BmoreArt

This Week: Catalyst Contemporary presents Christopher Batten online exhibition, fundraiser for Baltimore Unity Hall, opening reception for Aliana Grace Bailey and Brandon Donahue-Shipp at Connect+Collect, Michael Haskins Jr. reception at BLIFTD ART STVDIOS, Sondheim Award Ceremony and Queering the Collection with Karol Martinez at The Walters, three new exhibitions open at The Peale, Elizabeth Dickinson in conversation with Lane Harlan at Enoch Pratt, Baltimore Camera Club panel discussion, ‘All My Bones Remember’ weekend event at Clifton House, opening reception for Earl Jones at Baltimore Jewelry Center, and Brighter Skies group exhibition opening reception at CPM — PLUS last call for The Big Show at Creative Alliance 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]!

 

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< Events >

 

Soft Landing: an Online Exclusive with the work of Christopher Batten
June 13 – July 25, 2025
@ Catalyst Contemporary

Noting the influence he draws from street art, Batten’s practice examines issues of identity, interpersonal dynamics, and the mundane. Through abstraction & representation, he explores the phenomenological aspects of turbulence & the moments of balance within.

 

 

Rooted in Community: A Celebration of Growth and Vision
Wednesday, June 28 :: 5-8pm
@ Baltimore Unity Hall

Join us on June 25, 2025 for Rooted in Community: A Celebration of Growth and Vision, Baltimore Unity Hall’s very first fundraiser! This isn’t just another event—it’s a powerful moment to celebrate how far we’ve come and help shape what’s next. From local art and raffle prizes to good food, music, and heartfelt stories, this evening will be full of joy, connection, and purpose. Every ticket helps us grow a more inclusive, creative, and community-driven space in the heart of West Baltimore. Come for the florals, stay for the impact, buy your ticket today and be part of something meaningful! 🌻

 

 

Aliana Grace Bailey and Brandon J. Donahue-Shipp: Close Enough | Opening Reception
Wednesday, June 25 :: 6-8pm
@ BmoreArt Collect+Connect Gallery

Join us on Wednesday, June 25, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the BmoreArt Connect+Collect Gallery for the opening of Close Enough, featuring works by Aliana Grace Bailey and Brandon Donahue-Shipp.

Close Enough explores the intimate power of gesture and memory. With works rooted in care, legacy, and presence, this exhibition holds space for quiet boldness and deep connection. Bailey’s weavings, locs, and collages sit in conversation with Donahue-Shipp’s oil paintings on stretched T-shirts, offering layered reflections on Black life, softness, and everyday beauty.

Together, their works open portals of familiarity and connection. Through bold textures and tender gestures, Close Enough asks us to consider the legacies we carry and the ones we’re building. It is an exhibition that doesn’t ask to be decoded, but to be felt—by those close enough to recognize themselves in the folds.

 

 

Let The Horses Run: BLIFTD ART STVDIOS Visiting Artists Collection No. 2 | Reception
Thursday, June 26 :: 6-8pm
@ BLIFTD ART STVDIOS

Join us on Thursday, June 26th from 6:00–8:00 PM for the second installment of BLIFTD ART STVDIOS’ Visiting Artist Collection series.

This is an evening to gather, reflect, and experience Haskins’ bold vision in person. Come through, bring a guest, and connect with fellow artists and community members in celebration of our second curated collection. Free to the public – RSVP encouraged but not necessary!

VISITING ARTISTS COLLECTION NO. 2:
Featured Artist – Michael Haskins, Jr.

Curatorial Statement by Michael Haskins, Jr.

Let The Horses Run Exhibition at Bliftd Art Stvdios introduces the work of Designer and Creator Michael Haskins Jr (B. 1991, Baltimore, Md). Haskins Jr untraditionally proceeds to build on media, which continue to set the standard for his immediate environment.

Haskins developed an imagination for various lifestyles earlier in life, inspired by ways of living outside of Baltimore, Md. Throughout the past decade, he has worked on retail projects, creative direction for Artists, as well as consulting for Brands. Today his main focus is whatever is going on at Currency Studio.

