Come celebrate Billie Holiday’s 100th birthday on Lady Day Way, winner of the 2013 PNC Transformative Art Prize. Featuring artworks by Bridget Cimino, James Eichelberger, Michael Kirby, Anne Kotelba, and Joe Rizza.

And, of course, birthday cake.

Tuesday, April 7, 6:30pm to 8:30pm.  Take a free nighttime tour of the murals, mosaics and painted screens that pay homage to Billie Holiday’s life and music on the 200 block of S. Durham St. between Pratt and Gough just east of S. Broadway.

Sunday, April 12, 1pm to 4pm. Enjoy a free block party, featuring a live musical performance by the Rhonda Robinson Quartet. Guided tours of the Billie Holliday-themed artworks of S. Durham St. will also be offered by the Upper Fells Point Improvement Association.

 

Meridian International Center – a non-profit based in Washington, D.C. – is now accepting applications for the 2015-2016 Community Engagement through the Arts Exchange Program for American mural artists. Funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Cultural Programs Division in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs with programming support from Meridian, four American artists will travel abroad to collaborate with local youth and underserved populations on community-based projects in the mural arts. Artists will design, implement and administer a 3.5-week, in-country program based on local community issues for the country specified. Projects should be designed to advance U.S. foreign policy goals in that country by addressing a local community issue, as youth or women’s empowerment, gender-based violence, social inclusion, regional stability, and the environment.

Meridian is currently accepting applications for projects in Brazil, Cuba, India, and Turkey. Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. EST on March 31, 2015.

Apply online at: https://www.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=2460&sortby=fair_name&apply=yes

Congratulations to community artist Iandry Randriamondroso on the successful completion of his B’MORE Birds project!

Over the course of the last several months, Iandry has worked closely with residents of the communities along the York Road corridor between Glenwood and 43rd street to create a series of five murals depicting native birds of the Govans forest patches. Last Friday, BOPA joined corridor residents, York Road Partnership, Govanstowne Business Association, Loyola York Road Initiative, Councilman Bill Henry and the Department of Transportation in celebrating Iandry’s work.

York Rd Mural Celebraition 002 York Rd Mural Celebraition 004 York Rd Mural Celebraition 018

ABOUT THE BIRDS

Rileys Beauty

The Oriole

4331 York Road

Baltimore Orioles are bright orange birds with black and white wings that sound almost as beautiful as they look. Their smooth, whistling songs are commonly heard in orchards, backyards, and gardens. Baltimore Orioles mostly eat insects and fruit, such as raspberries and mulberries. Their sturdy, hammock-like nests are suspended from branches high in trees, woven together with grasses, hair, spider webs, twine, and wool.

Gomez Tires 2

The Cedar Waxwing

4811 York Road

Cedar Waxwings are bold colored birds with rusty brown bodies, black face masks, and orange or yellow wax-tipped tails. They are often found in flocks, filling themselves with berries from a variety of plants, such as mulberry trees and honeysuckle shrubs. They are common in residential areas, staying in Maryland all year round.

Afrik Salon

The Red-bellied Woodpecker

5017 York Road

Red-bellied Woodpeckers are common woodpeckers found in wooded areas that have a red cap, black wings, and a warm beige belly. Their large black bill is used for drilling into dead wood to pull out insects and larvae with their barbed tongues. They also drill cavities inside dead trees to lay 2-6 eggs and raise their young over a month-long period.

Academy Cleaners - South Wall

The Blue Jay

5219 York Road

Blue Jays are the local noisy neighbors in wooded residential areas, with their loud jaaaaay calls that easily distinguish them. They are pale to bright blue and white birds that eat a variety of insects, nuts, and seeds. They also sometimes eat eggs from other birds’ nests and are aggressive at the local bird feeder. Blue Jay eggs are blue to light brown, within nests placed approximately 20 feet above ground in trees.

York Rd Mural Celebraition 016

The Black-and-White Warbler

5219 York Road

Black-and-white Warblers are small, black and white striped birds that live in forests. Often seen creeping along tree branches, they eat a variety of insect larvae hidden in the wood, along with ants and beetles. They spend the winter months in Mexico and migrate up to Maryland to breed in the summer, building well-hidden nests on the ground near tree trunks.

This project was made possible by funding from the Baltimore City Department of Transportation as part of Baltimore’s 1% for Public Art Program