This Week: Art with a Heart celebrates 26 years, reception for Jo Smail at Goya, Nick Cave and Bob Faust in conversation at SAAM, closing reception of Before | During | Now at SBM Gallery, A Dream Outside My Body opening reception at Baltimore Jewelry Center, opening reception for Dre Bryton at Area 405, Liz Downing lecture at The Walters, opening reception for Anne Calamuci at Gormley Gallery, and March exhibition opening receptions at Baltimore Clayworks — PLUS apply for a Creative Capital grant 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]!
Get BmoreArt’s Newsletter!
Sign up for news and special offers!
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.
Sign Up!Events
Art with a Heart’s 26th Birthday Community Art Project
Wednesday, March 18 :: 11am-1pm // Thursday, March 19 :: 5-7pm // Saturday + Sunday, March 21 + 22 :: 12-2pm
@ HeARTwares
Art with a Heart (AWAH) is 26 years BOLD and still coloring outside the lines! To commemorate this milestone, the nonprofit will host a hands-on community art project at its social enterprise store, HeARTwares (1104 W. 36th St., Baltimore, MD, 21211).
Supporters, volunteers, friends, families, neighbors and anyone wanting to join in the celebration are invited to pick up a paintbrush and leave their mark on the 26th birthday mural, which will become the permanent backdrop to workshops and other HeARTwares events.
“Art with a Heart is always happy to bring people together to make beauty, share joy and connect through art, so of course we are incorporating this into our birthday celebration,” said Executive Director Megan Gatto. “This mural will serve as a lasting symbol of our mission to inspire, strengthen and heal through visual art.”
Selected by staff and followers on social media, the wall-size mural features a playful pattern of a sun with bright colors reflecting the spirit, resilience and fun of Art with a Heart.
Guests of all ages can stop by HeARTwares to paint the mural – and learn more about Art with a Heart’s programs – during four dedicated sessions: March 18, from 11a.m. to 1 p.m.,March 19, from 5 to 7 p.m., and March 21 and 22,from noon to 2 p.m. To learn more about the mural project, visit www.artwithaheart.net, call (410) 366-8886 oremail [email protected].
Jo Smail: Thinking Like an Oyster | Reception
Wednesday, March 18 :: 6-8pm
@ Goya Contemporary
Reception: Wednesday, March 18, 6:00-8:00 pm
Book Signing: Thursday, April 23, 2026, 5:00–7:00 pm
On view at Goya Contemporary Gallery through April 25, 2026
Smail’s exhibition was recently featured on MEER, the international media platform and magazine that curates content on culture, science, art, architecture, and technology worldwide in six languages.
Excerpt from MEER:
“Thinking Like an Oyster marks the artist’s eleventh solo exhibition with the gallery, celebrating more than twenty-five years of representation. The exhibition will feature forty-six new works presented in dynamic groupings that emphasize the rhythms, accumulations, poetics, and transformations central to the artist’s practice. A new publication on this body of work will be released in late April, with essays by Louis Fratino, Amy Raehse, and Kristen Hileman.
Baltimore-based South African artist Jo Smail (b. 1943, Durban, South Africa) is internationally celebrated for her abstract paintings, drawings, installations, collages, and prints. Her work evolves through layered processes of accumulation, erasure, repurposing, and revision—material transformations that echo the emotional and historical depth embedded in her practice…”
Click to read the full article by MEER
Click for more information on the exhibition
Click here to view works by Jo Smail
A Conversation with Artists Nick Cave and Bob Faust
Wednesday, March 18 :: 6:30-7:30pm
@ Smithsonian American Art Museum
Join artists Nick Cave and Bob Faust in conversation about the exhibition Nick Cave: Mammoth, their creative process, and collaboration. The program will be moderated by Sarah Newman, the James Dicke Curator of Contemporary Art.
Before | During | Now Closing Reception and Artist Meet & Greet
Friday, March 20 :: 5-7pm
@ SBM Gallery
Free and open to the public.
Join artists from Before | During | Now to celebrate the closing of the inaugural exhibition of SBM Gallery.
