Take Part in the
Black Friday Weekend Holiday Bazaar
at the Eubie Blake Center, 847 North Howard Street
Sunday, December 1 – 1 – 6pm
Contact Cheryl Goodman at 410-370-8994 to secure a space
In the past month the foundations were laid for one of the main projects of Transit – Creative Placemaking with Europe in Baltimore: the European Artists’ Residency. One of the overarching goals of Transit is bringing together local and European artists, and community groups to explore together how three selected transit hubs in the three Arts & Entertainment (A&E) Districts of Baltimore are used by the public. Based on the outcomes of this cooperation the invited artists will create some artwork that will be installed in each transit hub.
The proposal deadline for the EU artists’ Transit projects was September 6. Proposals from Austria, Spain and the United Kingdom, were submitted and are currently being evaluated by a jury of representatives of EUNIC D.C., the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, and the three A&E Districts on the following criteria:
• Artist’s qualifications as demonstrated by past works and professional track record;
• Quality of the proposal based on artistic excellence and innovative approach, viability of the plans and suitability to the brief;
• Demonstrated experience of delivering work in the public realm.The Bromo Tower A&E District, for example, has formed an Arts Advisory Committee of district artists and stakeholders to review the submitted artists’ proposals. ArtPlace funds will be applied towards the implementation of the concepts developed by the artists in residence.The Highland Town A&E District is currently seeking additional funds to hire a Baltimore artist to work with the European artist. The selected European artists that will come to Baltimore for a 6-week-long residency from January to June 2014 will be notified in fall 2013.
The biggest development for the Transit project in the Bromo Tower A&E District in the month of September was The Future of the Howard Street Corridor panel discussion on September 17 at the Zion Church of the City of Baltimore. The panel gathered city development leaders and IBA Hamburg representatives, and HafenCity project experts to discuss the ways of improving the Howard Street Corridor. In the process, the panel used the successes (and failures) of Hamburg’s HafenCity project as a reference point. Upon completion, HafenCity, Europe’s largest inner-city development project, is expected to add 12,000 residents, along with restaurants and bars, cultural and leisure amenities, retail facilities, parks, plazas and promenades. HafenCity has set new standards for ecological sustainability and mixed use development in an urban area. HafenCity project leaders first conducted a walking tour of Howard Street, and participated then in a panel discussion with their Baltimore development counterparts. For more information about this panel discussion, visit the Transit website!
Earlier this summer Highlandtown A&E District held three well attended community workshops to gather ideas from community members for the Creative Placemaking projects around its three transit stops. These recommendations will be implemented in the form of public art, lighting and seating. Soon two calls for artists will be disseminated: one for sculptural public seating near the transit stop Conkling St. & Eastern Ave. and the second for a mural next to a transit stop at Eastern Ave. & East Ave. A Transit Steering Committee is currently being developed in the Highlandtown A&E District that intends to include Highland town residents from many backgrounds in the design process of the Transit project: refugee artists from the Baltimore Resettlement Center, immigrants from Highlandtown’s global community as well as teens and adults of many races, ethnicities and ages. Also, the Creative Alliance is working on new European programming – to further deepen the transatlantic dialogue.
Station North A&E, Inc. (SNAE) has taken on the role of activating the plaza of Penn Station, Baltimore’s primary transportation node. The plaza favors automobiles, and is uninviting to pedestrians. Through tactical installations, placement of street furniture, and artistic activation, SNAE is attempting to use its ArtPlace funding and other funding to reengage the public at Penn Station plaza. Several events have been held at the plaza, which have drawn thousands of participants. Recent plaza updates include:
• Baltimore City began providing free public WIFI in Penn Station plaza during August 2013;
• Thanks to a partnership between the Mayor’s Office, the Parking Authority, Amtrak, and SNAE, with funding provided by the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, Penn Station Plaza now features attractive tables, chairs, and umbrellas;
• Interboro Partners, a Brooklyn-based planning and design firm, ran a charette to solicit ideas for their public installation at Penn Station plaza, scheduled to be installed fall 2013;
• On September 20th, SNAE will partner with the Gathering and Baltimore Innovation Week to present an evening of food trucks, music, drinks, and adult games at the Plaza.
(Above two photos courtesy of Theresa Keil)
Another achievement is that the Transit logo designed by the Spanish graphic designer Marta Cerdà has received great appreciation by the Computer Arts magazine, which featured it on its September cover and in a several pages long interview with Cerdà. Computer Arts is one of the most important international magazines on graphic design.
One important thing one should always keep in mind is involving the community. It does not only help bringing together many different perspectives around a given topic, but also increases the acceptance of projects and planned city developments in a neighborhood. The updates, especially on the Bromo Tower and Highlandtown A&E Districts, embody this effort and are good examples of many different stakeholders with different backgrounds coming together to learn from each other and advance similar goals, such as the promotion and development of arts and the economic development in a district.
The focus of Bromo Tower District’s ‘Transit’ project is Howard Street. Once a bustling corridor of large retail stores, many of buildings along Howard Street now sit vacant. Hope is strong that the newly-designated A&E District will spur neighborhood growth. Howard Street’s light rail line, a major north/south commuter option, passes by the Station North A&E District, through the campus of the Maryland Institute College of Art, and terminates adjacent to a MARC (commuter train) station at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Re-imagining the corridor (how it is used by riders, how it integrates into t
he community, and how it is viewed by community residents and businesses), is an opportunity to mobilize urban planners, architects and artists, and engage community residents and businesses, to strategically transform the transit environment in the District. Utilizing ‘Transit’ the Bromo Tower District will create an accessible, unique, arts destination, and supply opportunities for dynamic and participatory arts experiences.
