This week’s news includes: Tom Miller Week returns, Joël Díaz appointed Executive Director of Clifton House, Bezos led WaPo fires art critic Sebastian Smee and many others, CLLCTIVLY presents 28 Days of Black Futures, 2026 Illuminator Awards at The Peale, Leslie Gray Streeter opines on the loss of Brewer’s Art, Arena Players’ profile, NDC’s Grassroots Design Fest returns, CSC’s Fences extended, Silver in the Golden Age of Annapolis exhibition at MCHC, and the Reverend John Waters.
Tom Miller Week includes free admission to Maryland Center for History and Culture
by Aliza Worthington
Published February 11 in Baltimore Fishbowl
The Maryland Center for History and Culture is celebrating Baltimore artist Tom Miller by offering free admission on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, to honor the Sixth Annual Tom Miller Week.
In 1995, Mayor Kurt Schmoke designated Feb. 18th “Tom Miller Day.” Artist, activist, and archivist Deyane Moses, however, revived and extended it into a week-long celebration. The first “Tom Miller Week” took place in 2021, with a week of programming honoring the artist with community programming and events spreading awareness of his work and raising funds to help restore his murals.
The Clifton House Appoints Joël Díaz as Executive Director in Milestone Year Honoring Lucille Clifton’s 90th Birthday
Press Release :: February 10
The Clifton House, a Baltimore-based nonprofit dedicated to advancing literary and visual arts, proudly announces the promotion and hire of Joël Díaz as its new Executive Director, effective February 1, 2026. The appointment comes during a significant commemorative year for the organization, which also posthumously marks the 90th birthday of its namesake, Lucille Clifton, whose legacy continues to shape the organization’s mission and impact.
Díaz has been a vital member of The Clifton House since 2024, most recently serving as Director of Programs. During his tenure, Díaz produced 30 public programs including signature series and events such as First Films, the annual Lucille Clifton Lecture, and All of My Bones Remember which featured award-winning authors, filmmakers, musicians and visual artists like Aracelis Girmay, Honorée F. Jeffers, Nikky Finney, Raven Jackson, Steven Golliday, Brandon Woody, Kennedy Yanko, Joyce J. Scott and Jerrell Gibbs.
These programs created opportunities for both established and emerging talents, and were bolstered through partnerships with Baltimore Museum of Art, Jupiter Mag, Maryland Film Festival, and The Library reaching over 1500 participants while deepening the commitment to Baltimore’s creative communities and extending the organization’s early partnerships with the Geena Davis Institute and the Academy of American Poets. […]
Art Critic Sebastian Smee Laid Off From the Washington Post
by Valentina Di Liscia
Published February 5
The Washington Post has laid off Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic Sebastian Smee and made sweeping employee cuts across its Arts section in what’s been described as a “bloodbath” at the Jeff Bezos-owned paper. All of the Post’s staff photographers were also eliminated, raising questions about the future of the publication’s visual strategy.
Staffers began receiving layoff notices on Wednesday, February 4, after weeks of rumors of a mass downsizing. The cuts reportedly impacted one-third of the Post’s staff, over 300 people, and gutted entire sections across its newsroom, including Books, Sports, and desks dedicated to local and international coverage.
A Month-Long Celebration of Collective Imagination, Narrative Power, and Creative Expression
Press Release :: February 10
CLLCTIVLY, a Baltimore-rooted ecosystem advancing collective imagination, narrative power, and resource mobilization, proudly presents 28 Days of Black Futures: The Power of One – a month-long cultural campaign exploring how individual participation fuels collective transformation.
Running throughout Black History Month, 28 Days of Black Futures centers story, sound, and culture as essential infrastructure for shaping shared futures. This year’s theme, The Power of One, challenges the idea that change begins with scale, instead affirming that one voice, one choice, and one act of care, when connected, can shape what comes next.
At the heart of the campaign is the award-winning Black Futures Cypher, a visionary cultural offering featuring 28 artists, one released each day throughout February. Architected by Jamye Wooten and produced under the creative direction of Von Vargas, the Cypher invites artists to share original work reflecting this year’s theme, creating a collective soundscape rooted in imagination, agency, and possibility.
