This Week: Miguel Braceli at m/ Elizabeth Myers Mitchell Museum; Doors Open Baltimore ‘Love Letters’ Kick off at the Streetcar Museum; “Saving Etting Street” screening at SNF Parkway; New/Next Film Festival at The Charles, artist talk with Billy Friebele, Fanni Somogyi, Mollye Bendell at Towson U; Submersive Productions’ The Pansy Hour, ‘The Lines We Cross’ film event at The Lewis, Ronald Jackson in conversation with Myrtis Bedolla at Galerie Myrtis, opening reception for Jim Condron and Dean Kessmann at MONO Practice, Queering the Collection at The Walters with V Walton, Flashback photography exhibition opens at the BMA, and Ed Berlin and D. Watkins at The Ivy — PLUS nominations open for MSAC’s Heritage Awards 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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Ongoing through December 6
@ /m Elizabeth Myers Mitchell Art Museum, St. John’s College
Unburial treats absence as a site for learning and reflection. The void left by the Liberty Tree becomes more than metaphor: an art intervention transforms it into a place to be repurposed and reclaimed through rituals and celebrations that probe what freedom means today.
On the front lawn, where the Liberty Tree once stood, the artist Miguel Braceli has installed a 40′-diameter circle of cemetery vases filled with common wildflowers. It calls attention to the tree’s absence and reclaims it as a tree for all people, not just the privileged and elite (e.g., the Sons of Liberty and the four Annapolis signers of the Declaration of Independence).
In the museum, Braceli, with the help of a team of fabricators, created three enormous murals and two other works. The murals perform an autopsy of the tree. The largest multiplies the tulip poplar’s distinctive leaf shape across a 33′-long wall in a wind-swept swirl of energy (the leaves were made from stencils of the Liberty Tree scion’s actual leaves). A second mural abstracts the tree’s tangled root system into a water-bearing drawing (using PVC tubing) that sprouts purple carnations. The third mural’s subject is the tree’s massive trunk, which was cut to pieces in 1999, with much of the wood later finding commemorative as Liberty Tree guitars, conference tables, and bible boxes. Onto nine chalkboards, Braceli has mounted nine pieces of raw wood, each supporting live orchids. What can we learn anew from this tree?, it seems to ask.
The two other works urge us to turn away from nation-state identities and to look and listen more closely to nature. A sculptural ear is mounted onto the red silhouette of a rose petal, borrowed from the work of Columbia-born, Venezuela-based artist Roberto Obregoń. Nearby, a flag of yellow roses hangs from a flagpole that has been fabricated from a branch.
Doors Open Baltimore | “Love Letters Live” Kickoff Event
Wednesday, September 30 :: 5:30-7:30pm
@ Baltimore Streetcar Museum
Opening Doors to America’s Foundation : Doors Open Baltimore is your opportunity to explore the City’s Historic and Cultural Landmarks, and experience how Baltimore’s buildings tell a larger American story. Join us for the Kickoff Event, taking place on Wednesday, September 30, from 5:30 p.m.- 7:30 p.m. at The Baltimore Streetcar Museum. This casual evening of storytelling allows locals to enjoy light refreshments, beer, and wine as guest speakers share their “love letters” to special buildings and places in Baltimore. This evening kicks off a month-long event of free open houses at 50+ buildings that invite visitors to discover how Baltimore’s architecture and institutions reflect 250 years of liberty, equality, religious freedom, and civic participation. Additionally, guided tours will take place throughout the month of October.
“Saving Etting Street” Screening & Discussion
Wednesday, September 30 :: 7pm
@ SNF Parkway Theatre
Saving Etting Street is an award-winning documentary film that follows master carpenter Shelley Halstead as she transforms a block of abandoned houses in West Baltimore into a community of Black women homeowners. She calls her project Black Women Build – Baltimore. When tensions arise in the group and a suspicious fire breaks out, Shelley questions if the neighborhood is ready for her vision.
Hosted by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Africana Studies, this free screening will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Lawrence Jackson, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of English and History, and featuring co-directors Dena Fisher and Amy Scott, Tonika Garibaldi of Black Women Build – Baltimore, and Mike Bader of the 21st Century Cities Initiative.