With those goals in mind, in the spring of 2013 The City of Baltimore, the Bromo Tower Arts & Entertainment District and the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts in collaboration with the Baltimore City Department of Transportation released a call to artist or artist team to assist with the replacement of old crosswalks within District. The goals of the project were to: install crosswalks that were distinctive and artist designed, but also compliant with traffic and safety regulations; and to improve the pedestrian experience, give better definition to downtown’s Bromo Tower Arts & Entertainment District, and add an additional public art experience in the City’s third Arts & Entertainment District.
The response to the RFP from the local arts community was extremely positive, and the District received approximately 50 complete proposals. Of course as with any project that engages the arts community, exciting and unexpected proposals are presented. This number was narrowed by a panel of community and city agency stakeholders to four designs. One for each crosswalk slated for renewal.
Once selected, the District hoped that the designs would be installed by August 2013. After all, the stakeholder group had included members of the arts community and District residents, a public art project manager, as well as officials from the lead agencies responsible for project installation. As the project began to proceed, it was soon realized that subject matter experts would also need to be engaged if the project was to move forward, including those specializing in the materials use and installation (for Thermoplast in particular) and traffic safety for pedestrians and vehicles. For all your due diligence, public projects involve a village of participants. Some you will seem obvious, others make themselves known as the project moves forward.
Additionally the initial goal of the project was to include 10crosswalks within the District. As plans moved forward, the projects total budget, which seemed robust at the outset, was consumed by costs to prepare the street for installation (an anticipated cost) and a Maintenance of Traffic cost that is associated with diverting traffic during the installation of any street construction (unanticipated). As with any public art project, be prepared to make necessary modifications to the budget, and perhaps even the projects scope.
The project moves forward, in spite of those challenges, in a more scaled version. Installation is set to conclude October 2013, in conjunction with Arts and Humanities month and will include a community event in the Bromo Tower Art & Entertainment District.
Join School 33 on Friday, November 8th from 6PM – 9PM for the opening of three new exhibitions!
SKETCHBOOK: curated by René Treviño
SKETCHBOOK is an exciting interactive exhibit showcasing the sketchbooks of a wide range of artists from the Baltimore area and from throughout the United States. Curator René Treviño says: “As an artist and curator, I love the idea of sketchbooks; they function as a safe place for an artist to collect ideas, hone skills, brainstorm and plan. Often they become rich documents that reflect a specific time or period of development in an artist’s practice. This exhibit is a relatively informal presentation of around 100 sketchbooks created by nearly 40 artists and the public is invited to flip through them…There is a lot of history and energy preserved in these books; they feel powerful.”
Point/Counterpoint: a solo show by Jim Hillmann
School 33 Art Center is pleased to present Point/Counterpoint, a solo exhibition of paintings and sculptures by Lotta Art 2013 Best in Show winner Jim Hillmann. The sculptures are made of fabricated (plasma and laser-cut) steel and are often painted with automotive paints. Hillmann began making metal sculptures in 2006. They are explorations of form, scale and color and the motifs and gestures in the work reference architecture, the figure and nature, although the artist prefers to allow the viewer to come to their own conclusions as they view the abstract forms. This is Jim Hillmann’s first solo exhibit.
Coverture: an installation by Christine Billotte
The term coverture can refer to both a woman’s legal status after marriage and to a protective or concealing shelter. Billotte describes her work as “visual songs of different psychological states of mind.” Coverture, an installation made of steel, monofilament, MDF and ceramics, is a physical space that can be entered and navigated. Within the installation the artist bombards the viewer with hundreds of suspended bright red ceramic cherries, at once obvious and subliminal.
We hope to see you at the opening of these three exciting new exhibits on November 8th!
Calling All Artists!
Belvedere Square, north Baltimore’s premier shopping destination, seeks artisans and artists to participate in its outdoor, day-long Holiday Market at the Square on Saturday, December 7, 2013. The Holiday Market promises to be a highly successful event attracting hundreds of shoppers; each week more than 1,000 customers visit the Square on East Belvedere Avenuenear the historic Senator Theatre. Artists must submit an application by November 10, 2013. The fee for a vendor space is $25. Event details and applications are available at http://www.belvederesquare.com under Events, or for additional information send an email to info@belvederesquare.com.
“As Lithuanian Hall of Baltimore is approaching it’s 100th year of existence it is time for the space’s revival and a reminder to the greater Baltimore cultural community that the Lith Hall is, and can grow as, a unique gathering place and cultural venue in South West Baltimore. This is a location where talent is exposed, ideas shared and history is remembered. “
To kick start fund raising for the Lithuanian Hall restoration fund, organizers are calling any artists, performers, and small business owners to join in as part of the performers’ line-up of the night or participate in the silent auction. Any type of media, form and creativity are welcome.
Silent auction submissions are due by 11.10.13
(for more info please contact lithuanianhall@yahoo.com or CLICK HERE: Lithuanian Hall Fundraiser Night Info)
Community Screens is very excited to promote our first free workshop to everyone in Baltimore, Maryland and beyond! Tell your friends, tell your family.
When: Friday November 1st from 4:30-6:30
Where: Brown 305, 1301 W. Mt. Royal Ave, Baltimore, 21217
Come engage in a lighthearted talk about media theory and learn basic tips and tricks of using Adobe Premiere. No experience necessary.
We can accommodate up to 20 participants with computers that have Premier installed. Anyone who can bring their own laptop with the program installed is encouraged to do so!
for questions please write to: baltimorecommunityscreens@gmail.com