BmoreArt’s Picks: September 23-29
This Week: Johanna Toruño lecture + Queer Futures panel discussion at UMBC, Power Speaker Series with Emory Douglas at MICA, Sacred Ground opening reception at Unity Hall, Katie Pumphrey Artist Talk + Swim Stories at Creative Alliance, performances curated by Brandon Woody at LeMondo, In Between the Lines closing celebration at Baltimore Crit Club, Micah E. Wood + Ami Dang perform at current space, a fundraiser for Submersive + The Peale, Brush Mural Fest 2025, Charm City Cultural Cultivation Open House, Boshell Lecture at The Walters, Richard Ayodeji Ikhide opening reception at CPM, Creative Nomads’ Jubilee Noir at Clifton Mansion, and a closing reception for B:25 at Quid Nunc Gallery — PLUS apply for the Gutierrez Memorial Fund Legacy Grant 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!
Unapologetic: Street Art as Activism and Liberation
Tuesday, September 23 :: 4-5:50pm
@ UMBC CIRCA
Johanna Toruño is the founder of The Unapologetic Street Series, a street art series that is exhibited at public spaces, such as walls, utility posts, and mailboxes. Her bold imagery and statements, often adorned in lush florals, celebrate queer, working class, and immigrant communities. Through her work, Toruño challenges social norms and centers messages of self-reflection and self-acceptance. Using a soft aesthetic with colors that remind her of home, Toruño brings storytelling and a chance for her audience to re-learn and decolonize their own self to accessible spaces. Her political and social messages highlight topics of reimagining norms, and the joy of holding space for collective liberation. Johanna is a TED speaker and lecturer at Universities like Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, and others. Johanna’s work has been featured in The New York Times, Teen Vogue, NPR, Nylon, and more. Johanna lives and works in Los Angeles with her partner and 2 dogs. If she’s not wheat pasting, she’s cooking.
This event is part of the Fall 2025 Humanities Forum, co-sponsored by CIRCA, the Dresher Center for the Humanities; the Department of Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies; the Latin American Feminisms Faculty Working Group; the Latin American Studies Minor; the Latinx and Hispanic Faculty Association; The Mosaic: Center for Cultural Diversity; and the Orser Center for Public Humanities.
This event is open for full participation by all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other protected category under applicable federal law, state law, and the University’s nondiscrimination policy.
First Power Series of the Year, feat. EMORY DOUGLAS
Tuesday, September 23 :: 7-9pm
@ MICA Lazarus Center
Please join us Tuesday, September 23rd, 7-9PM in the Lazarus Auditorium (131 W. North Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21201) for his talk. We will provide delicious (free) food if you come in person. Otherwise, the Zoom option remains available for access as well.
This talk is in conjunction with an incredible Black Panther History Month/Eddie Conway Commemoration Exhibition taking place at The Peale Museum on Friday, October 3rd-5th, 2025. MFACA students are creating artwork for this exhibition as we speak, as well as local community artists. This entire weekend is FREE, but registration is required (please use Eventbrite link HERE).
* Emory will be joining us via Zoom from California for POWER Speaker, but he will be in person on Sunday, October 5th at The Peale, giving an additional talk. We still want to pack the house for POWER Speaker, nonetheless!
As always, this speaker series is free and open to the public, so feel free to invite your friends and/or family!
Please see the information below for both events!
A Special Note: Given “the times”, there is a password required if you choose to join us on Zoom for the POWER Speaker Series. This month’s password is PWR2025 (all caps), and will change monthly. Please only share this password with people you know and trust!
Zoom link: https://mica-edu.zoom.
Zoom ID: 917 271 8332
Sacred Ground | Opening Reception + Artist Talk
Wednesday, September 24 :: 5-8pm
@ Baltimore Unity Hall
Sacred Ground Opening Reception & Artist Talk
Come join us at Baltimore Unity Hall for the opening reception of our latest exhibition, Sacred Ground: Spirit, Memory, and Meaning in Baltimore.
Baltimore Unity Hall is located at a unique intersection of faith and tradition, surrounded by churches, synagogues, mosques, masonic lodges, and generations of spiritual history. This is an open call for artists, historians, faith leaders, and storytellers to share how spirit moves through this city, how sacred space is held, and what memory and meaning look like in your communities.
As we continue to grow, let us always remember we are not starting from scratch. We are building on the foundation of those who came before us, guided by their hopes, struggles, and dreams. And in doing so, we are making space for future generations to remember, too.
Look out for selected artists to be announced on our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baltimoreunityhall/
Read more of this week’s picks at BmoreArt.
