Work is wrapping up on 10 new murals along a concrete wall on the 100 block of W. Pratt St. in front of the Baltimore Convention Center. The murals, which are being created during an event called BRUSH Mural Fest (BMF), are part of an effort by the Baltimore Convention Center to bring more local art to the building.
This is the second year of BMF, which was started by muralists Jaz Erenberg, Saba Hamidi, and Jess Langley. During the first year, five new murals were added in Station North, Downtown, and Highlandtown.
Erenberg and Hamidi organized the 2024 BMF at the Baltimore Convention Center.
The BMF 2024 mural artists are Hannah Atallah, Rowan Bathurst, Justin Duvall, Hiro Hubbard, JLaw, Kolpeace, LaToya Peoples, Saz Ross, and Locust Point’s Nicole Buchholz who goes by SolRaya. Buchholz also recently completed a mural on Francis Scott Key Elementary Middle School.
BMF will be celebrated this Saturday at 11am with live music by Bari Lutalo, Tavier Dominique, and Blaqustarr. There will also be a BRUSH Battle, family art activities, and food vendors.
“We are thrilled to host Brush Mural Fest, an event that promises to bring well-deserved recognition to local artists while furthering the Baltimore Convention Center’s commitment to fostering a more authentic, vibrant downtown corridor,” said Mac Campbell, executive director of the Baltimore Convention Center, in a press release. “In alignment with the Mayor’s ‘Downtown Rise’ initiative, showcasing Baltimore’s artistic excellence along Pratt Street helps amplify the cultural heartbeat of our community to the countless residents and visitors who walk through and by our doors.”
“Oftentimes, visitors’ experience stops at the boundaries of downtown Baltimore,” said Hamidi in a press release. “We see the Convention Center as the ‘gateway’ to the beauty and stories layered throughout our urban landscape. It’s our hope that the vibrant art produced through BRUSH Fest, representing communities outside the downtown area, will encourage those visitors to go beyond and explore further.”
Philip Costa, deputy director for the Baltimore Convention Center, told SouthBMore.com that the artwork on the outside of the building, which also includes a large mural installed this summer on S. Howard St. by artists Jessie Unterhalter and Katey Truhn, is “just the beginning” of the Center’s efforts to bring in more local art.
The Baltimore Convention Center will next move its focus to the inside of the building.
Costa said things are going well at the Baltimore Convention Center as it looks to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic. This weekend it will host the Baltimore Pokemon Regional Championship and next weekend is Baltimore Comic-Con.
The team at the Baltimore Convention Center is also excited for its booking of the ASAE Annual Meeting in 2033, which is known in the industry as the “Super Bowl” of meetings.
The last couple of years, the Baltimore Convention Center has hosted The Nest on its Camden Yards Terrace. The Nest is a free, family-friendly event with snacks and cocktails scheduled before Orioles weekend home games.
Costa noted the local art pieces and The Nest are part of an effort make the local community “feel like the building is for them as well,” not just out-of-town visitors attending a convention.
Photo courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles
