could balloon up to $650,000.

On Wednesday, The Baltimore Banner reported BOPA was insolvent. On Thursday, Graham said they were asking the city for a bailout to keep going. In order to even consider the request, Graham said the city will need a one-year plan for how BOPA will operate at its “barest existence” and information pertaining to anticipated future losses. BOPA wants $1.8 million in supplemental funding in addition to being paid the remainder of its city contract.

Mayor Brandon Scott’s office said the city will continue to make quarterly payments to BOPA, per its contract, but additional money will come with strings attached: an independent, forensic audit.

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

Trawick Prize: The Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards
by Claudia Rousseau, Ph.D.
Published September 23 in East City Arts

Excerpt: Examples of work by the eight finalists for the Trawick Prize: The Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards are on view in the glass enclosed Gallery B in downtown Bethesda. The competition, which is an annual event, receives submissions from a wide spectrum of local artists. As a reminder, it is effectively unique in its prize structure, offering a $10,000 award for the top prize, with the second and third dropping to 2,000 and 1,000 respectively. As such, while it encourages young, emerging artists to compete—there is also a Young Artist category for a winner under 30—it also draws those in more established stages of their careers. While in the recent past winners most tended to work in three dimensions, this year five of the finalists are painters, and only two are working in three dimensions. Things do change.

Indeed, this year I can see why photographer Pedro Ledesma III was awarded first place among the finalists. The artist is represented in the show by two large format color photos in elaborate, old fashioned wood frames with gilding.

The only spot in Maryland to make The New York Times’ best restaurant list
by Matti Gellman
Published September 24 in The Baltimore Banner

Excerpt: Tech CEO Jay Salkini opened Baltimore’s Ammoora restaurant in the Ritz Carlton complex off Key Highway in the hopes of silencing critics who were skeptical of a Syrian eatery dedicated to both tradition and opulence. Now, less than two years later, his concept is listed among The New York Times’ best restaurants of 2024.

The restaurant is the only eatery in Maryland to make the cut.

Ammoora, which translates in Arabic to “beautiful” and “loving,” rose to prominence for its homestyle Syrian cuisine based off cookbooks from Salkini’s mother and its ostentatious atmosphere. Velvet drapes cover plush booths and brass arches mark the entrance to a tiled dining room with stained glass windows and a stone fountain. Times wine critic Eric Asimov described the restaurant as “ambitious, elegant” and a “revelation” for anyone invested in Middle Eastern takeout classics.

… this story continues. Read the rest at The Baltimore Banner: The only spot in Maryland to make The New York Times’ best restaurant list

Maybe I Should Start with My Wishes
by Jane Lewty
Published in The Hopkins Review

Excerpt: The visitor enters CPM Gallery through two sets of doors, stepping upward to the high-ceilinged, gradated space in a Bolton Hill brownstone. If we were to angle our gaze sharply right, at a 300-degree angle, we would see BAL/ greenery (2024), the first of Barcelona-based artist Esther Kläs’s found-object pieces for her solo exhibit “How to Imagine Difference:” a rusted metal pipe, suspended from the ceiling and saved from its hover in abeyance by a green neon cable snaking up from the ground in a muscular, elegant motion. Casually looped across the brittle pipe, the cable illuminates varying textures and shapes present in this small alcove of the gallery—a methodical brick floor, the arrangement of the window shutters that create a half-moon shape of six pm late-summer light.

I am told by writer Haley Tilt that at night the sculpture takes on an eerie cast, sinuous and glowing in its occupation of the darkened corner. In its entirety, the scene is meditative and yet defiant, disjunctive and yet orderly. The fine line between intent and accident is called to mind; the paper compositions of Jean Arp, such as Untitled (Collage With Squares Arranged According To The Laws of Chance) (1917) where scraps of paper are seemingly arranged according to how they fell, rather than an orchestrated design. However, just as Arp’s objective was to convey a visual representation rather than a literal product of chance, Kläs’s work intuitively operates in a way that queries what-is-seen, and what-is-made. The very title of the exhibition implies a surefire statement: we are going to be shown how to imagine the shifting state of difference, or at least be given an entry point into the process. But, as our view rotates and shifts around the gallery space, it is directed most emphatically to the right-hand wall, where five text-based monoprints hang.

AVAM Introduces New MEGA-Exhibition, Good Sports: The Wisdom & Fun of Fair Play
Press Release :: September 23

The American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) debuts its latest MEGA-Exhibition—Good Sports: The Wisdom & Fun of Fair Play—Sunday, October 13, 2024. The exhibition, located on the 2nd floor of the Zanvyl A. Krieger Main Building, will weave together art created by global and local visionary artists focused on both sports and play imagery, as well as  film, photography, sculpture, fascinating sports medicine factoids, and quotes reflecting the wisdom of sports legends.

The exhibition will feature works such as the intricately painted baseballs of George Sosnak (1924-1992), the fascinating to-scale cardboard monuments of Kambel Smith, and the hypnotic needlework of AVAM fan-favorite Deborah Berger (1956–2005). Curated by Gage Branda, Good Sports brings a wide and creative view of both the history and current state of sports—one full of fun, wisdom, and passion—all to exalt sports as one of humankind’s most fabulous avenues for becoming our very best selves.

