This Week: Claire Bishop lectures at MICA, GBCA Arts Happy Hour & Panel at The Peale, Tom Miller Day virtual gathering, Brandon Woody at Keystone Korner, Inviting Light Behind the Build at Neighborhood Design Center, Bria Edwards opening reception at Julio Fine Arts, Black Printmakers of Washington DC film screening at Creative Alliance, American Craft Marketplace all weekend, Area 405 gallery naming ceremony, The Stoop’s 2-day 20th Anniversary Celebration, Wilderness Suite at The Voxel, Lunar New Year Celebration at The Walters, Art of the Collectors XI soft opening at Galerie Myrtis, MICA Bicentennial Celebration Fete of Lights, closing reception and karaoke for Julia Kim at Waller Gallery, and a Black History Month performance at Eubie Blake — PLUS Artist Grants available through MD State Arts Council 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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Events

(Image Credit: Sarah Blesener)

Claire Bishop: Ancestral Avant-Gardes

Tuesday, February 17 :: 4:30-6pm
@ MICA Lazarus Auditorium

Lecture by guest speaker Claire Bishop on Feb. 17, 2026, at Lazarus Auditorium in the MICA Fred Lazarus IV Center.

This event is a part of MICA’s Graduate Studies Interdisciplinary Speaker Series and Bicentennial Celebration.

Reception to follow.

Claire Bishop is an art critic and historian based in New York at CUNY Graduate Center. Her books include Artificial Hells: Participatory Art and the Politics of Spectatorship (Verso, 2012, winner of the Frank Jewett Mather Award for Art Criticism), a book of conversations with the Cuban artist Tania Bruguera (Cisneros, 2020), and Disordered Attention: How We Look at Art and Performance Today (Verso, 2024, shortlisted for the 2024 National Book Critics Circle Award). She is a a Contributing Editor of Artforum, a Guggenheim Fellow (2024), and her essays and books have been translated into twenty languages.

New at the Helm 2026

Tuesday, February 17 :: 6-8pm
@ The Peale

New at the Helm 2026 is a GBCA Arts Happy Hour & Panel celebrating the new leaders shaping Baltimore’s arts organizations and the paths they’re charting forward.

Join us for a conversation moderated by GBCA Executive Director, Jeannie Howe, to hear directly from leaders about their visions, insights, and plans for the future  The panel will be followed by a relaxed happy hour with music, drinks, and light refreshments, creating space to connect, reflect, and gather as a creative community.

We’re excited to celebrate and welcome:

• Tom Bailey, Chief Executive Officer & General Manager, Lyric Baltimore
• Ken‑Matt Martin, Producing Director, Baltimore Center Stage
• Robyn Murphy, Chief Executive Officer, Create Baltimore
• Ellen Owens, Director, American Visionary Art Museum
• Nancy Proctor, Executive Director, SNF Parkway Theatre
• John Suau, Executive Director, The Peale

Whether you’re an artist, administrator, supporter, or engaged community member, New at the Helm 2026 offers an opportunity to hear directly from arts leaders, exchange ideas, and spend an evening in conversation with colleagues and peers from across the field.

Restore the Source: A Community Call to Preserve Tom Miller’s Murals

Wednesday, February 18 :: 6-7pm
(Virtual) hosted by Blackives, LLC, Friends of Tom Miller, & Black Art Today Foundation

Join Friends of Tom Miller for a special Tom Miller Day virtual gathering announcing the launch of a phased restoration effort for However Far the Stream Flows, It Never Forgets Its Source (1991)—the first public mural created in Baltimore by artist Tom Miller.

After more than 30 years of exposure to weather, pollution, and structural stress, this iconic three-story mural at North Avenue and Harford Road is now in critical condition. Paint loss, exposed brick, cracking, and moisture damage threaten the future of this important work of public art.

