BOPA announces 37 grantees of Creative Baltimore Fund

The Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA) announced the FY25 grantees of the Creative Baltimore Fund, which included 37 grantees: 10 individual artists and 27 non-profit organizations.

The annual grant is allocated from Baltimore City’s general fund and administered by the Baltimore City Arts Council. There are two funding opportunities: General Operating Support (GOS) grants and the Mayor’s Individual Artist Awards.

General Operating Support grants provide support for established arts or cultural organizations from $3,000 – $10,000. Mayor’s Individual Artist Awards give a $3,000 grant to 10 individual creatives. All grantees will create events, workshops, and/or programming throughout 2025, publicized by BOPA and available for the public to enjoy.

“The diverse mediums and projects proposed by the applicants made the selection process extremely difficult,” said Twi McCallum, BOPA’s community engagement manager. “The chosen applications were dynamic in their ideas and clear on the intent and impact of their proposed programs.”

This year’s committee tried to fund applicants who had not received this award in the last two fiscal years or more.

Applications were evaluated by a team of 12 volunteers who were independent of BOPA, and five youth participating in BOPA workforce development programming: three Maryland Service Year Fellows and two Bloomberg Arts Interns.

The 37 Creative Baltimore Fund grantees are listed below.

MAYOR’S INDIVIDUAL ARTIST AWARD

The Mayor’s Individual Artist Award was selected based on program merit, artistic merit, focus on underserved communities, and budget clarity. The 10 recipients are:

Taj Poscé (Instagram: @tajposce)
Eternal Presence is a painting and mixed media studio project. The artist will create a body of work based on ancient Kemetic and indigenous symbols that represent the present moment.

Rowan Bathurst (Instagram: @rowanbathurst)
The artist will paint a community mural for the historic neighborhood of Highlandtown in celebration of the multicultural beauty of generations of Italians, Ukrainians, Salvadorians, Poles, Guatemalans, and more. 

Brandon Kanion
At the Grand Kanion Ball (GKB), Brandon Kanion will theatrically perform and bring his new fashion collection for The Heart of Hiroh Arts label (HOH) to life.

Jade Flower Foster (Instagram: @jadeflowerfoster)
Jade Flower Foster will facilitate a bespoke poetry experience that prioritizes connection by creating ‘typewriter poems’ in real time on her vintage typewriter on the spot.

Vanna Ramirez
The artist plans to create both sculptural and functional ceramic pieces for sale through their studio and online platforms, as well as exploring opportunities for commissioned works. 

Alfonso Fernandez
“Tierra y Tradición (Earth and Tradition)” is a workshop series that explores how Indigenous methodologies of resourcefulness and connection to the land inform the creation of pigments and paints from plants, minerals, and other natural elements.

Mark West
The Butterfly Project is a public art project that installs four-foot colorful butterfly sculptures throughout key alleys and streets in the Bromo Arts District. 

Abdul Adaranijo | (Instagram: @vllager.me)
The grant will support the artist’s practice of AFROABSTRACTURE, a spiritual & energetic reconnection to the DIVINE within and around us, following in the Yorùbá philosophy of ÀṢẸ. 

Eleisha Faith & Tonisha Hope McCorkle (Hope and Faith)
“Manifesting the Metaphysical: Beyond Black Grief” is a curatorial community engagement project inviting Black and Afro-Indigenous creators to a series of intentional programming, including Zoom discussions, healing through artmaking workshops, community gatherings, and activities, and a group exhibition during Mental Health Awareness Month, with a closing reception on Juneteenth.

Jann Rosen-Queralt
The artist will exhibit their artwork at The Peale Museum for eight weeks beginning June 2025. The installation will coincide with two companion exhibits, one sharing concerns about social justice and the environment in Curtis Bay, the other climate change activism in Maryland.

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

The recipients of the Creative Baltimore Fund General Operating Support Grants are listed below. To learn more about each of their projects, please visit this link.

$5,000 Grant recipients

• AileyCamp Baltimore
• Arts Collective Inc.
• Bach Concert Series
• Baltimore BRATZ
• Dance Baltimore
• Highwire Improv Incorporated
• Oh to Dream
• Young Musicians of Baltimore

$10,000 Grant recipients

• Baltimore Playwrights Festival
• Baltimore: City of Accessible Arts
• BRUSH Mural Fest
• Charm City Fringe, Inc.
• Creative Nomads
• Hamilton Arts Collective
• Hit Me With Music Foundation, Inc.
• Media Rhythm Institute Studios Inc.
• Michele’s Haven, CDC, Inc.
• Mount Clare Museum (dba National Society of Colonial Dames)
• Mount Vernon Virtuosi, Inc.
• Nosreme Baltimore
• Painted Screen Society of Baltimore, Inc.
• Polish Heritage Association of Maryland
• Rise with a Purpose, Inc.
• Social & Economic Empowerment through Knowledge, Inc (SEEK,Inc)
• The National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre
• Yellow Arrow Publishing Co.