Community Calendar

More than 50 works on paper investigate how artists working in Europe and French-occupied northern Africa watched and participated as nature became a resource for people to hoard or share.

Drawn from the BMA’s George A. Lucas Collection, this exhibition of 19th-century art foregrounds the many ways that human relationships, including imperialism and capitalism, affect the environment. Deconstructing Nature is organized thematically, focusing on five environments and the ways artists explored them in their work: The Desert, The Forest, The Field, The City, and The Studio.

Born and raised in Baltimore, George A. Lucas (1824–1909) spent most of his adult life immersed in the Parisian art world and amassed a personal collection of nearly 20,000 works of art. In 1996, the BMA, with funds from the State of Maryland and the generosity of numerous individuals in the community, purchased the George A. Lucas Collection, which had been on extended loan to the Museum for more than 60 years.

In this focus exhibition of approximately 20 photographs, prints, drawings, and textiles, the natural environment is a source of creative inspiration worth celebrating and protecting.

Works by artists such as Winslow Homer, Richard Misrach, Charles Sheeler, and Kiki Smith, among many others, depict the elements of air, water, earth, and fire and address broader themes of ecological awareness and preservation. These themes range from how artists have used visual language to convey the act of locating oneself in nature; works that depict natural forms through the physical integration of environmental components; and artists’ commentary on sites of environmental disaster, the sociopolitical ramifications of human impact, and the potential of symbiotic healing for this planet and its occupants.

For thousands of years, East Asia’s cultures have viewed human life as part of a much larger system that encompasses the natural world. Drawn from the BMA’s collection, this exhibition boasts more than 40 objects—from magnificent ink drawings to beautifully crafted stoneware and poignant contemporary photographs and prints. They bring into the galleries the mountains and seas, wild and supernatural animals, and plant life that are extensive across East Asian imagery and often carry symbolic meaning.

Works on view include robust 13th-century ceramic vessels, delicate porcelain, carved jade, intricately sewn textiles, and large-scale photography; collectively, these artworks represent the impulse to fully understand the natural world as foundational to our existence, as shaped by human life, and as an enduring metaphor of survival.

On View: September 12 - December 6 (closed Oct. 17 & Nov. 25 - 29)
Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.

The work in this exhibition compresses and expands expectations of depth as moderated by a post-image visual culture. The artists adhere to neither medium nor dimensional restrictions, but manipulate the viewer’s relationship to the image as a temporal document, compressed and fractured, through the singular eye of the lens. This expectation, no longer warranted in the age of computer generated images, becomes a fallacy of both the eye and of the language used to comprehend it. The image is untethered from representation and logical spatial association. Spatial continuity and discontinuity run amok in playful fracture--the work pushes and prods the amorphous opening left in the wake of this rupture; what was flat is unmoored of grounding, what was solid is now compressed.

Reception September 11 following the 6:30 p.m. lecture.
For parking information visit towson.edu/parking/visitors

September 10 - December 6 (closed October 17 & November 26 -29)
Gallery Hours: Monday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Opening reception Wednesday, September 10, 7:30 p.m.

How have recent upheavals—from the pandemic to global conflicts, amplified by media—reshaped our private lives? How do personal memories become collective history? In a world forever changed, how do we find our way forward? Elaine Qiu’s awe-inspiring installation of painting, video, and sound invites visitors into a multi-sensory exploration of communal consciousness, connection, and healing in a fragmented, post-pandemic world.
For parking information visit towson.edu/parking/visitors

On View: September 12 - October 11
Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.

In her work, Yaniv draws on patterns from nature and images from daily life, altogether forming landscapes which blur the line between the real and the imagined, the organic and the artificial, the chaotic and the orderly. For this exhibition, she takes her inspiration from Patrick Svensson’s "The Book of Eels," a mix of natural history, memoir, and metaphysical musings, fusing scientific mysteries with lived experience. The eel is born in the Sargasso Sea, a place of legend but also a fundamental part of the ocean, encompassing two million square miles in the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean. A sea within a sea, it is enclosed only by several large rotating ocean currents. This large installation is a collaboration with the Department of Dance, and considers, in multi-modal ways, life and loss, journey, metamorphosis, complexity, and culture-nature (endangered).

Reception September 11 following the 6:30 p.m. lecture and dance performance.

On September 11, 12 and 13 experience dance and sculpture in dynamic interplay just before the Inertia dance performance.
For parking information visit towson.edu/parking/visitors

Poe Baltimore invites you to darken Poe’s chamber door at the 8th annual International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards, taking place October 3–5, 2025. This three-day celebration features Poe-themed performances, exhibits, tours, and special guests, with the free outdoor street festival taking place Saturday and Sunday only, October 4 & 5, in the shadow of Poe House on Amity Street in Baltimore.
Festivalgoers will enjoy vendors, booksellers, music, family-friendly activities, poetry, and art. Attendees can also explore Poe’s legacy with representatives from some of the nation’s leading “Poe Places,” including The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum (Baltimore), The Poe Museum (Richmond), The Poe Cottage (Bronx, NYC), and The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore.
This year marks the 176th anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s mysterious death in Baltimore, and the 180th anniversary of the first publication of The Raven. Programming will take place at multiple historic locations throughout the city, including Poe House, Westminster Hall, Carroll Mansion, and Green Mount Cemetery. Proceeds support the preservation and upcoming expansion of the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum.
For more event details, visit PoeFestInternational.org—many programs require tickets or advance registration. Winners of the 2025 Saturday 'Visiter' Awards announced festival weekend!

