More than 40 artists, galleries and arts organizations will be part of Scout Art Fair, a curated exhibition that will be open during Artscape 2025.
This is the first year for the art fair, which will be presented inside the War Memorial Building at 101 N. Gay St. The idea was to take advantage of Artscape’s move from Midtown to Downtown and create an indoor fair-within-a-fair for artists exhibiting work that will be for sale and will need protection from the elements, the same way Art Basel Miami Beach and Miami Art Week use the Miami Beach Convention Center. It’s Baltimore’s version of Art Basel Miami Beach and other upscale Art Fairs around the world.
Tonya Miller Hall, Mayor Brandon Scott’s Senior Advisor for Arts and Culture, traveled to Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019 to see how it works there and tapped a Baltimore native, artist Derrick Adams, to serve as the curator for the inaugural edition of Scout Art Fair. Teri Henderson is the assistant curator.
The City of Baltimore is collaborating with the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA) to produce Artscape on May 24 and 25 in a footprint that includes War Memorial Plaza and the site of the weekly Baltimore Farmers Market.
This week BOPA released the names of 40 artists, four galleries and four non-profit organizations that will be part of the inaugural version of Scout Art Fair. BOPA listed the dates for Scout Art Fair as May 23 to 25.
The fair is aimed at visitors ranging from first-time buyers to seasoned collectors. Works will be priced from $150 to $5000. The exhibiting artists include: Ainsley Burrows; Akio Evans; Andrew Thorp; Anna Divinagracia; Arvay Adams; B. Sterling; Camila Leão Lopes; Charles Mason III; Ciarra K. Walters; Destiny Branay; E. Brady Robinson; Edgar Reyes; Emma Childs; I. Henry Photo Project; Isaiah Winters; Jen Sterling; Jennifer Becker; Jennifer McBrien; Jonah Brock; Juliana Dail; Khaleelah I. L. Harris; kolpeace; Kumasi J. Barnett; Lex Marie; Logan Hicks and Lynn Cazabon.
Also, Mark West; Maurice Scarlett III; Melissa Sutherland Moss; Monique Crabb; Murjoni Merriweather; Nicolas Wisniewski; Noreen Smith; Patrick Ryan Bell; Rowan Bathurst; Se Jong Cho; Sydney Allen; Taj Poscé; Vinnie Hager and Wickerham & Lomax (Daniel Wickerham and Malcolm Lomax.)
Participating galleries include: CPM Gallery; Raunjiba; Quid Nuc Gallery and Highlandtown Gallery. They represent artists working in a range of disciplines, including painting, sculpture, photography, digital art, installation, performance, and mixed media.
Participating non-profit partners include: Baltimore School for the Arts; Creative Alliance; Current Space and Islam & Print. They will organize group exhibitions of works that will be for sale.
Adams is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and independent curator who is based in Brooklyn, New York but frequently returns to his hometown to promote its creative community. He is also the curator of the $1 million Inviting Light series of light-oriented art installations in Baltimore’s Station North Arts District.
In 2022, Adams officially established Charm City Cultural Cultivation, a non-profit organization to support and encourage underserved communities in the city of Baltimore through events conducted by three entities: the Last Resort Artist Retreat; Black Baltimore Digital Database and Zora’s Den. He also serves several local boards and committees, such as The Compound and the Baltimore Museum of Art.
Henderson is a Baltimore-based curator and the Arts and Culture Editor of Baltimore Beat. Her writing has appeared in Artforum, The Washington Post and other publications. Her previous roles include staff writer for BmoreArt; gallery coordinator for Connect + Collect, and board member of Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for The Arts. She was a 2020 Momus Emerging Critics Resident, a 2024 Poynter-Koch Media and Journalism Fellow, and a 2024 Maynard Institute for Journalism Education Fellow. In 2024, Baltimore Magazine named her a GameChanger for her role as a leading voice in Baltimore’s creative community.
In 2023, Henderson served as a jury member for the exhibition “Histories Collide: Jackie Milad x Fred Wilson x Nekisha Durrett.” In 2024, she was a consulting curator for the exhibition “New Worlds: Women to Watch 2024” at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Most recently, she co-curated LAYERS: The Art of Contemporary Collage at Maryland Institute College of Art. She is the author of Black Collagists: The Book (2021), serves on the Board of Directors for Art+Feminism.
Organizers previously said Scout Art Fair will have a preview night on Thursday, May 22. In addition to art work for sale, the fair will include art-related talks, presentations and immersive activations, all designed to spark conversation, connection, and cultural innovation. “Baltimore’s creative energy is unmatched, and Scout Art Fair aims to amplify that,” Adams said in a statement. “This event is more than an exhibition — it’s a celebration of the city’s dynamic culture and the incredible talent that calls it home.”
“The Scout Art Fair allows us to highlight the caliber of our creative community in a whole new way,” said Robyn Murphy, Interim CEO of BOPA, in a statement. “This groundbreaking initiative will inspire casual art buyers and serious collectors alike to invest in Baltimore artists, drawing attention to their innovative work and reinforcing the city’s reputation as a creative incubator.”
Miller Hall says she hopes the fair will help bring national attention to Baltimore’s visual artists and arts community.
“By integrating this fair into Artscape, we’re not only enriching the cultural fabric of the festival — we’re driving tourism, sparking commerce, and creating real economic opportunity for our creative community,” she said in a statement.” Scout is poised to become a premier destination for collectors, curators and art lovers alike, and we’re proud to launch its inaugural year right here in the heart of Baltimore.”
More information about Artscape 2025 is available at artscape.org and on Instagram, @promoandarts.
