BmoreArt’s Picks: January 28 – February 3
This Week: Aruna D’ Souza lecture at MICA, Jill Orlov talk at Pratt Library, The Shape of Power gallery talk at SAAM, filmmaker Kristen Lovell and photographer Samantha Box in conversation at NMWA, LAYERS opening reception at MICA, Naomi Shihab Nye and Marion Winik book discussion at Bird in Hand, Lunar New Year Celebration at The Walters, and NEA Big Read with Deyane Moses — PLUS Anderson Ranch Residency application 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!
Aruna D’ Souza “Pictures for a New World” Lecture Series
Tuesday, January 28 :: 10:30am
@ MICA
We, at Rinehart School of Sculpture are delighted to announce Dr. Aruna D’ Souza as our Critic in Residence for the spring semester 2025. The New York Times Art Critic Aruna D’ Souza will deliver a series of five lectures titled “Pictures for a New World,” at the Lazarus Auditorium on the following Tuesdays at 10:30 am: Jan 28, Feb 11, March 4, April 1, April 22.
In these lectures Aruna D’ Souza will explore how the visual arts can offer an understanding of the present, how to survive and thrive in such a moment, and even invite ways to imagine new forms of living in the future, discussing the work of 5 different artists: 1/28: Raven Chacon, 2/11: Lorraine O’Grady, 3/4: Shahzia Sikander 4/1: Paul Chan and 4/22: AK Burns.
Aruna D’Souza writes about modern and contemporary art, intersectional feminisms, and diasporic aesthetics. Her work appears regularly in 4Columns, The New York Times and in numerous artist’s monographs.Whitewalling: Art, Race, and Protest in 3 Acts was named one of the best art books of 2018 by the New York Times. She is the recipient of the 2021 Rabkin Prize for art journalism and a 2019 Andy Warhol Foundation Art Writers Grant. She was appointed the Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professor at the National Gallery of Art in 2022, and the W.W. Corcoran Professor of Social Engagement at the Corcoran School of Art, George Washington University, in 2022-2023. Her most recent book, Imperfect Solidarities was published in 2024.
We look forward to welcoming the Baltimore community to these lectures, as they are free and open to the public.
Please RSVP to rinehart@mica.edu to ensure access
Jill Orlov Reimagines and Rescales Architectural Spaces in Metal and Vintage Curiosities
Tuesday, January 28 :: 6pm
@ Enoch Pratt FREE Library, Central Branch
Program registration is recommended but not required.
Former architect turned sculptor, Jill Orlov creates captivating miniature scenes and vignettes to explore and unpack some of society’s most complex issues such as alienation, control, and judicial injustice. Jill utilizes traditionally “heavy-duty” techniques such as welding steel and soldering brass and silver while also repurposing highly curated vintage objects into whimsical and beautifully delicate scenes. Jill’s work has been featured in multiple gallery and museum exhibitions as well as winning the City of Baltimore Mayor’s Individual Artist Award (now called the Independent Artist Award) and the 2023-2024 Municipal Art Society of Baltimore City Travel Artist Prize.
In this talk, Jill will share her inspirations, process, and offer participants an up-close look at her intimate worlds in miniature.
The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture Gallery Talk
Wednesday, January 29 :: 5:30-6:30pm
@ Smithsonian American Art Museum
Explore SAAM’s groundbreaking exhibition, The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture with curators Karen Lemmey, Grace Yasumura, and Tobias Wofford. Learn more about the ways in which sculpture has shaped and reflected attitudes and understandings about race in the United States.
Read more of this week’s picks at BmoreArt.