Thursday, October 1 – Sunday, October 4
@ The Charles Theatre
The New/Next Film Festival, presented by Baltimore Public Media, was initially conceived as a reaction to the announcement that the Maryland Film Festival would not have a 2023 festival. New/Next drew roughly 3,000 attendees over three days during its inaugural festival (August 18-20, 2023).
The festival’s 2024 lineup featured diverse film work of international scope alongside new and repertory work from the Baltimore film scene. More than 250 filmmakers attended the festival, which featured a revival screening of “Babette’s Feast” hosted by the Baltimore band Beach House, the Baltimore premiere of Conner O’Malley’s “Rap World” and the world premiere of Alexi Wasser’s “Messy.”
New/Next returns to The Charles Oct. 1-4, 2026, while activations are planned for independently run venues in the area including Baltimore Improv Group, Metro Gallery and others.
New/Next was co-founded by Sam Sessa and Eric Hatch, with Sessa serving as Producer and Hatch as Programmer. Other key members include Associate Producer Emma Hannaway and Tech Director Patrick Kieley.
Billy Friebele, Fanni Somogyi, Mollye Bendell | Panel Discussion
Thursday, October 1 :: 6:30pm
@ Towson University Center for the Arts
Join guest curators Lynn Tomlinson and Danielle d’Amico and artists Billy Friebele, Fanni Somogyi, and Mollye Bendell in a lively discussion on the intersection of art, nature, technology, and human relationships. Billy Friebele is an interdisciplinary artist working at the intersection between digital, kinetic, and sculptural forms. Friebele is an Associate Professor of Art at Loyola University Maryland and received his MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art. Fanni Somogyi is a sculptor and writer originally from Budapest, Hungary. Her practice focuses on networking systems, modes of connection and acts of remembering. She investigates how humans and technology have developed a symbiotic relationship, which results in the constant presence of smart devices in one’s life. In addition to showing widely, Somogyi has had numerous public art commissions. She received her MFA in Metalsmithing at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, MI. Mollye Bendell is an interdisciplinary artist with a focus on immersive and electronic media. She uses the intangible nature of electronic media as a metaphor for exploring vulnerability, visibility, and longing in a world that can feel isolating. Bendell is an Assistant Professor of Art at the University of Maryland and director of the Maril Gallery. She received her MFA from MFA in Intermedia and Digital Arts from UMBC.
Enjoy the exhibition following the lecture.
Friday, October 2 | Ongoing through November 15
@ Submersive Productions
BALTIMORE’S HIDDEN QUEER HISTORY COMES TO LIFE
What if you could step through a door in Baltimore and into a queer world that history tried to erase?
Your visit begins as a journey through Baltimore’s hidden queer history—an intimate historical exhibit filled with stories of the people, clubs, and communities that flourished in the city during the 1920s and 1930s.
But this isn’t an ordinary history exhibit.
As you explore, the past begins to unfold around you, sweeping you backward through time and into The Pansy Club, a secret queer speakeasy in 1932 Baltimore. There, you’ll encounter performers, dreamers, lovers, hustlers, and other fascinating characters who have gathered together to create a little pocket of freedom in a world that doesn’t always welcome them.
Dance. Drink. Gossip. Fall in love.
And whatever you do, keep the secret.
The Pansy Hour is an original immersive theatrical experience from Submersive Productions, inspired by the real queer history of Baltimore’s Pansy Craze. Blending historical research, drag, cabaret, ritual, music, magic, and audience interaction, the production invites you to experience queer history—not from a theater seat, but from inside the story.
The Lines We Cross Fall Film Showcase
Saturday, October 3 :: 11am-5pm
@ The Reginald F. Lewis Museum
For over 250 years, African Americans have crossed literal and symbolic lines to
claim their lives, build vibrant communities, and challenge the nation to live up to its
highest ideals. Join The Lewis Museum in October for a day of film screenings exploring how African Americans have used their voices, determination and ingenuity to pushboundaries and shape the social, cultural, and political landscape of America.
A post film discussion with filmmakers will occur following most screenings.
