This Week: Anne Patchett in conversation with R. Eric Thomas at Church of the Redeemer, Across Life-Worlds curator talk with Vlad Smolkin at The Jewish Museum, Patricia Massey Momentum Award opening reception at Creative Alliance, High Zero Festival at Baltimore Theatre Project, Art / Sound / Now with John Tyler at The Walters, opening reception for Victoria Rowell at MICA, opening reception for Emma Childs at Mount Vernon Place Church, opening receptions for SHAN Wallace and Jessie & Katey at Current Space, AVAM’s Mutt Gala, BRUSH Mural Fest, opening reception for Devin Allen at CCCC — PLUS apply for a SAAM fellowship 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.
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An Evening with Ann Patchett and R. Eric Thomas: WHISTLER
Tuesday, September 22 :: 7-8pm
@ Church of the Redeemer
The Ivy Bookshop is over the moon to be hosting Ann Patchett and R. Eric Thomas for a conversation about Ann Patchett’s latest, WHISTLER!
We love the friendship between these two beloved authors, first cemented in Baltimore in 2023, and can’t wait to bring them back for a reprise.
We’re grateful to partner with Church of the Redeemer for the use of their spacious sanctuary space. Doors will open at 6pm. Seating will be first come, first served.
If you would like a signed copy of Whistler by Ann Patchett or Congratulations, the Best Is Over by R. Eric Thomas, please purchase the ticket option that includes that book. All books will be pre-signed. Additional unsigned copies will be available for sale at the event.
If you’re new to Ann Patchett’s work, you are sure to be delighted by Whistler. As one of our booksellers likes to say, “Man, Ann Patchett can really write a novel!” It’s the story of a surprise encounter at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the sweetness and impermanence of life, and the power of connection to defy time. Oh, and horses and ghosts. It’s no surprise it became a #1 New York Times bestseller. You can read more about the book at this link.
And there’s no one like R. Eric Thomas writing about how to move through the harder parts of life with humor, grace, and graciousness. In Congratulations, The Best Is Over!, Thomas moves back to his perpetually misunderstood hometown of Baltimore (a place he never wanted to return, even to be buried) and behaving completely out of character. Thomas provides the nitty, and sometimes the gritty, details of wrestling with the life he thought he’d left behind while trying to establish a new one.
We can’t wait to see you there. And then to repeat the legendary things said in this conversation to each other for the rest of time!
Across Life-Worlds | Art Talk with Curator Vlad Smolkin
Wednesday, September 23 :: 6-8pm
@ The Jewish Museum of Maryland
Join the Jewish Museum of Maryland for a curator-led engagement exploring the art highlighted in Across Life-Worlds: A Family History of Soviet Jewish Emigration. Curated by Victoria Smolkin and Vlad Smolkin, the exhibition places the stories of several Soviet Jewish families who came to Maryland in conversation with the global and national politics that enabled their emigration. Through presenting a selection of lived experiences, the exhibition explores how American and Soviet Jews, who began as distant strangers on opposite sides of the Cold War divide, came to see each other as family.
At the event, explore the gallery and gain insight into aspects of the exhibition that both directly and indirectly incorporate art and artists. Learn about the ways that art functions to support and integrate the history of Soviet Jewish emigration presented. Hear how the curator’s background in the arts has shaped some of the curatorial decisions.
About Across-Life Worlds
In the late twentieth century, more than a million Soviet Jews left the Soviet Union—the largest ethnic emigration from the USSR, and the largest Jewish migration since the “Great Migration.” In the late 1980s and early 1990s Maryland became a major destination for this Soviet Jewish exodus. Across Life-Worlds follows the stories of these disparate branches of the Jewish family, tracing their converging fates during the Cold War and coming to a focus on their reunification in the U.S. The exhibition curators, themselves children of Soviet Jewish emigration, capture family stories in interviews, photos, home videos, and objects that reflect the years before their departure and after their arrival—a period that also marks the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
About the Featured Curator
Vlad Smolkin was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, and emigrated to the United States in 1989 with his parents and sister, co-curator Victoria Smolkin. He is an artist, curator, and founding director of CPM Gallery in Baltimore, where he presents an international roster of contemporary artists, publishes limited edition prints, and partners with a range of curators, writers, and scholars. Across his work, he creates spaces for collaboration and critical reflection, asking how individuals might see and act within the systems that organize their lives. Smolkin received his MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2012 and has exhibited nationally and internationally. His artistic and curatorial work has been featured in Frieze, Artforum, Forbes, The Washington Post, Artnet, Hyperallergic, BmoreArt, among others. He has served as a visiting artist, critic, and lecturer at institutions including Moore College of Art and Design, Johns Hopkins University, the Maryland Institute College of Art, Massey University in New Zealand, Art Institute of Boston, and Wesleyan University, and has taught in the graduate Art History Department at Georgetown University.
