Dear Baltimore, You Owe Me Nothing — I Spent A Weekend In A New City And These Are My Honest Opinions
Now, I have been to Maryland before, but never to Baltimore. I was excited to experience the things I’ve heard so much about: the accents, the rich Black history, and, of course, the food. Maryland is known for crabs and their crab-related dishes. Unfortunately, I was cursed with one of the worst allergies known to humankind — seafood allergy…not just shellfish, seafood as a whole — but I was still eager to see what they had to offer my taste buds.
My videos and photos of this place do not do it justice. It’s a luxurious waterfront hotel located in Fells Point with spacious rooms, a courtyard, a ballroom where they throw parties, a pool with views of the harbor, a restaurant, and a bar. It’s also situated right on Baltimore’s historic Recreation Pier, which is filled with local businesses and attractions for people to enjoy.
On day two we learned more about the bustling art scene in Baltimore, so we hit the streets to get a taste of it! Thanks to BmoreArt, we got to check out five incredible institutions and exhibits.
Our stops included:
1. Waller Gallery — it’s a multidisciplinary art space conceived and curated by scholar Joy Davis. It highlights projects created by people of color and features a variety of art forms including paintings, digital works, and crafts. While we were there, we got to meet Schroeder Cherry, a Baltimore-based painter and puppeteer, who captures scenes of African diasporic life through mixed media. Learning about the symbolism behind the objects he uses in his pieces was so interesting.
2. Last Resort Artist Retreat — this beautiful park-like private home acts as a residency for artists where they can self-reflect, explore their creativity, and mingle with fellow artists for four weeks. Set up with a bed and breakfast flare, founder Derrick Adams wanted to create a place where creatives could nurture their gifts while still uplifting the community. I didn’t even know things like this existed! How can such a communal place feel so intimate? There’s art everywhere you turn, both inside the house and outside on the lawn. I couldn’t help but feel inspired as we toured the area.
3. good neighbor — founded by married couple Shawn Chopra and Anne Morgan, this is another cool establishment that combines various services in one spot. It serves as a hotel, cafe, communal space, and retail store. They also host events ranging from art exhibitions to plant styling/curation. It combines the owners’ shared love of design, hospitality, food and drinks, art, and education. This place was so cool. I couldn’t get enough of the decor, and the food was great! While we were there, we got to chat with artist SHAN Wallace to view her compelling public artwork, Auntie Likes Her Rum and Extra Old Bay.
4. Jeffrey Kent’s Studio — we had the honor of meeting Jeffrey Kent himself as he showed us around his studio. He’s a multidisciplinary artist who uses his personal experiences and socio-political references to breathe life into his artwork, which includes large colorful paintings, sculptures, and bricolage. With his learnings, he prides himself in sharing his knowledge with underprivileged youth from marginalized communities. It was truly inspirational learning about his life, the ways he channeled his pain into art, as well as the symbolism behind some of his pieces.
5. Gallery CA — a contemporary art space focused on celebrating local, regional, and international artists. We got to experience the uninhibited black space II exhibition which shines a light on the cultural impact and contributions of Morgan State University. Each piece was created by a current or former student of that HBCU — Jasmine Adams, Destiny Bocas, Ennis Hodgson, Ernest Shaw Jr., Desiree Thaniel, and Mariah Williams. I was truly in awe of the talent in that room and left with a few favorites forever ingrained in my mind.
Art holds such a special place in my heart, and that goes for art in all its forms, including music, books, and TV/film. The ability to transform an idea into something physical will never cease to amaze me. These are just a few pieces I saw during the City of Artists tour:
I was so excited to attend my first CIAA championship game! The HBCU experience is so special and unique, so it was beautiful to see so many students, family members, alumni, and fans fill the arena wearing paraphernalia from their school or Divine Nine sorority/fraternity. And when it comes to cheerleaders, majorettes, and, of course, the bands, nothing compares to the ones at an HBCU. The love in the room was palpable.