A Dream Outside My Body | Opening Reception
Friday, March 20 :: 5-8pm
@ Baltimore Jewelry Center
The Baltimore Jewelry Center (BJC) presents A Dream Outside My Body, an exhibition that considers how shared creative space and repeated personal interactions influence the work of 10 contemporary artists. The exhibition will be on view in the BJC’s gallery in the Station North Arts & Entertainment District (10 E. North Ave.) from March 20 through May 1, 2026. An opening reception will be held on Friday, March 20, from 5–8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
A Dream Outside My Body examines the work of 10 artists who are all connected through the creative, communal space of the Baltimore Jewelry Center. While the preferred media of each artist vary, they all employ metalsmithing or jewelry making as a central component of their artistic practice. In this exhibition viewers will be given the opportunity to identify similarities and differences in the work as it’s presented within the context of three central themes; jewelry as talisman; jewelry as an extension of the maker’s or wearer’s identity, and the application of “jewelry thinking” to other materials and disciplines.
“At its heart, the Baltimore Jewelry Center is a community space dedicated to providing accessible jewelry and metalsmithing education for anyone who wants to learn.” said Shane Prada, Director. “We’re excited to present A Dream Outside My Body because it’s an opportunity to highlight the importance of collaborative making spaces. The exhibition illuminates a critical part of our story that is often unseen or unacknowledged, examining how the processes and connections formed within our space truly impact the work artists are creating. “
Featured artists include: Adam Atkinson, Cindy Cheng, Margo Csipő, J Taran Diamond, Luci Jockel, Elliot Keeley, Andy Lowrie, Molly Shulman, April Wood, and Elaine Zukowski
Alternating Currents | Opening Reception
Friday, March 20 :: 5-9pm
@ Area 405
Opening: Friday, March 20, 2026 | 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Closing: Friday, April 10, 2026 | 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Gallery hours: Thursdays – Saturdays, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
AREA 405 presents Dre Bryton’s solo exhibition, Alternating Currents. On view from March 20 to April 10, 2026, the exhibition explores the artist’s fascination with the shapes, scales, and forms of supercomputers from the 1970s and 1980s, sparking a contemporary conversation about the integratability of individual artistic expression and technological development.
Baltimore-based Dre Bryton worked at the System Source Computer Museum as a maintenance professional, handling modern-day computer hardware on a daily basis. Mesmerized by the monumental scale and presence of computers from both past and present, he developed a practice deconstructing found furniture that mimics the geometric shapes and color schemes of these machines in sculptural form.
The designs of modern computers are influenced by the International Style, an art movement from 1920 to 1940 that emphasized functionality and construction methods in architecture and art. Its radically simplified and geometric aesthetic highlights rationality and continues to inform the mass production of furniture and technology today.
Bryton’s fascination with these forms is not purely aesthetic; it represents an imaginative future. From futurism to debates about the existence of human consciousness in cyborgs, and the increasingly human-like nature of AI, our obsession with these topics reflects bold speculations about the survival or extinction of humankind. More importantly, these comparisons between technology and humanity serve as an examination of the identities of us humans.
In previous works, Bryton has deconstructed mattresses and sofas, transforming them into orderly, almost cubistic sculptures. The shift from soft to hard parallels human history: from craft to mass production, human to cyborg, emotion to logic. While his work draws from modern stylistic choices, our ongoing fascination with technology keeps it relevant in a contemporary context.
In Alternating Currents, Bryton takes a new approach, investigating formal concerns in sculpture and painting inspired by his love for the designs of vintage computers encountered during his work as a cataloguer.
Dre Bryton: Alternating Currents is made possible by a grant from the T. Rowe Foundation..
Queering the Collection: Liz Downing
Saturday, March 21 :: 3-4pm
@ The Walters Art Gallery
Location: Ancient Greek and Roman Galleries
Registration required.
Explore the humanity, desire, vengeance, and grief at the heart of ancient stories. Liz Downing activates the Walters’ collection with performances of contemporary translations of ancient texts such as Alice Oswald’s Memorial, Emily Wilson‘s Odyssey, Madeleine Miller’s Circe, and Old Song’s Sappho, Anacreon Callimachus. Join in a discussion with the artist and Lisa Anderson-Zhu, Curator of Ancient Mediterranean Art & Curator of Provenance.
