BmoreArt News: MD Film Fest, Merritt Gallery, Creative Baltimore Fund Awardees

This week’s news includes: Full schedule announced for MD Film Fest, Merritt Gallery closing, Creative Baltimore Fund awardees announced, Jill Orlov is a big deal in miniatures, Nature Deficit Disorder at the BMA, Medieval Mindscapes and a missing manuscript at The Walters, MICA alum Yumi Hogan and indigo dyeing, Mark Anthony West Jr.’s Lord Baltimore show, NGA’s new acquisitions, and The Kennedy Center to close for two years. Become a Member at BmoreArt Receive Print Journals, Invitations, and Support BmoreArt! Learn More Maryland Film Festival Announces Full Line Up Press Release :: March 12 This year’s lineup at the Maryland Film Festival (MdFF) is a celebration of Baltimore, diverse voices, and creative risk-taking, intentionally designed to help people go beyond streaming and gather in person for unique experiences and encounters. With more than 170 works, free programming, community discussions and events, plus expected attendance from 200 filmmakers, MdFF is set to deliver an unprecedented program that’s both locally rooted and globally minded. A national festival teeming with local work and community culture, the 5-day event promises to deliver a robust mix of offerings, some free and open to the public, others ticketed, all extending a unique way to gather, reflect, and celebrate. It runs April 8-12 at the historic SNF Parkway Theatre in Baltimore’s Station North District https://snfparkway.org/mdff/. From Opening and Closing Night celebrations to live performances, filmmaker conversations, local student films, repertory screenings, and community partnerships, these programs showcase the full creative range of MdFF. “We’re thrilled to offer an extraordinary program for 2026, full of powerful docs, entertaining narratives and so many fantastic short films. We have some great parties and stellar entertainers in store, too, as our audiences have come to expect.” said KJ Mohr, Director, Maryland Film Festival & Film Programming at the SNF Parkway Theatre. “Being part of the Maryland Film Festival is as easy as seeing one film–you don’t have to be a film expert. It’s as welcoming and down to Earth as we know Baltimore to be,” said Nancy Proctor, the SNF Parkway’s executive director. “Audiences will find stories outside of their algorithms, so to speak, and discover something they didn’t know they were looking for. I, for one, am especially inspired by all the strong Black women featured in this year’s festival,” added Proctor. “At MdFF 2026, we’re not only going to be able to see their stories on screen, but also hear from game changers like Leslie King-Hammond, Joyce J. Scott, Maria Broom, Sharayna Christmas, Shelley Halstead, and Angela Carroll in person. It’s that opportunity to get out of our online bubbles to share films and have conversations ‘IRL’ that makes the Maryland Film Festival so special and particularly vital today.” “The team has done an amazing job adding new features to MdFF this year and enhancing returning ones,” Proctor added. “The verticals program will bring made-for-mobile content to the big screen for the first time, offering a view into a whole new genre of filmmaking that’s being invented before our eyes. I’m excited to hear filmmakers pitch their new projects in the Pitch Fest, and of course see all that Cinetech will bring us from new and emerging media.” Learn more ‘A shock’: Baltimore’s Merritt Gallery is closing after more than 40 years by Wesley Case Published March 14 in The Baltimore Banner When Baltimore’s Merritt Gallery & Renaissance Fine Arts announced its upcoming closure after more than four decades, artist clients immediately reached out with heartfelt tributes. “This is a shock,” Canadian-born painter Joseph Adolphe wrote. “As this chapter closes, you leave behind a precious cultural legacy,” added Nathalie Boissonnault. ”It is not possible to describe the effect of being represented by your gallery has had on my life,” wrote Maryland artist John Brandon Sills. Read more Create Baltimore and Mayor Brandon M. Scott are proud to announce the 2026 recipients of the Creative Baltimore Fund. Press Release :: March 18 “Congratulations to all of the selected artists and organizations, who represent the incredible talent of Baltimore’s creative community,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “Each year, this grant opportunity is a chance for the city to support local art and creativity. I want to thank the teams at Create Baltimore and MOACE for supporting this proce Links found in article: - https://bmoreart.com/shop-categories/memberships - https://snfparkway.org/mdff/ - https://www.thebanner.com/culture/arts/merritt-gallery-art-baltimore-closing-cross-keys-2UAEYYAYC5F7BHZ5EFZYK7HDC4/ - https://www.promotionandarts.org/creative-baltimore-fund/ - https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/artsentertainment/jill-orlov-baltimore-artist-sculptural-vignettes-in-miniature/ - https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/bma-exhibition-nature-deficit-disorder/ - https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/archimedes-palimpsest-manuscript-rediscovered-1234777245/ - https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/medieval-mindscapes-exhibition-on-view-at-the-walters-art-museum-through-aug-23/ - https://www.mica.edu/art-articles/details/creativity-rooted-in-memory-the-indigo-project-and-yumi-hogan/ - https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/exhibit-lord-baltimore-hotel-mark-anthony-west-jr/ - https://nga.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e894a1837aca4526f7e8a11b3&id=44c6e80425&e=16fa63a0fe - https://www.thebanner.com/culture/arts/kennedy-center-shut-down-president-trump-HRMMZLHMENBB3CM6TOL777EPEM/ - https://bmoreart.com/2026/03/bmoreart-news-md-film-fest-merritt-gallery-creative-baltimore-fund-awardees.html - https://bmoreart.com