Maryland Hall To Host Celebration Of Women In The Arts

This Women’s History Month, Maryland Hall is hosting a new annual event to honor the achievements and impact of women in the arts.

The event will be held on the evening of March 24 and is expected to be a dynamic celebration seeking to bring together local artists, art lovers and the community while connecting and honoring influential women across the industry. It will feature several experiences that attendees can step into and out of throughout the evening.

It all started in early 2023, when Maryland Hall Executive Director Jackie Coleman traveled to New York City for the annual Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) conference to meet performers and work with agents to bring new talent to Maryland Hall, especially performance types outside of what Maryland Hall normally hosts.

While Coleman and the rest of the Maryland Hall team were vetting potential opportunities after the conference, one speaker came to the forefront: Me Ra Koh, Sony’s first female photography ambassador and host of Disney Junior’s “Capture Your Story.” She is nationally recognized as “The Photo Mom.”

Her work has also been featured on “Oprah,” “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” and in The New York Times. She also works as a motivational speaker, telling her stories about overcoming homelessness and abuse and how art and photography helped her on her journey.

After deciding to hold a speaking event with Koh, the Maryland Hall team realized they had an opening in March.

“We thought, well, that’s a perfect month because that’s Women’s History Month,” Coleman said. “And wouldn’t it be interesting to celebrate women in the arts by bringing Me Ra Koh here?”

Adonia Akins, Maryland Hall’s director of marketing and communications, had an idea to expand the event to include sessions and performances for all kinds of art forms.

“From there, we just started spit-balling and thinking of all the things we could do in the same evening that would generate an interesting and robust networking opportunity and celebration for women in the arts,” Coleman said.

Starting at 6:00pm in the community room on the second floor, the March celebration will include an hour-long music showcase by the Songbird Collective, a movement created by four musicians from the Eastern Shore and Baltimore area that provides resources and support for women and nonbinary people in the music community. The collective puts on performances across the state, including an annual outdoor concert called the Songbird Festival, held each April or May at Maryland Hall.

At 6:30pm in the Martino Gallery, artist in residence and curator Annika Marthinuss will give a talk about art as healing and self-expression, which will be represented in the work that is hanging on the wall. Also at 6:30pm, right across the hall in the Earl Gallery, a book table will feature author Barbara Bernstein, who will sign and talk about her new book, Salsa Dancing & Rueda de Casino Guidebook for Beginner to Advanced Dancers: Steps, Styling, Technique, Latin Rhythms, Humor & Anecdotes,” released in November 2024. A DJ will also play music in the Earl Gallery.

Koh will give her keynote speech in the main hall at 7:30pm. All attendees will be invited to listen.

A cash bar, snacks and appetizers will also be available.

Maryland Hall also filmed four social media interviews from local artists, including Bernstein, Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum Executive Director Chanel Johnson, Ant Farm leads Darin Gilliam and Alison Harbaugh, and Maryland Federation of Art Executive Director Patrice Drago. One interview a week is being released during March, and all of the artists featured in the interviews will be available for people to chat with at the event.

Coleman also wished to emphasize that the celebration is not a women-only event. Men and nonbinary people are welcome too.

“Even though the event is very much celebrating women, attending it is for anyone who is a supporter of women’s achievements,” Coleman said. “It doesn’t matter how you identify.”

Tickets are available on the Maryland Hall website at www.marylandhall.org/events.