This week’s news includes: Artists and galleries for Scout Art Fair, Derrick Adams profiled by Robin Givhan in the New York Times, Tonya Miller Hall appointed Senior Creative Fellow at RWD Foundation, Baltimore ICON André De Shields nominated for another Emmy, Everyman Theatre’s Vincent Lancisi takes his final curtain call, opening celebrations for MICA’s gallery alley, upcoming photography exhibitions at the BMA and SAAM, BMA announces the Murthy/NAYAK Global Photography Endowment Fund, Amy Sherald receives an honorary degree from JHU and wears her own painterly look to the Met Gala, the BSO’s Summerfest lineup, and a recap of the Cumberland Valley Artists Exhibition at Washington County Museum of Fine Art.
Artscape 2026 Scout Art Fair – Exhibiting Artists and Galleries Announced
Press Release :: May 6
Create Baltimore is pleased to announce the artists and galleries who will be exhibiting at the Scout Art Fair, the city’s premier affordable art fair presented as part of Artscape.
The Scout Art Fair is a new cornerstone of Artscape, the nation’s largest free outdoor arts festival; offering an inclusive space where collectors at every level can discover and support artists. A collaboration between Create Baltimore and the Mayor’s Office of Arts, Culture, and Entertainment (MOACE), the 2026 fair will feature a diverse lineup of regional talent, while remaining focused on its founding principles of accessibility, innovation, and community engagement.
Founded in 2025 by renowned artist and Baltimorean Derrick Adams, Scout is a platform for emerging and established artists to connect with new collectors and audiences through accessible price points and bold, dynamic presentations. The 2026 edition of Scout will continue to expand its impact while centering Baltimore’s creative voice on a national stage. Each year the fair will welcome a new curatorial eye. Acclaimed photographer Devin Allen will serve as the 2026 curator of Scout, joined by Cierra Britton as assistant curator.
“What’s been most inspiring is the range of voices we’ve brought together, artists who each have a distinct point of view but share a deep connection to Baltimore and its culture,” said 2026 curator Devin Allen. “What drives me most is the opportunity to help other artists get their work seen at the largest free art festival in the city. Because somebody once gave me a chance, I want to extend that same energy to the next person.”
“As a Baltimore native, I’m so excited to return home and co-curate Scout’s second edition alongside Devin Allen,” said Cierra Britton, 2026 assistant curator of Scout. “We chose some really great artists that I’m looking forward to bringing together. Their fresh perspectives will offer true value to our city.”
EXHIBITING ARTISTS:
Ayana Gordon
Bria Edwards
Candice Tavares
Charles Jean-Pierre
Danamarie Hosler
Delzy Alarcon
Destiny Branay
Eric January
G. Pack
Hope and Faith McCorkle
Jada McAliley
Jess Owens-Young
Joan Cox
Joseph Mario Giordano
Justice Dwight
Katie Pumphrey
Kelli Williams
Kim Rice
Lauren Bessette
Linnea Poole
Mark Anthony West
Maurice Scarlette III
Melissa Sutherland Moss
Natasha Fortson
Nicholas Wisniewski
Nicoletta Darita de la Brown
Roe Vision
Sandman
Tamara Payne
V Walton
Vetiver (Vonne Napper)
Zsudayka Nzinga
OFFICIAL GALLERIES:
HEATHER GREY GALLERY
BLACK IS
CURRENT SPACE
QUID NUNC ART GALLERY
RED GIANT
SBM GALLERY
XOXO GALLERY
Each of the 33 solo artist booths and 7 gallery booths will feature artwork priced between $150 and $5,000 and a portion of the proceeds from individual artists’ sales will benefit Create Baltimore programs.
WHEN
Friday, May 22
1:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Saturday, May 23
11:00am – 7:00pm
Sunday, May 24
11:00am – 5:00pm
WHERE War Memorial Building, 101 N. Gay Street
The Artist Who Gives Me Joy
by Robin Givhan
Published April 26 in The New York Times
I’ve long admired the artist Derrick Adams. His series of bright, color-blocked paintings depicting Black people happily lolling atop assorted inflatable animals in swimming pools tell a story about Black leisure, privilege and identity, but what comes through most profoundly is a sense of ordinary joy.
I love the curly-haired child astride a playground’s spring-mounted unicorn in 2023’s “Braving the Path.” Where is he galloping off to at such fantastical speed? With his intense focus and open-mouthed smile, it surely is a place of wonder.