This exhibition displays a number of works of Art in relation to a past collection titled “Tre Stallion” By Currency Studio.

Let The Horses Run expresses Michaels thinking around how thought provoking horses are from the beginning of transportation, to classism, to symbols of sought upon vehicles. Unconsciously everyone’s goal is a Horse. Even down to what it symbolizes, Power, Freedom, Speed, To Age Well…”

Collection Runtime: May 13th – August 4th
Reception: June 26, 2025 | 6:00-8:30 p.m. | RSVP

Visit BLIFTD

View the collection by appointment—email [email protected] to schedule your visit.

About BLIFTD ART STVDIOS

BLIFTED ART STVDIOS is an artist-run coworking studio, gallery, performance space, and hub for peer-to-peer art education in Baltimore, MD. Through the creative reuse of the historic American Can Company building, BLIFTD offers artists the space and programming to achieve the visibility and professionalism necessary for sustainable art careers, creating new access points to art resources and networks historically made available only through Baltimore’s traditional art institutions.

BLIFTD’s founding artists include Jeffrey Kent, Chris Wilson, Jerrell Gibbs, Nicole Clark, Terry Kilby, and the late Gabriel Garcia. Our vision? To trailblaze an alternative path for emerging + established artists to find and sustain their art practice, a path that is accessible to those outside of the traditional, institutional pathways.

 

 

Sondheim 2025 Art Prize Finalists | Award Ceremony
Thursday, June 26 :: 6-7:30pm
@ The Walters Art Museum

Location: Level 1 Lobby and Graham Auditorium
Registration is required.

The Walters Art Museum, in collaboration with the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, is proud to present the 2025 Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize Finalists Exhibition. The exhibition showcases the work of five finalists—Aliana Grace Bailey, Amanda Leigh Burnham, Lillian Jacobson, Jacob Mayberry, and Wonchul Ryu—in this prestigious competition, which awards a $30,000 fellowship to assist in furthering the career of a visual artist or visual artist collaborators living and working in the greater Baltimore region. Be among the first to celebrate this year’s winner and mingle with members of Baltimore’s arts community at this award ceremony and reception.

REGISTER

This program is co-hosted with the Baltimore Office for Promotion and The Arts and presented in conjunction with the 20th annual Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize Finalists Exhibition on view at the Walters from April 19 through July 20, 2025.

:: Also at The Walters ::

Queering the Collection: Karol Martinez
Saturday, June 28 :: 2-3pm

 

 

Of Yesterday and Tomorrow | Opening Reception
Thursday, June 26 :: 6-9pm
@ The Peale

Join us for the opening of Of Yesterday and Tomorrow, only at The Peale!

Of Yesterday + Tomorrow  is the culminating group exhibition of the 2025 New Generation Scholars Young Artist Archival Fellowship—a gathering of voices, memories, and visions shaped in dialogue with Black diasporic archives. Featuring emerging artist-archival fellows Alaina Lurry, Angel Jones, Christopher Reaves, Donte Hance, Jamal Childs, Mathilde Mujanayi, and Ziggy Sayeed, this exhibition reflects months of research, storytelling, and creative exploration.

These seven artists move as both witnesses and architects—attuned to what came before and reaching into what has yet to take shape. Each work becomes a cipher: a living fragment of the archive, holding both stillness and breath. Reverence here is not symbolic—it is structural, generative, and alive. A ritual honed across generations. This is not simply an exhibition to view, but a threshold to cross. A passage. An unfolding vision. A continuum of Black futures shaped by yesterday’s defiance—a constellation of memory in movement.

The exhibition also features returning 2024 YAA fellow Tey Saunders  and guest artist Jazz Williams, expanding the intergenerational and cross-disciplinary dialogue at the heart of this fellowship.

Join us at this event, where we explore the intersection of past and future through captivating art pieces. Immerse yourself in a world where history meets innovation, and witness the creativity of talented artists. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to experience a blend of nostalgia and anticipation. See you there!

