Charm City Charms The Critics

The Washington Post has a great spotlight on Baltimore's burgeoning arts and culture scene this week with an interactive map, tons of photos and a series of articles covering art lofts, film, theater and club music in Charm City. It's a great collection of stories and images, but not surprisingly it's an interesting reminder that Richmond's creative community has been doing many of the same things as Baltimore's artists for decades.

It would be fascinating to see Richmond's local media turn its collective spotlight on the region's creative underbelly – not as a discrete series of isolated events and activities, but as a holistic glimpse into a region whose DNA is laced with artistic talent. And has been for years.

Comments

[Emily]

Thanks for posting. I lived in Baltimore before moving to Richmond and always make comparisons and look to Bmore for new ideas here. We shouldn't overlook that while the article focuses on the artists and the emergence of the creative community, there were policy choices and leadership decisions that lead the city in this direction. These were aligned with the growth of the Office on Promotion & The Arts. The area highlighted around the train station was arbitrarily dubbed "Arts District" to encourage artists to take up residence in an area that was abandoned. The philanthropic community looks highly on supporting small new artists including this: http://www.urbanitebaltimore.com/baltimore/the-big-winner/Content?oid=1266384(Urbanite is still a favorite for getting interesting insights on the city. Many artists found entrees into more recognition and support through the Baltimore Creative Alliance. http://www.creativealliance.org/index.asp