Baltimore as Blueprint: Tonya Miller Hall Appointed as Senior Creative Fellow to Advance National Creative Economy Model
Press Release :: May 7
The Robert W. Deutsch Foundation today announced the appointment of Tonya Miller Hall as Senior Creative Fellow, signaling a bold step toward positioning Baltimore as a national leader in creative economy innovation.
A cultural strategist, placemaking expert, and former Senior Advisor of Arts & Culture for the City of Baltimore – one of the first cabinet-level roles of its kind in decades – Miller Hall is widely recognized for her ability to transform underutilized spaces into dynamic cultural assets and to reframe the role of arts and culture as a driver of economic growth, civic identity, and urban revitalization. Prior to her work in Baltimore, she spent nearly two decades in New York, leading global partnerships, brand strategy, and large-scale cultural and experiential platforms across media, fashion, and entertainment.
Through this Fellowship, Miller Hall will lead the development of a scalable, national framework for creative economies, using Baltimore as a living laboratory. Her work will focus on strengthening and aligning the Foundation’s key grantees – including BmoreArt, BARCO, and Open Works – into a cohesive, high-performing ecosystem designed for cultural excellence, economic growth, and global export. This work directly advances the Foundation’s mission to invest in artists and creative institutions as catalysts for a more vibrant, connected, and economically resilient city.
Baltimore native André De Shields earns Tony Award nod for ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’
by Wesley Case and Hannah Yasharoff
Published May 5 in The Baltimore Banner
Baltimore native André De Shields has a chance to win his second Tony Award in seven years.
The 80-year-old actor was nominated for best featured actor in a musical on Tuesday morning for his turn as Old Deuteronomy in the Broadway hit “Cats: The Jellicle Ball.” De Shields won the same category in 2019 for his role as Hermes in “Hadestown.”
The Baltimore City College alum’s competition for one of theater’s most prestigious prizes includes Ali Louis Bourzgui (“The Lost Boys”), Bryce Pinkham (“Chess”), Ben Levi Ross (“Ragtime”) and Layton Williams (“Titaníque”).
After 35 years, Everyman Theatre founder is ready for his curtain call
by Wesley Case
Published May 5 in The Baltimore Banner
Following decades of directing others, Vincent Lancisi is taking his own cue: Exit stage left.
“I think the key to life is knowing when to start something and when to finish it,” Lancisi said recently.
After spending 35 years growing Baltimore’s Everyman Theatre from a graduate student’s lofty dream to a trusted staple of the region’s theater community, the company’s founder and lone artistic director will retire at the end of June.
“Some people just have to have the purpose of work. They don’t want to sit idle, right? Neither do I,” said Lancisi, who’s directed more than 60 plays for Everyman. “I want to enjoy life in a different way.”
MICA Celebrates the Official Opening of gallery alley With Community Celebration
Press Release :: May 6
The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) will come together with hundreds of community members to celebrate the opening of gallery alley, a new open-air gallery dedicated to art and ecology.
gallery alley features work by alumni, faculty, staff, and students, highlighting the creative vibrancy of the surrounding community and the ecological diversity of the nearby Jones Falls Watershed. gallery alley is an initiative of MICA’s Center for Creative Impact, dedicated to leveraging the power of creativity to make a positive impact in Baltimore and beyond.
Held in conjunction with MICA’s Bicentennial celebration, the evening will include remarks and a ribbon-cutting ceremony, along with poetry readings, and live music and dance performances.
WHEN:
Saturday, May 9, 2026
6 PM – 9 PM
WHERE:
MICA Fred Lazarus IV Center, Office of Graduate Studies
131 W North Ave
Baltimore, MD 21201
BMA to Open Flashback: Two Centuries of Baltimore Photography
Press Release :: April 30
This fall, the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) will present Flashback: Two Centuries of Baltimore Photography, the first comprehensive exhibition to examine Baltimore’s pivotal role in the evolution of photography. Spanning more than 185 years and featuring over 200 works by 90 named artists, Flashbackreveals Baltimore as an epicenter for innovation in documentary and portrait photography. The exhibition includes era-defining practitioners such as A. Aubrey Bodine, Elinor B. Cahn, Carl Clark, Roland L. Freeman, Robert Houston, Irving Henry Phillips, and Kenneth Royster, as well as contemporary artists Devin Allen, Jim Burger, Phylicia Ghee, Joseph Mario Giordano, Connie Imboden, Elle Pérez, Gioncarlo Valentine, Elena Volkova, and SHAN Wallace, among many others. Flashback is a ticketed exhibition on view from October 4, 2026, through February 21, 2027. It is accompanied by an illustrated catalog and a citywide Flashback Open Call inviting contemporary photographers to share new visions of Baltimore.