:: Also at The Peale ::

One Chiliad by Jann Rosen-Queralt | Opening Reception
Friday, June 27 :: 4-7pm

It’s a Snap: What Makes Baltimore Beautiful | Opening Reception
Saturday, June 29 :: 2-5pm

 

 

Elizabeth Dickinson: “Claire McCardell”
Thursday, June 26 :: 7-8pm
@ Enoch Pratt FREE Library

The riveting hidden history of Claire McCardell, the most influential fashion designer you’ve never heard of.

Claire McCardell forever changed fashion—and most importantly, the lives of women. She shattered cultural norms around women’s clothes, and today much of what we wear traces back to her ingenious, rebellious mind. McCardell invented ballet flats and mix-and-match separates, and she introduced wrap dresses, hoodies, leggings, denim, and more into womenswear. She tossed out corsets in favor of a comfortably elegant look and insisted on pockets, even as male designers didn’t see a need for them. She made zippers easy to reach because a woman “may live alone and like it,” McCardell once wrote, “but you may regret it if you wrench your arm trying to zip a back zipper into place.”

After World War II, McCardell fought the severe, hyper-feminized silhouette championed by male designers, like Christian Dior. Dior claimed that he wanted to “save women from nature.” McCardell, by contrast, wanted to set women free. Claire McCardell became, as the young journalist Betty Friedan called her in 1955, “The Gal Who Defied Dior.”

Filled with personal drama and industry secrets, this story reveals how Claire McCardell built an empire at a time when women rarely made the upper echelons of business. At its core, hers is a story about our right to choose how we dress—and our right to choose how we live.

Elizabeth Dickinson will be joined in conversation by restaurateur and author Lane Harlan.

About the Author:

Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson is an award-winning journalist and author whose writing has been widely published in The New York Times, Harper’s, The New Yorker, The Southern Review, and The Washington Post Magazine, among many others. A National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellow, Dickinson’s work has earned recognition in anthologies such as The Best American Essays and been awarded Maryland’s prestigious Mary Sawyers Imboden Prize for literature. Dickinson lives in Baltimore with her husband and daughter.

About the Moderator: 

Lane Harlan is a Baltimore-based Creative Director and Co-Owner of several nationally recognized bars and restaurants. In 2013, she quietly opened W.C. Harlan, a cocktail bar housed in a dimly lit row home. Her other establishments include Clavel Mezcaleria, a five-time James Beard Foundation Award nominee; Fadensonnen, named Best Bar in America 2021 by Bon Appétit; and Angels Ate Lemons. Her businesses have been featured in national publications such as New York Magazine and Imbibe. In 2021, Saveur Magazine named her the Most Interesting Woman in the Restaurant Industry.

 

 

The First Annual Photo-Culturalism Panel: Photography as Aesthetic Practice via Culture Work
Thursday, June 26 :: 7:30pm
@ Baltimore Camera Club + Virtual

The First Annual Photo-Culturalism Panel
Thursday, June 26 | Doors: 7:30 PM
Free attendance in-person & via Zoom*Photography
as
Aesthetic Practice
via
Culture WorkTeri Henderson, Chair & Facilitator
Devin Allen | Joe Giordano | Chuck Patch | Micah E. WoodHow do we, as photographers, use our cameras in the service of culture work, a sister to our aesthetic practices? How can photography play a role in visualizing what might be the dormant or hidden aspects of advocacy, influence, and representation? How do we actually see our neighborhoods as viable places to practice and document our aesthetics and vision, and actually interact with the people who inhabit and work in these environments?

The Baltimore Camera Club, America’s oldest, continually-running photography society, has invited five artists and activists from our own Baltimore City to illustrate the stories behind their images, and answer questions that address the motivation to move beyond social media, and the gallery, to publish works of photography, and how this complements the work already being done in the field. The panelists will have their books for sale.

Whether in person or attending via Zoom, bring your questions, ideas, and your friends: this event is FREE and open to all members of the community.

