BmoreArt’s Highlights: January 20-26
This Week’s Events: Look forward to an engaging discussion with Savannah Wood and Teri Henderson, moderated by Siân Evans at Peabody Library, MICA’s Bicentennial Opening Celebration, the finale event for A Lake in a Desert at the MICA Brown Center, the opening reception for ARTificial at MAP, an abdu mongo ali performance at the BMA, a presentation by Jennifer Blades and Diane Kinsley titled “In the Stacks” at Peabody Library, Vibes in Mt. Vernon at Center Stage, Pangelica’s album release at Ottobar, NMWA Art Chat featuring Tawny Chatmon, the opening and panel discussion for Living Lumbee Legacies at Kent Cultural Alliance, the opening reception for Rich in What They Can’t Measure at Gormley Gallery, plus an artist talk with Nate GSki at Quid Nunc Gallery — and don’t miss the call for performers for Asia North 2026 among other exciting opportunities!
BmoreArt’s Picks highlights the most exciting art openings, events, and performances taking place in Baltimore and its neighboring areas. For a more detailed look, please visit our BmoreArt Calendar page, which is regularly updated with ongoing exhibitions and performances.
If you would like to promote your event, feel free to reach out to us at events@bmoreart.com!
Archives, Memory, and the Power of Data with Savannah Wood and Teri Henderson
Tuesday, January 20 :: 6pm
@ George Peabody Library
What Narratives Reside within Archives, and Which Ones Are Absent?
Join Savannah Wood, Executive Director of Afro Charities, alongside curator, writer, and Art+Feminism Board member Teri Henderson for a hybrid discussion that delves into the significant role of archives in crafting community histories and digital narratives.
This program will investigate how overlooked or misrepresented histories shape the digital frameworks that document our environment, and how intentional feminist strategies in documentation can lead to more accurate and inclusive storytelling. The speakers, drawing from their experiences in preservation, interpretation, and cultural memory, will talk about how community archives enrich our comprehension of the past and influence the narratives that shape our future.
The conversation will be led by Siân Evans, Librarian for History and Area Studies at Johns Hopkins University and a co-founder of the Art+Feminism initiative, co-hosted by the Sheridan Libraries and Museums at Johns Hopkins University.
This event is part of the Art+Feminism campaign focusing on Wikidata and emphasizes how accessible, structured data can enhance inclusive storytelling approaches.
MICA’s Bicentennial Opening Celebration
Wednesday, January 21 :: 2-3:30pm
@ MICA Brown Center
President Cecilia M. McCormick, J.D., and the Board of Trustees cordially invite you to join the kickoff of MICA’s Bicentennial festivities.
Since its establishment in 1826, the Maryland Institute College of Art has served as a cornerstone for art and design education in Baltimore. Come celebrate this public launch event for our bicentennial, where we will honor our history, reflect on our evolution over the past 200 years, and offer insights into our future initiatives.
A Lake in A Desert | Closing Event and Reception
Thursday, January 22 :: 1-6:45pm
@ MICA Brown Center
The A Lake in A Desert exhibition and its closing event are rooted in a collaborative vision: to foster partnerships among scientists, artists, and designers that elevate research, reimagine authentic community engagement, and enhance the ways knowledge is shared and understood. This exhibition not only showcases completed works but emphasizes the processes involved in their creation, revealing how maps are constructed, paleo-reconstructions are developed, and how scientific ideas transform into vivid storytelling formats such as children’s literature. This focus on creation and representation highlights the potential outcomes when artistic and scientific fields unite.
The exhibition spans all four levels of the Brown Center and features various pieces, including hand-drawn images by Kenyan high school students, decades of field maps by Robert Raynolds that demonstrate the evolution of cartography, paleo-reconstructions of extinct species by Spanish artist Mauricio Antón, illustrations from children’s books by Dino Martins, analytical cartography focused on extractive mining by Cave Bureau (previously displayed at the British Pavilion during the 2025 Venice Biennale), research from an upcoming publication by Civil Architecture on the Arabian Peninsula, along with films, sculptures, paintings, photographs, and collaborative pieces created by MICA students, faculty, and researchers involved in the Turkana Basin.
The closing event schedule will begin with a private (and complimentary) screening of NAWI: Dear Future Me, Kenya’s 2025 submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature. This film tells the profound true story of a 13-year-old girl from Turkana who escapes child marriage to pursue her education in Nairobi. The narrative explores themes of tradition, resilience, courage, and empowerment. We are thrilled to share this screening with you, as it offers a unique opportunity to view the film before its official release! While the film itself is not the focal point of the exhibition, it provides essential cultural and environmental context for the ensuing discussions.