During the event we will share:

How the public can support the effort by signing the petition and making a donation

The history and significance of Tom Miller’s first mural in Baltimore

The current condition of the mural and why restoration is urgent

The phased restoration plan led by Project Manager Chris Brooks and Friends of Tom Miller

Hear from the Miller’s Family, Collectors, Community Members, and Local Leaders

Brandon Woody’s UPENDO

Wednesday, February 18 :: 7pm
@ Keystone Korner

Brandon Woody, trumpet
Charlie Powell, guitar
Troy Long, piano
Michael Saunders, bass
Quincy Phillips, drums

Brandon Woody is a Baltimore-born, Bach-endorsed trumpeter, composer, and bandleader whose music flows from the rich lineage of Black music, including jazz, gospel, improvisation, and beyond, to explore themes of love, resilience, and community. Hailed by The New York Times and Los Angeles Times as a rising force in contemporary jazz, Woody signed with the legendary Blue Note Records in November 2024 and released his debut album, “For The Love Of It All”, in May 2025. Featuring his longtime band Upendo, the album showcases Woody’s ability to craft music that is both deeply personal and universally resonant.

Rooted in Baltimore, Woody has built his career from his hometown, drawing on its vibrant creative culture and community spirit. The Washington Post described Woody’s music as “staggeringly self-assured” and “radiating warmth, purpose, and a sense of place,” reflecting both the clarity of his artistic vision and his deep connection to his community. He has performed with artists such as Terri Lyne Carrington, BADBADNOTGOOD, Danilo Pérez, Casey Benjamin, Marcus Gilmore, the Robert Glasper Black Radio Orchestra, Paul Russell, and Solange Knowles. His television appearances include Godfather of Harlem (MGM+), Lady in the Lake (Apple TV), and The Bride (Warner Bros.).

Behind the Build: Making Public Art Happen

Thursday, February 19 :: 2pm
@ Neighborhood Design Center

A behind-the-scenes look at the collaboration, challenges, and lessons behind Baltimore’s $1M Inviting Light public art initiative.

When a million-dollar investment in public art came to Baltimore, it set the stage for something extraordinary. Inviting Light—a two-year initiative produced by Central Baltimore Partnership and funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies —transformed the Station North Arts District with five large-scale, light-based artworks.

Behind the curtain, the project sparked deep, cross-sector collaborations – and now that the installations are complete, it’s time to unpack what it really took to bring each artwork to life, and what lessons the design and planning community can carry forward. From navigating technical hurdles to forging partnerships across sectors, Inviting Light offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at producing ambitious public art at scale.

Presented in partnership with AIA Baltimore and Central Baltimore Partnership (CBP),this half-day professional development will unpack behind the scenes learnings and pave the way for future projects.

BRIA EDWARDS presents: “WHAT WE DO, WE’VE ALWAYS DONE” | Opening Reception

Thursday, February 19 :: 6pm
@ Julio Fine Arts

Join us for a solo exhibition by Bria Edwards, curated by Lauren Davidson. “What We Do, We’ve Always Done” highlights the rich and often overlooked legacy of Black cowboy culture in Maryland and the surrounding region. Through paintings, photography, and video, Edwards offers an intimate look at Black riders, their traditions, and the landscapes that sustain them. Rooted in more than two years of immersive research, including conversations with riders whose stories span from before the Civil War to today, the exhibition celebrates Black leisure and the joy, pride, and resilience embedded in these traditions. Edwards challenges narrow narratives about who belongs in American cowboy culture, affirming the essential role Black horsemen and horsewomen continue to play. At its heart, the exhibition is both a celebration and a reclamation, honoring generations of Black riders whose presence has shaped community, culture, and a living American tradition.

All Julio Fine Arts Gallery programming is free and open to the public.

Film Screening: BLACK PRINTMAKERS of WASHINGTON DC

Thursday, February 19 :: 7pm
@ Creative Alliance

Washington, D.C. has a rich history of Black owned printmaking workshops where artists thrived and formed community. Before the 1970s, Black artists had few opportunities to own their own studios and showcase their art. Percy Martin and Michael Platt’s story is part of a larger history. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 expanded the number of Black owned businesses. Martin, founded WD Printmaking Workshop in 1972. Platt established “Platt Studios” in 1989. These studios embraced a steady flow of emerging and established artists from DC to as far away as Jamaica. During a time when Black artists were denied access to the city’s galleries, museums and universities, Percy and Michael offered places where Black artists formed community, shared ideas, exhibited their work, and made prints. Percy and Michael, both teachers; Percy at Sidwell Friends, and Michael at Howard University and Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) in Alexandria, VA.; were often among the only Black artists who regularly attended the Southern Graphics Council International printmaking conferences, taking information from demonstrations of the newest materials and techniques back to their communities.

