This week’s news includes: BMA Chief Curator Kevin Tervala named chief of curatorial affairs and exhibitions at Minneapolis Institute of Art, MICA announces an exhibition featuring 20 Years of The McMillan-Stewart Endowed Chair in Painting, the BMA to host to textile exhibitions this fall, a review of Making Their Mark at NMWA, Black Books Matter Fest, Sheldon Candis brings his camera back to Baltimore, Harriet Tubman Museum vandalized, Bengie’s Drive photo essay in by Justin Tsucalas, an interview with Constantine Grimaldis, Valerie J. Maynard Legacy Symposium, CLLCTIVGive fundraiser, Maryland Humanities “Great Reads” honors Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson and Lisa D. Brathwaite, Tony Pence keeps the wheels spinning, a new exhibition at Flag House, Sean Dackermann’s love letter to Baltimore, John Waters proposes a new slogan for his hometown, and WYPR’s “Pass the Mic” returns with support from T. Rowe Price Foundation.
Minneapolis Institute of Art hires Kevin Tervala to lead curatorial affairs
by Sarah Cascone
Published July 17 in The Art Newspaper
The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) has hired Kevin Tervala as its chief of curatorial affairs and exhibitions. Tervala will oversee the museum’s curatorial division, including collections, exhibitions planning and scheduling, and scholarship.
“Mia is one of this country’s great art institutions, and I have long been impressed with its collection and its approach to visitor accessibility with its free admission,” Tervala tells The Art Newspaper. “When the job came up, it was one of those things where I couldn’t not apply.”
A Baltimore native who received a Ph.D. in African studies from Harvard University, Tervala comes to Mia from the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA). For the past three years, he has served as BMA’s chief curator. Tervala joined the institution in 2015 as a curatorial fellow of the arts of Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific Islands. He became head of the department two years later. Leaving the museum, he admits, will be bittersweet.
20 Years of The McMillan-Stewart Endowed Chair in Painting to Open at the Maryland Institute College of Art
Press Release :: July 23
As a part of its year-long Bicentennial Celebration, The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) will bring together–for the first time–the work of 29 women artists who have made lasting connections with the school and its community. Open August 28–October 11, DEVOTED: 20 Years of The McMillan-Stewart Endowed Chair in Painting will feature original artworks with a diverse and intergenerational roster—including science fiction multi-media artist Saya Woolfalk; painter and photographer Jane Dickson, celebrated for her iconic images of 1980s-era Times Square; and nationally renowned portraitist Amy Sherald ’04 (LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting MFA). Presented in MICA’s Decker Gallery, located in the Fox Building, DEVOTED celebrates the open, unstinting exchanges fostered by the chairship. A public reception will take place on Thursday, September 10, from 5–7 p.m.
“By showcasing the creativity of women working at the forefront of art and culture, this exhibition underscores the values of our community at MICA,” explains MICA President Cecilia M. McCormick, JD. “I am grateful for the ongoing partnership with the McMillan-Stewart Foundation in bringing contemporary women artists skilled in traditional painting techniques to our classrooms. The artists spark timely conversations and push disciplinary boundaries—reflecting both MICA’s 200-year history and its bold vision for the future of arts education.”
Established by a 2006 gift from the McMillan-Stewart Foundation, the endowed chairship connects accomplished women artists with undergraduate painting students via weekly critiques, and the larger MICA community through public lectures. Over two decades, this program has nurtured an ever-expanding network of educational exchanges between artists and students—as peers, colleagues, and mentors—that defines the educational experience at MICA.
About the Artists
The show features works by all 29 past McMillan-Stewart Endowed Chairs: Mequitta Ahuja, ruby onyinyechi amanze, Margaret Bowland, Nanette Carter, Zoë Charlton, Dawn Clements (1958–2018), Jennifer Coates, Patricia Cronin, Jane Dickson, Chie Fueki, Judy Glantzman, Kira Nam Greene, Mimi Gross, Phaan Howng’15 (Mount Royal School of Art MFA), Hedieh Ilchi, Lani Irwin, Leeah Joo, Baseera Khan, Hein Koh, Ying Li, Katherine Tzu-Lan Mann ’09 (LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting MFA), Anna Ortiz, Hadieh Shafie, Amy Sherald ’04 (LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting MFA), Patricia Renee’ Thomas, Denyse Thomasos (1964–2012), Shoshanna Weinberger, Saya Woolfalk, and Mie Yim.