Complimentary kosher non-alcoholic beverages will be served.
Please note that capacity for this program is very limited and advance registration is strongly encouraged. Program tickets are available on a sliding scale.
The Patricia Massey Momentum Award Exhibition | Opening Reception
Wednesday, September 23 :: 6:30-9:30pm
@ Creative Alliance
On-View: SEP 23 – NOV 14
Open to artists working in visual arts disciplines, the award provides financial support, exhibition opportunities, and a platform for immigrant artists to share their work with the broader community while supporting the continued growth and visibility of their artistic practices.
Three artists will be selected through this process: two finalists and one Patricia Massey Momentum Award recipient. The award recipient will receive a $10,000 award and participate in public programming with Creative Alliance, and all three artists will present their work together in a group exhibition at Creative Alliance.
This award is made possible by the McNeely Massey Family.
Thursday, September 24 – Sunday, September 27
@ Baltimore Theatre Project
The highest-risk, highest-reward, international, improvised music festival
CELEBRATING TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS!
September 24th through 27th
High Zero Festival is one of the world’s most unusual music festivals. It puts musicians from around the world on a stage together with no planning and asks what will happen? These musicians come from many backgrounds of improvisation and experimentation.
The fact that this festival has persisted this long means its so amazingly special. There’s a devoted following and hard working volunteers that make it happen every year.
Art / Sound / Now with Love Groove
Thursday, September 24 :: 6-7:30pm
@ The Walters Art Museum
Enjoy a special eveEnjoy a special evening of live performances curated by John Tyler, organizer of Baltimore’s Love Groove festival. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience local musicians in sonic conversation with the Walters Art Museum’s collection.
Throughout the evening, we’ll serve up food and drink from the Walters Cafe Cart and beer samples from Peabody Heights Brewery. The first 50 people to check in for the event on the Sculpture Court will receive a free drink ticket for the Cafe Cart.ning of live performances curated by John Tyler, organizer of Baltimore’s Love Groove festival. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience local musicians in sonic conversation with the Walters Art Museum’s collection.
Victoria Rowell: A Woman Becomes… | Opening Reception
Friday, September 25 :: 5-7pm
@ MICA Main Gallery
Accomplished actress, artist, writer, and director Victoria Rowell presents her solo exhibition A Woman Becomes… in MICA’s Main 0 Gallery from September 25 to October 11, 2026. Located in the historic Main building, A Woman Becomes… is an intimate photographic essay that universally honors girls who perish and those who survive to become brave women. Rowell dedicates the show to the legacy of pianist Agatha Wooten Armstead, her primary foster parent who introduced her to the fine arts, photography, and nature as a child on Armstead’s farm in Maine.
Rowell’s New York Times bestselling memoir, The Women Who Raised Me, featuring Mrs. Armstead, will be made available during the show. An opening reception will be held Friday, September 25, from 5 to 7 p.m.
“A Woman Becomes… echoes the heavy lift that women are hardwired to do, often in graceful silence. These images may inspire thought around girls who grow up to be women, achievement, loss, expectations, limits, aging, motherhood, joy, strength, love, despair, trauma, beauty and peace,” said Rowell about her exhibition. “My footsteps follow all things artistic, shared wisdom, Mother Nature, movement, fellowship —replacing wounds and secrets with forgiveness and transformative self-permission.”
A Renaissance woman and the quintessential mentor, Armstead taught Rowell rudimentary ballet by following stick figures pictured in a found book. She also tutored Rowell in floral, garden, and interior design, and dressmaking, and she exposed her to opera and jazz, antiquing, and much more. Just about everything was photographed on her Kodak Brownie camera. Or on her 8mm movie camera.
“I inherited not only her camera but also her priceless passion for photography and life!” explained Rowell.
A Woman Becomes… encompasses 26 black-and-white photographs, as well as ephemera that will be on display in cases.
Chora: A Solo Exhibition of Work by Emma Childs | Opening Reception
Friday, September 25 :: 6-9pm
@ Mount Vernon Place Church
Chora” (or khôra) primarily refers to a Greek term for a space, region, or “receptacle” that gives place to being.
Chora, a solo exhibition of new paintings by Baltimore-based painter Emma Childs, curated by Teri Henderson.
