BmoreArt

This week’s news includes: Tony Shore wins MASB Travel Prize, AVAM’s new director Ellen Owens, 2025 Baltimore Book Festival, Love Groove Festival returns, Plein air artist Jason Witte, Arewà Basit and Amy Sherald, Goya Contemporary at the Armory Show, Nourished by Time, The Wren on NYT 50 best, Doors Open Baltimore 2025, Smithsonian content under review, and HCC’s Horowitz Center celebrates 20 years — with reporting from Baltimore Magazine, Baltimore Fishbowl, The Baltimore Banner, and other local and independent news sources.

Header Image: Tony Shore, Sausage Truck

MICA Professor Wins 2025 MASB Artist Travel Prize
Press Release :: September 10

The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA) in collaboration with the Municipal Art Society of Baltimore (MASB) announces the recipient of the 2025 MASB Artist Travel Prize. This annual prize is sponsored by MASB, and the winner is selected by the MASB Board of Directors. “We are thrilled to award the 2025 Travel Prize to Tony Shore as he embarks on a journey to study the masters in Rome and Madrid,” said Antoinette Peele, MASB Board President. “His experience abroad will deepen his practice and bring new inspiration back to Baltimore’s artistic community.”

This year marks the 10th year of the partnership between BOPA and MASB to award the prize. “The Artist Travel Prize is such a meaningful opportunity because it recognizes that for artists to grow, they need the chance to explore, learn, and create beyond Baltimore — and then bring that experience back home,” said BOPA CEO Robyn Murphy. “Partnering with the Municipal Art Society to support this prize underscores how vital it is to have viable pathways for artists to advance their careers. When we invest in artists, we are also investing in the talent, innovation, and future of our city.”

ABOUT THE PRIZE WINNER: TONY SHORE

Tony Shore is a Baltimore-based artist recognized for his paintings on black velvet that often depict the blue-collar life of his hometown. According to Shore, “Issues of class have always been a part of what drives my work, my goal to elevate and recognize both the medium and the subjects. Velvet as a surface has extraordinary, almost magical powers to depict light and a deep, rich black that cannot be attained with traditional paints.” He plans to use the $7,000 prize to travel to Rome, Italy, and Madrid, Spain, to study the works of Michelangelo Merisi de Caravaggio, Jusepe de Ribera, Diego Velazquez, and Francisco de Zubaran — all artists who are known for their powerful and emotional use of light and dark.

Shore attended Baltimore School for the Arts, and received his BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) followed by his MFA from Yale University School of Art. He also studied at the prestigious Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Previous awards include the 2007 Janet and Walter Sondheim Art Prize, Bethesda Painting Prize, a Rubys Artist Grant, several Individual Artist Awards from the Maryland State Arts Council, and most recently, a Franz and Virginia Bader Grant.

His work has been exhibited at the Baltimore Museum of Art, Delaware Art Museum, Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, Noyes Museum, Ethan Cohen Fine Arts, Kunstalle Beacon, George Adams Gallery, C. Grimaldis Gallery, Gavlak Gallery, and Carlye Packer Gallery as well as many other galleries throughout the U.S. He has also shown internationally in France and numerous museums in China. He is currently represented by Anna Zorina Gallery in New York City. Shore is also a faculty member at MICA.

AVAM’s New Director Wants to Keep the Museum Weird and Welcoming
by Kerry Folan
Published September 4 in Baltimore Magazine

Excerpt: Since the departure of founding director Rebecca Hoffberger in 2022, the American Visionary Art Museum—a congressionally designated national museum dedicated to showcasing intuitive, self-taught artistry—has been searching for its footing. Hoffberger’s successor, Jenenne Whitfield, departed just one year into her tenure, sparking concerns in the local art world. Internal co-interim directors, temporarily including Hoffberger, have been filling the gap since.

But now, enter new executive director Ellen Owens, who took the helm in June of this year. The Pennsylvania native has worked at a range of institutions, from Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens—a visionary-art museum where she grew the operating budget from $160,000 to nearly $1 million as its first full-time director—to her most recent post, the Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University, near Buffalo, New York, where she doubled membership in just three years.

