Executive Director's Letter - 3/12/24 | Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance

March has definitely come in like a lion with its blustery winds, making it a great time to make a kite and visit the wonderful cultural events and organizations around the region. Save the date for the 2024 Big Baltimore Kite Festival in Patterson Park on April 6th, organized by GBCA Member Creative Alliance.

Also in Highlandtown, congratulations to our wonderful friends at Nuestras Raices. Their goal is to change the narrative and misconception about the Hispanic/Latino community by showcasing the richness and diversity of its culture and artistic heritage. They also aim to reconnect Hispanic/Latino US-born children and parents to their native culture and heritage through educational, artistic, and cultural programs and events. Founder and Executive Director Angelo Solera, took Lauren Saunders and me on a tour of their beautiful Casa de la Cultura in East Baltimore, which includes gallery, rehearsal, teaching, and community space all focused on cultural awareness. Take a trip down to Gough Street to check out their beautiful mural by artist Came Moreno and their programs; and watch for Fiesta Baltimore in fall 2024.

Arts and culture impact so many parts of our lives and tie us to our identities. Now it is more clearly understood that they also have a role to play in the successful work of so many other sectors. On January 30, the White House hosted “Healing, Bridging, Thriving: A Summit on Arts and Culture in our Communities” with leaders from government, the arts, academia and philanthropy. Maria Rosario Jackson, the National Endowment for the Arts chair, said the conference was an “unprecedented opportunity for people from different sectors to come together and lift up and explore some of the things that are possible when one thinks of the arts as not being confined to a narrow sector, but woven and integrated into other things we care about.”

Imagine how we can change the world when the power of the arts are formally harnessed to work together with other sectors to improve the environment, promote civil engagement, fight hate speech, and help patients heal.

P.S. Rest In Peace, dear Jay McKean Fisher, who many of us knew for his work as a curator at the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Jeannie

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Executive Director's Letters

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