For Chora, Emma Childs debuts a new body of work, the largest presentation of the 30-year-old’s extensive oeuvre thus far. Diligently and with flourish, she paints portals that are simultaneously self-contained and activated by the viewer. Each work becomes a conduit for communication between this plane and the numinous. In this offering, each curated encounter allows the boundaries between sight and sound to evaporate and in the sanctuary Childs’ paintings sing.
A church is inherently a chora: a consecrated void built to hold the invisible, the spiritual, and the transcendent. Placing Childs’ work inside this 19th-century Norman Gothic sanctuary performs an act of spatial nesting.
In partnership with The Ivy Bookshop, Chora is accompanied by a curatorial and artist reading list that includes a selection of books that informed research and inspiration for the exhibition.
Visiting Chora
Opening Reception: Friday, September 25th, 6–9 p.m. All are welcome; RSVPs are appreciated at [email protected].
Open Hours: Saturdays, September 25 – February 1. The exhibition is also available to view by appointment. To schedule a viewing, please email [email protected].
Additional events and activations, including pop-up performances, workshops, and receptions, will be announced in the coming weeks.
“Folks at Intimate Play” by SHAN Wallace | Opening Reception
Friday, September 25 :: 7pm
@ Current Space
Current Space is proud to present:
“Folks at Intimate Play,” an exhibition of works by SHAN Wallace
Exhibition Duration: Sept 25 – Nov 7, 2026
Opening Reception: Friday, Sept 25 from 7-10pm
Closing Reception & Artist Talk: Saturday, Nov 7
Gallery Hours: Saturdays from 1-5pm, during public events, or by appointment
SHAN Wallace (b. 1991) is a nomadic award-winning interdisciplinary artist, archivist, and image-maker, from Baltimore, MD. Wallace utilizes a range of mediums to weave narratives and imagine new stories. Rooted in image-making techniques such as photography, film, and collage, as well as in situ installations, these mediums serve as the foundation of her artistic practice.
She has exhibited work internationally in galleries and museums, including The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles, CA, Elsewhere Museum in Greensboro, NC, The New Gallery of Modern Art in Charlotte, NC, Maryland’s Reginald F. Lewis Museum, The Contemporary Museum in Baltimore, Gavlak Gallery Los Angeles, The National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington D.C., August Wilson Center in Pittsburgh, Mehari Sequar Gallery in Washington D.C., The Museum of Contemporary African Diaspora Arts in New York, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Flxst Contemporary in Chicago, IL, Prince George’s African American Museum, The Peale Center in Baltimore, MD, and NXTHVN in New Haven, CT,.
Her work is held in both public and private collections across the U.S., including The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Mint Museum, The Whitney Museum, and Johns Hopkins University, as well as various private collections.
SHAN lives and works in many spaces between Brooklyn, New York and Baltimore, MD.
Select publications and clients: The New York Times, Apple, Google, Essence, Vanity Fair, Calvin Klein, Vogue, Hypebeast, The Washington Post, Charlotte Observer, Trace Media, The Cut True Laurels, Baltimore Magazine, Huck Magazine, the Baltimore Beat, Vogue Italia, The Baltimore Banner, MotherJones, ItsNiceThat, V Magazine, Paper Magazine, Photograph Mag, CNN, The Architect’s Newspaper, The Charlotte Post, and Dazed Magazine.
“Katey and Jessie” by Jessie and Katey | Opening Reception
Friday, September 25 :: 7pm
@ Current Space
Current Space is proud to present:
“Katey and Jessie” by Jessie and Katey
Exhibition Duration: Sept 25 – Nov 7, 2026
Opening Reception: Friday, Sept 25 from 7-10pm
Closing Reception & Artist Talk: Saturday, Nov 7
Gallery Hours: Saturdays from 1-5pm, during public events, or by appointment
Jessie Unterhalter and Katey Truhn are a Baltimore-based artist duo who have been collaborating for nearly 15 years. Known for their large-scale, abstract murals and installations, their work transforms public spaces with bold geometry, vibrant color, and a deep sensitivity to architecture and environment. Rooted in a shared passion for bringing art into everyday life, Jessie and Katey’s practice balances precision with play, often drawing inspiration from math, color theory, and the built landscape. Their projects range from murals and sculptures to prints and smaller works, always with an emphasis on creating immersive, uplifting experiences that invite people to see their surroundings in a new way. Whether designing for city walls, transit systems, or community spaces, the duo is committed to making art accessible, dynamic, and deeply connected to place.