Features Films include:
11 a.m. – 12 p.m. | Harriet Tubman: Vision of Freedom (54 min) –
Considered one of the greatest freedom fighters in our nation’s history,
explore the nuanced portrait of Harriet Tubman, the “conductor” of the
Underground Railroad, who repeatedly risked her own freedom and life to
free others from slavery.
12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. | In Search of Phillis Wheatley Peters (35 minutes) –
Discover the story that history left out. In Search of Phillis Wheatley Peters
is a documentary driven by new research that uncovers a largely unknown
chapter in the life of Phillis Wheatley Peters — America’s first Black
published poet — revealing the remarkable love story between Phillis and
John Peters, the free Black man she married in 1778.
1:35 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. | Kindred Spirits: Artists Hilda Wilkinson Brown and
Lilian Thomas Burwell (26:48 min)
In the documentary “Kindred Spirits,“ produced by filmmaker Cintia Cabib, Lilian Thomas Burwell recounts the life story of her aunt, artist and educator Hilda Wilkinson Brown, who influenced Burwell’s own career as a teacher and abstract expressionist artist. Their lives, artwork and sources of inspiration are presented against the backdrop of a segregated society in which Black artists created their own venues to publish and exhibit their work.
2:45 p.m. – 4:40 p.m. | A Life in Art: Through the Eye of Dr. Leslie King
Hammond (80 minutes)
The life and work of Dr. Leslie King Hammond, a renowned art historian, educator, curator, and artist, reveals a side of the art world rarely seen. Through studio visits and museum exhibitions, Dr. Hammond has dedicated her life to helping artists of color find their path to success with humor, ingenuity, and the extraordinary creativity that she and her extended artistic family embody.
An American Fiction | Artist Talk
Saturday, October 3 :: 2pm
@ Galerie Myrtis
Join us for an in person discussion taking place in conjunction with the solo exhibition ‘An American Fiction’!
Galerie Myrtis invites you to join our upcoming artist talk taking place in conjunction with the solo exhibition An American Fiction featuring Ronald Jackson. During the program, Jackson will be in conversation with Chief Curator and Founding Director of Galerie Myrtis, Dr. Myrtis Bedolla.
An American Fiction showcases new paintings by Jackson. This presentation marks a compelling new chapter in the artist’s ongoing exploration of identity, memory, and portraiture. The exhibit introduces a vibrant cast of characters drawn from a fictional narrative inspired by Percival Everett’s novel “Erasure,” alongside elements from its film adaptation directed by Cord Jefferson.
To be placed on the waitlist for this program please email Assistant Director, Ky Vassor, at [email protected]!
Visit our website for more information on the exhibition: https://galeriemyrtis.net/an-american-fiction-ronald-jackson/
Banner artwork details: Ronald Jackson, Greyman Dutch: Physician and Collector of Storied Relics, played by Dwight Jamesberry in AN AMERICAN FICTION, 2026, Oil on canvas, 66 × 55 ″ ; Image courtesy the artist and Galerie Myrtis
no idea but in things: Jim Condron + Dean Kessmann | Opening Reception
Saturday, October 3 :: 2-4pm
@ MONO Practice
MONO PRACTICE presents no idea but in things, a two-person exhibition featuring sculptor Jim Condron and photographer Dean Kessmann. Working in entirely different media, both artists turn their attention to the overlooked material of everyday life, where realism gives way to abstraction and matter quietly accumulates meaning.
Condron transforms discarded and recovered materials into hybrid sculptural forms that hold humor, absurdity, and beauty. Kessmann’s photographs grow out of his daily walks through the city, moving between recognizable subjects and pure form. Together, their work asks whether meaning is already there in things, or whether it emerges only when we choose to look.
On view October 3–31, 2026. Opening reception October 3, 2–4 PM.
For more information, visit monopractice.com.
Queering the Collection with V Walton
Saturday, October 3 :: 3-4pm
@ The Walters Art Museum
Join in a discussion with V Walton, local sculptor and teacher, and Dany Chan, Associate Curator of Asian Art at the Walters Art Museum, as they explore ceramic and sculptural works in Across Asia: Arts of Asia and the Islamic World.
Queering the Collection is a program series that invites artists, scholars, and visitors to participate in conversations that connect queer-identifying perspectives with the Walters collection. Speakers will discuss works of art in the galleries, followed by a Q&A session with the audience.
