Baltimore artists react to BOPA split with confusion, hope

After Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott announced Wednesday that the city would cut ties with the Baltimore Arts and Promotion Office, the news reverberated throughout the local art world.

Turmoil over BOPA’s financial problems had reached a crescendo in recent weeks, but the announcement still came as a surprise to some.

“This is frustrating and sad in many ways. BOPA did great things,” he wrote Kimberly Lane, X user.

“This latest iteration of BOPA was not set up for success from the start,” he wrote Jess Solomon-DaCosta. “I feel for the staff.”

The Banner spoke with several community members, artists and stakeholders about BOPA’s separation from the city to gauge their thoughts on the demise of the association, and what comes next.

Robyn Murphy

Robyn Murphy, who sits on BOPA’s board of directors, is the chief executive of JRM Consultancy, as well as a television presenter, journalist and presenter.

“While I fully understand the city’s position and rationale for the decision to terminate BOPA’s contract, I remain focused on ensuring that Baltimore’s commitment to arts and culture continues to thrive, and I know that it is the mayor’s priority,” he said.

“What we all want—the city, BOPA, artists—is for Baltimore to be a place where artists can thrive and culture is celebrated. We all have that goal. Now is the time to facilitate that, and I’m here for it.” Murphy added.

Ryan Haase

Ryan Haase, one of the co-owners of The Club Car, a queer cocktail bar and performance venue in Station North, is disappointed by the recent turn of events.

“It’s always easy to disconnect from the arts. High school politics in the real world. Arts funding will always be cut first,” he said. “Losing BOPA as a funded entity will only hurt our city and the artists who depend on the nonprofit’s funding year after year.”

Haase’s establishment regularly offers opportunities for local artists to showcase their work, from gallery shows to concept nights focused on the art community.

“We as a city need to fix the problems instead of getting rid of them,” Haase said. “It’s a sad day when someone (the mayor) who has no understanding of the arts can make such an important decision.”

Aaron Maybin

Former NFL linebacker Aaron Maybin is an artist, activist and teacher in the city. “I’ve seen the writing on the wall and I understand that we’ve been going in this direction for a long time,” he said.

“We hope this leads to more collaborations between the city, individual artists and our local creative community here that makes Baltimore what it is culturally,” he added.

Maybin was unimpressed by the lack of exposure for local artists at the events BOPA has organized.

“There’s no reason not to count on local talent when we have so many creative geniuses already here,” he said. “The opportunities for collaboration are endless if we only take advantage. It just doesn’t seem like a priority for city leadership or the organizations that organize these events. We need more seats at the table when planning big city events around the arts, and this gives us an opportunity to rectify that in the process of how to move forward.”

Adam David Bencomo

Adam David Bencomo, an assistant professor in the visual arts department at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, said the arts are always important because “they are constantly becoming the roots of culture” and provide “alternative ways of communication and vision”.

Bencomo has been a patron of all Artscapes since 2016. The last three years he has worked as a volunteer, helping other participating artists or exhibiting his own work.

BOPA has provided “the arts in a city with little funding to have an opportunity not only to grow but to thrive,” the East Midway resident said. “We see it in events like Artscape. Baltimore has a great art scene, but like all great things, it needs continued cultivation and nurturing. With organizations like BOPA and Artscape, Baltimore can continue to evolve.”

Dapper Dan Midas

Emmanuel Williams, who goes by DDm or Dapper Dan Midas, said it’s unfortunate the two sides couldn’t come to a solution.

“That said, there have been a lot of BOPA misfires,” he added. “For Artscape to continue and evolve, changes must be made. An outside company specializing in large-scale festivals may be the shot in the arm the city needs to get back on track while BOPA gets its house in order.”

Face Ober

Cara Ober, the editor-in-chief and publisher of BmoreArt, wrote in an email that “BOPA has been a supportive partner to me personally and to BmoreArt for many years.”

He noted the “enormous impact” the Sondheim Prize (which is produced by BOPA) and the accompanying museum exhibit has had on the city’s artists. But she also pointed to some of the shortcomings and mistakes of the arts organization, such as the decision during the pandemic not to renew the position of full-time director at the Escola 33 Art Center, which had been “a game changer for some time for artist careers in Baltimore.” .

Ober also recognized the “hardworking, intelligent and reliable arts administrators” on the BOPA staff. “It’s unfortunate that things have ended this way, but perhaps there will be a way forward that provides better structure and functionality, with BOPA acting as the arts council and with other agencies and organizations in the city facilitating the ‘other’ things that they have. The City Council has asked to do so.”

Ideas on how to deal with these responsibilities have already begun in publisher circles.

“One suggestion I’ve heard is that Baltimore City Parks and Rec take over the parades and fireworks,” Ober said. “After the most recent Baltimore Book Festival, major participants expressed a lot of frustration to me about the sudden lack of funding, the city bailout, and the confusion surrounding it. Among those I’ve spoken to, Waverly Main Street seems interested and able to lead the Baltimore Book Festival as a city agency/partner with booksellers as primary organizers.”

Jennifer White-Johnson

Jennifer White-Johnson is a Baltimore-based artist and educator who has been a patron of Artscape since 2010.

“I definitely feel like it’s going to leave a big void in terms of what’s next and who’s going to get support,” White-Johnson said of the break with BOPA. “Artists no longer feel like they have a voice.”

The artist said he “made so many beautiful connections at these events,” but stressed that more priority should be given to “how artists really want to plan and not how the mayor wants to plan and prioritize our perspectives.” .

“If the mayor is not willing to provide support to help create a sustainable outcome,” he said, “then what does that say to the artists?”

“Movements in Baltimore have always organically made themselves.”

Anonymous

A longtime BOPA artist who did not want to be named because of concerns about further entanglements with the organization and the arts scene said he was disappointed but not surprised by the news.

“I think the way BOPA has acted and engaged with the community has been quite unprofessional and disappointing to the arts community,” they said.

The artist said they weren’t sure what would come next, or what the alternative might be, because of the role BOPA played. But Baltimore’s art scene is bottom-up and driven by the people who make art, they said.

“The arts in Baltimore are self-propelled, and it’s disappointing that we don’t get back the effort we’re putting in.”

The artist said Artscape is great for the city, but it didn’t really serve the art community.

“It has become a great carnival. It’s more of a city-wide event for the general public than something that supports the arts,” they said. “No one I know who is an artist is sitting around waiting for Artscape.”