Platt’s work focuses on the criminal justice system, slavery, Hurricane Katrina, and genocide. Michael, collaborating with his wife, poet Carol A. Beane, creates large-scale print installations and artist’s books, blending image and text. Percy uses traditional intaglio with computer-generated images to produce large-scale etchings of “The Bushman”, his personal narrative of science fiction combined with African mythologies.

Printmakers Percy B. Martin and Michael B. Platt, participated in pivotal political movements, having a significant impact on American art and arts education. This documentary provides personal accounts of their history, training, involvement with the development of print departments, studios, and their art.

Printmaking Legacy Project® all rights reserved 2023. www.printmakinglegacyproject.org

American Craft Made Baltimore Marketplace 2026

Friday, February 20 – Sunday, February 21
@ Baltimore Convention Center

The American Craft Council’s (ACC) flagship event, American Craft Made Baltimore, will return to the Baltimore Convention Center February 20 through February 22, 2026. Now in its 49th year, American Craft Made Baltimore is an annual immersive event that brings together over 400 accomplished artists and makers, 10,000 attendees, and dozens of local partner organizations from across the East Coast for shopping, demonstrations, hands-on experiences, and connection through craft. Visitors can shop work by artists from around the country, participate in hands-on activities, view craft demonstrations, attend related events and parties, and much more.  

American Craft Made Baltimore is one of the most highly respected and anticipated craft fairs in the United States and is the largest juried craft fair on the East Coast. Visitors can shop the juried 400-artist marketplace, get hands-on with demonstrations, and deepen their connection to the handmade through a vibrant community that celebrates creativity and craft. 

This year, the event will feature a juried selection of work from makers at all career stages and across a wide range of mediums, including ceramics, glass, jewelry, metalworking, clothing, furniture, and basketry. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet the creators behind their favorite pieces and discover new, innovative works that celebrate longstanding craft practices and push the boundaries of what craft can be. 

TICKETS:
Tickets are on sale now. Presale tickets are $10; day-of tickets are $15. Admission is free for ages 12 and under. ACC Members receive two complimentary tickets per day or two complimentary Weekend Passes per event. Weekend Passes are available and offer access to all three days of the event. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit craftcouncil.org/events/american-craft-made-baltimore/.

AREA 405 Gallery Naming Ceremony

Friday, February 20 :: 5-7pm
@ Area 405

We would be honored to invite you to a special evening at AREA 405 as we celebrate the legacy and lasting impact of Dr. Leslie King-Hammond.

As part of 405 DAILY, AREA 405’s first-ever tenant exhibition, the Central Baltimore Partnership will officially name AREA 405’s first-floor gallery the Dr. Leslie King-Hammond Gallery, recognizing Dr. King-Hammond’s dedicated and transformative work at MICA and her profound influence on artists, students, and the cultural landscape of Baltimore.

We hope you can be part of this celebration honoring Dr. King-Hammond’s enduring contributions and legacy.

The Stoop 20th Anniversary Celebration!

Friday, February 20 + Saturday, February 21 :: 7pm
@ Creative Alliance

This February, The Stoop turns 20 years old, and we’re celebrating with two very special anniversary shows — February 20 & 21 — back where it all began at the Creative Alliance.  “Built with Love (and Probably Duct Tape): Stories of Baltimore’s Creative Communities“.

FRIDAY, 2/20
Music from Caleb Stine and Letitia VanSant
Stories from:

• Eze Jackson, Emcee, artist, and activist
• Tecla Tesnau, owner of The Ottobar
• Bri Mobley, founder of BLK Ass Flea Market (BAFM)
• Wendel Patrick, professor, composer, sonic architect
• Margaret Footner and Megan Hamilton,  Creative Alliance
• Rupert Wondolowski, co-owner of Normal’s Books and Records
• Jason Weems, comedian
• Kathy Fahey, visual artist, puppeteer, and maker of Crankies

SATURDAY, 2/21
Music from Caleb Stine and J. Pope
Stories from:

• Brad and Ken Kolodner, Charm City Junction and Helecon
• Erin Stellmon and Amanda Dice, co-founders of Gunz of Steel
• Val Perez Schere, co-founder of Fluid Movement
• Doug Powell, comedian
• Joseph Ritsch, performer/playwright and Education Director for Everyman Theatre
• Aran Keating, founder of the Baltimore Rock Opera Society (BROS)
• Thomas Dotstry, Baltimore Improv Group (BIG)
• Eric Hatch, co-founder of the New/Next Film Festival

Wilderness Suite

Friday, February 20 – Sunday, February 22
@ The Voxel

In 1980, all human development across 2,361,767 acres of land in central Idaho was ceased, creating the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, the largest federally protected wilderness area in the contiguous United States. Now left untouched for 45 years, this landscape tells a unique story of “anti-development.”

WILDERNESS SUITE uses images taken before and after the legislation was introduced to protect the Frank Church Wilderness, set into motion by eight video artists, along with live music and pre-recorded electronics, to examine the impression of humankind on the environments it inhabits. This interdisciplinary collaboration unites scientists, filmmakers, and musicians, drawing from and shedding light on the stories that the place and those who still live there have to share.

Composed by longtime Baltimore phenom Ruby Fulton and performed by the ever rising icarus Quartet, a virtuosic combination of pianos and percussion. Produced by Mind on Fire.

The performance on February 21st will be recorded and filmed.

Photography and recording of the performance is allowed. Please make sure to turn off your flash/light and keep recording to a minimum – enjoy the show in the moment!

Running Time: About 60 minutes with no intermission.

Lunar New Year Celebration: Year of the Horse

Saturday, February 21 :: 11am-1pm
@ The Walters Art Museum

Whether you were born in the year of the horse, the ox, or the monkey, we encourage you to celebrate Lunar New Year at the Walters Art Museum! This year’s festival welcomes the year of the horse, which represents the seventh year of the 12-year Lunar calendar cycle. Visitors of all ages will enjoy a day of art-making, photo booth fun, food, performances by Baltimore Chinese School, Korean Culture and Art of Maryland, Yong Han Lion Dance Troupe, storytime sessions, and more!

Art of the Collectors XI | Soft Opening

Saturday, February 21 :: 2-6pm
@ Galerie Myrtis

Galerie Myrtis celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2026, marking two decades of championing artists, advancing cultural dialogue, and building community through art. Founded in 2006 in Washington, DC, and relocated to Baltimore, Maryland, in 2008, Galerie Myrtis has since become a vital cultural anchor in the city—recognized for its unwavering commitment to artistic excellence, cultural stewardship, and the amplification of African American and African Diaspora voices.

To commemorate this milestone, the gallery will present a yearlong series of exhibitions and public programs that reflect its enduring mission.

The anniversary year launches with Art of the Collectors XI, a curated exhibition highlighting exceptional works by African American and African Diasporic artists, spanning emerging talents to celebrated masters. The exhibition includes multi-media works from the estates of James Hill and Helen Jackson, among others, all available for purchase. A dedicated virtual viewing room will offer a rare opportunity to acquire works from the collections of renowned arts patron Arthur Lewis, alongside other noted collectors.

Together, these programs celebrate Galerie Myrtis’s legacy as a space where art, history, and community converge—and where collecting is understood as an act of generosity, stewardship, and connection across generations.

Art of the Collectors XI runs February 21 – April 18, 2026, at 2224 N Charles St, Baltimore, MD. Gallery hours: Tuesday – Saturday by appointment, 2:00 – 6:00 pm. Hours extended during special events. For additional information on the exhibition, please contact the gallery at (410) 235‐3711 or Ky Vassor, Assistant Director, at [email protected]. For sales inquiries, please contact our Sales Director, Noel Bedolla, at [email protected].

Soft Opening | Saturday, February 21st
Time: 2:00 – 6:00 pm
Guests are invited to visit the gallery on the opening day of Art of the Collectors XI. Please note, although we are not conducting an opening reception with refreshments, all are welcome to visit the gallery during normal business hours from 2:00 – 6:00 pm to view the exhibition. No registration is required to attend.