Baltimore Camera Club

Mount Washington United Methodist Church
5800 Cottonworth Ave. Baltimore, MD 21209
baltimorecameraclub.org

*Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87190375181
Meeting ID: 871 9037 5181 (Passcode: 107921)

For information regarding membership, or requests for promotional/press-related materials, write: [email protected], or text 410.718.6574

For membership/organizational information and social media presence, see baltimorecameraclub.org

Accessible via Light Rail at Mount Washington | Limited Free Parking

 

 

All of My Bones Remember: A Special Event in Honor of Lucille Clifton
Friday, June 27 – Sunday, June 29
@ Clifton House

We welcome our community for a transformative gathering honoring the life, work, and enduring spirit of Lucille Clifton and the Clifton Family.

Join us for All of My Bones Remember, a three-day series of programs that weave together memory, legacy, and lineage. Events include panels, intimate discussions, communal activations, and our 2nd Annual Lucille Clifton Lecture that will be presented by acclaimed poet, novelist, and scholar Honorée Fanonne Jeffers. Please stay tuned for further announcements on our additional honored guests, speakers, and more.

This event is hosted in partnership with Jupiter Mag and The Library.

First Come, First Seated:

Due to the overwhelming response to our free events, we may at times be overbooked. All registered seats are released 15 to 30 minutes before start time, so we recommend that you arrive early to secure a seat. If you would require special accommodations, please email [email protected]. Please note that there is only one ticket per registrant and photo ID is required upon entry. If you’re interested in multiple programs, please register for each event separately.

A Note on Parking:

Parking is extremely limited. Out of respect for the neighbors, please consider Uber or Lyft, or consider parking on Clifton Road (runs parallel to Talbot Road) and walking up the street to The Clifton House.

About The Clifton House:

The Clifton House, a nonprofit arts organization based in Baltimore, MD, celebrates the legacy of poet Lucille Clifton and her activist husband Fred Clifton. Grounded in Lucille and Fred’s lives and work and operating from their historic family home, The Clifton House is proud to offer low- to no-cost poetry and writing workshops, art classes, and opportunities for creative development and networking to Baltimore artists and beyond.

 

 

Waxcast: Creations by Earl Jones | Opening Reception
Friday, June 27 :: 5-8pm
@ Baltimore Jewelry Center

The Baltimore Jewelry Center will host Waxcast: Creations by Earl Jones, a retrospective exhibition honoring the life, work, and creative legacy of prolific Baltimore artist and jeweler Earl Jones (1951-2024). Co-curated by Allison Gulick and Elliot Keeley Waxcast: Creations by Earl Jones will be on view in the BJC’s gallery in Baltimore’s Station North Arts & Entertainment District (10 E. North Ave.) from June 27 through August 8 with an opening reception on Friday, June 27 from 5 to 8pm and a closing reception on Friday, August 8 from 5 to 9pm. Both events are free and open to the public.

The exhibition features Jones’ jewelry, sculpture, and wall hangings, as well as images and ephemera from his multifaceted life creating an intimate portrait of an unassuming genius. The exhibition highlights three major facets of his career: his early sculptural pieces, the development of his casting business and specialized casting machine, in addition to the evolution of his practice as a jeweler. Well-known for his culturally specific aesthetic and his remarkable heat patinas, the exhibition showcases work from every period of Earl’s career and reflects his obsessive commitment to craftsmanship and quality. From simple copper rings to intricate castings, his dedication to perfecting his craft is ever present. Through the exhibition, viewers will gain insight into the remarkable depth and breadth of Earl’s career, as well as his contributions to the broader arts ecosystem — particularly his support for and involvement in spaces for Black creatives.

“We’re honored to host this exhibition celebrating the life and legacy of Earl Jones,” say co-curators Allison Gulick and Elliot Keeley. “Earl was an extraordinary artist and individual whose contributions to jewelry, metalsmithing, and spaces for Black creatives deserve greater recognition. With Waxcast, we hope to share his remarkable story and ensure that his work and impact are widely celebrated.”

Special thanks to the William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, creator of the Baker Artist Portfolios, www.BakerArtist.org, for their support of this project.

 

 

Brighter Skies Group Exhibition | Opening Reception
Saturday, June 28 :: 6-8pm
@ CPM Gallery

CPM is pleased to announce Brighter Skies, a group exhibition bringing together painting, sculpture, and works on paper by seven artists currently living and working in Baltimore.