The educational opportunities provided by this exhibition are prolific: Good Sports will investigate humanity’s enduring preoccupation with competitive athleticism in an effort to better understand our human nature, offering an innovative perspective on what it means to be a “good sport.” Students of all ages will be able to glean a renewed sense of healthy competition in an unconventional environment—among artwork that inspires curiosity, growth, and thinking outside the box.

While praising the capacity of sports to impart important ethical lessons of fairness and civility, this exhibition will not ignore the dark underbelly of competition and its potential for corruption: rigging, drugging, greed, gambling, injury, exclusion, and woeful race and gender discrimination. AVAM has always challenged its visitors to engage with its exhibitions in a way that leads to positive transformation, broader perspectives, and a stronger sense of intersectional unity—this exhibition is no exception.

Curator Gage Branda says, “In a time with such division, it is my hope that in some small way this exhibition encourages people to continue to respect their ‘rivals’ and treat any field of engagement—from a race for the last parking spot in the lot, to a race for the gold in the Olympics—with grace.”

Good Sports: The Wisdom & Fun of Fair Play opens Sunday, October 13, 2024 at the American Visionary Art Museum. Join us for our Exhibition Opening Party that evening (free for members) 7-10 PM or plan your future visit at www.avam.org/visit.

Biography | Gage Branda, Curator
Gage Branda is a Filipino-American artist and educator. He received his BFA in Sculpture from the Maryland Institute College of Art. He has presented and exhibited in venues across the country, including: the Eleventh Hackers of Planet Earth Conference in New York, the Emerge Conference at Arizona State University, the San Jose Innovative Tech Museum, and the Strathmore Mansion. Prior to his work at AVAM, Branda taught K-12 students across Baltimore City in programs on nutrition, science, and art. Currently, he offers insight from his diverse interests—from bronze sculpture to biodesign—in the curation of the American Visionary Art Museum’s exhibitions.

‘Dirt bike culture is Black culture’: the organization fighting to legalize the sport
by Melissa Hellmann
Published August 24 in The Guardian

Excerpt: A group of children standing on the sidewalk squealed in excitement as a procession of six dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) roared past them on a frigid April morning. The bikers showed off their tricks, leaning back as their front wheels lifted off the ground in vertical wheelies. One rider became enveloped in a cloud of smoke as he swiveled his bike around in circles. It was an atypical recess for the students at Chicago’s Genevieve Melody Stem elementary school.

The demonstration was hosted by B-360, a Baltimore-based non-profit organization that hosts a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) program for students under 16 to learn how to build, code, design and 3D print model-size robot dirt bikes. In an effort to expand its programming to other cities, B-360 staff and volunteers taught the students Stem principles through hands-on experiments and bike demonstrations. By learning the mechanics and safety behind dirt bikes, the Chicago school’s principal, Tiffany Tillman, said she hoped the majority Black student body will “know they have different opportunities to always be successful”.

Save the Sarah Danger Memorial Mural in Mt. Vernon!
Change.org Petition started by Alyssa Forsythe

We believe that the Mt. Vernon community wants this intentional, beautiful, and thoughtful piece of art in their neighborhood celebrating the life and energy of Sarah “Danger” Underhill, who has worked and lived there.

We believe that Dr. Lynn Buhler has the right to LOUDLY and COLORFULLY celebrate the life of her niece on a building she owns in a neighborhood she has loves and is a vital part of.

Sarah “Danger” Underhill left this world in 2022, but her unstoppable energy and love of life has stayed with us. With the blessing of her family, support of various neighbors, and at the request of her aunt (and building owner) Dr. Lynn Buhler, we started the process of planning a mural to celebrate Sarah’s colorful life in December, 2023. We chose to put the mural on 857 Park Ave not only because Dr. Lynn owns that building, but it is the place where Sarah worked as an Arts and Culture Therapist.

When we began the mural, we looked into the CHAP (Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation) regulations of mural work and were working under those guidelines: https://chap.baltimorecity.gov/sites/default/files/CHAP%20Design%20Guidelines_2022.07.06_APA%20Version_opt.pdf (chapter 6, page 75).

We have been operating under those guidelines, and have ensured that the brick underneath the mural will not be damaged by the paint. We have two incredible artists collaborating on this piece, Nether and Alex Fine. Both have a rich history as established artists and creatives in the Baltimore City community.

We began the process of painting the mural on Wednesday, September 11th. On Thursday, September 12th we were approached by an ARC (Architectural Review Committee) board member who stated that he was going to report the mural to CHAP and they would issue a Stop Work Order and make us remove all of our progress on the mural. He informed us that as of last month CHAP ruled that all murals in Mt. Vernon were to be submitted to ARC for their approval, he did not show us any documentation of this ruling. When explaining the intention of this memorial mural, he stated that he did not care. He informed us that his job was to protect the history of Mt. Vernon and that the bricks on the building were at risk of being ruined. We explained that we did the due diligence to ensure the bricks safety and that we believe people are an important part of history too, he once again stated that he did not care. By gathering support of this beautiful piece of art, we can show ARC what caring for the people of this community looks like.

