Monthly Archives: August 2020

The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA) has announced updates to programming and events previously scheduled for Fall 2020. Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) health crisis, BOPA has postponed the Baltimore Book Festival until 2021 and Light City until 2022. Currently a decision has not been finalized for Baltimore’s New Year’s Eve Spectacular. While large-scale events are no longer possible in 2020, BOPA will continue to amplify the work done as Baltimore City’s Arts Council by developing virtual options for the annual programs Free Fall Baltimore and Baltimore’s Open Studio Tour, held during October in conjunction with National Arts and Humanities Month. BOPA continues supporting the greater creative community, working with artists, cultural institutions, state and civic organizations, and educational entities to find innovative ways to ensure that greater Baltimore continues to benefit from Baltimore City’s thriving arts and literary scene.

“The current health crisis has had a profound effect on the many wonderful aspects of the work BOPA does to make Baltimore a more vibrant place to live, work and play. Sadly, we have had to postpone our large-scale public events at least through the end of 2020,” says Donna Drew Sawyer, CEO at Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts. “As Baltimore City’s Arts Council, we are committed to ensuring Baltimore remains culturally vibrant during this time. Starting with the annual Sondheim Artscape Prize virtual award ceremony and exhibition in July, this month’s series of Art in August exhibitions and the virtual Artists’ Market, BOPA will continue virtual and innovative cultural engagement that will connect audiences with art and art with audiences.”

          In October, BOPA will present a hybrid of virtual and small in-person events for Free Fall Baltimore 2020, the annual citywide celebration featuring free cultural events during National Arts and Humanities Month. Also, the 32^nd annual Baltimore Open Studio Tour, which invites the public into Baltimore-based artists’ workspaces to view or purchase original works of art, will occur virtually throughout October with studio visits occurring live on BOPA’s social media. For cultural organizations and artists, applications for Free Fall Baltimore and Baltimore’s Open Studio Tour will be available soon.

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The Virtual Artist Café is a series of four artist talks featuring conversations between favorite Baltimore-based and national artists. The Virtual Artist Café is part of Art in August, a month-long celebration of arts experiences featuring Artist Pop-Up Exhibitions, the “B2020” Virtual Exhibition, the Virtual Artist Café, Saturday Night Virtual DJs, and the Artscape Online Artists’ Market.

The artists participating in the Virtual Artist Café are Akea Brionne Brown, Angela N. Carroll, Bishme Cromartie, Monica Ikegwu, Larry Ossei-Mensah, and Stephen Towns. Additional participants from the Artscape Artists’ Market will be announced soon. The Virtual Artist Café streaming links will be available here.

From cocktails to canvases, curation to couture, everything is open for discussion in the Virtual Artist Café. View the schedule and read about the artists below.

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Baltimore Composers Forum presents a virtual Miniature Concert.  Pieces of the concert—all one minute or less—are either videos of members performing their own works, sound recordings with synchronized score, or electronic pieces accompanied by visual images.

Watch the concert at www.baltimorecomposersforum.com either Sunday, September 27 at 8:00pm or stream it on demand once the event is posted.

For further information, text 443-613-8958 or email info@baltimorecomposersforum.com

This project is supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council (msac.org).

The Baltimore Composers Forum (BCF) was founded in 1993. The BCF mission is to support local composers by presenting concerts of their original works, promoting and facilitating interaction by local composers with other artists, performers and arts organizations and educating the community about new music. Since its inception, the BCF has presented over one thousand original works by Baltimore area composers. BCF’s public concerts have been organized around various themes ranging from traditional solo and ensemble pieces to interactive computer and multi-media works. We hope that you will consider joining the Baltimore Composers Forum. Our BCF membership form can be found here.

The SNF Parkway is partnering with Park School alumni and Baltimore filmmakers, educators, and community organizations to invite young people to create video diaries about their daily lives during this extraordinary and unusual summer. Baltimore Chronicles will provide an important outlet for Baltimore youth to share their stories and experiences while learning the craft of filmmaking.

Young people will submit short movies capturing their summer and submit them via a free application process on filmfreeway.com. Those movies will be presented in a screening on the SNF Parkway virtual theater platform in October and before a synchronous series of pop-up outdoor screenings of one Baltimore-centric movie located at sites around the city.

Submission Deadline: Friday, September 18, 2020

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The Asian Arts & Culture Center (AA&CC) at Towson University will present “Our Stories: A Virtual Festival“. This festival is a celebration on a global level, where artists can share and explore personal and cultural stories from around the world through narrative, animation, music, art, and more. It promotes the works of artists of all cultural backgrounds, and provides a space for sharing diverse artistic expressions.

Who is eligible?
All who have a story to tell.

What can I submit?
Any story that you would like to share.

Submission Deadline: Friday, August 21, 2020

When is the festival?
Begins: Thursday, October 1, 2020
Live Festival Times: Thursdays @ 7PM EST

Each selected story will be shared online on social media. A promo will go out for each piece. A recorded live broadcast/session will be scheduled with each artist. Each session will later be uploaded to view on platforms such as YouTube. The sessions will begin with a quick introduction, followed by the story, and will end with a Q&A with the audience.

Contact ktrehman91@gmail.com for more information.

“B2020” is an annual art exhibition presenting the best of emerging talent based and creating in Baltimore City. For 2020, the platform is virtual as part of Art in August, a month-long celebration of arts experiences featuring Artist Pop-Up Exhibitions, the “B2020” Virtual Exhibition, the Virtual Artist Café, Saturday Night Virtual DJs, and the Artscape Online Artists’ Market.

The exhibition unfolds the brilliance of artists Chris Batten, Ram Brisueno, Walter Cruz, Kayla Fryer, Andrew Gray, Moses Jeune, Xavier Lightfoot, Charles Mason III, Derrick “DJ” Smith, McKinley Wallace III and Will Watson.

The virtual exhibition opens here on Tuesday, August 11, 2020 and will be available until Wednesday, September 30, 2020.

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The theme for “B2020” is a presentation of Black, Male and Body. “B2020” honors the most important African American Curator and Director of The Studio Museum in Harlem, Thelma Golden. In 1994, Golden curated the very first large scale exhibition at a major American art institute, the Whitney Museum of American Art, depicting Blackness in America. The exhibition was titled “Black Male.” “B2020” celebrates this landmark exhibition and provides our Baltimore-based artists a platform to express their creative narrative on the Black body. Whether painting, mixed media, video or photography, “B2020” delivers curated voices in tune with Black Lives Matter.

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THE ART & DESIGN COLLEGE ACCELERATOR PROGRAM (ADCAP) at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) provides a pathway to high quality art and design college education for Baltimore City students who face financial challenges and are from diverse backgrounds.

MICA is committed to providing equitable access for city residents with demonstrated promise who are interested in pursuing a degree in art and design. Participating students will receive not only the advantages of MICA’s educational material and curriculum, but also receive the benefits of a dedicated support network and individual mentorship.

Students that identify as driven and motivated with the capacity for success in art and design fields—but who need support, direction, and community—are encouraged to apply.  The Program is free to apply and to all who are accepted. 

Apply and find more information here.