CREATIVE ALLIANCE | Baltimore, MD
Exhibition Opening: THU SEP 26 | 6-9PM
On View: THU SEP 26 – SAT  NOV 30

TENT | Rotterdam, The Netherlands | Spring 2025

Creative Alliance, TENT Rotterdam, and Baltimore-Rotterdam Sister City Committee, present Walk On By: an exhibition and a cultural exchange that connects Black artists, their diverse experiences, and artwork, across the Atlantic. Explore the Black Atlantic through the diverse stories of local artists in the historical port cities of Baltimore and Rotterdam, through exhibitions in both countries and an exchange program.

Featuring works by Schaun Champion (Baltimore), Charles Mason III (Baltimore), Naomi King (Rotterdam), kolpeace (Baltimore), Djon Seedorf (Rotterdam), and Tarona (Rotterdam).

Curated by Joy Davis, Visual Arts Director at Creative Alliance and founder of Waller Gallery.

The exhibition and artists exchange Walk On By explores the African diaspora in two historic industrial port cities, Baltimore and Rotterdam, through the many-layered and diverse stories that local artists can tell. In collaboration with Creative Alliance (Baltimore) and TENT (Rotterdam), Baltimore-based curator Joy Davis bridges conversations between different Black diasporic communities and art practices within their expansive mediums. The Walk On By exhibition and cultural exchange is in response to the Dionne Warwick song of the same name that parallels the necessity to commune and communicate with one’s community.

Walk On By begins its journey this September in Baltimore at Creative Alliance, and then travels to Rotterdam in the spring of 2025. Participating artists travel to each city during the exhibitions to experience the culture, engage with the community and artists, and create lasting connections across the Atlantic.

Walk On By explores the similarities between Baltimore & Rotterdam and the cities’ relationships with Black community members and artists. The project provides a unique opportunity for African American and Afro Dutch artists to travel abroad, build international networks, gain international exposure, and benefit from professional development opportunities. The organizations involved hope to build a deeper level of connection that can then be extended long beyond the project. In a world that is becoming increasingly polarized and hate-filled, we believe that in-person, cross-cultural exchanges like Walk On By help foster empathy and understanding.