Arts & Culture
Teri Henderson is a Leading Voice for the Local Creative Community
With a warm, inquisitive style, her writing focuses on the overlooked stories of Black, brown, and queer artists, as does her curatorial work.
If you want to know what’s happening in the Baltimore arts scene, look no further than Teri Henderson. Over the years, the 34-year-old Texas transplant has emerged as a leading voice for the local creative community, from her time as a staff writer at Bmore Art and gallery coordinator for the publication’s Connect + Collect space to her current role as arts-and-culture editor at the Baltimore Beat, where her weekly event roundups have become a vital resource.
With a warm, inquisitive style, her writing focuses on the overlooked stories of Black, brown, and queer artists, as does her curatorial work, like this month’s “All Water Has a Perfect Memory” exhibition at Current Space, and January’s upcoming “Layers: The Art of Contemporary Collage” at MICA. Be sure to also follow her Black Collagists, a digital archive, as well as a physical book, dedicated to the multifaceted medium.
What is the magic of collage?
Sometimes it’s hard to afford to make art. Studio materials are expensive. Classes are expensive. But collage is a very democratic medium that allows anyone to participate in it. It’s a really fun medium. It’s tactile. It allows you to be present and grounding. It can be very meditative…
There’s a very basic definition of collage—using disparate or even discarded materials to make something new or whole. And for Black people, Black creatives, especially in the United States, there is this tradition of making something out of nothing, like soul food. With collage, you can have scraps of paper and create something that is magnificient, that allows you to connect not just with the material but also with who you are. And you can always collage over it. There are no mistakes.
You first got involved in the local arts through WDLY, a nomadic events platform for creatives of color. How did this eventually translate into writing?
In all of my work, I have just wanted to make space for people who might not have had it before. [When I started writing,] I knew Baltimore was a predominantly Black city, I knew the artists I spent most of my time with were Black, brown, and queer, and I wanted to make sure their work was documented…
Just today, I saw Tromac, an artist I recently interviewed, posting about being on the cover of a newspaper and how good that felt for him. Sometimes it can feel like your work isn’t reaching anyone, but then there’ll be an affirmation from the universe like that. I’m proud of what I’ve done at the Beat. And the fact that it’s free is so important. We want it to be for everybody, in the same way that everybody can collage.
The arts scene seems to be in the midst of an evolution. How would you describe this current moment?
I feel excited. So many spaces are closing, like The Crown is gone, but new spaces are emerging, and there’s this sense of solidarity as people organize around whatever the next thing might be. I’m really excited that Gatsby’s [in Station North] was bought by artists. I have a lot of hope because of the artists here. I just hope things stay affordable, so the artists can stay. I don’t want the city to lose its soul, which I feel is its artists, and the creative economies and communities that they cultivate.