2nd Annual Rotunda Rocks Returns to Hampden Neighborhood this Spring
Family-friendly Night of Rockin’ Fun Begins May 3 and Runs Every Friday Until End of September

Whether you like to jam to rock, folk, blues, Indie, Latin or reggae, there is something for everyone as the second annual Rotunda Rocks concert series returns to Hampden this spring/summer (711 W 40th Street). This family-friendly FREE concert series, presented by MCB Real Estate, features live music on the plaza and a street festival atmosphere with delicious local food and drinks, fun games and local vendors on Fridays, 6-9 p.m. beginning May 3 and running until September 27. Rotunda Rocks is open to the public and welcomes families and pets. A portion of proceeds from beverage sales benefits the Maryland SPCA. For more information, log onto Rotunda Rocks | The Rotunda (rotundabaltimore.com) or call 410-662-0104.

SCHEDULE OF BANDS:
May 3 Mambo Combo (Latin and tropical rhythms)
May 10 Strykers Posse (reggae)
May 17 Go Dog Go with special guest Garage Sale (garage rock and hot rockin’ Surf)
May 24 Harlan County Kings (original rock)
May 31 Patrick Alban & Noche Latina (Latin and acoustic rock with a touch of salsa and South Beach feel)
June 7 Barry Prosser and the Vaguely Absurd (classic rock)
June 14 Monkton Road Band (rootsy folks laced with deep country)
June 21 The Natty Brohs (classic rock and blues)
June 28 The Soularites (SoulFULL reggae and Ska)
July 5 Kyf Brewer & Friends (hues of 60’s pop radio, British invasion, early Nashville, rhythm and blues and ancient Celtic melodies)
July 12 Justin Trawick and the Common Good (Americana-bluegrass, country and folk)
July 19 The Players Band (infectious rhythms and horn-heavy ska sounds)
July 26 Gaelic Mishap (Celtic rock)
August 2 Tumblehome (rock, soul, rhythm & blues)
August 9 Kurt Deemer Band (guitar driven rock & roll)
August 16 Barleyjuice (Celtic rock)
August 23 Red Sammy (honest, slow-burn Americana folks rock)
August 30 La Unica (Irish Latin)
September 6 ZOCKO! (surf garage)
September 13 Western Run (funked-up country rock)
September 20 Guys In Thin Ties (Alternative 80s band)
September 27 The Rock-A-Sonics (rockabilly, vintage country and atomic age rock n’ roll)

Start festival weekend with a pint, a movie, and a toast to The Raven! Join us for a thrilling movie night and social to celebrate the 180th anniversary of Poe’s most famous poem—complete with themed drinks, spooky vibes, and a room full of fellow Poe fans. Party and film screening TBA!
Want to make a night of it? Add on our VIP twilight tour of Green Mount Cemetery—a stunning, spooky landmark filled with famous Baltimoreans, a few Poe family members, and stories that set the tone for the weekend to come. Among the headstones: The tour includes shuttle to and from the film party.
General Admission includes drink ticket and light food fare, panels, The Raven tribute, and film screening, plus festival poster. VIP ticket includes Movie Nite package plus shuttle to Green Mount Cemetery for tour, travel to Movie Nite venue, and return to Lord Baltimore Hotel.
Poe Fest International’s Raven Reception MOVIE NITE & Twilight Tour of Green Mount Cemetery to kick off festival weekend is sponsored by Wells Fargo. Proceeds benefit The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum in Baltimore.

Lao Tizer [piano & keys]
Elliott Yamin [vocals]
Karen Briggs [violin]
Cheikh N’Doye [bass]
Tony Austin [drums]

“Jazz Group of the Year” nominee, The Lao Tizer Band, make their debut at Keystone Korner on Friday, October 3rd for two shows in support of their brand-new album & video release AMPLIFY. The new release is a major evolution for the group and includes 5 new original vocals and 4 new original instrumentals with flavors of Jazz, R&B, Funk & World Music. The project was recorded and filmed all LIVE at legendary EastWest Studios in Hollywood with simultaneous 7-camera video shoot and a legendary cast of musicians. Joining pianist, keyboardist and bandleader Lao Tizer for the concert are violinist extraordinaire Karen Briggs (Yanni, Diana Ross), American Idol star, Elliott Yamin, Senegalese bassist, producer Cheikh N’Doye (Baaba Maal, Weedie Braimah) and renowned drummer Tony Austin (Kamasi Washington). Please join us as the group takes you on a high-energy musical ride through a variety of flavors and styles with an all-star cast of musicians in this intimate and elegant setting.