And though she has clearly earned her administrative chops, her background as both an arts educator and an artist may be her secret sauce. With degrees in fine art, arts education, and museum education, as well as her own fiber and painting practice, Owens is deeply tuned in to the experience of museumgoers and makers alike.

Baltimore Book Festival announces headliners: from near and far, raising the literary bar
by Aliza Worthington
Published September 4 in Baltimore Fishbowl

Excerpt: The Baltimore Book Festival has announced its headliners for the September weekend event in Waverly. Authors represent voices in literary categories like “adult fiction,” “notable fiction,” “nonfiction: politics and culture,” “nonfiction: music and art,” and more.

International bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater makes her adult fiction debut with “The Listeners,” a story of shifting power and moral choices that is already drawing praise. Her young adult fantasy novels have sold more than five million copies worldwide, so this adult novel debut has been much anticipated.

Jeff Chang is an acclaimed cultural critic and author of the groundbreaking classic “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation.” He will reflect on music, race, and the cultural movements that continue to shape America.

Love Groove Festival to turn grass field into celebration of Baltimore creativity
by Jenna Mattern
Published September 8 in Baltimore Fishbowl

Excerpt: A community festival this weekend will bring the arts back to the grassy field where a Baltimore theater once stood.

The 9th annual Love Groove Festival will return to Baltimore’s Robert C. Marshall Park on Sept. 13. The free event brings crowds together to enjoy live music, savor sizzling dishes from local small businesses, and explore artwork from the city’s own artists.

The festival location sits on the site of the historic Royal Theatre, which opened in 1922 as the Black-owned Douglass Theatre. From the 1920s to the 1960s, Pennsylvania Avenue thrived as a hub of Black culture, giving the community space to celebrate music, food, dance, and more.

How a Baltimore artist uses painting in the outdoors to connect with communities
by Jasmine Vaughn-Hall
Published September 6 in The Baltimore Banner

Excerpt: Jason Witte looked prepared for an adventure as he stood in front of a blank white canvas resting on a wooden easel at the edge of a grassy field.

Wearing tightly strapped hiking boots, a floppy bucket hat and loose jacket, he looked off into the distance at his subject, a robust tree filled with leaves that met the blue morning sky.

Cicadas buzzed. Cars zoomed by. But Witte appeared unbothered as he began his initial “mess of marks,” which he compared to the disorder of life.

“I like to paint these things because they can be gone,” Witte said as he squeezed paint out of a metal tube.

… this story continues. Read the rest at The Baltimore Banner: How a Baltimore artist uses painting in the outdoors to connect with communities

Arewà Basit on Her Amy Sherald Portrait and Alchemizing Trans Joy
by Ridikkuluz
Published September 8 in Hyperallergic

Excerpt: In the international queer community, Arewà Basit is known as a dancing, singing don-diva who makes music, performs in drag, and co-leads the Black queer production organization Legacy. These days, she’s also making headlines for being the subject of a “controversial” artwork by Amy Sherald. The controversy in question: a painting depicting her as the Statue of Liberty in a pink bob. In July, Sherald pulled her exhibition American Sublime from the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in Washington, DC, over concerns that the institution would censor her painting of Arewà. Amid the nation’s descent into fascism, “Trans Forming Liberty” (2024) calls into question whether institutions represent the state or the people — and whether they’ll ever learn from their past.

The Dallas-born musician, performer, and artist is no stranger to adversity. In an interview with Hyperallergic, Arewà explained that teachers often labeled her as unruly and disruptive for her “larger-than-life personality” and “ambition to entertain and to express.”

“Being a queer kid in Texas, I was often reprimanded for just existing,” Arewà recalled. “I was disciplined for being too effeminate, for getting attention that my family or people thought was unwarranted.”

:: See Also ::

Artist Amy Sherald, whose “American Sublime” exhibit is coming to the BMA, will be honored at the Human Rights Campaign’s National Dinner on Sept. 13
by Ed Gunts
Published September 10 in Baltimore Fishbowl

Daunted by the Sprawling Armory Show? Try These 13 Certified Winners
by Will Heinrich and Walker Mimms
Published September 4 in The New York Times

Excerpt: With its crowd-pleasers and safe bets, this big trade show tones it down for an uncertain art market. Our critics sampled the global art scene for these discoveries.

