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Emerge Baltimore Exhibition Series

The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts( (BOPA) presents three solo shows that open simultaneously at the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower as part of BOPA’s Emerge Baltimore exhibition series. Please join us for the opening reception on Thursday, February 10, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Secure your FREE tickets HERE!

Aliana Grace Bailey’s exhibition, “a loving home: lessons on love,” unfolds in textiles; in Derrick ‘DJ’ Smith’s exhibition “Clarity” his photographs explore aspects of mental health and the healing process; and Raquel Thompson’s exhibition “Reality” showcases single line paintings that reveal hidden human emotions.

This trio of artists represents the zealous expression and cutting-edge vision that will thrust Baltimore City creative culture into the future. And all three shows are set in the stunning galleries of the historic Bromo Seltzer Tower.

All guests must provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test taken within 24 hours of the event to attend. These exhibitions run through Sunday, April 24. The Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower will be open on Saturdays from 11am-4pm and by appointment Monday-Friday.

a loving home: lessons on love is a time capsule of healing and love.  This exhibition explores the concept of home and themes of intimacy and love.  The space of the Bromo lobby feels familiar, welcoming, nostalgic, and reminiscent of places we all call home.  The idea of art existing in accessible, comfortable spaces feels inviting, safe, relaxing, and modern. 

Aliana Grace Bailey uses screenprint, fiber, collage, painting, and photography to weave and construct a body of work that connects her with the viewer.  Feeling at home with a person, within yourself, in a community, and in space is essential to Bailey’s narrative.  How we define and create home, how we choose to love, how we heal our homes, and what impressions we leave behind unfold throughout the pieces of the exhibition. 

 

Using the medium of photography, multimedia artist, Derrick “DJ” Smith engineers and constructs meaning in his work through form, color, eccentricity, and truth.  Starting with himself and shining a light on internal desolation, personal sorrows, and mental health, DJ unveils immunity without melancholy. 

Clarity explores human insecurities, beauty standards, depression, and the healing process.  This series was created during one of DJ’s longest depression episodes.  Facing the pandemic, pregnancy, relocation, and career, he provides us with a glimpse into the brief moments of clarity with this new body of work so deliberately, raw, and poetically rendered in photography. 

 

Raquel Thompson is a contemporary artist.  Her art and vision are rooted in a personal practice of meditation and mindfulness.  Using her YOVD (Your Own Vision Defines) theme, Raquel aims to visually interpret the vibrations, energy, and frequencies of movement leaving you to define what it means in relation to your own experience.   With intentional repetition, her work challenges the audiences’ own perceptions, perspectives, and emotional awareness. 

Leaning into personal her own vibration with the world, Reality explores the world of abstraction through voluminous line work, repetition, and trance-like flows.  Thompson’s artwork suggests: If you let go, you, will experience something spiritual.  Viewers should feel a multitude of emotions while taking the journey through lines and colors, ultimately leading to healthy internal conversations and reflective outward connections.