Last month, the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts celebrated the incredible talent of young Maryland artists with an art exhibition at School 33 Art Center. The exhibition celebrated the artwork of award recipients in the Maryland Region Scholastic Art & Writing Awards competition.
Attendees at School 33 Art Center’s Maryland Regional Scholastic Art Awards Exhibition
Students, their friends and families, educators, BOPA staff and the community gathered for an opening night to view a dynamic collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, fashion and more.
While the gallery at School 33 Art Center is currently closed, we want to share with you a virtual tour of the impressive work of Maryland’s creative youth. We are working on releasing a full virtual gallery soon. Until then, enjoy this sample of the Maryland Regional Scholastic Art Awards Exhibition from the comfort and safety of home.
Baltimore’s
artistic community keeps our city vibrant and creative with art and
performances that can inspire, uplift and spark community change. Like many
others at this time, our artistic community is experiencing a devastating
economic impact due to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) crisis. As
Baltimore’s Arts Council, the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts is committed to providing necessary economic
support and guidance to artists, especially in times like these. As we look
toward recovery, we will need our artists’ creativity and commitment to keep us
moving forward.
The Baltimore Artist Emergency Relief Fund is a coalition-led initiative designed to provide direct assistance to Baltimore-based artists and creative entrepreneurs who have lost income due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Inspired by the generosity of artist-led relief efforts in Baltimore and across the country, this fund was developed through a partnership between 20 artists and arts organizers committed to working together for the collective good of the Baltimore creative community, and is made possible by administrative and funding support from T. Rowe Price Foundation,Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, Maryland State Arts Council, Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, France-Merrick Foundation, Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds, Grit Fund and Baltimore Creatives Acceleration Network.
The Maryland Arts Summit is the first of its kind for the arts sector in Maryland, highlighting the work that is being done through our communities. Dialogue, learning and networking opportunities will focus on the growth of Maryland arts.
The Maryland Arts Summit will be presented by and for the Maryland arts sector, which includes, but is not limited to:
Arts Advocates
Arts Educators & Teaching Artists
Independent Artists
Arts Organizations
Youth
Community Stakeholders
The Virtual Convening will now take place on Tuesday, May 26 through Friday, May 29
Presented by Maryland Citizens for the Arts, in conjunction with The Maryland State Arts Council, Maryland State Department of Education, and AEMS: Arts Education in Maryland Schools
MSAC has two upcoming Professional Development webinars.
Online Arts Learning Platforms April 13th, 4 p.m. – 5 p.m. This webinar will cover how arts educators and teaching artists can use various technologies for online classes, courses, and short form lessons. The webinar will feature a panel of experts about how to use three specific platforms for online learning (Jumprope, Kadenze, and Canvas.) After the presentations, MSAC will share a crowdsourced list of arts education online resources. Webinar access link here.
Funding Public Art Now! April 20th, 4 p.m. – 5 p.m. This information session is for artists and organizations interested in applying for the Public Art Across Maryland grant, offering up to $10,000 for either temporary or permanent projects. Recent grant recipients will discuss how they have adjusted to the challenges of implementing public projects amid the pandemic, and why they feel public art is still important. We will also look at examples of projects that can serve to inspire the public in times of uncertainty and social-distancing. Webinar access link here.
Reaching New Heights by S. Rasheem; Photo Credit: Asha Holmes; Art@Work, 2018; 4800 block of Pimlico Rd.
Despite all the bad news we endure during this health crisis, there is some good news. Many are discovering friends and partners have their backs. Individuals and organizations within the community are neighbors helping neighbors. Landlords and creditors are waiving rents and payments, there are food and diaper drives, Baltimore City is ensuring that children are fed and neighbors who never knew each other run errands for those who need support.
We are also joining together to celebrate our strong Baltimore spirit with the arts—vibrant chalk drawings appear on sidewalks, an impromptu choir sings from the front steps of their homes, young artists display their work in the front windows of their homes and yesterday, I even saw a teddy bear dressed to go to the opera. Visual, literary and performing artists are taking to the Internet to entertain and enlighten us. Even though we can’t gather the arts can still amaze and engage.
The arts community is also coming together to support our own. A grassroots movement sprang up to become a full-fledged coalition of arts groups to support artists from many disciplines who lost commissions, contracts, or had scheduled performances cancelled and don’t qualify under the current rules for unemployment or government support. These are the people that give Baltimore its cultural soul. They need and deserve our support for all that they give to enliven our City. The Baltimore Artist Emergency Fund launches this week and BOPA is proud to be just one of the many organizations involved.
You can read more about the fund, the amazing people who brought the fund to fruition and how you can support our community artists in this week’s newsletter or on the BOPA website. This partnership BOPA is privileged to be a part of is not just about the funding, it is about creating an environment where the arts community knows that we’ll always have their backs—not just now but always.
SEEN: 20 Years of Baltimore Music Photography will highlight photography, as well as video, show posters, and ephemera that relates to the past 20 years of Baltimore music history. The show will feature local musicians and creators from all musical genres and backgrounds (from local bands that broke big like Future Islands and Beach House, to fallen artists like K-Swift and Lor Scoota, to genre definers like Scottie B and DJ Class).
THE GOAL is to present a comprehensive and culturally inclusive overview of Baltimore’s vibrant music scenes from the year 2000 through 2020 by showcasing as many different genres, cultures, and forms of representation as possible. SEEN is curated by local photographers J.M. Giordano, Josh Sisk with a panel comprised of members of the Baltimore music community.
MAP will open the show September 10 – November 14 in collaboration with WTMD Towson Radio. Promotions are scheduled to kick off at TMD on August 13.
Note: There will be satellite partners hosting extensions of the MAP show. Those venues currently include: Metro Gallery, Ottobar, The Crown, Sidebar and Union Craft Brewing. For more details on these sites, please contact their representative site manager.
SUBMISSION DETAILS AND TIMELINE: MAP is seeking photography, videos, posters and other ephemera from 2000-2020 with an emphasis on earlier works 2000-2005, though all submissions will be equally valued.
Release Call to Artists: Friday, April 3 Application Deadline: Saturday, July 18, 5pm Deliberation: July 20- August 1 Selected Artists Contacted: Week of August 3 Artists Announced & Pre-Production Begins: August 10 – 29 Installation: September 1 – 9 Opening Reception: September 10, 6pm
