Volunteer Spotlight!

CreativeMornings/Baltimore is run on an engine of generosity. Our free, monthly events wouldn’t be possible without our all-volunteer team. Periodically, we will have volunteer spotlights, to allow us to give them some shine and to highlight things they’re working on or are passionate about!

Yasmin Perkins (@mogulinmaking) has been a volunteer with CM/Bal since our reboot in February 2019. By day, she’s working in higher education at a local university. She’s organizing Tatas + Tinis, a breast cancer awareness happy hour to connect and check at @revivalbaltimore on Wed, 10/2. Details at bit.ly/TatasandTinis.

What do you love about Baltimore’s Creative Communities?
What I love most about Baltimore’s Creative communities is their commitment to Building a better Baltimore collectively. Everyone is committed to making sure that Baltimore is represented in a positive way, we all want the rest of the world to see the beauty and charm that we see in this city.

Dustin Pead (@dustinpead) has been a volunteer with CM/Bal since our reboot in February 2019. By day, he’s the Creative Director for a local church. On Fri, 9/27 his church is bringing Essential Records recording artists, @verticalworship to town. Details and tickets are available at arundelcc.org/worshipnight

What do you love about Baltimore’s Creative Communities?
I love how outside the box Baltimore Creatives are. They don’t let anything hold them back from creating the work they’re called to make.

Be on the look out volunteer spotlights! If you're interested in joining our all-volunteer team, please complete our volunteer interest form!

CM/Bal Creative Catch-Up

Join us for our quarterly Creative Catch-up, a happy hour where our community can connect with each other in a laid back setting, on Wednesday, August 28, 5p -7p, at Charm City Meadworks (400 East Biddle St, Baltimore, MD 21202).

Enjoy the CreativeMornings/Bal mead of the evening and $1 off all drafts! There will also be a free raffle where you can win sweet, CM/Bal swag!

Cōl Bōl a Liberian Pop Up Dining Experience from local Food Creative, Carleen Goodridge of Le MONADE, will have West African bites available for purchase. Get ready to experience traditional flavors with a unique twist.

Wight Tea Company will also be on hand with tea flavored cotton candy (weather permitting).

RSVP TODAY

Justice on August 23

For our event on August 23 at Center Stage, we are excited to welcome Lisa Snowden-McCray to the stage to speak on the theme of Justice. We’re also happy to announce that we’ll be having a few local organizations and artists tabling at the event to help us round out the theme of Justice. Registration is always free and opens on August 19.

Baltimore Asian Resistance in Solidarity (BARS)

BARS brings together Asians and Pacific Islanders of all backgrounds in Baltimore for learning, mutual support, and radical organizing. We use educational programming to build critical knowledge about our identities, to create safe, inclusive spaces for API, and work in solidarity with all marginalized peoples in Baltimore because our liberation is tied together.
https://www.facebook.com/baltimoreasianresistanceinsolidarity/

Baltimore Youth Arts

Baltimore Youth Arts is a creative entrepreneurship and job training program that provides artistic and professional opportunities to young people, ages 14-22, with a focus on those involved in the justice system. Our mission is to assist young people in gaining the creative, personal, and educational skills that will enable them to become leaders in their communities.

twitter/Ig @bmoreyoutharts
bmoreyoutharts.org

Fusion Partnerships

Fusion Partnerships works to be a catalyst for social justice and peace through collaborative action, including fiscal sponsorship. Fusion upholds space for a larger and more diverse pool of grassroots community leaders can now contribute and participate in solutions for social change.  Through greater access to nonprofit and supportive organizational resources, Fusion is an inclusive solution that protects and nurtures small innovative organizations and initiatives. 
 
IG/Twitter: @fusion_partnerships
http://www.fusiongroup.org/

MDVLA

MDVLA is a nonprofit service organization dedicated to protecting Maryland artists’ legal rights through pro bono legal referrals and education to artists and nonprofit arts organizations. Their lawyers take on cases for artists as they would for any client. They strive to help artists and organizations overcome legal barriers that limit their ability to create, distribute, or profit from their creativity. 

Twitter: @MarylandVLA
IG: @md_vla
www.mdvla.org

Unmonument to Liberation and Black Joy

Artist April Danielle Lewis, 2019 Grit Fund grantee, is creating a collaborative 3D printed UnMonument to Liberation and Black Joy (ULBJ), an artistic response to a monument or a counter-monument. Inspired by the removal of Baltimore’s confederate monuments in 2016, ULBJ challenges the notion that local denizens should honor the legacy of those whose work has perpetuated the injustices that divide our country and our communities. ULBJ will depict a dirt bike rider in a “12’o clock” position.
unmonument.com

July Playlist

Our music curator, Ashley Lomax, shares, "Endings are necessary for new beginnings. But no matter what, it is about change. I like songs that have themes of getting over something, moving on, or simply just ending things. I chose songs that I love that have those concepts. Plus some songs that are from my favorite ending credit. Enjoy!"

Listen to June's Playlist!

Our music curator, Ashley Lomax, shares, “Wonder is an important word to me. Its the feeling you get when when you encounter something new, different, short lived or even meant for forever.. Memories give the feeling of wonder….life and movement. From random one hit wonders to Stevie Wonder. Let’s smile and sing for a while.” 

May Playlist

Our music curator, Ashley Lomax, shares, “Preservation is one of the most important aspects of a city to me. Old buildings, new playgrounds, same spirit of people. Baltimore is special for the artists its created, the history that’s been created here and the future to come. From the Star Spangled Banner to Baltimore Club, this city is truly special. This playlist is entirely Baltimore acts. Its time to dance." 

Thank you!

Thanks are due all around! To our wonderful speaker - Steph Hsu, our illustrious partners, our amazing volunteers, all our “morning people” attendees, and to Amanda DiGiondomenico for these incredible illustrated notes from Steph’s talk.

If you are interested in reading the article Steph referenced “Is he white or colored?” you can read that full text here.

And if you want to get involved with the Charm City Night Market, you can find out more here.

April Creative Catch-up

Join us Tuesday, April 23rd from 5-7 for happy hour at Noona’s! Catch up with past speakers, enjoy complimentary bites, drink specials and stick around for a chance to win some great prizes.

RSVP here and we’ll see ya there!

April Playlist: Inclusive

CreativeMornings/Baltimore’s Music Curator, Ashley Lomax, says of this month’s theme:

To me, Inclusive means all-embracing and more importantly, focusing on the diversity within the individual and the group, as a way of life. I focused on artists from Baltimore such as Greenspan, Amy Reid, and Soul Cannon, while including a variety of inviting songs. Come, Belong, & Express You. 

Partner: Local Color Flowers

We’re so so lucky to have Local Color Flowers as a partner. Look at this STUNNING arrangement they designed for this month's talk. Here’s more from the bosslady herself, Ellen Frost: 

“We’re so excited to be partnering with CreativeMornings/Baltimore. Each month we are challenging ourselves to create a design inspired by the monthly theme. This month, the theme is WATER. Stacy Yeager, one of our long time designers created this monochromatic blue arrangement with the color of water in mind. Using locally grown flowers including iris, delphinium, hyacinth and sweet peas, the arrangement perfectly complements the green vase, another water color, created by local potter and entrepreneur Irene Donnelly Salmon.

Water is a hot topic in the local flower community today. Water is a critical component for growing cut flowers. Without water, there would be no flowers. Farmers spend a lot of time trying to ensure their plants get enough water through wells or rain capture or irrigation. Too much water however, (like last year’s record rain fall in Maryland) can put an early end to flowers rotting entire crops in the field. Flower farming is hard and balance in farming is fleeting but water is a constant for better or worse.”