“At a time when support for race-explicit work is shrinking, participation becomes our most powerful resource,” said Jamye Wooten, Founder of CLLCTIVLY. “The Power of One reminds us that transformation doesn’t begin with institutions; it begins with people choosing to show up, listen, and build together.”
Illuminator Award Honorees 2026
Published in The Peale News
The Peale is proud to announce the five honorees of the 2026 Illuminator Awards, individuals and institutions whose work has expanded access, strengthened communities, and shaped Baltimore’s cultural life in lasting ways.
The 2026 honorees span philanthropy, community building, journalism, preservation, and museum leadership. What unites them is not a single discipline, but a shared belief that culture matters — and that sustained investment in people, place, and ideas is essential to Baltimore’s future.
Together, this inaugural group reflects the spirit of the Illuminator Awards — recognizing leadership that bridges history and innovation, creativity and civic responsibility, legacy and future impact.
The 2026 Honorees
Afro House
•Recognized for creating vital platforms that elevate Black artists, foster creative exchange, and cultivate spaces rooted in cultural expression and community care.
Johns Hopkins (Baltimore Heritage)
• Recognized for championing historic preservation as a living, inclusive practice — connecting Baltimore’s built environment to contemporary civic life and public memory.
BmoreArt (Cara Ober)
• Honored for independent arts journalism that has documented, challenged, and amplified Baltimore’s creative ecosystem for over a decade, shaping public understanding of local culture.
Doreen Bolger
• Honored for visionary museum leadership and a career dedicated to scholarship, public access, and the stewardship of Baltimore’s artistic and cultural legacy.
PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
Honored for its long-standing commitment to arts access, early learning, and community-based cultural investment that strengthens neighborhoods and institutions across the region.
The Brewer’s Art’s demise a reminder to support local faves while you can
by Leslie Gray Streeter
Published February 5 in The Baltimore Banner
I went to The Brewer’s Art just once, years ago, to meet up with some old high school friends. It seemed like the kind of place it would be cool to hang out in, with an obvious group of regulars that appeared to, in a “Cheers” sort of way, know everybody’s name.
When I returned in Baltimore in 2020, I kept hearing about it and thought, “I really ought to get back to that place.”
Now it’s too late. I wish I’d stopped in again.
The old and new come together in community theater at Arena Players
by S. Ireti
Published February 8 in Baltimore Beat
As I watched the Arena Players dance ensemble move across the stage during rehearsal for their production of Lee Breuer’s “The Gospel at Colonus,” I never would have guessed that two of its members did not have traditional dance training. Dezra Lloyd and Angel Harvin seemed to glide across the stage with the confidence of seasoned dancers. They were able to hit their marks, roll, and tumble across the stage with ease, and also give each other notes and directions on how to really land or accentuate a movement.
Community theaters like Arena Players facilitate community building, providing people with space to try new and brave things, to further develop their sense of self, and to step out of their comfort zones, as Harvin and Lloyd do as members of the dance ensemble.
8th Annual Grassroots DesignFest Returns April 11, Mobilizing Baltimore’s Creative Community to Support Baltimore Nonprofits
Press Release :: February 11
The Neighborhood Design Center (NDC), in partnership with the T. Rowe Price Foundation and Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), today announced the return of Grassroots DesignFest, a daylong, in-person design event that pairs volunteer design teams with Baltimore-based nonprofits for high-impact, pro bono design support, on Saturday, April 11, 2026.
Inspired by the hackathon model and conceived by the T. Rowe Price Foundation, Grassroots DesignFest demonstrates the role creative problem-solving can play in strengthening Baltimore’s social-change ecosystem. Hosted by MICA, Grassroots DesignFest has become a signature civic design initiative, helping small nonprofits strengthen their visual identities, communication tools, and public presence. Post-event surveys consistently show high satisfaction across nonprofit partners, design teams, and coaches, with nonprofits citing the quality of design results and access to expertise they could not otherwise afford.
This year’s cohort includes more than 100 professional and volunteer designers who will be paired with 15 nonprofits representing arts and culture, youth development, human services, neighborhood revitalization, and environmental work. Projects were selected through a competitive application process to ensure strong alignment between organizational needs and achievable design outcomes. Volunteer design teams—supported by expert coaches and NDC facilitators—will work directly with nonprofit leaders throughout the day to develop actionable concepts tailored to each organization’s priorities, which range from logo and website development to wayfinding signage, digital marketing, placemaking, and collateral needs.
