Baltimore Jewelry Center is one of those local gems that attracts and retains talent to the city. The nonprofit makerspace offers workshops, residencies, studio space, and exhibitions to promote metalsmithing and all manner of wearable art—oft cited by some of our favorite artists as one of the reasons they’ve expanded their practice and skill sets.
Once a year, Baltimore gets the chance the show the BJC how much we love them at their annual benefit event Ornamenta. This year’s sapphire-themed party was hosted at the dreamy 2640 Space, one of those appropriately “diamond in the rough” venues that’s oh-so-photogenic. Guests dined, danced, and supported the BJC through raffles and a silent auction. BmoreArt’s own Cara Ober actually won a piece from Cindy Cheng, who we profiled in Issue 15, and who gushed of the organization “people there have an enormous amount of expertise. I get a lot of great comments, too, like a little think tank. It’s helped me to develop my work in a certain way that’s valuable.”
For those who missed the event, you can still support the Baltimore Jewelry Center’s ongoing “Fund a Need” campaign online, directly donating towards goals such as buying a shared tool for the studios or funding scholarships for BIPOC artists. I’m one of the only BmoreArt team members who couldn’t make it this year, but thankfully Jill Fannon could—capturing all the fun our coworkers had, and stoking the flames of my perpetual FOMO. Check out her photos below.
