The Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA) will retain its designation as Baltimore City’s Arts Council for Fiscal 2026 and has named agency veteran Lou Joseph to be the Arts Council’s new director.
The decision comes after Baltimore’s Board of Estimates last month voted to terminate the city’s contract with the independent agency to serve as the city’s arts council, film office and events producer effective Jan. 20, raising questions about who would fill those roles. Following that vote, BOPA’s board named chair Robyn Murphy to be its interim CEO following the departure of Rachel Graham.
Senior members of Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration have been working with BOPA’s leadership and board to strengthen its relationship with the city and its arts community. The Arts Council administers grants and funds other activities that support artists and benefit Baltimore’s arts community.
“We are elated to continue as Baltimore City’s Arts Council Designee,” Murphy said in a statement. “BOPA has been dedicated to carrying out this work for over two decades, and with stronger collaboration moving forward, we are excited to continue working with the Mayor’s Office on a renewed arts ecosystem.”
As director, Joseph will oversee all Arts Council programming, including grants, exhibitions, workshops and seminars. A 10-year veteran of BOPA, he started with the organization in 2014 as the Visual Arts Specialist before moving into his more recent role as the Arts Council’s Prizes and Competitions Manager, a job that includes administration of the annual Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize.
Before joining BOPA, Joseph was Senior Preparator of Exhibitions at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). From 2012 to 2022, he directed the Institute of Contemporary Art Baltimore, a collaborative artists-run organization that he founded. An artist focused on painting, printmaking and installation, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Indiana University.
“It just makes sense that we appoint Lou to lead the arts council — he exemplifies professionalism and a deep care for Baltimore’s artist community,” Murphy said. “This is his life’s work, and the citizens of Baltimore are the lucky beneficiaries.”
“I’m excited to lead the arts council into this next chapter,” Joseph said in a statement. “I look forward to collaborating with the City, arts organizations and the great artists and cultural producers of Baltimore to do this essential work.”
