BmoreArt’s Picks: August 19-25
This Week: Glenn Walker exhibition at The Peale, Celebration + Farewell Party for Shane Prada at BJC, Forever Home Artist Talks + Public Reception at Design Distillery, Ivan B. McClellan in conversation with Teri Henderson at Greedy Reads Remington, screening of “Putty Hill” at Pratt Central Library, Schwingo 2025 fundraiser for Make Studio at Checkerspot Brewing, Black August at Crow’s Nest, and a closing reception for Emily Fussner, Madeline A. Stratton, and Julia Roble at Crow’s Nest — PLUS Built to Last exhibition call for entry at The Peale and more featured opportunities!
BmoreArt’s Picks presents the best weekly art openings, events, and performances happening in Baltimore and surrounding areas. For a more comprehensive perspective, check the BmoreArt Calendar page, which includes ongoing exhibits and performances, and is updated on a daily basis.
To submit your calendar event, email us at events@bmoreart.com!
Glenn Walker: In the Room and Beyond
Ongoing through October 12
@ The Peale
The Peale is proud to present a rare retrospective of Baltimore artist Glenn Walker, whose bold and unflinching vision left an indelible mark on the city’s art scene. From intimate portraits to charged social commentary, Walker’s work captures the beauty, humor, and complexity of everyday life.
About the Artist
Glenn F. Walker (1927-1988) was a Baltimore painter trained at the then-Maryland Institute of Arts and a “best kept secret” among area art aficionados. Walker, who died in 1988, continues to be known for working in a breathtaking variety of media and styles including oils, pastels, watercolors, drawings, and woodcuts. He won prizes for his art from the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Peale Museum, and elsewhere. Walker is remembered in part as the subject of controversy: Baltimore Mayor Thomas D’Alesandro Jr. saw a Walker painting, “In a Room”, during a 1955 Peale exhibition, and declaring it obscene and “morally objectionable,” ordered it removed. The painting showed a nude man smoking a cigarette and a woman lying on a bed. The museum’s director, Wilbur H. Hunter Jr., put the painting on display in his office, and other painters protested the mayor’s order by removing their works from the exhibition.
A year later, the Baltimore Sun’s art critic, Kenneth Sawyer, called Walker “a draftsman of sensitive imagination, a technician with few peers in Baltimore.” Walker remained at the center of the city’s art scene for many years, continuing to paint and teach throughout his four-decade career.
This exhibition is made possible thanks to the generosity of Buzz Cusack, who has preserved and championed Walker’s artistic legacy. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore works spanning Walker’s career, including the controversial In the Room, the 1955 painting at the center of one of Baltimore’s most infamous art censorship battles.
Join us as we celebrate Walker’s fearless creativity and rediscover an artist whose work still challenges, delights, and inspires nearly 70 years later.
Artist profile compliments of Manor Mill, Monkton, MD
Thank You Shane! A Celebration & Farewell Party
Tuesday, September 19 :: 6-8pm
@ Baltimore Jewelry Center
After 12 years of leadership, Shane Prada, the BJC’s founding executive director, will be stepping down from her role this fall. Over the last 12 years, Shane has grown the BJC from a tiny organization with 4 programs and a budget of $150,000 in 2014 to midsize organization with 20 programs and a budget nearing $800,000 in 2025. She has spearheaded programs that have allowed the BJC to expand its reach and impact, from workforce development and youth programming to symposiums and artist residencies.
We have grown exponentially with Shane’s shared vision. Under her leadership, the BJC has secured an endowment (and doubled that endowment!), ensuring that the BJC has a long-term sustainable funding structure. While it is bittersweet to think about what the next era of the BJC will look like without her at our helm, this transition comes at a time when we are able to project our ideas, hopes, and dreams into the future. We are excited to welcome a new leader to the BJC.
Before we let her go, we are having a big, beautiful celebration of Shane and all of her accomplishments over the last 10 years! Please join us on Friday, September 19th from 6-8pm to say farewell to Shane as our Executive Director.
Forever Home: Visual Art Group Exhibition | Artist Talks and Public Reception
Thursday, August 21 :: 6-8pm
@ Design Distillery
Forever Home | Visual Art Group Exhibition
At Design Distillery :: Curated by Alex French
Artists’ Talks and Public Reception
Thursday, August 21 2025 :: 6pm-9pm
Design Distillery
1414 Key Highway Baltimore, MD USA
(Directly across from The Baltimore Museum of Industry)
ddistillery.com @ddistillery
Open to the Public
Tuesday–Thursday 11am – 6pm
Friday–Saturday 11am – 5pm
Sunday–Monday Closed
Please join us Thursday, August 21st from 6-9pm, when our exhibiting artists discuss their process, contexts and critical perspectives in an ever-shifting world. Forever Home is a multimedia visual art group exhibition, curated by Alex French at Design Distillery. This ongoing series merges art from over 25 incredible artists from the DM(W)V with innovative interior design to live well and collect with passion.
We threw out the alienating art speak, the sterile operating room exhibition space, the price list hunt and matching game, the fabricated feeling that art isn’t made for you to understand or collect. Our art exhibition series presents intentional interior design elements as a collaborative solution in the conversation of how we can support artists and culture. We welcome you to discover these artists’ worlds and envision their work in your own home.
The exhibition will run on an ongoing basis, accompanied by artist talks and music events, with new exhibition series installments debuting quarterly. Stay tuned @ddistillery and join our email newsletter to learn more.
Exhibiting Artists
Lea Bodea @leabodeadesign
Lania D’Agostino @dagostinostudios
Pat Dennis @patdennisgiroux
Marie-Paule Dendooven @mariepauleart
Dan Dudrow @dandudrow
Alice Faber #alicefaber
Alex French @alexfrenchgram
Jack French @jack.french.906
Joe Gerlak @jgerlak5
Josh Hawkins @woodndiamonds
Robert Hoffman @rah_the_bird
Alexis Irby @artbylexi3
Selena “Noir” Jaquesun Jackson @_selenoir_
Francisco Loza @loza_arte
Barry Page @photographicpage
Qrcky @qrcky
Marc Ranard @marcranard_art
Stephen Reichert @stephen_reichert
Bonnie Schupp @bonnieschupp
Shani Shih @shanishih
Sirdar @5irdar
Osaretin Ugiagbe @osaretin.ugiagbe
Mark A. West Jr @houseofmarkwest
Mark Wagner @paclightart
Michael S. Wiggs @paisleyhead
Read more of this week’s picks at BmoreArt.
