This week’s news includes: Cara Ober at the BMA with Baltimore Magazine, Let Them Speak exhibition at The Peale, MICA announces a Master of Professional Studies, public art at construction sites, Rapid Lemon Productions’ ‘Variations on Silence,’ Baby’s on Fire to close, B&O Railroad Museum is now the National Museum of Railroad History & Innovation, the National Museum of Railroad History & Innovation opens THE PLAYGROUND by Snarkitecture, BCS announces cast of ‘Bocking,’ and Trump alleges “Anti-White Activism” at the Smithsonian.
Walk & Talk: ‘BMA Celebrates MICA 200’ with Cara Ober
by Kerry Folan
Published July 8 in Baltimore Magazine
Blockbuster shows are always a good reason to plan a trip to the Baltimore Museum of Art, but the institution’s smaller permanent collection exhibitions can be just as rewarding—and, bonus, they’re free.
Case in point, BMA Celebrates MICA200, which is currently on view in the museum’s contemporary wing. This compact exhibition features 17 works by Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) instructors and alumni—selected out of more than 500 in the permanent collection—that celebrate the longterm relationship between the museum and the city’s fine arts university.
The carefully selected pieces, plus others tagged throughout the contemporary wing, manage to represent the breadth of MICA’s output and impact throughout the past two centuries. The range is impressive, with painting, sculpture, photography, film, textiles, jewelry, and works on paper all represented. In particular, the exhibition highlights MICA’s tradition of pushing the boundaries of what craft can be—especially for socially minded artists.
‘Let Them Speak’ brings victims of police violence out of the news and into their lives before tragedy
by Baynard Woods
Published July 14 in Baltimore Beat
espite what a certain type of purist might say, art is rarely just about the paint on the canvas or the shape carved into the stone. And despite the boosters and critics of the art-industrial complex, it is more than museums, galleries, collectors, and mural programs. No matter how we try to reduce art to an establishment of gatekeeping and value-setting, it will always go beyond that.
As machines overwhelm us with artificially generated images inaccurately called “art,” we’re reminded that art actually serves a purpose much deeper than “content creation.” It has been — at least since the days when people painted representations of the animals they hunted in the caves of Lascaux — something closely tied to magic. Art is one of the ways we speak with our dead.
Maryland Institute College of Art Launches Master of Professional Studies in Game Design
Press Release :: July 13
The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), the nation’s oldest continuous degree-granting college of art and design, announced today the launch of its new Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in Game Design — a fully online, 30-credit graduate program preparing emerging and mid-career creative professionals to design, prototype, and lead the development of innovative games across platforms and genres.
Offered through MICA’s School of Creative and Professional Studies (SCPS) and delivered in a flexible, asynchronous online format, the MPS in Game Design equips graduates with the artistic vision, systems thinking, production management expertise, and leadership skills necessary to succeed in today’s global game and interactive media industries.
Keep artists in Baltimore by using construction sites as canvases
by Ariana Parrish
Published July 15 in Baltimore Fishbowl
As a licensed architect, stepping onto a construction site begins with a familiar ritual: hardhat, glasses, safety vest and steel-toed shoes. Inside the fence, I get to witness the literal bones of Baltimore’s future taking shape. I know the schedule, when new materials arrive, and the small moments like when contractors hang “Happy Holidays” in stringlights from the scaffolding for neighbors passing by.
For neighbors that same fence represents a barrier.
In development, community communication during construction is most often logistical. We tell residents where the trailers will sit and how parking will be disrupted. We treat the neighborhood as an obstacle to manage rather than a partner to engage. We ask ‘How do we keep people out?’ instead of ‘What do you want to experience during the years this site is part of your daily walk?’
‘Variations on Silence’ – unironically – amplifies voices of local playwrights with 12 new short plays
by Aliza Worthington
Published July 9 in Baltimore Fishbowl
Theater-goers and supporters of local playwrights will not want to miss “Variations on Silence” at Strand Theater, an evening of 12 world premiere short plays by Baltimore-area writers.
Taking place this year from Friday, July 10 – Sunday, July 26, this is Baltimore’s 22nd annual ten-minute play festival. The festival is produced by Rapid Lemon Productions, and The Variations Project is considered an annual highlight of Baltimore’s theatrical calendar.
Max Garner is managing director of Rapid Lemon Productions.