Upcoming BMA Exhibition Explores the Vibrant Tapestries of Post-Independence Senegal
Press Release :: July 17
On October 25, the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) will present Woven Monuments: Tapestry and Identity from Senegal, an exhibition exploring the pivotal role of tapestry in expressing national identity, artistic innovation, and cultural diplomacy in post-independence Senegal. By bringing together a selection of 12 vibrant, large-scale tapestries alongside related designs and archival materials, the exhibition illuminates how artists transformed textiles into a powerful medium of historical narrative and global exchange. The exhibition will be on view at the BMA through March 7, 2027.
When Senegal gained independence from France on April 4, 1960, artists played a vital role in developing expressions of its cultural identity, ushering in a period of cultural transformation. Senegal’s first president, Léopold Sédar Senghor, was a poet, philosopher, and political leader who championed the arts as central to Senegal’s identity and global presence. He encouraged artists to create works that expressed both the culture and history of the country while also drawing from inspiration across the African continent.
BMA Presents New Work by Acclaimed Artist Diedrick Brackens
Press Release :: July 17
The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) is pleased to present Diedrick Brackens: lights at the end of the world, an engaging exhibition of new and existing work by the acclaimed artist. Bringing together approximately 11 large-scale, handwoven tapestries and sculptural weavings, the exhibition debuts powerful works that explore allegory, autobiography, and histories of Black life and liberation through the lens of the Chesapeake Bay region. The exhibition is presented on the third floor of the BMA’s contemporary wing from November 8, 2026, through February 28, 2027.
Known for his richly narrative textile practice, Brackens interlaces histories, myth, and personal memory, drawing from his identity as a queer Black American. His work synthesizes techniques from West African weaving, American Southern quilting traditions, and European tapestry-making to create compositions that move fluidly between abstraction and figuration. Working primarily with hand-dyed cotton—a material he intentionally employs for its deep ties to histories of enslavement, labor, and migration in the United States—Brackens produces tapestries that are both materially and conceptually layered.’
Making Their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection at NMWA
by Phil Hutinet
Published July 22 in East City Art
Walking into the first room of Making Their Mark feels less like entering a chronological survey and more like stepping into a tightly staged presentation—the kind of focused visual exchange you associate with an art fair, except here the argument is historical.
The first painting you encounter is Joan Mitchell’s Untitled (1992), measuring 110 1/4 by 142 inches. Painted in France near the end of her life, the diptych is split into two panels that read as separate yet continuous fields. Brilliant yellows dominate, punctuated by green and reddish stems recalling the flowers she cultivated in her garden in Vétheuil. Mitchell was dying of lung cancer at the time; the divided canvas is difficult to ignore in that context. Yet the painting does not read as elegiac. It reads as forceful and fully present. You register scale first, then structure, then chromatic insistence.
Black Books Matter Fest returns to MahoganyBooks with a lineup of award-winning authors
by Ashley Clarke
Published July 22 in The Baltimore Banner
The Black Books Matter Fest will return to National Harbor on Saturday Aug. 1. The third annual event, created by MahoganyBooks, brings together local vendors, more than 50 authors and thousands of book lovers to celebrate the richness and diversity of Black literature.
The free event runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will feature author panel discussions, children’s story times, family activities, on-site library card sign-up with the Prince George’s County Library, and a DJ.
This year’s lineup boasts prominent award-winning authors, including 1619 Project creator Nikole Hannah-Jones, popular self-help and mindfulness author Alex Elle, and acclaimed crime fiction author S.A. Cosby.
His first film wowed Sundance. His second brought him back home to Baltimore.
by Wesley Case
Published July 17 in The Baltimore Banner
Fourteen years ago, Baltimore native Sheldon Candis was making a big first impression on Hollywood.
“Luv,” his 2012 directorial debut starring superstars Common and Michael Rainey Jr., was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival, the film industry’s annual taste-making event. He was nominated for the night’s top awards in writing and drama, but the movie was met with mixed reviews upon wide release. While Roger Ebert commended its sidestepping of cliches, the Los Angeles Times said it fell “short of potential.”