September is busy for the art world in New York. Hometown galleries open their most important shows, and a cluster of fairs bring together collectors and galleries from around the world. The Armory Show, which gathers more than 200 exhibitors from 35 countries at the Javits Center, is the largest, and it remains an unparalleled opportunity to sample the global art scene.

But while dealers and artists alike may believe in art for art’s sake, they also have to make it work as a business. And that business, at the moment, is wobbly. Though it remains enormous, this year’s Armory fair, the second since its acquisition by Frieze, is slightly smaller than last year’s, and it’s really anyone’s guess whether collectors will buy. So it’s no surprise that most of the galleries approached this year’s Armory conservatively, reaching for brightly colored, easily approachable art in well-worn 20th-century genres that will translate to Instagram. (There are also many dead artists, whose markets and perch on art history may seem more reliable.)

Along with several special sections, including Focus, curated by Jessica Bell Brown to highlight artists from the American South, there are enough fine artworks here to keep you occupied for hours. Eric Firestone (416) has a particularly strong group show; there’s an exquisite Raymond Saunders painting at Andrew Kreps Gallery (104); and the array of Gee’s Bend quilts and monumental Thornton Dial installations in the Platform section is a fair unto itself.

The real problem is the sheer size of the place. It’s almost impossible not to feel overwhelmed. So Walker Mimms and I went in early and chose 13 exceptional booths to look for. Your experience will differ, but it’s enough to get you started.

Goya Contemporary Gallery (426)

In rug-like concentric checkerboards and paintings of geometric pinwheel meander, the Guatemalan artist Alfred Jensen (1903-81) applies loud Op-Arty colors apparently directly from the tube, lining up gooey smooches of paint that, collectively, sort of vibrate as you approach them on canvas. If Jensen has a logic — as the sudoku-like numbers inside the grid of “The Outside Square, The Earth Plate” (1970) would suggest he does — then it is clownier than the exercises by Sol Le Witt that art-loving viewers might be reminded of here. Jensen is overdue for a retrospective.

Nourished by Time is Baltimore’s next likely music star. Here’s why.
by Wesley Case
Published September 9 in The Baltimore Banner

Excerpt: Tyler, the Creator scrolled his phone.

The rapper of the moment, asked to name some artists “you want more people to know about,” paused before shouting out Baltimore native Marcus Brown.

“Nourished by Time, that dude’s cool,” Tyler, who headlined CFG Bank Arena in July, told Apple Music host Zane Lowe.

Brown, 30, should get used to this kind of attention. The artist known as Nourished by Time has been a celebrated indie darling since his 2023 debut (“Erotic Probiotic 2”) and 2024’s “Catching Chickens” EP.

… this story continues. Read the rest at The Baltimore Banner: Nourished by Time is Baltimore’s next likely music star. Here’s why.

New York Times calls Fells Point pub one of country’s 50 best restaurants
by Christina Tkacik
Published September 9 in The Baltimore Banner

Technically, it’s not even a restaurant. But that didn’t stop The Wren, a pub that opened this year in Fells Point, from making it to The New York Times’ list of the 50 best restaurants in the country.

In a 150-word blurb, The Times’ chief wine critic Eric Asimov praised The Wren as a “perfect pub,” noting its well-rounded drink options and “food prepared with superb ingredients and meticulous care.” Co-owner Will Mester, using just a few induction burners and a convection oven, “produces lovely, seasonal pub fare.”

Among the rotating culinary highlights soon after The Wren opened in February were Mester’s perfect duck cassoulet featuring sausage from Ostrowski’s of Bank Street, and madeleines, baked to order and still warm from the oven. As a chef, Mester often favors offal and other lesser-appreciated cuts of meat.

It’s not for everyone, though.

The Wren “is a pretty left-field, idiosyncratic project,” Mester said. “There’s a lot of people that come in and look at the menu and say, ‘We’ll see you another time.’”

As they ran errands Tuesday for the pub, Mester and wife Millie Powell said they’d been fielding congratulatory messages from friends all morning, including those in Powell’s native Ireland. They had their suspicions that The Wren would be featured in the best restaurants list after a photographer from The Times came to the bar. “And because we’re so great,” Mester said.