MICA Bicentennial Celebration: Fête of Lights

Saturday, February 21 :: 6-10pm
@ MICA Main Building

The Fete of Lights is an exciting celebration of two centuries. The night will be filled with dynamic illuminated art installations, a wearable art costume parade, and delicious food and beverages that showcase the energy, experimentation, and collaboration that have defined MICA for two centuries. There are two ways to celebrate – the Gala in the Main Building starting at 6 pm or the Party in the Plaza starting at 7 pm. 

For the Gala, celebrate inside MICA’s historic Main Building. Enjoy elevated cocktails, a reception-style dinner, and a front row view of the wearable art parade and contest. Guests will follow the celebratory parade down the Main Building steps to the Party in the Plaza, located in MICA’s Brown Center.

Both the Main Building and Brown Center will come alive with light art installations by MICA-connected artists, all curated by Derrick Adams Studio. 

With tickets at $50 for the community, the Party in the Plaza (7:00 PM) offers music, delicious snacks and drinks, family-friendly games, and access to student-curated exhibitions in MICA galleries. For an illuminated end to the evening, all guests will enjoy a special birthday cake created by MICA alumni artists at Charm City Cakes, and MICA will light the sky with fireworks. We are encouraging guests to wear creative formal and wearable art. With our illumination theme, we encourage guests to glow, shimmer, and shine.

Proceeds from the Fete will go to student scholarships.

Tickets and more information are at mica.edu/fete.

Transit – Julia Kim Smith | Karaoke and Closing Reception

Saturday, February 21 :: 7-9pm
@ Waller Gallery

Please join us for karaoke and the closing reception of Transit.

Why this show and why now? Because as the daughter of OG recent immigrants, I am outraged by the way our government is vilifying new immigrants and their allies. It is racist, xenophobic, and un-American. Korea is cool now. But it was not cool when my parents came here after the Korean War, and it wasn’t cool when I was growing up. Korea was then one of poorest, least developed countries in the world. People did not know where Korea was; people told us to go back from where we came from. If someone had told me in high school that Korea would become the international soft power cultural juggernaut that it is today, I would have thought they were smoking too much weed….President Trump needs to get one fact straight: Haitians don’t eat dogs; Koreans do. Get your dog-eating immigrant groups straight and stop picking on the Haitians.
–Julia Kim Smith

Transit refuses easy resolutions. It doesn’t offer uplift or catharsis. What it provides instead is witness: to the accumulation of small violences, to the way racism operates through language and gesture, to the costs of existing in a body that’s always being read as other. This is Smith’s first solo exhibition, a gathering of work that has traveled across the United States and internationally. At Waller Gallery, these pieces find temporary harbor before continuing their own transit. Smith isn’t asking for permission. She’s claiming the space, documenting the journey, and daring you not to look away.

–Joy Davis, Waller Gallery, Curator

Black History Month Community Performance

Sunday, February 22 :; 5:30pm
@ Eubie Blake Cultural Center

Join us for a powerful Black History Month evening of performance, remembrance, and joy featuring music, dance, and storytelling rooted in African and African American traditions. This intergenerational gathering brings together local artists and cultural bearers whose work uplifts community, honors legacy, and invites collective reflection.
All are welcome—families, elders, youth, artists, and neighbors—to celebrate Black history through art, rhythm, and movement.

Featured Artists & Organizations

WombWork Productions
A Baltimore-based performing arts organization with nearly three decades of impact, WombWork uses culturally rooted theatre, music, and movement to support healing, leadership, and social change for youth, families, and communities. Their work transforms lived experience into collective storytelling and dialogue.

Brinae Ali & The Baby Laurence Project
Led by dancer and choreographer Brinae Ali, this project honors the legacy of Baltimore-born tap legend Laurence Donald Jackson (“Baby Laurence”). Blending archival history with live performance, the work celebrates Black excellence, lineage, and the power of dance as cultural memory.

The Funn Band
A crowd-favorite Baltimore band known for high-energy funk, soul, and groove, The Funn Band brings infectious rhythms that keep audiences moving. Their sound bridges generations and turns community gatherings into full-body celebrations.

Keur Khaleyi African Dance Company
This dynamic company presents traditional and contemporary African dance and drumming, honoring ancestral practices while engaging today’s audiences. Their performances invite participation, connection, and a deep sense of cultural pride.

Come for the history. Stay for the joy. Leave feeling connected.

This Black History Month, we gather not just to remember—but to move forward together through art.

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