President's Letter

I am honored to serve as the 2023 BAF President. This year is going to be a fun one and to kick it off we are thrilled to be bringing back our Groundhog’s Day Party – Saturday, February 4, 2023 from 7p-11p. Historically, this event has been held in a space that is not yet open to the public and this year is no exception! Register and join us on the 2nd floor of Baltimore’s Penn Station for what is sure to be a memorable evening!

This year BAF will be connecting with more allied organizations around the city to get more people excited about the great architecture that exists in Baltimore. We’ll have events throughout the year leading up to the celebration the 10th Anniversary of Doors Opens Baltimore and I invite you to share your passion for Baltimore architecture by joining us at one or many of our future events. All of the exciting events that are coming your way would not be possible without our amazing volunteers and board members.

We’ll be continuing the great work our Future Architects Resources Committee is doing to reach younger audiences with design education programming and continuing our virtual programs to reach audiences around the world. We’ll also be working to broaden our audience locally, to reach more Baltimoreans and diversify our audience to better reflect the population of the Baltimore region.

We are always looking for volunteers and future board members so I hope you’ll get involved with some of the amazing programming we have scheduled this year. I look forward to leading BAF in 2023 and wish you a year of joy and excitement.

Cheers,

Nakita Reed, AIA, NOMA, LEED AP BD+C, CPHC
2023 Baltimore Architecture Foundation President

News

Baltimore Architecture Foundation is pleased to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to receive a Grants for Arts Projects award of $23,000. This grant will support BAF's annual program, Doors Open Baltimore. This grant is one of 1,251 Grants for Arts Projects awards totaling nearly $28.8 million that were announced by the NEA as part of its first round of fiscal year 2023 grants.

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects in communities nationwide,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “Projects such as this one with Baltimore Architecture Foundation strengthen arts and cultural ecosystems, provide equitable opportunities for arts participation and practice, and contribute to the health of our communities and our economy.”

"We are grateful to the National Endowment for the Arts for supporting Doors Open Baltimore again this year," Lauren Bostic Hill, Executive Director of BAF, said. "It is through the continued support of this funding that we are able to envision and realize a public, citywide celebration of Baltimore’s architecture and neighborhoods. Doors Open Baltimore is in its 10th year, and we’re enthusiastic about making 2023 the biggest year yet."

Launched in 2014, Doors Open Baltimore is the citywide festival of architecture and neighborhoods, hosted by the Baltimore Architecture Foundation. It encourages residents and visitors to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the built environment of Baltimore.

For more information on other projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.

Events

February 4, 2023
7 - 11 PM
Baltimore Penn Station Second Floor "Switch Room"
1500 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21201

Join fellow BAF members, local history buffs, and party-goers to celebrate another year with festive music and dancing in a unique and usually off-limits venue. This year’s annual BAF party will be held in the former Switch Room located in Baltimore’s iconic Penn Station.

Penn Station was a Doors Open Baltimore 2022 guided tour. To celebrate 10 years of Doors Open Baltimore in 2023, we are opening the "Switch Room" to the public for Groundhog Day!

7:30 - 11 PM: Open bar until 8:30 PM plus two drink tickets and food will be provided to full-price ticket holders.

8:30 PM: A limited half-price ticket is available for late-night revelers. This includes two drink tickets.

Attire: Black & White colored attire is encouraged to honor Groundhog Day.

There will be two tours of Penn Station throughout the night at no additional cost.

Tickets are selling quick! Purchase yours, today.

• Major Sponsor ($1000): Includes 2 full evening event tickets, logo featured in all communications, linked logo on BAF website, and recognition at the event.
• Sponsor ($500): Includes 1 full evening ticket, logo featured on BAF website, and recognition at the event.
• Sponsor ($250): Includes 1 ticket to the cocktail party (8:30 - 11:00 PM), name listed on BAF website and recognition at the event.

February 25, 2023
2:00 - 4:30 PM
The Center for Architecture & Design
100 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21201

This workshop is an introduction to classic watercolor techniques used for botanical subjects such as color mixing, reserving paint and glazing. Participants will work on completing a painting of a beautifully colored and textured houseplant and will learn how they can create their own botanical paintings at home! Join us for an afternoon workshop designed to help you slow down, look closely, and let your creative juices flow. Ages 8+ welcome. All workshop materials plus tea and cookies are included in the ticket price.

Houseplant subjects are on loan from Baltimore small business, Stem & Vine and will be available for purchase following the workshop. Take your new green friend/art model home with you!

Workshop 1 – Drawing Like an Architect
Date: Saturday, January 21, 2023
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon
Location: The Center for Architecture and Design, One Charles Center
100 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
Bring: pens and paper

Baltimore-based architects Carlos Almeida (AECOM), Jerome Gray (Jerome C. Gray Architect), Eric J. Jenkins (University of Maryland), Omar Calderon Santiago (Perkins Eastman) and Gabriel Kroiz (Morgan State University) have organized a small group of sketchers called, tentatively, “Charm City Sketchers”. They invite everyone to help celebrate sketching and the architecture of Baltimore through sketching tours, lectures, and exhibitions. Their first initiative is once-a-month sketching workshops in and around Baltimore. While AIA Baltimore will release a complete schedule soon, the workshops will include “Light, Shade, and Depth” with Carlos Almeida and “Deciphering Building Design and History through Urban Sketching” with Jerome Gray.

The Baltimore Architecture Foundation (BAF) and Baltimore Heritage present a series of 30 minute live virtual tours and presentations focusing on Baltimore architecture, preservation and history.

Tickets are donation based. We encourage you to give what you can to support BAF and Baltimore Heritage. Your support helps us make up for lost tour and program revenue from COVID-19 and create more virtual programs like this.

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