Drawn from the BMA’s extensive holdings and supplemented by key loans from the Smithsonian, National Gallery of Art, Library of Congress, Maryland Center for History and Culture, International Center of Photography, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Flashback explores the medium through Baltimore’s studios, streets, neighborhoods, and collective gatherings where photography was embraced early as a tool for self‑representation, community-building, and civic engagement. The exhibition highlights the importance of photographers collaborating with their subjects, documenting protests from inside the crowd, and using photography as a practice of care and remembrance. In doing so, Flashback offers an expansive account of photography’s social role across generations, while providing a nuanced portrait of Baltimore that also affirms the city as an important site of photographic history.
BMA Announces $1 Million Endowment Gift to Advance Engagement with Global Photography
Press Release :: April 30
The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) announced a significant $1 million endowment gift from the foundation of cultural advocates Sheela Murthy and Vasant Nayak to establish the Murthy/NAYAK Global Photography Endowment Fund, strengthening the museum’s long-term commitment to photography as an essential artform. Designed to provide support for photography at the BMA in perpetuity, the endowment emphasizes opportunities to connect global perspectives and innovations—particularly from South Asia, Africa, and other regions of the Global South—with those emerging from Baltimore and its communities. The fund will support a wide range of initiatives, including exhibitions, acquisitions, and educational and community-based programs.
“This extraordinarily generous gift allows the BMA to deepen our engagement with photography from Asia, Africa, and Latin America in ways that more fully reflect diverse histories, geographies, and ways of seeing,” said Asma Naeem, Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director of the Baltimore Museum of Art. “As a museum director who comes from the Indian subcontinent, I am deeply aware of how encountering other cultures through art, images, and stories can expand understanding and foster tolerance. Photography has always been an affordable and democratic medium, and Sheela and Vasant share our belief that it is a powerful tool for helping us see one another more clearly and better understand our place in a shared world.”
Landmark Exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum Unites U.S. Bicentennial Photography Surveys for the First Time
Press Release :: April 29
“Much Here Is Beautiful: Photography Surveys of the U.S. Bicentennial” at the Smithsonian American Art Museum brings together, for the first time, photography surveys that capture an expansive and evocative portrait of America in the years surrounding the 1976 U.S. Bicentennial. From the California coast to the Kansas heartland to the streets of New York City, the exhibition features images taken across the country by more than 70 photographers as part of the federally funded Surveys Grant Program. Bringing together 225 photographs, “Much Here Is Beautiful” places the Bicentennial images within the broader legacy of federal survey photography dating back to the 19th century and its lasting impact on generations of artists. “Much Here Is Beautiful” is the culmination of years of research, drawing on the museum’s rich photography holdings and uncovering U.S. Bicentennial survey photographs held in collections nationwide, revealing new discoveries and previously unseen works.
On view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum from Friday, Sept. 18, to Sunday, April 18, 2027, “Much Here Is Beautiful: Photography Surveys of the U.S. Bicentennial” is presented as part of the Smithsonian’s Our Shared Future: 250, featuring a range of exhibitions and programs in honor of the United States Semiquincentennial. The exhibition is organized by John Jacob, the McEvoy Family Senior Curator for Photography, and Krystle Stricklin, assistant curator of photography.
Johns Hopkins to recognize six distinguished individuals with honorary degrees
a HUB Staff Report
Published May 6 in JHU HUB
A top broadcast journalist and foreign-policy expert, a groundbreaking mRNA researcher, a leading scholar of earth’s ecosystems, a distinguished humanitarian and executive leader, one of the nation’s most prominent practicing artists, and a trailblazing oncologist will receive Johns Hopkins University honorary degrees later this month.
CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, Nobel laureate Katalin Karikó, theoretical ecologist Simon A. Levin, longtime American Red Cross president and CEO Gail J. McGovern, portrait artist Amy Sherald, and pioneering Hopkins cancer researcher Bert Vogelstein will have their degrees conferred during the universitywide Commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 21, at Homewood Field in Baltimore.