Mester, Powell and co-owner Rosemary Liss opened The Wren in the former Birds of a Feather space at 1712 Aliceanna St. Mester and Liss also own the much-lauded Le Comptoir du Vin in Station North.

The only spot in Maryland to make The Times’ list, The Wren joins other, more famous eateries such as Washington, D.C.’s, La’Shukran, from James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Rafidi, as well as Emeril Lagasse’s New Orleans restaurant.

For a small business like The Wren or Little Donna’s, which was named to the New York Times list in 2023, being recognized by a national outlet like The Times, particularly for a list as competitive as the 50 best eateries, can bring both an influx of customers as well as immense pressure.

“The biggest challenge is just navigating that process of people who are giving you one shot,” Little Donna’s owner and chef Robbie Tutlewski said Tuesday. He initially considered turning down the The Times’ request to photograph the eatery, fearing that the young restaurant wasn’t ready for national attention.

Two years later, though, Tutlewski, whose restaurant was also named by The Times as one of the best pizza places nationwide, was able to see a long-term benefit.

“The New York Times is a gift that just keeps giving,” he said. The chef is friends with Mester, Powell and Liss and said he was delighted to hear that The Wren, one of his favorite neighborhood watering holes, had been recognized.

Mester said he didn’t share Tutlewski’s concerns about being in the public eye.

“We need all the help we can get, doing what we do,” he said. “It’s a good thing for us.”

One thing will change at the pub, however: The Wren will soon accept reservations, at least for guests who want to dine in the lounge area. “Reservations will hopefully make things easier for some people, or get certain people in that otherwise wouldn’t take a chance,” Mester said.

This story was republished with permission from The Baltimore Banner. Visit www.thebanner.com for more.

:: See Also ::

New York Times names Fells Point pub one of America’s Best Restaurants of 2025
by Aliza Worthington and Marcus Dieterle
Published September 9 in Baltimore Fishbowl

Doors Open Baltimore Sites Represent Urban Evolution
Press Release :: September 9

It is not uncommon for an urban building to lead multiple lives, built for one purpose, but serving many others throughout its existence. Many of the buildings participating in this year’s Doors Open Baltimore are examples of adaptive reuse, the renovation and recycling of an existing structure to serve a new function. Doors Open Baltimore, hosted by Baltimore Architecture Foundation (BAF), is an annual city-wide celebration honoring Baltimore’s diverse cultural tapestry by highlighting its vibrant neighborhoods, captivating architecture, and distinctive spaces that contribute to the city’s charm. Always occurring throughout the month of October, dozens of usually off-limits buildings across Baltimore host open houses and/or guided tours for the public to explore. Many sites and tours will be new in 2025. The kick-off for this monthlong activity takes place on Thursday, October 2, 5:30-7:30 at the Peale Museum. For more information, visit  doorsopenbaltimore.org.

“Neighborhoods and buildings are perpetually evolving, and Doors Open Baltimore strives to highlight success stories to inspire future growth, reuse, and love for our city,” says Baltimore Architecture Foundation (BAF) President, Kevin Miller.

Adaptive reuse embodies sustainability, creativity, and cultural continuity and is a way that the built environment meets the city’s changing needs. Driven by visionary design, several spaces participating in Doors Open Baltimore have become community hubs.

“The Rotunda was one of Baltimore’s pioneering adaptive reuse projects, turning an Olmsted designed corporate campus into retail, entertainment, and office space in the Hampden neighborhood,” reports Jillian Storms, board member for both BAF and Friends of Maryland’s Olmsted Parks and Landscapes. Other examples include:

• The newly opened Library 19 in Fells Point
• PS 103 (now Justice Thurgood Marshall Amenity Center) in Upton
• The Compound artists’ space in East Baltimore Midway
• Squashwise, located in the former Greyhound bus terminal on Howard Street.

To stay up to date on the event, check out the website doorsopenbaltimore.org, follow Doors Open Baltimore @DoorsOpenBmore on Instagram and Facebook.