As an exhibition title, the expression “Brighter Skies” gestures both towards hope for renewal and ironic hopelessness when considering environmental degradation, social turmoil, or performative politics. Amidst this, the natural world continues to unfold with a rhythm that is at once ancient and immediate.

The artists in this exhibition engage with the symbolic, metaphorical, and spiritual qualities of nature, offering a way to remain in relationship with the world, with ourselves, and with something larger than the systems we can’t control. The works on view express the power of slowly and attentively engaging with earth and sky.

John Ruppert casts a giant shard of tree struck by lightning in iron, monumentalizing a moment of nature’s immensity. Erin Fostel uses charcoal to sensitively render nighttime landscapes of a local park and city street. Charles Mason III creates a suite of mixed media works on paper that use the flower as a vessel for language, emotional transportation, and stand-in for the black body. Dolores Zinny makes meticulous and meditative colored pencil drawings that evoke the skies of Rosario, Argentina, where she was born, and Baltimore, Maryland, the city where she currently lives. Thiang Uk’s paintings envision shifting abstract landscapes as sites for ancestral memory and formal discovery. Zoë Charlton’s mixed-media collage works use imagery of plants, animals, and African masks to construct intricate political allegories addressing race, gender, family, and climate change. Taj Poscé thickly layers, constructs, and burns various materials and ephemera to create densely rich paintings, sometimes referencing the grime and dirt of the burnt earth and other times pointing towards the cosmos and the stars.

The sky does not have a border. The sky is a continuity, shared and inhabited by everyone.

 

 

< Calls for Entry >

 

Artist Studio for Rent – Available Starting July 2025
posted by Sandy Spring Museum

We’re excited to announce that one of our limited artist studios will be available for rent starting July 1, 2025.

This 650-square-foot studio, located on the lower level of a beautifully converted 19th-century barn, features exposed timber peg joints, Wi-Fi, heating and air conditioning, a utility sink, and access to a bathroom on the second floor. In addition, artists have the opportunity to sell their work through the museum’s gift shop.

Each studio on our campus is unique. In total, the museum offers six studios, located within our administrative wing and in two outbuildings—a modern barn and a historic barn. All resident artists maintain their own schedules and may use the space to suit a variety of creative practices.

If you or someone you know is looking for an inspiring, flexible space to create, we’d love to connect. For more information or to schedule a visit, please contact our Exhibit Coordinator, Yu Jie, at (301) 774-0022.

 

 

BIG Show artwork drop-Off
June 19-21 :: 12-5pm // June 24-27 :: 12-5pm // Friday June 27 is the LAST DAY. No late submissions
posted by Creative Alliance

Get ready! Artwork drop-offs begin this Thursday, June 19th. Don’t miss your chance to be part of Baltimore’s largest community art exhibition, a highlight of Creative Alliance’s 30th Anniversary celebration.

Not a member yet? Join today! You’ll showcase your work alongside incredible local talent and capture the attention of art enthusiasts and collectors.

Art Star level members ($150), we encourage every creative member in your household to submit art to this exhibition!

Let’s celebrate local arts and our vibrant creative community together – make sure your art is part of this unforgettable event!

Exhibit Dates: JULY 11 – AUG 16, 2025
Opening Reception: FRI, JULY 11 | 6–8PM
BIG Show Party with Jonathan Gilmore: FRI JULY 11 at 8PM

 

 

WallMountables 2025 Registration Open!
exhibition opens July 11
posted by DC Arts Center

WallMountables is one of D.C.’s largest and most beloved open community art exhibitions—and The DC Arts Center’s biggest annual fundraiser! This is your chance to exhibit your work, connect with a vibrant creative community, and potentially make a sale: last year’s exhibition featured nearly 150 artists and generated over $9,000 in art sales.

Here’s how it works:
Artists can purchase as many 2’ x 2’ squares on our gallery wall as they’d like, then display any artwork they choose. No jury, no themes—just bold, open creative expression.

Want to get even more out of it? Become an Artist Member and unlock benefits like two free squares (a $100 value), early registration access, and discounts on future DCAC opportunities.
Learn more about Artist Membership here.