Saturday, September 26 :: 10am-12pm
@ American Visionary Art Museum
📸 Who says the Met Gala is just for humans? It’s time for your fabulous furry friends to steal the spotlight! Join us for our Pet Parade: Mutt Gala where pets become fashion icons and the red carpet belongs to wagging tails, tiny paws, fancy feathers, and fabulous flair. 📸
Whether your pet is rocking haute couture, a dazzling DIY masterpiece, or serving their best celebrity-inspired look, we want to see them strut their stuff! Expect glamorous photo ops, and plenty of “oohs” and “aahs” as our stylish pet contestants compete for bragging rights and trophies! Awards include Celebrity Look Alike Award, Best Visionary Hair-Do, and Best Dressed Most Visionary Pet. So fluff those tails, straighten those bow ties, adjust those tiaras, and get ready to unleash your pet’s inner superstar. After all, fashion is better with fur!
Pets will also be invited to make an artwork with their owners and create their own Pet Star– walk of fame style!
Following the Parade comes the Pet Talent [Or Not] Show! This popular event is held each year in loving memory of supreme animal lover and dear friend, Ellis Rosen.
Any and all well-behaved pets are welcome! Pet registration begins at 9:45AM. The parade kicks off at 10AM, with a talent show to follow after. Free for all!
Saturday, September 26 :: 12-3pm
@ 1610 Thames Street, Fells Point
BRUSH Mural Fest 2026 is the ultimate street art party where creativity explodes on walls live! This free, all-ages celebration of public art is in Historic Fells Point on September 26, 2026, from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Devin Allen: She Saw Me Coming | Opening Celebration
Saturday, September 26 :: 7-9pm
@ Charm City Cultural Cultivation
Charm City Cultural Cultivation (CCCC) is proud to present She Saw Me Coming, a powerful new solo exhibition by acclaimed photographer, author, and activist Devin Allen. On view from September 26th through Friday, December 4th, the exhibition marks a deeply personal exploration of Allen’s family, memory, and Black domestic archives.
She Saw Me Coming traces Allen’s photographic lineage back to its original source: his grandmother. After moving into his family’s vacant ancestral home—a space that housed every member of his family at various points—Allen discovered hundreds of family photographs spanning from the 1970s through the 2000s.
“While working on the home-making changes and going through my Grandma’s things, I found numerous photo albums containing 100s of family images from around the 1970s-2000s,” says Devin Allen. “That’s when I realized that I have always been around photography, and my Grandma was the first photographer I ever knew.”
Supported by the Working Assumptions Project Grant, the exhibition evolved into an even deeper tribute following the tragic passing of Allen’s mother during its creation. Drawing inspiration from Carrie Mae Weems’s Kitchen Table series, Deborah Willis’s Reflections in Black, and Thomas Allen Harris’s film Through A Lens Darkly, Allen expanded the project to include a poignant series of
self-portraits utilizing light and the empty spaces in his mother’s home where she often sat.
“The goal, of course, is to shine a light on my family, but I also aim to inspire people to share their family histories, archive our history, and protect it,” Allen adds. “Our stories are important.”
Please join us for the opening celebration on Saturday September 26th from 7 to 9 p.m. The exhibition is free and open to the public during standard gallery hours, Wednesday through Saturday from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Featured Opportunities
Wooden Nickel $99 Exhibition
deadline September 27
posted by Vox Populi
Vox Populi is now accepting submissions for the fifth anniversary of our annual juried fundraiser, Wooden Nickel: A $99 Exhibition, from now until September 27, 2026 at 11:59 PM.
We invite artists living within 90 miles of Philadelphia to donate artwork measuring exactly 8 x 10 inches to be shown and sold at Vox Populi from December 4–20, 2026. All proceeds go directly toward supporting Vox Populi’s programming and operations.
Wooden Nickel: A $99 Exhibition is an anti-auction that levels the playing field for artists and collectors alike. All artworks are the same size, all priced at $99, and artist names are revealed only after purchase.
Gallery 14C Curatorial Fellowship
deadline September 28
Beginning with the December 2026 cohort, ARTS 14C is introducing a new year-long Curatorial Fellowship for a curator, artist-curator, arts administrator, or other arts professional with demonstrated curatorial and/or gallery administration experience.
The Curatorial Fellow receives a full 12-month Project 14C live/work residency at no cost while serving as Gallery 14C’s Curator-in-Residence.
Working with the support and mentorship of ARTS 14C, the Curatorial Fellow will help shape Gallery 14C’s four annual exhibitions while developing their own curatorial ideas, collaborations, and culminating exhibition.