We are asking for the community and neighbors of Mt. Vernon to sign their names in support of an art piece that is sure to bring a plethora of life and joy into the neighborhood. We are asking others to sign this petition in support of this artistic celebration honoring the life of Sarah “Danger” Underhill, who saw the good in all of us and would be leading this cause unabashedly for anyone else. We are asking CHAP to please recognize the deeper impact this mural has, lift the Stop Work Order and let us have the couple days left it will take to complete this piece of art.

Thank you for your support and understanding in this cause.

BMA Celebrates 110th Anniversary with Ball & After Party
Press Release :: September 20
The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) will celebrate another major milestone in its 110-year history with a spectacular BMA Ball and After Party on Saturday, November 23. In addition to live music, dancing, and dinner amongst the museum’s masterpieces, the BMA is presenting its Artists Who Inspire and Changemaker Who Inspires awards recognizing individuals who advance social justice and equity through their work. The inaugural Artists Who Inspire recipients are John Akomfrah and LaToya Ruby Frazier, two exceptional artists whose works invite us into critical dialogue about issues essential to our lives. The first Changemaker Who Inspires award will be presented to renowned civil rights lawyer and BMA Trustee Sherrilyn Ifill, in recognition of her powerful advocacy for social justice.

“We are thrilled to announce the forthcoming BMA Ball and After Party celebrating the groundbreaking achievements of our honorees as well as the power of art to both bring us joy and spur us to action,” said James D. Thornton, Chair, BMA Board of Trustees, and Asma Naeem, the BMA’s Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director. “These events are an opportunity to come together in a shared vision and to support the museum in its work to elevate artists and serve our many audiences through exhibitions, programs, and artist-centered initiatives. We are immensely grateful to everyone for their support and look forward to another 110 years of art experiences at the BMA.”

The BMA Ball is co-chaired by BMA Trustees Amy Elias, Michael Sherman, and George Petrocheilos along with Diamantis Xylas. Honorary co-chairs are Maryland Governor Wes Moore and First Lady Dawn Flythe Moore, Former Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke and his wife Patricia, and R&B GRAMMY® winner John Legend. (Appearance not confirmed.) The After Party is co-chaired by BMA Trustee Darius Graham and Tonya Miller Hall, Senior Advisor of Arts & Culture, Mayor’s Office

Proceeds from the 110th Anniversary BMA Ball and After Party will help the museum continue its outstanding artistic and educational programs and expand upon its mission of fostering artistic excellence and social equity for the benefit of communities throughout Baltimore and beyond.

The BMA Ball is generously supported by Patricia and Mark Joseph, The Shelter Foundation; George Petrocheilos and Diamantis Xylas; the Sherman Family Foundation; and Toni and Dwight Bush, Janice and Richard Roberts, and Ann Dibble Jordan. […]

BMAG x The Truth in This Art: Lesley Malin of Chesapeake Shakespeare Company [Audio]
by Rob Lee
Aired September 24 on The Truth in This Art Podcast

Excerpt: The Baltimore team is excited to continue its partnership with The Truth in This Art, a local podcast hosted by Charm City native Rob Lee that has “bridged arts, culture, and community through authentic, insightful, and curious conversations” for more than 700 episodes (and counting).

On a monthly basis, Baltimore editors, contributors, and subjects sit down with Lee to give listeners an inside look at the making of the stories they’re reading in the magazine.

This latest interview with Lesley Malin, producing executive director of Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, is a continuation of our coverage of the Baltimore August Wilson Celebration—an ongoing string of performances from the prolific playwright’s 10-part American Century Cycle at several of the city’s theaters. Chesapeake Shakespeare Company is home to the current production in the series, Joe Turner’sCome and Gone, which runs through Oct. 13.

Listen in as Malin discusses her role in uniting the theater community for the celebration, her trajectory in the industry, and how Chesapeake Shakespeare Company is making its performances accessible to Baltimore City youth.

A name that tells the whole story
by Cory McCray
Published September 23 in The AFRO

Excerpt: Malcolm X once said, “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman.” His words resonate deeply today, particularly when we reflect on how often Black women have been left out of the historical narrative. Despite their enormous contributions, women like Harriet Tubman, Maggie Lena Walker—the first African-American woman to charter a bank in the United States—and so many others have often been sidelined in history books, overshadowed by their male counterparts. This erasure has had profound consequences on how we remember our past and who we honor in our present.

In recent years, states have passed laws that censor or limit the teaching of Black history in schools. Framed as curriculum reform or anti-divisive measures, these laws do far more than adjust content—they distort history. Even locally, we see attempts to revise African-American studies, such as the recent effort in Harford County, Md., to remove critical parts of African-American history from the curriculum. By reducing or erasing the contributions of Black Americans, and particularly Black women, from textbooks and classrooms, this sanitization deprives future generations of a complete American history—one that includes the struggles, resilience, innovation and triumphs of women who fought against systemic oppression.