So in many ways, telling a story about resiliency after taking a few punches feels right to the filmmaker from Park Heights.
Mural Damaged in Break-In at Harriet Tubman Museum
by Rhea Nayyar
Published July 14 in Hyperallergic
The Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center in Cambridge, Maryland, reported a break-in that resulted in damage to a mural over the weekend. The involved party, which remains at large, broke into the building only a month after it reopened to the public following an extensive renovation.
“It really is a violation,” said Linda Harris, the museum’s director of events and programming, in a brief call with Hyperallergic.
Located in the abolitionist’s home county, the small, volunteer-run free museum was established in the mid 1980s in an effort to preserve and celebrate her life and legacy through exhibits, events, lectures, and guided tours of the city, which was among the inaugural “stops” along Tubman’s Underground Railroad route to Philadelphia. The museum, which has operated out of its current location since 1992, became more widely known in recent years because of local artist Michael Rosato’s “Take My Hand” (2019) — an outdoor trompe l’oeil mural depicting a larger-than-life Tubman stepping over a broken brick wall and reaching her hand out to take viewers on their journey to freedom.
Nights at Bengie’s: After 70 Years, The Reels Keep Rolling at Middle River’s Beloved Drive-In
Photo Essay by Justin Tsucalas, with Introduction by Lydia Woolever
Published July 22 in Baltimore Magazine
SEVENTY YEARS AGO THIS SUMMER, the lights dimmed and the first movie flickered onto the screen at the Bengies Drive-In Theatre in Middle River. It was early June 1956, about two decades after the first such outdoor cinema opened in nearby New Jersey, coinciding with America’s automobile boom as highways newly unfurled across the United States.
On the far edge of Eastern Avenue, just past the Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Company and a few miles from the Chesapeake Bay, Bengies would bring this novel form of entertainment to the nighttime sky in Baltimore.
Opened by brothers Hank, Jack, and Paul Vogel, the new attraction began as a sprawling mecca for motion pictures, more than a dozen acres in total, named for its surrounding neighborhood (which, in random trivia, was named after the nickname of the 23rd U.S. president, Benjamin Harrison). With a background in construction, the Vogels built a sprawling 50-by-120-foot screen, a Cinemascope projection tower, a classic midcentury concession stand, auditorium-style seating (now long gone), and a grassy parking lot that fit some 1,000 vehicles.
Six months after leaving Charles Street for Mill Centre, art gallery owner Constantine Grimaldis looks back – and ahead
by Ed Gunts
Published July 17 in Baltimore Fishbowl
When art gallery owner Constantine “Costas” Grimaldis closed his business on Charles Street and moved to Hampden last December, it was a setback for a once-bustling block of Baltimore City.
His business, C. Grimaldis Gallery, was part of a mix of tenants that would have made Jane Jacobs proud — restaurants, shops, services and apartment dwellers all on the same block, everything that makes a city lively and walkable.
C. Grimaldis Gallery opened in September of 1977 in the front parlor of a Mount Vernon rowhouse at 928 N. Charles St. In 1986, it moved to 523 N. Charles Street, where it remained until December 31. From 1990 to 1993, Grimaldis also had a building at 1006 Morton Street to show large-scale sculpture, called the C. Grimaldis Gallery Sculpture Space. That’s 48 years of continuous operation in Baltimore.
The Valerie J. Maynard Foundation Announces Two-Day Community Celebration in Baltimore
Press Release :: July 2
The Valerie J. Maynard Foundation is hosting a two-day public celebration on August 21 and 22, 2026, which would have been the 89th birthday of artist Valerie J. Maynard.
Valerie J. Maynard (1937–2022) was a sculptor, printmaker, designer, and educator born in Harlem, who made Baltimore her home. Her work is held in the collections of the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Studio Museum, and many more.
The celebration starts with the inaugural Valerie J. Maynard Short Film Festival featuring selected work by filmmakers Angela Carroll, Monica Freeman, and Elissa Blount Moorhead.
The final day of the symposium includes FREE food, entertainment, fellowship, and Black art. The day will also consist of workshops and hands-on experiences with legacy specialists and conservationists so that community members can engage with the Foundation’s archival practice and cultivate their own.