Baby’s on Fire will close — but owners and employees don’t agree on why
by Christina Tkacik
Published July 10 in The Baltimore Banner
Saro Khan paused during the morning rush to drape an arm around a co-worker and hug a regular at Baby’s on Fire. The owners of the Mount Vernon coffee shop, named after a Brian Eno song, announced Friday that it will shut down this month, leaving employees like Khan heartbroken — and furious.
In a statement posted to Facebook by the business, David and Shirlé Koslowski said July 19 will be Baby’s on Fire’s last day of service. They cited “significant losses in revenue due to the economic downturn.”
Workers say the closure comes just weeks after they announced plans to unionize. Barista Nick Rodriguez said most of the employees hadn’t heard from the Koslowskis, who live in Portugal, since Baby’s on Fire workers sent the couple a letter requesting voluntary recognition of the union.
B&O Railroad Museum changes name to reflect national focus
by Marcus Dieterle
Published July 14 in Baltimore Fishbowl
The B&O Railroad Museum unveiled its new name on Tuesday, rebranding as a destination for visitors to learn about the role of trains across the country and throughout history.
Now known as the National Museum of Railroad History & Innovation, the institution is “honoring our roots as the birthplace of American railroading” and serving as a place where people can “discover the past, the present, and the possible,” according to the museum’s website.
In addition to a new name, the museum also launched a new logo and visual identity.
National Building Museum Opens THE PLAYGROUND, A Monumental New Summer Installation by Snarkitecture
Press Release :: July 3
THE PLAYGROUND is now open at the National Building Museum. The 14,000-square-foot installation, developed with New York-based design practice Snarkitecture – and design collaborator Gluten – is the largest indoor installation in the Museum’s history. Through August 30, visitors can experience the Museum’s iconic Great Hall as an expansive landscape for climbing, building, gathering, relaxing, and open-ended play.
Using materials more commonly associated with construction than recreation, THE PLAYGROUND reimagines the familiar playground through inventive design and extraordinary scale. Scaffolding, birch plywood, cork, rope, and other materials drawn from the built environment take on unexpected new purposes throughout nine distinct activity zones. Rather than prescribing how visitors should move through the space, the installation encourages each person to chart their own course, revealing how thoughtful design can transform ordinary materials into extraordinary experiences.
“Snarkitecture has always been interested in the familiar made unfamiliar –environments that invite people to see and experience the world differently. The Playground reimagines the familiar experience of a playground into something unexpected: an invitation for people of all ages to rediscover the joy, creativity, and wonder of open-ended play,” said Alex Mustonen, co-founder of Snarkitecture.
Baltimore Center Stage Announces Cast for the World Premiere of Bocking, Presented by Lena Waithe
Press Release :: July 10
Baltimore Center Stage (BCS) proudly announces the award-winning cast and creative team for the world premiere of Bocking, running August 14–September 6, 2026, with opening night on August 22. Following the February premiere of trinity at BCS, which marked her playwriting and theatrical acting debut, Lena Waithe returns to Baltimore as the production’s presenting producer.
“Lena’s return to Baltimore Center Stage speaks to the creative partnership we’ve built and our shared commitment to championing bold, boundary-pushing work,” said BCS Artistic Director Stevie Walker-Webb. “We’re thrilled to welcome Lena back after the incredible response to trinity and to build on the momentum of that collaboration. Her continued support of BCS reflects a shared commitment to amplifying artists and creating space for ambitious new stories to reach audiences in Baltimore and beyond.”
Bocking’s story begins when two children innocently repeat something overheard at home, landing their very embarrassed parents in the principal’s office. What follows is a chaotic chain of events involving a preacher, a so-called gay exorcism and a mysterious chicken named Danalana Parmesana. As the situation escalates, long-buried secrets, personal quirks and social taboos surface in a fast-paced comedy that refuses to behave.
Trump Accuses Smithsonian of “Anti-White Activism” in Draconian New Report
by Isa Farfan
Published July 6 in Hyperallergic
More than a year after President Trump ordered his administration to investigate so-called “race-centered ideology” at the Smithsonian Institution, the White House has published a new report accusing museum leadership of promoting “extreme political activism.”
Published on July 4, “Saving America’s Story” was authored by the Trump-appointed Domestic Policy Council. Throughout the 162-page document, the council scrutinizes how the institution’s National Museum of American History (NMAH) portrays topics such as race, immigration, and gender.
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