Thursday, July 30, 2026
Dear GBCA Community,
We are writing today with very heavy hearts to share an important update with you about the future of the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance.
After extensive exploration of paths forward and consultation with our partners and funders, GBCA’s Board of Directors has made the difficult decision to begin an orderly wind-down of the organization.
Make no mistake: we continue to believe deeply in GBCA’s mission and in the need for a strong, independent advocate for arts and culture in our region. But after years of working to adapt GBCA’s structure and exploring options, it is no longer financially sustainable within GBCA’s current organizational model.
We know this announcement will come as a shock to many of you. Please know that we have poured our hearts, energy, and resources into sustaining GBCA and advocating for Greater Baltimore’s arts and culture sector. We know how much GBCA has meant to so many of you, and we cannot express how much you have meant to us as well.
We are incredibly proud of, and want to celebrate all we have accomplished with you over the past 25 years. From Urban Arts Leadership and Citizen Artist Baltimore to the Baker Artist Portfolios and so much more. GBCA has worked to strengthen, advocate for, and connect the region’s arts and culture sector.
Together with our members and partners, we have championed artists and cultural organizations, advocated for public investment in the arts, provided professional development and resources, connected people and organizations across the region, and helped ensure that arts and culture have a strong voice in conversations about Baltimore’s future.
It has been an honor to do this work. We are deeply grateful to the members, donors, advocates, partners, and friends who have made it possible.
And while GBCA as an organization is winding down, the need for this work is not. There remains an urgent need for independent advocacy, connection, information-sharing, and convening across Baltimore’s arts and culture sector. We hope this moment can create an opportunity to think collectively about how those functions might continue in a new form, one that reflects the needs of the field today and can be sustained for the future.
What’s next? In the coming months, we hope to work with partners and members of the arts community to explore what that next chapter of this work could look like. If you are interested in being part of those conversations, we would very much like to hear from you.
To get started and to answer your immediate questions, we will host a special Zoom community conversation on Monday, August 10 at 4:30pm. Watch for details about this convening in the coming week.
In the meantime, we have prepared a list of Frequently Asked Questions with additional information. [LINK TO FAQ]
Most importantly, we want to say thank you.
Thank you to our founders and the artists, cultural organizations, funders, public partners, Board members, staff, volunteers, advocates, and community members who have shaped GBCA nearly 25 years. Thank you for trusting GBCA to advocate on behalf of this extraordinary sector. Thank you for showing up for one another and for believing, as we do, that arts and culture are essential to a vibrant, connected, and healthy Baltimore.
We are especially grateful to the staff and board members past and present, whose talent, dedication, and care made GBCA’s work possible.
There is real sadness in bringing this chapter of GBCA to a close. There is also tremendous gratitude for what has been accomplished together and hope for what this community can build next.
With deep appreciation,
Jeannie Howe
Executive Director
Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance
Randi Benesch
Board President
Greater Baltimore Cultural Allianc