“As we mark our Bicentennial, MICA is proud to once again host Grassroots DesignFest and welcome designers and community partners into a dynamic space energized by creativity and connection to Baltimore,” said Elizabeth Homan, MICA VP of Marketing and Communications. “This event speaks directly to MICA’s deep commitment to creative entrepreneurship and to bringing students and professionals together to learn, collaborate, and use their craft for public good. It reflects the power of community-centered design—and its potential to help shape a more equitable Baltimore.” […]
August Wilson’s Fences Now EXTENDED Through March 8
Press Release :: February 10
Chesapeake Shakespeare Company (CSC) presents August Wilson’s Fences, directed by Reginald L. Douglas. The Pulitzer Prize–winning drama is CSC’s second staging in the Baltimore August Wilson Celebration (BAWC) and stands as the sixth play presented in the city-wide tribute to Wilson’s American Century Cycle. The play represents perhaps Wilson’s most important work, often cited for its cultural reach and intimate examination of family, labor, and the American promise.
The production opened Friday, February 6 to an outpouring of praise from audiences and critics alike. “Fences at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company is one of the finest productions I have seen so far in Baltimore’s exploration of August Wilson’s [American] Century Cycle. This production does not simply present Fences; it lives inside it. It is theatre at its most honest, and it deserves to be seen,” writes DC Theater Arts.
Due to popular demand, CSC has extended the run through March 8, adding three performances: Friday, March 6 at 8 PM, and matinees on Saturday, March 7 at 2 PM and Sunday, March 8 at 2 PM.
Set in 1950s Pittsburgh, Fences centers on Troy Maxson, a former Negro League baseball star whose deferred dreams cast long shadows over his life as a husband, father, and working man. Now a sanitation worker, Troy is forced to wrestle with a world that denied him opportunity while demanding his unwavering labor. […]
Silver in the Golden Age of Annapolis” presents Rare Colonial Era Maryland Silver in a New Exhibition
Press Release :: January 26
Opening February 12, 2026, the Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC) will host Silver in the Golden Age of Annapolis. Originally organized by the Hammond-Harwood House, the exhibition was curated by Mark B. Letzer, a leading authority on Maryland silver and former president and CEO of MCHC. It includes more than 80 pieces, including ladles, spoons, bowls, coffeepots, shoe buckles, watches, and coins, as well as portraits, and other Annapolis items from the Revolutionary Era through the early 19th century. Objects come from other museums, as well as regional private collections.
After the 1695 move of the state capitol from historic St. Mary’s City to Annapolis, it became not only the seat of government, but also the economic, style, and cultural center of the state. The 1760s and 1770s are often described as Annapolis’ “Golden Age,” a period when the city’s commerce, social life, and Georgian architecture helped shape its reputation as a refined colonial capital.
Additional objects from MCHC’s collection enhance the exhibition, which will also highlight a newly-acquired pair of silver canns that belonged to Maryland Signer of the Declaration of Independence William Paca and his wife Mary. These canns were jointly-acquired by MCHC and Historic Annapolis in 2025.
“As a major lender to the first installation of this exhibition, it made sense to bring it to Baltimore for a second venue, and to add additional items further contextualizing Maryland craftsmanship on the eve of Revolution,” said MCHC president and CEO Katie Caljean. “We are so pleased to be part of the MD250 Commission, and are excited to kick off our many events, programs, and exhibitions planned for 2026, and to partner with peer institutions statewide to commemorate this important moment.” […]
Want to get married? John Waters is available to perform the ceremony (premarital counseling included)
by Ed Gunts
Published February 6 in Baltimore Fishbowl
Are you thinking about getting married, or renewing your vows?
With Valentine’s Day approaching soon, Baltimore-based writer, filmmaker and ordained minister John Waters is making a rare offer for one lucky couple that’s serious about getting married.
Waters has offered to officiate the wedding of the couple that submits the highest bid in the winter fundraising auction that benefits one of his favorite causes, the Provincetown Film Society.
Become a Member
Print Journals, Invitations, and Newsletter – Oh My!