“Our honorary degree recipients this year have had a profound and lasting impact on the world in which we live, through lifesaving research, paradigm-shifting scholarship, humanitarian leadership, and artistic expression,” JHU President Ron Daniels said. “We are honored to bestow the university’s highest recognition on these six distinguished individuals who each, in their own way, embody our commitment to creativity, innovation, and humanity.”
Artist Amy Sherald attends Met Gala dressed as her own painting
by Ed Gunts
Published May 5 in Baltimore Fishbowl
Artist Amy Sherald’s costume at the Met Gala on Monday may have looked familiar to anyone who saw her record-breaking exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art, Amy Sherald: American Sublime.
In keeping with the theme of the night, “Fashion is Art,” Sherald dressed as one of her own paintings from the exhibit.
Collaborating with designer Thom Browne, Sherald came as the figure in her 2013 painting, Miss Everything (Unsuppressed Deliverance). Depicting a young woman holding an oversized teacup and wearing a red fascinator, the painting won the National Portrait Gallery’s Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition in 2016 and appeared on the March 24, 2025, cover of The New Yorker. Sherald has said it was inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Announces Return to Boordy Vineyards as Part of SummerFest 2026
Press Release :: May 5
oday, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) marked National Concert Day by announcing its return to Boordy Vineyards for two outdoor performances on July 16 and 30 at 7 pm, part of the BSO’s SummerFest season spanning the Meyerhoff, Strathmore, and additional venues across the region.
The two Boordy performances, generously sponsored by PNC Bank, offer distinct ways to experience the Orchestra outdoors. A Midsummer Night at Boordy on July 16 blends elegance and imagination, featuring Nicholas Hersh conducting Mozart’s Flute Concerto No. 1 with BSO Assistant Principal Flute Christine Murphy, along with selections from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. On July 30, A Night of Opera Favorites explores the storytelling tradition that connects European opera to its lasting influence on American music and theater. Conducted by William Langley and featuring soprano Jouelle Roberson, tenor Dane Suarez, and baritone Andrew Manea, the program includes selections from Verdi, Puccini, Bizet, Bernstein, and more. Concertgoers will enjoy an evening of soaring voices, timeless arias, and music that continues to shape the American stage.
Guests are invited to arrive early each night to enjoy the grounds and local food vendors, including The Charmery, BMORE Taqueria, Deli-ish, Wanna Pizza This, Jimmy’s Seafood, Smoke Point BBQ, and local oyster offerings.
The Boordy concerts are part of SummerFest 2026, a dynamic six-week lineup that brings globally recognized artists, genre-spanning performances, and fan-favorite experiences to the Meyerhoff and Strathmore, alongside beloved summer traditions including an expanded two-day Star-Spangled 250! at Oregon Ridge on July 3 and 4 – Baltimore County’s official commemoration of Maryland 250.
Cumberland Valley Artists Exhibition Closes Following Strong Community Participation
Press Release :: April 30
The Cumberland Valley Artists Exhibition, on view at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts from November 8, 2025 through April 26, 2026, has officially concluded following an extended and successful run. This year, the exhibition invited artists to respond to four resonant themes in recognition of America’s semiquincentennial: Unfinished Revolutions, Power of Place, Tell Everyone’s Story, and American Experiment.
This year’s exhibition inspired an extraordinary response from the regional artistic community. Eighty-five artists submitted a total of 198 works, with 62 pieces selected for display. Together, these works offered thoughtful and often deeply personal reflections on the complexities of American identity—grappling with histories of progress and setback, while pointing toward resilience and hope in uncertain times.
The exhibition also saw exceptional engagement from the public. Over the course of its extended run, more than 13,500 visitors experienced the exhibition, and more than 3,000 guests participated in the popular vote—an annual tradition that invites visitors to share their perspectives and celebrate their favorite works. This level of participation speaks to the meaningful connections formed between the artwork and the community it serves.
The museum is pleased to announce the first place winner of the 2026 Popular Vote is James Roberts, Fabric. Roberts was a school teacher for many years and his piece, Fabric, critiques the growing prevalence of gun violence in our communities and the stalemated discourse surrounding the topic. The piece itself is a blend of laser cut steel, rust patina, acrylic paint, and wood; resulting in a metal American flag unraveling into machine guns on a yellow painted wooden background.
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