Community Calendar

Free 8-Week Work Readiness Program for Individuals with Disabilities ages 16+. Build skills, discover strengths, and prepare for work in a small, supportive group setting. To register contact Jamie Leboe @ 410-843-7316 / [email protected]

When was the last time you unplugged?

Disconnect, slow down, and rediscover what it means to be present inside the BMA’s historic Spring House, where acclaimed American conceptual artist Rachel Lee Hovnanian presents the Nature Deficit Disorder immersion room this spring. The powerful installation challenges our digital dependence and rekindles our connection to the natural world.

Inspired by journalist Richard Louv’s term “nature deficit disorder,” described as a growing disconnection from nature, often linked to diminished focus and negative moods, Hovnanian transforms the Spring House into a simulated nighttime forest.

“My work has long explored how technology shapes attention, mental health, and human connection. This installation emerged from my observations of society’s growing digital dependence, alongside my own experience of it.” –Rachel Lee Hovnanian
Away from the constant ping of notifications and endless scrolling, surrender your phone, surround yourself with fir trees, and let lantern light guide you. Hear the crunch of leaves beneath your feet and watch the flicker of a campfire casting shadows across the room.

In a world where we check our phones every other minute, Hovnanian invites you to linger for at least five minutes in the immersion room and consider what is lost when we give our attention to apps and devices rather than real-life experiences.

“What do we lose when our lives are constantly mediated by screens? I hope to offer a pause—an invitation to rediscover how it feels to be fully present.” –Rachel Lee Hovnanian

Between 1946 and 1953, Henri Matisse created 28 lithographic portraits for Poésies Antillaises (Antillean Poetry), a book of poems by John-Antoine Nau. Published posthumously in 1972, this rare volume remains one of Matisse’s least-known illustrated works.

Inspired by his brief 1930 visit to Martinique, Matisse translated Nau’s evocative poems—celebrating travel, music, and oceanic landscapes—into vibrant portraits. These reflect the artist’s collaborations with notable Caribbean and international models and are presented alongside works by two leading artists from Martinique and Guadeloupe, Germaine Casse and Serge Hélénon. This focus exhibition illuminates aspects of the transatlantic artistic circles active during the late French colonial period.

On View February 4 - May 16 (closed March 15 - 22)

Explore the remarkable artistic journey and cultural legacy of Lain Singh Bangdel (1919–2002), widely regarded as the “Father of Modern Art” in Nepal. This collection of paintings—spanning the 1940s to the 1980s— reflects and reframes the cultural, political, and emotional realities of Bangdel’s time and traces his evolving vision as he navigated multiple worlds: colonial and postcolonial South Asia, cosmopolitan Europe, and an emerging modern Nepal.

Gallery Hours: Monday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Exhibition
Transformations: Lain Singh Bangdel, Art, Nepal
February 4 – May 16 (closed March 15-22)
Monday – Saturday 11 am – 4 pm
Asian Arts Gallery, Center for the Arts, Towson University
1 Fine Arts Drive, Towson, MD 21204

Explore the remarkable artistic journey and cultural legacy of Lain Singh Bangdel (1919–2002), widely regarded as the “Father of Modern Art” in Nepal. This collection of paintings—spanning the 1940s to the 1980s— reflects and reframes the cultural, political, and emotional realities of Bangdel’s time and traces his evolving vision as he navigated multiple worlds: colonial and postcolonial South Asia, cosmopolitan Europe, and an emerging modern Nepal.

Jonathan Franzen is the author of six novels, most recently Crossroads and Purity, and five works of nonfiction, including The Discomfort Zone, Farther Away, and The End of the End of the Earth. Among his honors are the National Book Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Award, the Heartland Prize, Die Welt Literature Prize, the Budapest Grand Prize, and the first Carlos Fuentes Medal awarded at the Guadalajara International Book Fair. Franzen is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the German Akademie der Künste, and the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. An ardent bird-watcher, he has served on the board of the American Bird Conservancy since 2008, and has received the EuroNatur Award for his work in bird conservation.

Presented by the President’s Reading Series: Literature of Social Import.

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The Writing Seminars hosts a wide array of writers across literary disciplines, including poets, novelists, translators, and biographers. Our regular reading series connects acclaimed writers from around the world with Baltimore communities at Johns Hopkins and beyond.

Our events are always free and open to the public, and include lively Q&A, catered receptions, books signings, and sales in partnership with Greedy Reads. If you would like to receive email announcements about our events, please contact [email protected].

“Yilian is one of the most incredible talents of the new generation of Cuban musicians. She is a virtuoso, she is expressive, spontaneous and with a grace that makes her the favorite of all of us.” — Chucho Valdés

Yilian Cañizares is one of the most intriguing contemporary violinists, singers and composers. Always staying true to her origins, she skillfully blends jazz, classical and Afro-Cuban rhythms with her otherworldly voice. Whether on stage or in a recording studio, there are few talented artists like Yilian – who was born in Havana and settled in Switzerland – with such great respect for the past and sensitivity towards the future. In recent years, she has shared a stage with Chucho Valdés, Richard Bona, Ibrahim Maalouf, Omar Sosa, Youn Sun Nah, Michael League, Harold Lopez Nussa, Roberto Fonseca and Dhafer Youssef. Yilian Cañizares has received important recognitions, including the Swiss Music Award (2021) and the invitation to perform during the UN World Oceans Day. She has recently been selected as one of the 100 personalities of the year in Switzerland.

Bassist/Composer and TU Alum, Drew Gress returns as the guest artist for the Murray Jazz Residency. Join us for a week of classes, rehearsals and concerts with Mr. Gress.

April 6 at 8 p.m. Mr. Gress will be in concert with the TU Jazz Faculty Ensemble and on April 10 at 8 p.m. Mr. Gress will perform with students of the TU Department of Music.

Proceeds benefit the TU Foundation