About the Speaker
V Walton (they/she/he) is a Maryland-based interdisciplinary artist and educator whose work explores Black queer embodiment, ecology, and disability. Through sculpture, installation, video, and performance, their practice brings a material perspective to questions of autonomy, care, and environmental stewardship. Their work illustrates the societal and interpersonal dynamics that build and break us down simultaneously, making multi-layered connections between clay (terra), nature, and the body. They received their MFA in ceramic art from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and their BFA with a concentration in ceramics from Towson University. Walton currently teaches ceramic art at the Maryland Institute College of Art and Morgan State University.
Flashback: Two Centuries of Baltimore Photography | Community Day
Sunday, October 4 :: 1-5pm | Ongoing through February 2027
@ Baltimore Museum of Art
Bring friends and family to celebrate the opening of Flashback: Two Centuries of Baltimore Photography during this free event for all ages. Explore the special exhibition, enjoy delicious bites, and attend artist talks in the galleries. Pose for a photo by student photographers at the Pop-Up Photo Studio by #micaphoto, facilitated by MICA faculty member Benjamin C. Tankersley. Get creative in the Joseph Education Center Studio and create a Time Machine Photo at the hands-on prop-making and portrait stations.
Join Valerie J. Maynard Foundation archivists Oreoluwa Ifamodupe Akinyode and MacKenzie River Foy for Preserving the Tangible, a special workshop.Participants will learn how the foundation manages its own photography collection as well as how to apply this process to individual collections, family archives, and community records.
Enjoy free admission to Flashback all day. Capacity is limited for the artist talks and the workshop. Reserve a free ticket for these events and the exhibition at the Welcome Desk upon arrival.
Ed Berlin with D. Watkins: BALTIMORE SCRAPBOOK
Sunday, October 4 :: 4-5:30pm
@ The Ivy Bookshop
Presenting the book launch for Ed Berlin, former owner of The Ivy Bookshop, and his wonderful new book Baltimore Scrapbook!
The Ivy is delighted to be celebrating Ed Berlin and his new book, subtitled Artifacts from Late Industrial Baltimore (1950-1980).
Thoughtfully written and crafted so as to be a true art object, Baltimore Scrapbook sets out to better understand the nature of the Baltimore experience.
This narrative and collection of artifacts from the latter years of the 20th century provides glimpses of a unique culture, forged by a combination of commercial ingenuity and civic pride. It depicts a working city at the end of the industrial era and the beginning of a new chapter as a thriving multi-cultural community.
Think of it as a doorway to an essential chapter in Baltimore’s history. And we can’t wait to step through it. We hope you can join us.
Click here to order Baltimore Scrapbook!
Featured Opportunities
Open Call 2027 | Art Omi Residencies
deadline October 1
APPLY NOW! The Open Call for the 2027 editions of the Art Omi: Architecture, Art Omi: Artists, Art Omi: Dance, and Art Omi: Music residencies is open as of Friday, August 14, 2026. The application deadline for each residency is noted below.
Through a competitive jury process, residents are invited to attend Art Omi’s residencies at no cost to themselves, except travel expenses. Art Omi offers residents the time and space to hone their own craft while cultivating a vibrant community of artists from around the globe.
Comfortable, beautiful lodgings and dedicated workspaces are nestled among the rolling meadowlands and woodlands of Art Omi’s 300-acre campus, located in New York’s scenic Hudson Valley, two-and-a-half hours north of New York City. Residents are nourished with fresh, prepared meals and immersed in a dynamic creative ecosystem flourishing at the intersection of nature, art, and architecture in our Sculpture & Architecture Park.
Heritage Awards
deadline October 2
posted by Maryland State Arts Council
Each year, six winners are selected from nominations in one of three categories – Person/People, Place, or Tradition. Each awardee also receives a grant to use at their discretion.
Vendors Open Call: Flying House Arts Fair 2026
deadline October 10
Flying House Arts Collective is looking for vendors to join the Story-Driven Arts Market of Flying House Arts Fair 2026. The Story-Driven Arts Market selects artists or business owners to sell their unique work; each vendor will be interviewed and showcase their art sketches, inspiration, and story at the event.
