BmoreArt’s Highlights: January 13-19
This Week: Be sure to attend the opening reception for Ken Friedman at m/ (Elizabeth Myers Mitchell Art Museum), the debut of Beth Yashnyk’s work at Julio Fine Arts, a panel discussion featuring Myrtis Bedolla at the Aspen Institute, the opening of Julia Kim Smith’s exhibition at Waller Gallery, a curator’s talk on Dara Lorenzo’s exhibit at Rosenberg Gallery, and various celebrations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. throughout the city at locations like The Walters Art Museum, St. David’s Church, the American Visionary Art Museum, the Lewis Museum, and Symphony Hall. Don’t forget to apply for the 2026 Baker Artist Awards along with other exciting opportunities!
BmoreArt’s Picks showcases the most significant art openings, performances, and events taking place in Baltimore and its neighboring areas each week. For a more detailed view, explore the BmoreArt Calendar page, which includes ongoing exhibitions and performances and is regularly updated.
If you want to submit an event for our calendar, please reach out to us at events@bmoreart.com!
Ken Friedman: 92 Events | Opening Reception
Wednesday, January 14 :: 6-7:30pm
@ /m (Elizabeth Myers Mitchell Art Museum, St. John’s College Annapolis)
The exhibition Ken Friedman: 92 Events features instruction-based artworks created over six decades by the renowned Sweden-based American Fluxus artist Ken Friedman. Attendees are encouraged to bring these art pieces to life, not just in thought but in action.
This exhibition also highlights contributions from various artists, including Austin Sposato (in collaboration with Chip Noland & Jeremy Olsen), David and Tara Gladden, Eric Leshinsky, Leslie Rose, Robert Haywood, Robert W. Madden, Roderick Mincher, Ruben Dobbs (film by Alison Harbaugh), Sammy Young, Tom Levine, and Wilfredo Valladares.
Admission is free!
The exhibition runs from January 15 to April 5, 2026.
Can You Give Me a Hand? A Solo Exhibition by Beth Yashnyk | Opening Reception with Remarks
Thursday, January 15 :: 5-7pm
@ Julio Fine Arts Gallery
Exhibition on view: January 12 – February 13, 2026
The Julio Fine Arts Gallery is thrilled to unveil a new exhibition featuring Beth Yashnyk, our latest faculty addition in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts. Since her arrival in fall 2025 as an Assistant Professor of Studio Art, her work has drawn inspiration from media and pop culture through diverse mediums like drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, and animation, crafting surreal narratives and environments. Yashnyk’s recent research focuses on integrating mechanical movement and automata into her interactive pieces, challenging traditional exhibition norms.
In this exhibition, Can You Give Me a Hand?, she delves into the concept of touch through various physically, socially, and digitally constructed elements, highlighting the contrasts between individual identity and our shared humanity. This exploration urges viewers to contemplate the formation, projection, and distortion of identities. Touch, communicated through imagery of hands and mouths alongside diverse textures and materials, serves as a fundamental aspect of her work. By employing wood, plexiglass, silicone, paint, and animation, she carefully layers contrasting images and materials, examining how touch can evoke feelings ranging from pleasure to discomfort and connection.
Art Diplomacy and the Politics of Return
Thursday, January 15 :: 5:15pm
@ Aspen Institute (DC)
This event addresses how new legislation is shaping the future and ethical considerations surrounding cultural heritage.
Join the Aspen Institute and Shook, Hardy, Bacon LLP for an engaging public conversation about the movement and return of artworks and cultural artifacts. With contemporary international laws emerging in the U.K., E.U., and beyond, this conversation will examine how museums, governments, and communities are confronting pivotal questions regarding history, access, and cultural identity.
Featuring:
Dr. Chase F. Robinson, Director, Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art
Channah Norman, Co-Chair, Art Law Practice, Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP
Myrtis Bedolla, Founder, Galerie Myrtis
Moderated by:
Prof. Mark Vlasic, Adjunct Professor of Law & Public Policy, Georgetown; Founder, Madison Law & Strategy Group; former advisor to the Director-General of UNESCO; Executive Producer of BLOOD & TREASURE for CBS and Prime.
Discover more of this week’s highlights at BmoreArt.
