This Friday, Baltimore City Council President Brandon Scott will be live on Facebook with special guests, Lady Brion, national spoken word artist and the Executive Director of the Black Arts District, Maggie Villegas, the Executive Director of BCAN – Baltimore Creatives Acceleration Network, and Ernest Shaw, Baltimore muralist, painter and educator. They will be discussing the effects COVID-19 has on the arts and creative community, how artists are working through this pandemic, and initiatives that are taking place to help and protect the artist in Baltimore.
Visit Facebook to watch live, Friday, May 15 at 7:00 PM.
The term social distancing is a new and necessary part of our COVID-19 vocabulary. The concept keeps us safe but also keeps us apart. It has forced us to find new ways to engage with each other—to find ways to remain social but from a distance. The arts were made for this. Consider that while in a museum hopefully the art touches your heart, your soul, and your mind—you look but never physically touch. Music and performance art resonate physically though you only watch and listen. You may never share space with a poet or a writer, but you may share a deep and lasting connection with their words.
With the closure of places like art galleries, theaters, and even street theater in a time of social distancing—we still have opportunities to continue to share and be touched through cultural initiatives like BOPA’s #IAmBaltimoreArt featuring the work of Baltimore-based artists. As they share their work and words about their art, the initiative becomes a series of profound touches and a way to circumvent the confines of social distancing without risking our health. Learn more about #IAmBaltimoreArt and other cultural and community touches in this week’s BOPA newsletter.
Be well and stay safe and engaged—even from a distance.
The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company (CSC) is excited to bring you a new video series PAST IS PROLOGUE, where each week CSC’s Founding Artistic Director Ian Gallanar will bring you stories and reflections from some of the world’s leading Shakespeare artists, educators, and fans.
EPISODE 1: A CONVERSATION WITH PATRICK SPOTTISWOODE FROM SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE
What can we learn from the past to create our future? Ian Gallanar, Founding Artistic Director of Chesapeake Shakespeare Company and President of the Shakespeare Theatre Association, explores this question with leading Shakespeare artists to share lessons learned while working with the Bard’s canon and why his plays still capture our imagination.
Subscribe to the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s YouTube channel to get new episodes delivered each week!
Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young recently announced COVID-19 Small Business Assistance Initiative, which establishes the COVID-19 Small Business Task Force, a public-private partnership, and a $5.5 million fund to provide financial assistance to small businesses, as well as other resources and guidelines to help businesses reopen, without compromising public health, once the State of Emergency is lifted. More information about the initiative can be found here.
Small Business Assistance Fund Grants
The Baltimore Development Corporation is now accepting grant applications for the Small Business Assistance Fund until May 15, 2020 at 11:59 PM. Grants WILL NOT BE AWARDED ON A FIRST-COME FIRST- SERVED BASIS. All applications received during the Grant Application Period will be considered. Any applications received after the end date will not be considered. Please review the documents below regarding eligibility and other requirements:
M:BRACE is a FREE professional development series for Maryland’s creative education force: Arts Educators, Arts Integration Teachers, and Teaching Artists.
Expert facilitators will examine the intersections of art and wellness by exploring creative practices to keep us open, curious and reflective during COVID-19.
For the workshops, space is limited, so register early to reserve your spot in the workshop/s of your choice. After registration, you will receive a Google Hangouts link to the online session.
Partnership of the Fine Arts Office of the Maryland State Department of Education and Arts Education in Maryland Schools Alliance.
The Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) announces the “Women and Nature” exhibition, its first online exhibition. Over the next few weeks, MSAC will be highlighting 25 featured visual artists from all across Maryland on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Take a look at a couple of the highlighted artists below, including Maryland’s First Lady Yumi Hogan.
From left: Special invited artist, First Lady of Maryland Yumi Hogan; Anna Fine Foer (Baltimore City) @afineartiste, annafineart.com 𝘛𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘢 𝘊𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘢. Collage, hand-coloring. 24”h x 35”w, 1998
The full virtual exhibition is also included below and available here.