The Valerie J. Maynard Short Film Festival kicks off the Symposium on Aug. 21, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. EDT at the Baltimore Museum of Art’s Meyerhoff Auditorium. Entry into the film festival requires a minimum $10 donation.
The full day of FREE activities and celebration takes place on Aug. 22, at the Motor House in the Station North Arts District from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. Entry is free with RSVP.
CLLCTIVGive 2026 Aims to Mobilize $2 Million for 100+ Black-Led Organizations
Press Release :: July 23
On Friday, August 7, 2026, Greater Baltimore will come together for CLLCTIVGive, CLLCTIVLY’s annual 24-hour giving day dedicated to investing in Black-led organizations strengthening communities across the region.
More than 100 participating organizations will invite residents, businesses, institutions, and philanthropists to give, amplify their work, and demonstrate what becomes possible when a community intentionally invests in itself. This year, CLLCTIVGive aims to bring 20,000 people together to mobilize $2 million in 24 hours.
Last year, CLLCTIVGive mobilized more than $1.2 million in 24 hours for over 130 Black-led organizations. The movement has generated more than $1 million in each of the past three consecutive years, demonstrating the power of collective generosity to advance long-term community change.
Held during Black Philanthropy Month, CLLCTIVGive reflects a broader tradition of Black generosity, collective economics, and community-led investment. More than a fundraiser, the giving day advances a vision of philanthropy grounded in reciprocity, solidarity, and community self-determination.
“At a moment when many institutions are retreating from their commitments to racial equity, CLLCTIVGive is more urgent than ever,” said Jamye Wooten, founder and CEO of CLLCTIVLY. “Community giving cannot replace the large-scale investment Black-led organizations deserve, but we are not going to wait for institutions to rediscover their courage. When one gift is connected to thousands of others, participation becomes power.”
“Black-led organizations are already doing the work that holds our communities together,” said Tanay Harris, Community Impact & Strategy Lead at CLLCTIVLY. “They respond to crises, nurture leadership, preserve culture, advocate for justice, and create opportunities every day. CLLCTIVGive gives people across Greater Baltimore a direct way to discover that work, support it, and help it grow.”
Throughout the day, supporters can learn about and donate directly to organizations working across youth development, arts and culture, education, environmental justice, housing, entrepreneurship, public health, reproductive justice, food systems, violence prevention, workforce development, and community wellness.
More than $50,000 in prizes will also be awarded throughout the giving day, creating additional opportunities for participating organizations to expand their fundraising and strengthen their impact.
Supporters can discover participating organizations and give at GIVEWITH.ORG.
Maryland’s “Great Reads from Great Places” Selections for the 2026 National Book Festival
Press Release :: July 21
Maryland Humanities, as the Maryland Center for the Book Affiliate to the Library of Congress, selects two titles, one Adult and one Youth, each year as a representation of the state’s literary heritage or talent.
Congratulations to our “Great Reads from Great Places” selections for the 2026 National Book Festival:
Adult Selection — Claire McCardell: The Designer Who Set Women Free by Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson
Youth Selection — Miles of Style: Eunice W. Johnson and the EBONY Fashion Fair by Lisa D. Brathwaite
Celebrated Summer Records Has Been Ready for People to Go Analog for 20 Years
by Lydia Woolever
Published July 21 in Baltimore Magazine
It’s a few minutes before Tony Pence’s record store opens on a Friday morning in Hampden, and before the clock strikes noon, a few young men are already milling outside, waiting to get in.
“It’s wild to see,” says the 53-year-old owner of Celebrated Summer Records.
For the last two decades, he’s been told that the future of music would be online, with the final blow drawn by Gen Z. Yet those 14-to-29 year-olds are now driving a rapidly growing “analog economy,” turning vinyl records like those stacked all around this Falls Road shop—Fugazi, Geese, Miles Davis, Rosalía, Talking Heads, Turnstile—into a billion-dollar industry.
Pence started to noticing this during COVID-19. “And it’s growing every year.”
Art, identity and history intersect in new ‘Maryland’s America’ exhibit at Flag House
by Courtney Knight
Published July 21 in The Baltimore Banner
What does it mean to be American?
