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: October 24 - December 6 (closed November 25 - 29)
Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Reception October 23 following 6:30 p.m. lecture.
Artist talk October 29 at 12 noon in the Holtzman MFA Gallery

Enjoy the works of Alexis Ibry and Zachary Diaz.
Alexis Irby collects physical evidence of places and moments, bringing them together into a constellation of disparate memories. Her sculptures encourage a sense of absurdity by documenting aspects of reality in ambiguous combinations. She highlights the interconnectedness of the physical world and the encompassing layers we cannot fully perceive in her exhibit Manifesting the Unheard Layers of Reality.
Zachary Diaz presents MOTUS an interplay of color, movement, and texture through large-scale oil paintings, drawings, and monotypes by blending intuition and intention. The artworks emerge as intuitive puzzles, balancing spontaneous marks with deliberate layering to evoke emotional responses. With a classical training foundation and heavy influence of abstract expressionist techniques, Diaz’s work uncovers hidden narratives with seemingly simple marks.

"Caring for a neurodivergent child or loved one can bring unique joys and challenges. This JCS group provides a safe and supportive space for parents and caregivers to explore the emotional side of caregiving, process feelings, and build resilience together. Meets beginning October 22, 2025 on Wednesdays, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm via Zoom"

Industry Social Club, presented by PNC, is a free, recurring after-hours networking event at the BMI for local professionals, creatives, and influencers. It’s all about helping people make those important connections that drive success, both individually and as a community.

Each month, we mix things up with interactive activities to spark new ideas, lively discussions to share insights, and workshops focused on specific topics or industries to help you build practical skills. Plus, we’ll have good music, a cash bar, and some tasty bites to keep the vibes chill and help everyone network and hang out.

We ensure our topics are current and relevant, examining trends that are shaping industries locally and nationally. We’re proud to cover a wide range of industries and backgrounds, including fashion, hospitality, healthcare, and important topics around the LGBTQIA+ community in the workforce. It’s all about creating a welcoming and enriching space for everyone to connect and thrive. We hope to see you this season!

Heidi Martin [vocals and poetry]
Ethan Bailey Gould [rhythm guitar]
Elijah Easton [tenor sax]
Michael Bowie [bass]
Eric Kennedy [drums]
TBA [piano]

Vocalist and composer, Heidi Martin applies a singer-songwriter perspective, that folk influence from the 60’s, to a whole different genre of music...An original voice whose artistry is both authentic and defiant to genre, a provocative lyricist with a deep sense of social consciousness.

Martin received the 2024 Berger-Carter Berger Fellowship from Rutgers Dana Library Jazz Studies Dept., for her research on the Abbey Lincoln Estate. “Abbey’s philosophy has provided a path for me to balance my anxiety, and grief while maintaining; personal truth-seeking within this world of struggle,” said Martin.

Born in Washington D.C., she has shared the stage as a featured vocalist with Nicholas Payton, Tim Warfield, and George Burton, and as a guest artist on recordings with Russell Gunn, and Dana Muray. Four of Martin’s compositions off her first album “HIDE” - were chosen as a soundtrack to REVOLUTION ’67, a documentary about the 1967 Newark rebellion by Emmy-nominated filmmakers Jerome and Marylou Bongiorno.