Visual Art
Screen House
This new series of videos from local film artists takes a hard look at locations whose pasts have been shaped by colonization, war, and forced labor. In this first collection, Tom Boram, Jackie Milad, Ariel René Jackson, and Ada Pinkston each draw viewers’ attention to places such as the former Confederate monument across from the BMA, a statue in Bentonville, Arkansas, and pillaged archeological sites. First series on view Aug. 4-29. Spring House at the Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Dr.
Music
Love Groove Music Festival
The Love Groove Music Festival returns this year for its fifth-annual event celebrating young artists and creating opportunities for them to learn, grow, and expand their networks. Partnered with Hot Sauce Artists Collective and Blueprints for Artists, the two-day festival at Baltimore Center Stage will feature workshops and talks with local luminaries such as Kondwani Fidel, Abdu Ali, and Gaia. Plus catch music by DDm and festival founder John Tyler. Aug. 27-28. Baltimore Center Stage, 700 N. Calvert St.
Literature
Writers LIVE! Dr. Leana Wen
Join WYPR’s Midday host Tom Hall for a discussion on Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health, with author, physician, and former Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen. In this newest work, Wen discusses some public health issues plaguing the nation today, including treating gun violence as contagious and racism as a threat to individual health. Aug. 5, 6:30 p.m. Online.
Theater
Steel Magnolias
Everyman Theatre returns to the stage in-person this month with Steel Magnolias, the beloved tale of six Louisiana women making their way through the highs and devastating lows of life, often from the chairs at Truvy’s salon. Resident company members Katie Kleiger, Beth Hylton, Megan Anderson, and Helen Hedman will be joined by Heather Gibson and Nancy Robinette for this heartwarming story. In-person Aug. 10 through Sept. 5, Streaming Aug 27 through Sept. 19. Everyman Theatre, 315 W. Fayette St.
News
Rebecca Hoffberger is Leaving AVAM
The founder and director of the American Visionary Art Museum announced last month that she will retire in March 2022, after 26 years at the helm. Hoffberger originally planned for her retirement to coincide with the beloved art space’s 25th anniversary last year, but stayed on to guide AVAM through the pandemic. An international search is currently underway to find her successor. “I consider myself the luckiest woman I know,” Hoffberger said in a press release. “It has been such a fantastic privilege to imagine, birth, and to help our American Visionary Art Museum flourish over these past decades, alongside the most wonderful hardworking staff imaginable. Every beautiful thought and opportunity to communally-inspire some greater good, we have joyfully undertaken.” For more on Hoffberger’s journey with AVAM, read our profile of the trailblazing curator.