As summer winds down and fall begins, the state is overflowing with great opportunities for all to enjoy as the arts are brought to the forefront in many Maryland communities.

County Arts Councils, local arts organizations and Arts & Entertainment Districts are planning new exhibits, celebrating milestones, holding festivals and putting on performances. With all these events, many of them free, the MSAC invites families to continue to discover the excellence and diversity of the arts in Maryland.

Highlights include the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra turning 100 as it opens its Centennial Season on September 17 at the Music Center at Strathmore. The Baltimore Book Festival begins Friday, September 25 and wraps up on September 27 in downtown Baltimore.

• Downtown Hyattsville Arts Festival, September 19
• Appalachian Festival, Frostburg State University, September 17-19
• Plein Air Festival, Solomons in Calvert County, September 15-20
• ArtsFest, Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center, Calvert County, September 19-20
• Bel Air Festival for the Arts, Harford County, September 20
• Dorchester Center for the Arts Showcase, Cambridge, September 27

Pictured Above: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra celebrates 100 years this season! Music Director Marin Alsop leads BSO musicians. Photo by Richard Anderson

Peter Culman, long time managing director of Baltimore's Center Stage passed away on August 18, 2015.

Culman, 77, held the post for three decades (1966-2000), longer than any administrative officer in America's not-for-profit theatre world.

He made Center Stage what it is today, producing first-rate professional theater for local audiences. His tenure spanned five artistic directors and 230 productions.

Although greatly missed, his legacy will endure through Center Stage. Read more.

Maryland House Speaker Michael E. Busch recently appointed Delegate Alonzo T. Washington, to the Arts Council. 

“Delegate Washington has been a tireless advocate for funding of the arts and for teaching of the arts in our public schools. His passion combined with his previous experience as Chairman of the Gateway Arts District Management Team make him uniquely qualified to serve on the State Arts Council,” said Speaker Busch.​

Del. Washington, who represents District 22 in Prince George’s County, has been a member of the House since 2012. Read more.

Liesel Fenner of Takoma Park, recently of Gallagher and Associates has been appointed as the new Public Art Program Director for the Arts Council beginning on September 9, 2015.  

Fenner has an extensive background in Public Art, including fund raising, public art planning and project management. She has worked in California, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Washington D.C. and Maryland. Among her many projects are Flight 93 National Memorial Visitor Center, Shanksville, PA, the Motown Museum in Michigan and the Baltimore Public Works Museum.  Read more.

Bel Cantanti Opera's performances of Rimsky-Korsakov's Snow Maiden performed at the Randolph Road Theater in Silver Spring, and at Emmanuel Church in Baltimore. Photo by Alex Souvorov

First Lady Champions the Arts
Since Governor Hogan’s January inauguration, Maryland’s First Lady Yumi Hogan has been a welcome presence in the Maryland arts community. An artist herself, she has shared her time and creative gifts meeting citizens while traveling across the state.

During the MSAC gathering in March at the State House, she greeted staff, councilors, County Arts Council representatives, and other arts community leaders and talked about one of her life’s passions – art.

In June, she attended the fifth annual Maryland Traditions Folklife Festival, where decoy carver Rich Smoker, shipwright Mark Wiest, Polish egg-decorator Carla Tomaszewski, and Indian kolam painter Shanthi Chandrasekar, were delighted to have an opportunity to converse with her. While there, the First Lady tried her hand at printmaking, drumming, basket weaving, shipbuilding and various other traditions.

And, just recently, the First Lady (pictured above) shared her talents at Wellness House of Annapolis as part of ‪#‎MDUnites (MD Unites/Day of Service) where she taught Korean Fan Painting. These opportunities are a small sampling of the First Lady’s ongoing efforts to support the arts community of Maryland.

Photo by Tom Nappi

Art Can Help in Healing
Hospitals have gone from stark and sterile surroundings to hallways filled with artwork and nature scenes. In addition, music and art therapy creates a healing environment for patients. Currently, more than 50 percent of hospitals in the U.S. have arts programs, writes Jackie Hamilton in the Lexington Herald-Leader. Read more.

Music and the Brain Study
A new study by the University of Vermont College of Medicine, one of the largest to investigate the effects of playing an instrument on brain development, finds that music training not only helps children develop fine motor skills, but aids emotional and behavioral maturation as well.
Learn more.

Debate Over Free Admission to Museums Continues
Everyone has a favorite museum. It may be the Louvre in Paris, the Prado in Madrid, or the Guggenheim or the Met in New York. However, no one likes high museum admission fees. Despite the fact that the Smithsonian Institute’s museums open their doors without charging admission, art experts have long argued the pros and cons of charging admission fees to museums. Read more.

Executive Director, Maryland Citizens for the Arts. Photo by Kintz

This October, Maryland Citizens for Art’s (MCA) will present their fourth annual ArtsLAB, This year's theme is “Community Engagement: Roles and Responsibilities of Publicly Funded Arts Organizations." ArtsLAB is on October 27, 2015, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown. Registration will open September 9, 2015.

MSAC: How many years has MCA been hosting ArtsLAB? Whose brainchild was the conference?

John Schratwieser: ArtsLAB began in the fall of 2012. Before that, MCA had always added a professional development component to Maryland Arts Day. MCA realized that this small program, added on to an already very busy advocacy day, was not a benefit to our advocates.

We agreed to separate the two events and in September 2012, launched ArtsLAB, a full day capacity building conversation for arts professionals.

MSAC: This year, MCA chose a theme of Community Engagement: Roles and Responsibilities of Publicly Funded Arts Organizations for the 2015 ArtsLAB. Why did MCA choose this topic?

John Schratwieser: The organizational and individual members of MCA are all recipients of operating or program grants from the State. MCA's job is to advocate for those public funds - which are, of course, then awarded through competitive grant process, by the Maryland State Arts Council.

As such, we see these investments as a bestowing of public trust. Grantees work hard to use these funds in a way that is beneficial to the communities we serve.
Read More.

One of the MSAC FY2015 Individual Artists Award (IAA) grantees, John Ruppert, will have his sculpture featured at an upcoming exhibit at the Academy Art Museum in Easton this month.

Entitled “John Ruppert: Grounded,” the show features cast metals such as iron, aluminum, copper, and bronze. His works can be seen September 19 - November 8, 2015 in the Lederer Gallery. A members' reception is September 18, 5:30 - 7:30pm. Curator-led tours are Friday, September 25, at noon and Wednesday, October 21, at noon.

Ruppert is a full-time faculty member at the University of Maryland, College Park and served as Chair of the Arts Department from 1998 to 2012. He has received numerous grants and awards throughout his career. Among them are several awards from the University of Maryland, the Mary Sawyer Baker Award, the Pollack Krasner Foundation Award, and two IAA’s (2009 and 2015).

Photo: Laki Ridge by John Ruppert, 2015 MSAC IAA awardee

September 4, October 2

Elkton’s First Fridays
Cecil County

September 11, October 9

Bethesda Art Walk
Second Fridays

September 12

River City Arts Jam
Salisbury, Wicomico County

September 25-27

Baltimore Book Festival
Inner Harbor

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