Residency period December 1, 2026–November 30, 2027
Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association: Athenaeum Solo or Group Show
deadline September 30
posted by The Athenaeum Gallery
The Athenaeum Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia exhibits visual arts created solely by artists living or working in the region and strives to present visitors with a wide variety of excellent art and unique experiences. In addition to the shows curated by the Gallery Director, the Athenaeum Gallery invites artists and curators to submit show proposals.
Eligibility
Artists who live or work in Virginia, Maryland, or the District of Columbia may submit a proposal for a solo show. A group of artists who live or work in the area may submit a proposal for a group show. A curator, living or working anywhere, may submit a proposal for a show featuring works by artists living or working in this area.
Maryland High School Juried Art Exhibition
deadline October 12
posted by University of Maryland Global Campus
The Arts Program at University of Maryland Global Campus is accepting entries through October 12 for its fourth Maryland High School Juried Art Exhibition. Maryland high school students may submit original artwork in a wide range of visual art media, and there is no submission fee.
Art teachers may select students to represent their schools, and students may also submit their own entries. Each school may submit up to six works by as many as three student artists.
Selected works will be exhibited at the UMGC Arts Program Gallery in spring 2027. The top award totals $5,000, including $1,500 for the student and $3,500 for the student’s school arts program.
2027 Artspace Open Call for Proposals
deadline October 2
Artspace’s Exhibition Committee will review proposals for exhibitions of art for the 2027 season in our gallery located at 2833-A Hathaway Rd., Richmond, Virginia 23226, in the Stratford Hills Shopping Center.
We welcome submissions for exhibitions of art from all genres and media. All proposals must be submitted through CaFÉ.
Festival of Trees Designer Days
deadline October 8
posted by Kennedy Kreeger
Calling all designers! Be part of the holiday displays at Kennedy Krieger’s Festival of Trees by creating and decorating festive pieces including 7-foot trees, 4-foot trees, 2-foot trees, wreaths, and gingerbread houses. Your creations will be featured as part of Festival of Trees and sold to raise funds for Kennedy Krieger Institute, supporting its mission to help children and young adults with diseases, disorders, and injuries impacting the nervous system reach their fullest potential. All tree, wreath, and gingerbread house designs are also considered for designer awards, including A Traditional Christmas, Best in Show, Holiday Flair, Most Unique, and Honorable Mention. Designer registration opens Tuesday, September 8, 2026 and closes Thursday, October 8, 2026.
YICCA International Art Contest
deadline October 8
YICCA International Art Contest embodies a convergence of talent and opportunity, making it an unmissable chance for artists with dreams of leaving a mark on the contemporary art landscape. The competition is open to all types of artworks and all techniques are allowed. This includes videos, performances and installations. By participating in YICCA, artists gain access to an influential global network that can significantly impact their careers. This exposure and recognition can be a game-changer for artists, providing them with a place to share their artistic vision and connect with a discerning audience. YICCA thus serves not only as a prestigious platform but also as a springboard for artists wishing to gain recognition in the contemporary art world, furthering their careers in a highly qualified international context.
Arts Education Grant
deadline October 14
posted by Create Baltimore + Maryland State Arts Council
The Arts Education Grant provides opportunities for teaching
artists and small arts organizations with an arts education
focus. The grant supports arts education projects, classes,
and workshops that take place in schools, after-school
programs, or local community settings during the Spring 2027 semester.
Supported programs should provide meaningful learning
experiences that offer participants opportunities to develop
new skills, expand their knowledge, and engage in creative
expression, social-emotional learning, trauma-informed
practices, or other educational outcomes.
Selected grant recipients will receive $2,500 awards, made
possible through the generous support of the Maryland State
Arts Council.
Call for Entries, Telling Tales
deadline October 15
posted by SE Center for Photography
A Single image can have a powerful storytelling impact, change the way we see, and leave a lasting impression. Often, a signature image or motif is associated with an artist or photographer or project. We’re looking for images that stand on their own, able to tell a story without supporting images.Analog and digital manipulation in all its forms welcome. Monochrome or color, all subjects, analog, digital or antique processes, photographers of all skill levels and locations are welcome.
2027–28 Fellowship
deadline October 15
posted by Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) and its Renwick Gallery invite applications to its premier fellowship program, the oldest and largest in the world for the study of American art. Scholars from any discipline whose research engages the art, craft, and visual culture of the United States are encouraged to apply, as are those who foreground new perspectives, materials, and methodologies. Fellowships are residential and support full-time research in the Smithsonian collections. SAAM is devoted to advancing excellence in art history and encourages candidates from all backgrounds to apply.
Become a Member
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