We are looking for artists of all kinds who take pride in their craft, value quality, and have a unique story to tell through their work. Beyond original prints and physical goods, we love interactive setups! If you do live portrait drawing, custom poem writing, or any on-site creative experiences, we’d love to have you join us.
Open Call for Residents and Grantees
deadline October 15
posted by Pedantic Arts
Pedantic Arts is thrilled to host an open call for applicants for our next two rounds of the residency program as well as The Grant.
Pedantic Arts (Pedantic) is seeking applicants for creatives and researchers to participate in the Summer 2027 and Fall 2027 Terms. Entering our sixth year of operations, Pedantic continues its mission of re-embracing the impact that education, study, and contemplation can have on artistic output by interconnecting creators, organizers, and critics. As the program seeks new residents whose practices engage visual arts, curation, and writing, this unique opportunity invites rich cross-disciplinary dialogue and collective, exploratory immersion within Pittsburgh’s artistic and cultural landscape. The open call is now live and concludes on Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 11:59 PM EST. A virtual Q&A session will be hosted on Wednesday, September 16 at 6PM EST. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link.
Located in an artistic epicenter of Pittsburgh, residents will spend four weeks housed in a hybrid residential and commercial building in the bustling Garfield neighborhood. As opposed to the typical expectation of output in residency programs, Pedantic emphasizes connections and conversations and is deliberately non-production focused. Each Pedantic resident is paired with a Pittsburgh-based guide working in a similar field who will help introduce the residents to relevant activities, resources, and local professional contacts. Two Residency Cohorts made up of one artist, one curator, and one writer are available for 2027.
Leonard A. Lauder Fellowships in Modern Art
deadine October 15
posted by The MET
The Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art is the only center for scholarship on modern art located in an encyclopedic museum.
Each year, the Research Center offers four fellowships:
a two-year Pre-Doctoral Fellowship;
a Post-Doctoral Fellowship, which may be one or two years in duration;
a one-year Mid-Career Fellowship for an established scholar with publication record commensurate with their career stage;
and, a one-year Non-Residential Doctoral Dissertation Completion Fellowship. Learn more about the Non-Residential Fellowship.
Fellowships with The Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art offer an exceptional opportunity to conduct focused research on an independent project while contributing to the life of the Research Center.
Submit Your Work: Vol. 20 Curatory Magazine
deadline October 25
Curatory Magazine and Collective is an international contemporary art platform publishing artist features, interviews, and curated editorial content across print, web, and social, reaching over 60,000 followers and 1.5 million monthly views.
Couture Tree Competition – Call for Submissions
deadline October 31
posted by Lord Baltimore Hotel
The historic and award-winning Lord Baltimore Hotel is inviting artists, designers, businesses and nonprofit organizations to submit designs for its annual Couture Tree Competition, a signature holiday tradition that transforms the hotel’s grand lobby and mezzanine into a festive showcase of creativity throughout the holiday season.
Those interested in participating are asked to submit an original tree design sketch to [email protected] by October 31, 2026. An internal panel will review submissions and select the most compelling designs to be brought to life at the hotel. Selected designers will then create and install their trees for display throughout the holiday season, where they will be seen by hotel guests, visitors and the Baltimore community.
The competition includes two categories — Individual/Business Design and Nonprofit Organization Design — with the winner of each receiving a $500 grand prize. Winners will be determined through a guest vote during the hotel’s private holiday celebration on Wednesday, Dec. 2.
First held in 2015, the Couture Tree Competition has become a hallmark of the holiday season at the Lord Baltimore Hotel, bringing together Baltimore’s creative, business and nonprofit communities and offering participants the opportunity to showcase original designs within one of the city’s most historic hotels.
In addition to displaying the couture trees, the Lord Baltimore Hotel will host the Holiday Shoppe, a pop-up holiday boutique featuring local artisans with handcrafted gifts and art and local small businesses from December 18-20, and will feature a special holiday-themed drag brunch by Poe’s Magic Theatre.
For questions or additional information about participating in the 2026 Couture Tree Competition, contact Lee Johnson-Lowe at 410-659-3096 or [email protected].
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