Infinite Fire: The Power of Women’s Expression | Opening Reception
Saturday, March 21 :: 4-6pm
@ Gormley Gallery
Exhibition on View: March 16–May 1, 2026
Reception: Saturday, March 21 from 4–6 PM
Gallery Talk: March 30 at noon
Gormley Gallery at NDMU Presents Infinite Fire: The Power of Women’s Expression
Maryland Photographer’s Exhibition Celebrating Female Artists Kicks Off Women’s History Month
Gormley Gallery at Notre Dame of Maryland University proudly presents Infinite Fire: The Power of Women’s Expression, an exhibition of photographs by Maryland-based artist Anne Calamuci, featuring works from her acclaimed series Hear Me Roar and Ageless Creativity. Timed to coincide with Women’s History Month, the exhibition reflects the University’s longstanding commitment to women’s education, leadership, and creative expression.
Calamuci is a fine art and portrait photographer whose work centers on women, identity, and the evolving female experience. She studied photography at Montgomery College, The Corcoran School of Art, and The Portfolio Center (now The Miami Ad School) in Atlanta. Her practice blends careful planning with intuitive image-making, resulting in portraits that explore emotion, aging, memory, and beauty. Often guided by themes, her work allows space for viewers to bring their own experiences into the interpretation.
Ageless Creativity is a photographic celebration of female artists ages 56 to 85, created to challenge cultural assumptions about aging and women’s creative vitality. After her 60th birthday, Calamuci became increasingly aware of casual, negative portrayals of older women in popular media. In response, she turned her lens toward women who are not only living full lives, but actively creating, questioning, and imagining.
“Imagery is powerful and can shape social norms,” Calamuci notes. “These women are perfect examples of artists who have not only lived life, but are living life. Their creative drive is ageless.”
The images in Ageless Creativity are created using a light painting technique, resulting in photographs that feel energetic and alive. Calamuci employs bold purple and green backgrounds throughout the series. Purple symbolizing power, and green representing life and growth, reinforcing the vitality and dignity of her subjects.
Hear Me Roar is a series celebrating the strength of women through portraiture paired with inspiring quotes from women. The works serve as visual affirmations, reminders of resilience, power, and shared wisdom. “Sometimes we need visual reminders of inspirational statements to reconnect with our strength as women,” Calamuci said. The series was created in collaboration with women she deeply admires, underscoring the collaborative nature of the project.
Calamuci’s work has been exhibited at The Agora Gallery, Zenith Gallery, ArtSpiraton Gallery, the National Institutes of Health, McLean Project for the Arts, The Bernice Kish Gallery, Olney Library, and the Maryland Women’s Heritage Center. Her series Ageless Creativity was also featured on CBS/Baltimore News.
Saturday, March 21 :: 4-6pm
@ Baltimore Clayworks
Baltimore Clayworks is proud to present Contemporary Porcelain: From Tradition to Innovation, on view from March 21 through May 23, 2026. This dynamic exhibition explores the enduring legacy of porcelain while showcasing the bold and inventive ways artists are redefining this historic material today.
Long celebrated for its refinement, translucency, and technical precision, porcelain has deep roots in global traditions. Contemporary Porcelain: From Tradition to Innovation brings together a distinguished group of contemporary ceramic artists who push the boundaries of the medium, highlighting porcelain’s remarkable versatility. Through sculptural forms, functional works, and concept-driven pieces, the exhibition invites viewers to reconsider what porcelain can be, and how tradition can spark transformation rather than limit it.
Presented concurrently, Elements of Mechanisms examines the intersection of form, function, and movement through works inspired by mechanical systems and engineered structures. Gears, joints, frameworks, and repeating components become a visual language, revealing how complex systems are built from simple, intentional parts. Together, the works encourage viewers to consider how mechanisms shape the world around us; from the tools we rely on daily to the invisible systems that organize modern life. Elements of Mechanisms highlights not only how things work, but how structure, repetition, and motion can become powerful vehicles for artistic expression.
Rounding out the spring exhibitions, the Community Arts Spring Showcase honors the creativity, perspectives, and shared stories of Baltimore Clayworks’ vibrant community. This season’s showcase highlights an exciting arts integration collaboration with 7th grade students from Pimlico Elementary/Middle School and Sinai Hospital through the Medical Detectives Program. Through this collaboration, students bring their scientific exploration into the ceramics studio, demonstrating how art and STEM can intersect in meaningful and transformative ways.