White House’s review of Smithsonian content could reach into classrooms nationwide
by Makiya Seminera, Associated Press
Published September 7 in The Baltimore Banner

Excerpt: High school history teacher Katharina Matro often pulls materials from the Smithsonian Institution website as she assembles her lessons. She trusts its materials, which don’t require the same level of vetting as other online resources. She uses documents and other primary sources it curates for discussions of topics like genocide and slavery.

As the White House presses for changes at the Smithsonian, she’s worried she may not be able to rely on it in the same way.

“We don’t want a partisan history,” said Matro, a teacher in Bethesda, Maryland. ”We want the history that’s produced by real historians.”

Far beyond museums in Washington, President Donald Trump’s review at the Smithsonian could influence how history is taught in classrooms around the country. The institution is a leading provider of curriculum and other educational materials, which are subject to the sweeping new assessment of all its public-facing content.

Howard Community College’s Horowitz Center Celebrates 20th Anniversary Season
Press Release :: September 10

Howard Community College’s (HCC) Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center presents a milestone year showcasing the creative talents of student and professional artists. Kicking off with an exhibition from world-renowned artist Wonsook Kim, the 20th Anniversary Season offers a wide-ranging lineup of artistic experiences, including children’s theatre, modern musicals, classical music, contemporary dance, stunning art exhibitions, poetry readings, film discussions, and more.

“This year marks the 20th season of the Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center,” said Dr. Daria J. Willis, HCC President. “We are proud to be recognized as a vibrant gathering place for our community, offering high-quality, engaging, and accessible programming. As we celebrate this milestone, we look forward to reconnecting with longtime patrons and welcoming new visitors from Howard County and across Maryland to enjoy the rich variety of events planned for this season—and many more to come.”

Visual Arts

Internationally acclaimed artist Wonsook Kim’s exhibition “Visual Poetry: the work of Wonsook Kim” runs through October 12 in The Rouse Company Foundation Gallery. This exhibition calls patrons to step into the dreamlike world of Wonsook Kim, where poetic paintings, etchings, and sculptures invite you to pause, reflect, and rediscover beauty in the unseen.

“Art is communication. As an artist, I am blessed to be able to do what I love, and communicate my personal story through my pieces. I am honored to have my sixty-eighth individual exhibition as part of the Horowitz Center’s 20th Anniversary Season” said Kim.

A reception for the exhibition will be held on September 13 at 6:00 p.m. in the Horowitz Center’s Grand Hall.

Concurrently, group exhibition “Heroes” also runs through October 12 in the Richard B. Talkin Family Art Gallery. From personal champions to celebrated idols, the exhibition includes work created by HCC students, faculty, staff and guest artists answering the question, “Who’s your hero?”

Additional exhibitions for the season include the work of professional and student artists. More information can be found at HowardCC.edu/Galleries. Gallery hours are 9:00 a.m.–9:30 p.m. daily. The galleries are closed when the college is closed.

Theatre

Theatre enthusiasts can enjoy a wide variety of productions presented by HCC’s Theatre program this season, featuring Tony and Grammy-award winning musical, “Into the Woods.” This fan-favorite musical invites audiences to venture into the woods where fairy tales collide, secrets come to life, and wishes, wolves, witches, and wonder await. “Into the Woods” runs May 1–9, 2026, in Smith Theatre.

“This year’s season is brimming with adventure, laughter, and imagination!” said Bill Gillett, department head of performing arts. “Journey through ‘Anomalous,’ a pulse-pounding sci-fi experience that pulls you right into the story. Laugh out loud at ‘A Little Fight Music,’ a riotous stage combat musical revue. Discover fresh voices in the One-Act Festival, where student-directed short plays engage with bold experimentation. Be enchanted as Sondheim’s ‘Into the Woods’ is reimagined with dazzling new energy. And bask in summer magic with an outdoor production of Shakespeare’s ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’—free, under the stars!”

Family-friendly theatre is also on the horizon this season. The Horowitz Center is proud to announce Imagination Stage’s “Mother Goose” in a special presentation featuring HCC theatre students. Directed by Imagination Stage’s Director of Theatre, Kathryn Chase Bryer, eight classic Mother Goose rhymes come gently and tunefully to life through innovative puppets, props, and original music. Designed with young audiences in mind, “Mother Goose” is perfect for ages 1–5.

