BmoreArt’s Picks: May 28 – June 3
This Week: Concrete Poetry 2 installation at The Ivy, Alex & Olmstead’s “Happy Birthday, Mon Ami” debuts at Black Cherry Puppet Theater, Transforming the Prototype 2 opening reception at Baltimore Jewelry Center, Asia North closing event, Final Fridays: Mind on Fire performances at Pratt Library, Nora Sturges’ opening reception at VisArts, Here, in this Little Bay: Celebrating 30 Years at the Kreeger, and Miranda Javid and Brendan Sullivan closing + artist talk at Current with a closing for the Baker Artist Award Showcase — PLUS Poe Baltimore Saturday “Visiter” Awards Contest deadline 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!
Concrete Poetry 2
@ The Ivy Bookshop grounds
Concrete Poetry 2, an outdoor installation celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month in The Ivy Bookshop gardens
Description
Concrete Poetry 2 is an interactive outdoor installation of 100 free-standing cast concrete letters placed on a platform of concrete pavers. Visitors to The Ivy Bookshop’s gardens are welcome to move the letters and compose poetry. On occasion, noted authors are invited to feature their work.
In celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month, an excerpt from Cathy Park Hong’s Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning is currently featured: “For as long as I can remember, I have struggled to prove myself into existence.”
–Cathy Hong Park, Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning, Penguin Random House, 2020
Artist’s Statement
As public art, Concrete Poetry 2 is an expression of community trust. It is permanent and mutable. As often the case with public art, permanence and immutability can prove to be elusive. Through the installation, I query how do we move forward in an impermanent world?
–Julia Kim Smith
Fabrication
Jonathan Ceci Landscape Architects, New World Gardens, Orlando Products, Remington Artist Services
Happy Birthday, Mon Ami
Thursday, May 30 | Ongoing through June 2
@ Black Cherry Puppet Theatre
Thursday May 30, 7pm
Friday, May 31, 7pm
Saturday, June 1, 2pm
Saturday, June 1, 6:30pm
Sunday, June 2, 2pm
Doors open 1/2 hour before showtime with limited seating!
Tickets Available Now!
Standard Ticket $17.50
Starving Artist/Senior $15
Kids 16 & under $10
Class, cultures, and expectations clash when Jacques’ American cousin Sam visits him in Paris for a birthday celebration. Winner of a 2024 Jim Henson Foundation family grant award, “Happy Birthday, Mon Ami” will premiere at Baltimore’s renowned Black Cherry Puppet Theater.
Learn more about these incredible creators and puppeteers
Alex & Olmsted HERE!
Transforming the Prototype 2. | Opening Reception
Friday, May 31 :: 5-8pm
@ Baltimore Jewelry Center
Building on the success of the 2022 exhibition, Transforming the Prototype, the Baltimore Jewelry Center, Montgomery College, and Towson University invited students, alumni, emerging and established artists to apply for a second iteration of the project. The resulting exhibition, Transforming the Prototype 2 will be on view in the BJC’s gallery in Baltimore’s Station North Arts & Entertainment District (10 E. North Ave.) from May 31st – July 26th, 2024 with an opening reception on Friday, May 31st from 5 to 8pm. The opening reception is free and open to the public.
This project and the subsequent artworks are inextricably linked to the technique of lost wax casting. When creating a piece using the lost wax casting method, one of a kind, hand-carved waxes, or mold-produced wax multiples are encased in investment plaster, the wax is burnt out, and molten metal is poured into the remaining plaster mold creating a cast. Electing to participate in this project, applicants received a collection of traditional vintage wax patterns (rings, pendants, odds & ends) which they transformed through additive or subtractive processes. The objective was to radically reimagine the prototype wax pattern into bespoke object(s) or jewelry. Transforming the Prototype 2 was juried by Mary Hallam Pearse, Associate Professor of Art in Metals & Jewelry at the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia. As the exhibition juror Mary selected four artists to receive best in show awards; these will be announced at the opening and via social media.
Featured in Transforming the Prototype 2 are local, national, and international artists, including Andrea Corson, Anne Marie Smith, Audrey Zhou, Bethandy Oliveri, Camille Garcia, Carolyn Cox, Claire Webb, Cloie Ali, Col Cavanaugh, Cory Glasgow, Dolores Milmoe, Emily Culver, Eunice Hong, Evelyn Vanaman, Fabiana Fusco, Gia Chelston, Janna Gregonis, Jennifer Cudek, Jess Bischoff, Jessica Hunter-Hinsvark, Jim Cotter, Joshua Kosker, Julianna Englander, Kat Tomlin, Laurel Fulton, Lauren Goldstein, Lisa Johnson, Lydia Boyer, Maddie Kingston, Malika Green, Mana Hewitt, Margo MacKenzie, Maria Lucero, Motoko Furuhashi, Porsha Troost, Rae Richards, Rick Peterson, Robin Walderhaug, Sarah Tector, Sarah Walters, Seville Partida, Terrence Lavin, Theo Mayberry, & Trevor Mock.
“The Baltimore Jewelry Center features one of the few art jewelry galleries in the Mid-Atlantic. Our exhibitions program creates an access point for the larger public to learn about contemporary and traditional jewelry arts, while also acting as a platform to promote and sell the work of local and national artists in the broader metalsmithing field,” said Shane Prada, Director. “We’re excited for the community to encounter the work in Transforming the Prototype 2, which provides a unique view into the ancient lost wax casting technique and expertly illustrates how no two artists approach materials in the same way. Although they started out with similar components, each of the final works are distinctly individual.”
Read more of this week’s picks at BmoreArt.