Key Dates:
Opening Celebration: July 11, 2025, at 7:00 PM
Closing Reception & Deinstallation: August 10, 2025, at 6:00 PM

Installation is by appointment and deinstallation occurs immediately after the closing reception.

Spaces are limited and squares are already selling out—submit your entry today to secure your spot!
Whether you’re a first-time exhibitor or a returning favorite, WallMountables offers a unique opportunity to share your work with a wide and engaged audience.

 

 

Sitar Arts Center 25th Anniversary Commemorative Poster and T-Shirt Art Contest
deadline July 11

Sitar Arts Center invites artists of all ages living in Washington, DC to submit original designs for its 25th Anniversary Commemorative Poster and T-Shirt Art Contest!

Help Sitar celebrate 25 years of building a creative community of learning and belonging. This is your chance to have your work featured on official anniversary merchandise, win cash prizes, and have your art become part of Sitar’s permanent collection.

Since 2000, Sitar Arts Center has been a community anchor in Adams Morgan. At the heart of Sitar are the people—our students, families, artists, and supporters—who make it truly special.

Designs should reflect the essence of community, creativity, and belonging, and may also draw inspiration from Sitar’s multidisciplinary arts offerings and core values: equity, belonging, balance, trust, transformation, and collaboration.

 

 

BOPA Community Advisory Committee Application
deadline July 15

BOPA is looking for up to twelve (12) members from Baltimore’s arts, culture, and entertainment community to join its Community Advisory Committee (CAC).

Members serve a two-year term and advise BOPA on community needs, equity in programming, cultural representation, and inclusive creative direction — helping ensure BOPA’s work reflects the richness and diversity of all Baltimore communities.

 

 

Rhizome DC Fall 2025 Film & Video Open Call
deadline July 15

Rhizome DC and Filament are accepting submissions for our 2025 Film & Video Open Call. Artists and filmmakers from the DMV region are invited to submit short boundary-pushing, genre-defying, or experimental moving picture works for a screening in September 2025. Works shot or projected on film are encouraged to apply. In addition to digital projection, we will provide film projectors so that artists with Super 8 or 16mm prints have the opportunity to screen their work. We also encourage XR (extended reality) submissions but artists working in XR must bring their own playback devices.

Artists must submit their works by completing the submission form. The deadline to submit is July 15. Artists will be notified of their selection by August 1, and the selected films will be screened on Thursday, September 4.

Rhizome DC is a community-run arts organization, alternative music venue, and DIY screening space founded in 2015. Filament is a new screening initiative building an audience for independent and art films in Washington DC.

Questions and concerns can be directed to [email protected].

 

 

Artina 2025: Upside Down – Inside Out
deadline July 27
posted by Washington Sculptors Group

The realities of today’s world seem to have turned topsy-turvy. What was up is now down, ‘left’ is pitted against ‘right’, and confidence proportionally falls as uncertainty climbs higher with the hour. Meanwhile, self-proclaimed outsiders have resolutely taken ownership of the inside track. In reflection, we ask ourselves collectively, “What now? What next? Where are we? Where do we go from here? How do we reorient ourselves within a world turned upside down and inside out?” We ask these questions in an attempt to locate ourselves within a morphing paradigm and to ground ourselves despite ever-changing circumstances.

Quite possibly, creative responses to these questions are best communicated in sculptural form. Through sculpture, installation, sound, performance, and interdisciplinary expression, Upside Down, Inside Out invites artists to explore inversions and reorientations.

Inversion and orientation can each be interpreted geographically or directionally, psychologically or sexually, politically, positionally, or materially. This exhibition thematically embraces the carnivalesque: inclusive of mischief, playfulness, whimsy, chaos, and excess. Approaches and interpretations of related topics may range widely, from the unfamiliar and the uncanny, to the surreal and the satirical, the absurd and the abject, the ironic and the burlesque, the silly and the serious. As such, Upside Down, Inside Out is a space of radical hospitality, welcoming and inviting all modes of imaginative subversion and unfettered inquiry that challenge the dominion of absolute power, unquestioned patrimony, and obligatory acceptance of the status quo.

– Zoma Wallace, May 2025