Author Archives: Bopa Communications

“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.

We look to the arts for many reasons: for enjoyment, escape, inspiration, insight. Artists and their creative narratives help us to understand and learn about the world around us, and art can help us navigate through these challenging times. Though museums and galleries, theaters and cultural gathering places may be closed, we are all committed to continuing, and even expanding, arts engagement on virtual platforms that bring art to your home. For the visual arts, virtual exhibitions will continue to be a part of the present and the future.

Next week, as part of our Art in August programming, we are proud to launch the opening of “B2020,” our first BOPA curated virtual exhibition which features the work of Baltimore-based emerging artists. “B2020” centers around the theme of Black, Male and Body as a powerful response to the present moment. The exhibition is presented in honor of a landmark moment in art history: the 1994 exhibition “Black Male,” curated by Thelma Golden at the Whitney Museum of American Art, a revelatory exhibition that has inspired artists and curators since. But even though “Black Male” opened more than twenty-five years ago, this topic remains timely in our nation’s continuing struggle against racism. “B2020” gives a platform to the creative voices of eleven emerging artists from Baltimore whose works of art – painting, performance, photography and more – reflect history and today at once.

It is our hope that this exhibition inspires thoughtful conversation and discussion and enables us to engage with and learn from our talented Baltimore-based artists. We will continue to respond to our present moment by shifting toward virtual art experiences, just as artists and creatives continue to respond through artwork that challenges and inspires us.

Join us in celebrating the work of these gifted artists. “B2020” opens on Tuesday, August 11 on the groundbreaking Kunstmatrix virtual art gallery platform. As reminder, the 2020 Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize Finalists’ Exhibition remains on view on Kuntstmatrix through August. Enjoy.

Donna Drew Sawyer
CEO, Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts

The Artist Pop-Up Exhibitions are a series of outdoor galleries providing the opportunity for artists to show their work, expand their network, and generate sales while offering a safe and socially distanced gallery experience outdoors. The artists participating are AMBROSE, Marie Amegah, Italo De Dea, McKinley Wallace III and Will Watson.

The Artist Pop-Up Series is part of Art in August, a month-long celebration of art experiences featuring Artist Pop-Up Exhibitions, the B2020 Virtual Exhibition, the Virtual Artist Café, and Saturday NightVirtual DJs.

These programs lead up to and occur during the Artscape Online Artists’ Market, which opens for business virtually from Friday, August 21 to Sunday, August 30, 2020. 

Take a look at a few photos from the first weekend of the Artist Pop-Up Exhibitions, featuring the work of Will Watson:

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Baltimore National Heritage Area now offers Virtual Highlight Walking Tours! These fun and fast highlight tours with the Urban Rangers will take you on a journey through Baltimore filled with history, famous people, anecdotes, art and information from the comfort of your home and accessible on all of your devices.

Watch the virtual highlight walking tours below!

Heritage Walk with Urban Ranger Montgomery Phair

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The Baltimore Museum of Art has announced new exhibitions and videos to the BMA Salon & BMA Screening Room.

The BMA Salon expands with new online exhibitions from seven more Baltimore-based galleries and artist collectives, providing financial support and visibility to ensure the longer-term success of Baltimore’s arts community. The presentations include images and details about the featured artworks available for purchase, background on the presenting organization, and contact details to access further information. Each gallery and collective will handle their own transactions and keep the proceeds in full. The BMA Salon was established with the vision to cultivate new audiences for participants and enhance their networks. The BMA has provided each participant with $2,500 as an organizing fee to support their work in creating the presentations.

The BMA Screening Room has expanded with 26 new videos by 14 Baltimore-based and Baltimore-born artists, bringing the total to 74 video works created by 35 artists on the website. All of these works will live as part of an evolving online repository, providing increased exposure for the artists during a moment when there are few exhibition opportunities and offering the museum’s audiences new dynamic content with which to engage. The BMA paid each participating artist a licensing fee, ranging from $500 to $750, to feature their work as part of the new platform. The BMA Screening Room is slated to feature 50 artists, adding artists and videos through time.

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KEYS Empowers & ART WITH A HEART have teamed together to provide creative therapy sessions for children who have survived these historically traumatic times. Together, they have pulled together Art Boxes to deliver to families across Baltimore in need.

You can sponsor an art box today here.

If you have new or gently used art supplies you’re looking to donate, please drop them at these addresses:

East Baltimore – 1430 Carswell st Baltimore MD 21218, (9am – 6pm, Monday – Friday)

West Baltimore – 7501 Liberty Rd Baltimore MD 21207, (9am – 6pm, Monday – Friday)

More information is available here.