With the exception of the free, outdoor summer production, tickets to theatre performances range from $5 to $20 for general admission with discounts for students, seniors, and the military. For more information, visit HowardCC.edu/StudentTheatre or HowardCC.edu/MotherGoose.

Dance

The HCC Dance program presents three distinct events this season, beginning with the HCC Dance Showcase, scheduled for November 7 at 7 p.m., and November 8 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. in The Rouse Company Foundation Studio Theatre. The 18^th Annual Howard County Community Dance Festival will take place on Saturday, February 21, 2026, including the 7 p.m. HCC Dance Festival Performance Showcase, in Smith Theatre. The HCC Dance Company Concert will be held March 6–8 in Smith Theatre, featuring dynamic performances by HCC dance students and alumni, with choreography by faculty and guests artists.

“HCC Dance is excited to present a compelling season with three unique events,” said Elizabeth Higgins, HCC professor and coordinator of dance. “Join us to experience these dynamic performances filled with fresh perspectives and an eclectic mix of artistic vision that celebrate the joy of movement.”

Tickets for HCC Dance program events range from $10 to $15 with separate fees for dancer participation in the 2026 Dance Festival. For more information, visit HowardCC.edu/DanceConcerts.

Concerts

The HCC Concert Series welcomes the Morgan State University Choir for a special presentation on Friday, February 13, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. and the return of the Anderson & Roe Piano Duo for an exclusive special noontime preview with acclaimed Baltimore rapper and poet, Wordsmith on Friday, March 27.

“Our 20th anniversary season celebrates bold artistry and innovation across more than twelve concerts,” said HCC Concert Series Director, Dr. Hsien-Ann Meng. “Highlights include an exhilarating orchestra performance featuring Mozart and Beethoven piano concertos performed by HCC piano faculty Wei-Der Huang and I-Wen Tseng; the world premiere of a new work by Emmy Award-winning Baltimore composer Jasmine Arielle Barnes, performed by the Patagonia Winds; and a genre-defying collaboration between the dynamic Anderson & Roe Piano Duo and Baltimore rapper and poet Wordsmith—an electrifying fusion of classical virtuosity and hip-hop storytelling.”

The series also features performances from students, faculty, and alumni. On Sunday, October 5 at 4:00 p.m., HCC music alumni take the stage in the college’s 4th Annual HCC Music Alumni Concert.

Tickets for the HCC Concert Series range from $10 to $28 for general admission. Select concerts, including the alumni concert are free to attend, with tickets required for admittance. Discounts are available for students, seniors, and the military. Children ages 12 and under in the same family receive free admission with the purchase of general or senior tickets to the HCC Music Concert Series. More information can be found at HowardCC.edu/Concerts.

Film

The Horowitz Center is proud to welcome the Columbia Film Society as part of the HCC Horowitz Center family. The Columbia Film Society at the Horowitz Center offers ten Fridays/Saturdays of film for $35. Featured films include buddy road comedy-drama, “A Real Pain,” absurdist comedy-drama, “Universal Language,” and documentary, “The Librarians.” A full list of films and subscription information is available at HowardCC.edu/FilmSeries.

The HCC Film program invites film enthusiasts to join the Fall 2025 Film Discussions Series, focusing on the theme of “High School Yearbook.” From leather jackets to locker confessions, from rebellion to redemption, the American high school has been a mirror for every generation’s hopes, fears, and rites of passage. This free discussion series revisits iconic films from the 1950s to today that capture the evolving (and enduring) drama of adolescence. Offered virtually, the series is like a book club, but with films. For a schedule and full list of films, visit HowardCC.edu/FilmFestivals.

Horowitz Center programming is made possible through generous support from the Maryland State Arts Council, the Howard County Arts Council, and donors to the Howard Community College Educational Foundation, Inc.

The Horowitz Center Box Office is open Wednesdays through Fridays, 12–4 p.m. and 90 minutes prior to performance times. Visit the box office in person or speak with an attendant by phone at 443-518-1500. Email at any time to BoxOffice@HowardCC.edu. Visit HowardCC.edu/BoxOffice for more information.