All three exhibitions open with a reception on Saturday, March 21, 2026, from 4:00 – 6:00 pm. The event is free and open to the public. Visitors are encouraged to experience the full range of exhibitions, from internationally recognized ceramic artists to emerging student voices within the Baltimore community.
Featured Opportunities
Folklife Apprenticeships
deadline March 20
posted by Maryland State Arts Council
Folklife Apprenticeships support traditional arts education by funding a mentor artist and apprentice artist to work together for one year.
During the grant period, the mentor artist passes down their knowledge to the apprentice artist. This opportunity also provides a $5,000 grant. Folklife Apprenticeships support living cultural traditions and are distinct from registered apprenticeships offered through the Maryland Apprenticeship Training Program (MATP), which supports workforce development.
Audition Notice: EURYDICE
Accepting auditions from now until March 22
posted by The Voxel
The Voxel is thrilled to announce our production of EURYDICE by Sarah Ruhl. This is our first show produced fully in-house, opening January of 2027.
EURYDICE is a haunting, poetic retelling of the Orpheus myth by Sarah Ruhl.
To audition: please email [email protected] for more information and instructions on how to submit.
Accepting auditions from now until March 22. Callbacks will take place March 28 and 29.
About the Auditions
Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. Please be prepared to submit a headshot, resume, and audition form with your materials.
The Stones have already been cast, and we are now seeking to cast the remaining roles. We invite performers from across the DMV to submit a video audition by March 22. Callbacks will take place March 28 and 29.
Rehearsals begin November 2026, with performances running January 14–31, 2027. This is a paid opportunity for non-Equity performers, and the production contains adult themes. All identities are encouraged to audition.
To receive the audition form and submission details, email [email protected].
More applications for the 2026 Artscape festival are now open
deadline March 27
posted by Create Baltimore
A few more applications have opened for Artscape 2026. The deadline for this round of applications is March 27, 2026, at 5:00 p.m.
Scout Art Fair will take place May 21-24 at War Memorial Building. With artwork priced between $150 and $5,000 created by emerging and established artists from the region, Scout creates opportunities for collectors & newcomers alike to invest in exceptional contemporary art. We also invite area galleries to apply for the Scout Art Fair.
Baltimore Onstage is the theater and live performance track at Artscape 2026, presented by Create Baltimore. Aligned with the spirit of the Echoes Stage, this track centers theatrical work that is grounded, expressive, and deeply connected to the creative pulse of the city.
Create Baltimore & The Baltimore Film Office also invite filmmakers from, living, or filming in Baltimore to submit their film and video projects in consideration for Beyond the Reel. Both established filmmakers and youth filmmakers are encouraged to submit.
Call for art to celebrate the 2026 Preakness Stakes in Laurel
deadline March 27
posted by City of Laurel
On behalf of the City of Laurel, the Laurel Arts Council invites local artists to submit artwork that celebrates the beauty of horses in motion and the excitement of thoroughbred racing. This call is inspired by the historic Preakness Stakes, to be held for the first time at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland, on May 16, 2026. Selected artworks will be featured in a virtual gallery and reproduced for public display in and around Laurel.
1776 Remixed: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Irony
deadline April 1
posted by Morton Contemporary
We are pleased to announce an OPEN CALL for painters across America and the world to participate in Morton Contemporary’s July 2026 exhibition, 1776 Remixed: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Irony (reimagining the birth of America to celebrate the nation’s 250th).
Join us for a bold reimagining of the birth of America, and the iconic events, figures, and ideals surrounding the year 1776. This exhibition invites accomplished painters to explore the founding of our nation through a playful contemporary lens, reinterpreting history with originality, insight, creative force, and a whole lot of humor!
At a time when trauma and tribulation seem to grip America daily, we hope to offer audiences a moment of levity — without sacrificing depth. Through irony, satire, new renditions of old styles, and meaningful artistic expression, we ask artists to explore themes that are meaningful to them. We are looking for work that makes viewers pause, think, and laugh — using painting as a vehicle for dialogue and reflection. Using different lenses to portray historical events, moments and/or people, maybe a redo of an historic masteripece — we want artists to think outside the box and have fun! Perhaps a reinterpretation of Ben Franklin through a pop art lens or a comic book style representation of the signing of the declaration of Independence. We want to challenge artists to use their artistic energy to tackle something new for them and for the viewer.
