Arts & Culture
Fall Arts Preview
In a season packed with much to see, hear, and do, we’ve selected a few arts events you should experience.
Poetic Journey
Derick Ebert made history last spring when he became the city’s first youth poet laureate. When the University of Baltimore student, who is almost 20, hands that title over this spring, he’ll be a published poet. His first collection, Search, is due out in December, and will include the poem below. The book will be available at every city library.
A VISION
I have a vision
of being euphoric
a feeling that’s foreign
let’s cop a De Lorean
return to Lord,
and
tell him—
he ain’t get this right.
They stole africans
like the Colts
stole Baltimore’s dreams
at night
And I’m trying my best
to feel free
but even that
cost a price
We
steal necessities
because of inequity
but they say
it’s a part
of “our” rights
like,
mines or
yours?
You can be shit rich
and still have thoughts
that are piss poor
Furthermore,
don’t tell me blacks
don’t do more
to be more
when
before
your greatgrandmother’s
grandmother
blacks were more
The Moors,
had created
street lights
while
Europe
was still
sleep tight
in the dark age
but this is something
we don’t teach,
right?
I have a
vision.
of being
euphoric.
a feeling that’s
foreign.
let’s cop a
De Lorean.
return to
Lord.
so we can
tell him.
that Baltimore’s
bushes been burning
for a long time now
and that you
still haven’t shown us
the way home.
– Reginald F. Lewis Museum
Ruth Starr Rose: Revelations of African-American Life in Maryland and the World
Opens Oct. 8, Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt St. Free-$8.
443-263-1800.
Ruth Starr Rose was an artist ahead of her time. The Eastern Shore resident saw her work during the early 20th century as a form of social activism. Her
subjects were the African-American members of her community, the descendants of Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, and she portrayed them with a
nobility unheard of during the Jim Crow era. This is the first major exhibit of Rose’s art. Her luscious paintings give you a glimpse into the life of this fascinating woman.
– Lyric Opera House
Street Scene
Nov. 13-15. Modell Performing Arts Center at The Lyric, 140 W. Mt. Royal Ave. Fri. 7:30 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m. $25-35.
410-900-1150.
Street Sceneis a truly American opera. Though its magnificent melodies were written by German-born composer Kurt Weill, the great Langston Hughes penned the lyrics,
and the setting is a tenement house on New York’s Lower East Side. It’s a welcome break from the genre’s traditional European fare.
– Baltimore Museum of Art
Center for People & Art and Imagining Home
Opens Oct. 25. The Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Dr. Free.
443-573-1700.
The finale of the BMA’s unprecedented renovation is the Center for People & Art, dedicated to connecting visitors to creativity and community. The
space will feature a studio so all ages can get their hands dirty and a gallery exhibit that draws from all areas of the museum. The first exhibit centers
on the subject of home. In a city of neighborhoods that fosters such pride in its natives, we can’t think of a better opening.
– AIGA Baltimore
Baltimore Design Week
Oct. 18-24. Locations, times, and prices vary.
Designers and design enthusiasts take note: A heck of a lot of inspiration and networking is headed your way. Started in 2012 by AIGA Baltimore—a
27-year-old collective of design advocates—Baltimore Design Week aims to promote design and connect professionals, enthusiasts, and patrons. This year’s
events include a discussion that explores the ad agency life depicted in the TV show Mad Men and a dinner at Fork & Wrench that features a talk on designing
the restaurant experience.
– Everyman Theatre
Fences
Oct. 21- Nov. 22. Everyman Theatre, 315 W. Fayette St. $25-60.
410-752-2208.
August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play focuses on family relationships and how dreams and opportunities are affected by generation and race. Its main
characters are an African-American father and son living in the changing cultural landscape of the 1950s. While the father’s aspirations as a baseball
player have gone unfulfilled, the son’s own athletic talent is just beginning to be recognized, and, as such, he views the world quite differently. This
groundbreaking, thought-provoking play couldn’t be more timely.
– Walters Art Museum
Pearls On a String: Artists, Patrons, and Poets at the Great Islamic Courts
Nov. 8-Jan. 31, 2016. The Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St. Free.
410-547-9000.
At the heart of the great Islamic empires—Ottoman, Mughal, and Safavid—were painters, writers, and craftsmen who created beautiful works of art for the
elite. This is the first major exhibit to focus on these artists and their works from the 16th through the 18th centuries, including jeweled objects,
textiles, ceramics, and calligraphy. Curators have organized the exhibit into a series of vignettes that draws you into the lives of a writer, painter, and patron, allowing you a glimpse into an exotic world of ages past.
TOUR DE ART
On October 10 and 11, at least 100 artists from all over the city will welcome visitors into their creative spaces for an event organized by Baltimore Office for Promotion & The Arts, called—appropriately enough—the Open Studio Tour. You can peruse the artists’ works, some of which will be for sale, get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of their creative processes, and perhaps get inspired to make art yourself. For more information, call 443-263-4350. In preparation for the event, we visited four artists with studios across Charm City who are participating in the tour.
Chris Kojzar | Resident artist at the Creative Alliance, Highlandtown
Mediums include painting, drawing, printmaking, wood design, and film
I like the openness of my studio. Right outside my door is a professional atmosphere of artists, while inside there’s an atmosphere I create. I get a response from my art almost instantaneously by inviting them in.”
Mina Cheon | Charles Village
New media
“Decades of work have culminated in a body of art that I call ‘Polipop,’ short for political pop art, and it has been tremendously fun working with current events and global news and media. As much as media changes everyday, this helps keep things fresh.”
Michelle Dickson | Resident artist at School 33 Art Center, South Baltimore
Mixed media, drawing, painting, and sculpture
“The most exciting thing about creating my work is when I’m experimenting with new materials or techniques. There’s this moment when something I haven’t tried before is working, or I’m getting something new out of a familiar material. I get this giddy rush—it’s great.”
John Dunn Ferguson | Cork Factory building, Station North
Fabricated metal sculpture
“All of my sculptures are made from Styrofoam models. . . . If I have trouble resolving a particular model, I draw it until I am satisfied. I then blow [it] up using an old-fashioned overhead projector and paper templates to the scale and size I want it. This is the real creative process.”