Community Calendar

Known as the “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson was a 13-time Grammy Award winner, American singer, songwriter, and dancer. As a child, Jackson became the lead singer of his family’s popular Motown group, the Jackson 5. He went on to a solo career of astonishing worldwide success, delivering No. 1 hits from the albums Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad. Thriller remains one of the best-selling albums in history.

R&B singer and pop artist Usher is an eight-time Grammy winner best known for his best-selling album Confessions as well as the songs “Yeah!,” “Nice & Slow,” “U Remind Me,” and “My Boo,” a duet with Alicia Keys. Usher released his first album in 1994, at age 15, and began dominating airwaves later that decade. In 2004, Confessions brought even greater success; his first No. 1 album sold more than 1 million copies in its first week and led to three Grammy Awards.

Kenny Sway is known as “DC’s Best Male Vocalist,” coming from Seat Pleasant, Maryland, best known for the viral videos of his street performances in Washington DC. Kenny is a very genuine artist, who became a real advocate for the black community in the aftermath of Floyd’s death, leading almost daily peaceful protests dominated by love, peace, unity and his music. He started out as a street artist years ago, serenading the streets of Maryland and DC, but he is still going out in the streets to perform for the people who can’t afford to buy tickets to his concerts.

EVERY BRILLIANT THING

BY DUNCAN MACMILLAN and JONNY DONAHOE
DIRECTED BY TAD JANES

MAY 15 – JUNE 14

Preview May 14
ASL Interpreted Performance May 22

At once a transcendent coming-of-age tale and a call to reach out to each other, Every Brilliant Thing is a warm-hearted, hilarious, heart-wrenching play about how depression can affect a family, and the lengths we will go for those we love.

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.

Maryland Art Place, in partnership with Hotel Indigo Baltimore, is pleased to present a solo exhibition by Maryland-based artist, Roo Taylor. The exhibition is on view at Hotel Indigo, located at 24 West Franklin St. from April 17 - July 17.
A public reception will take place on Wednesday, April 22 from 5 PM to 7 PM.

About the Artist:
Roo Taylor (b. 2003) is a Baltimore-based artist originally from Denver, Colorado. She earned her BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and is currently a resident artist at the Creative Alliance in Baltimore. Working primarily with high-flow acrylic paint and acrylic ink, Taylor uses transparency and layered color to create abstract landscapes. Her work explores the interplay between the natural world and human relationships, exploring the emotional and atmospheric depth through fluid, natural spaces. Her artwork has been exhibited in galleries across Baltimore, Denver and New York, as well as internationally at the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art in Japan.

Using light and color as metaphors for energy, Roo Taylor’s work traces the through lines between the natural world and human connection. Rooted in a deep reverence for transparency and hue, each piece is meant to reflect on the connection between feeling and form. Taylor invites viewers to experience emotional resonance as something inherently natural, alive, layered, and luminous.

Please join us on Wednesday, April 22 from 5 PM to 7 PM for a champagne reception at Hotel Indigo located at 24 West Franklin St.

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

From the 1960s to the 2020s, Baltimore philanthropists Sigmund and Mary Hyman assembled a major collection of American art, with a particular focus on modernists of the Ashcan School. In partnership with BMA curators, the Hymans gifted a carefully selected group of important works to the Museum—a gift completed in 2024 following the passing of Mary Hyman, a longtime Trustee.

Featuring paintings, sculptures, works on paper, and a textile, Seeing the Essential: The Sigmund M. and Mary B. Hyman Collection of American Art explores defining themes of the Ashcan movement, including urban life, architecture, interiors, the figure, and portrayals of artists and performers. The exhibition also highlights an exceptional group of works by John Sloan, a leading figure of the movement.

THE HEIDI CHRONICLES Continues Vagabond Players’ 110th Season
Apr. 10 – May 3, 2026
Before hashtags and headlines, there was Heidi—searching for connection, purpose and a place in a rapidly changing world. This spring, Vagabond Players brings Wendy Wasserstein’s THE HEIDI CHRONICLES to the stage, directed by Lee Conderacci in her Vagabond Players debut.
In this sparkling and oh so relevant comedy, art historian Heidi Holland and her friends travel from the 1960s through the 1980s making life-changing choices relating to dating, mating and career paths. Will the brilliant and perceptive Heidi find the partner of her dreams? Do “women’s libbers” consider Heidi’s decision about having a child to be a betrayal? Can Heidi attain the fulfillment that she—and millions of other women—fought for? Winner of both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play, The Heidi Chronicles remains a sharp, insightful and deeply relatable look at friendship, feminism and the search for meaning and continues to serve as a reminder of what’s been accomplished and how much remains to be achieved.
THE HEIDI CHRONICLES runs April 10 – May 3, 2026, with performances Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. And check out a special “Thursdays on Broadway” performance April 30 at 8 p.m. when all tickets are just $12.
For tickets, cast and show info visit www.vagabondplayers.org. Special discounts and group rates are available online.