General Exhibit Application
deadline April 1
posted by Howard County Arts Council
The Howard County Arts Council (HoCo Arts) manages two galleries at the Howard County Center for the Arts with over 1,600 square feet of exhibit space. The HoCo Arts gallery program was established to enhance the public’s appreciation of the visual arts, provide a venue to exhibit the work of local, regional, and national artists in a professional space, and provide leadership in the arts by presenting a broad spectrum of arts in all media from both emerging and established artists.
HoCo Arts presents 11-12 exhibits per year of national, regional, and local artists, including two-person, small and large group, juried, curated, and community shows. HoCo Arts rarely exhibits solo shows.
For more information, view the General Exhibit Prospectus.
Creative Capital Grant Application
deadline April 2
The 2027 Creative Capital Open Call seeks proposals from individual artists in all 50 states for new artistic works in the Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Film, and Literature.
The Creative Capital Award provides unrestricted project grants of up to $50,000 to individual artists to create new work. The new State of the Art Prize provides unrestricted artist grants of $10,000.
The application portal opens on Monday, March 2, 2026. The deadline for submission is Thursday, April 2, 2026 at 3PM ET.
Radical Rage Curated by Charlie Farrell
deadline April 6
posted by Stove Works
Thank you for your interest in participating in Radical Rage, an exhibition curated by Charlie Farrell and hosted by Stove Works in Chattanooga, TN. The show will be on view from August 7 – November 14, 2026 with an opening reception on Friday, August 7. All works will need to arrive at Stove Works by July 12, 2026 and will be returned after November 2026. All shipping costs will be covered both ways with and artist fee will be offered to those selected.
We are seeking works from artists in all mediums, with a focus on Black artists from the South that explore themes of rage. Is your rage the crux of your practice? This exhibition explores themes of rage, transformation, ecology, and place.
Appalachian Nature Art & Photography Competition & Exhibition
deadline April 7
posted by Arcadian Gallery
The Appalachian Nature Art & Photography Competition & Exhibition is organized by the Arcadian Gallery in Cumberland, Maryland, to celebrate the beauty of nature across the Appalachian region. Artists and photographers age 18 and older who reside in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, or Washington, D.C. are eligible to enter. Eligible work includes any two-dimensional artwork or photography depicting nature in Appalachia — from any Appalachian state — including landscapes, plants, wildlife, and other natural subjects.
Open Call: Inconspicuous Interference
deadline April 22
posted by Baltimore Jewelry Center
Is your craft practice part of how you help work toward a better world? Or maybe a part of what keeps you afloat in the world we live in right now?
We are currently accepting submissions for Inconspicuous Interference, an exhibition presented as part of Craft In America’s Handwork 2026 initiative celebrating the United States’ 250th anniversary and the role of craftspeople in shaping our society.
For Inconspicuous Interference, the Baltimore Jewelry Center is seeking artwork which investigates the role of objects carried on the body as instruments for resistance, protest, and change. The exhibition will be juried by members of the BJC’s exhibitions committee, and will be on view from June 26 through August 7, 2026. the deadline to submit artwork is April 22, 2026.
2026 Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards
deadline April 24
posted by Bethesda Urban Partnership
The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards is a visual art prize produced by the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District that honors artists from Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia. The annual juried competition awards $14,000 in prize monies to selected artists and features the work of the finalists in a group exhibition.
Carol Trawick established The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards in 2003. Ms. Trawick has served as a community activist for more than 25 years in downtown Bethesda. She is past Chair of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, past Chair of the Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc. and Founder of The Trawick Prize. Additionally, the Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation was established in 2007 after the Trawicks sold their successful information technology company.
Awards Best in Show – $10,000 Second Place – $2,000 Third Place – $1,000 Young Artist* – $1,000
*Young Artist whose birthday is after April 24, 1996 may be awarded this prize.
The Jurors will select up to eight finalists who will be invited to display their work in a group exhibition at Gallery B in downtown Bethesda in September 2026.
Become a Member
Print Journals, Invitations, and Newsletter – Oh My!