That’s the question behind “Maryland’s America: 250 Years of American History Through Marylander Eyes,” a new exhibit that opened Saturday at the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House museum in honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Through the work of eight artists, the exhibit explores identity, belonging and the vastly different voices that have shaped the country. The museum’s executive director, Chris Sniezek, said the collection encourages visitors to see both America’s and Maryland’s stories through a wider range of experiences.
Local artist’s new exhibition filled with ‘love letters’ to Baltimore
by Aliza Worthington
Published July 22 in Baltimore Fishbowl
Artist Sean Dackermann considers his work a love letter to Baltimore, and the public has an opportunity to view 20 years of those love letters at Atrium Artspace with the exhibition, “Beyond The Shadow Of Doubt.”
The 20-year retrospective runs from Aug. 8 through Sept. 26 at the Station North gallery, with several events planned throughout the exhibition. “Beyond The Shadow Of Doubt” mixes documentary, street, and editorial photography. Some of the pieces in the exhibition were in his first book, which is part of the forthcoming series, “A Moment’s Notice”.
John Waters updates his bumper sticker slogan for Baltimore
by Ed Gunts
Published July 20 in Baltimore Fishbowl
If he hadn’t become a filmmaker, visual artist, fashion model, ordained minister, puppeteer and poet, John Waters might have carved out a decent career as a bumper sticker slogan writer for Baltimore’s tourism industry.
He made a splash years ago with a slogan that he dreamed up for the Chamber of Commerce to use for his hometown: “Come to Baltimore and Be Shocked!” And it did.
In recent years, Waters has suggested that the city capitalize on the attention it got from “The Wire,” the HBO series from David Simon that presented Baltimore in a less-than-flattering light over five seasons, from 2002 to 2008.
WYPR’s “Pass the Mic” Returns With Support From the T. Rowe Price Foundation
Press Release :: July 15
WYPR, Baltimore’s NPR station and part of Baltimore Public Media, announced today that Pass the Mic will expand to a weekly, 30-minute program beginning in September 2026. Supported by the T. Rowe Price Foundation, the show highlights Baltimore’s community voices through conversations with local artists, cultural leaders, and civic innovators.
“Pass the Mic reflects what public media does best: creating space for meaningful conversations and connecting communities through storytelling,” said Craig Swagler, President and CEO of Baltimore Public Media. “Baltimore is filled with people whose experiences, ideas, and work deserve to be heard. Through Pass the Mic, we’re amplifying community voices to listeners across our region while strengthening our commitment to serving the communities that make this city such a vibrant place to live, work, and create.”
Since its relaunch in February 2026, Pass the Mic has connected listeners with the people, stories, and ideas shaping Baltimore, exploring topics ranging from food, culture, and the arts to public health, equity, and community engagement.
Guests have included food influencer Simone Phillips; musician, poet, and sound artist abdu mongo ali; Beth Benner, Executive Director of the Women’s Housing Coalition; artist and folklorist Dr. Ashley Minner Jones; and reinvention strategist Dr. Alethia Tucker. Together, their conversations have reflected the breadth of issues and experiences shaping Baltimore, from food culture and the arts to housing, career development, and community leadership.
The Foundation’s support is provided through its grant portfolio, reflecting 45 years of advancing thriving communities and building financial wellbeing. Through this work, the Foundation supports financial education and empowerment, local community leaders, and cultural anchor institutions that help make cities like Baltimore great places to live and work. The program advances organizations making a difference in youth empowerment, arts and culture, and innovation and vitality, with an emphasis on bold, transformative ideas that spark positive change and strengthen community ecosystems.
“At the T. Rowe Price Foundation, we believe in the power of programs that strengthen community connection and amplify the voices shaping Baltimore’s future,” said Raymone Jackson, head of community affairs at T. Rowe Price and president of the T. Rowe Price Foundation. “Pass the Mic does exactly that by creating space for authentic conversations with the artists, leaders, and innovators who reflect the energy, resilience, and creativity of this city. We are proud to help bring these stories to more listeners across the region.”
Pass the Mic airs Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. on WYPR and wherever you listen to podcasts. The program is led by Executive Producer Amy Walters, Senior Producer Malarie Pinkard-Pierre, Producer Elizabeth Nonemaker, and Baltimore Public Media Chief of Content Danyell Irby.
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