Maryland Arts Summit
The Maryland Arts Summit, hosted at Prince George’s Community College Center for the Performing Arts, is a statewide conference presented by and for the Maryland arts sector, which includes, but is not limited to: Arts Advocates, Arts Educators & Teaching Artists, Independent Artists, Arts Organizations, Youth, Community Stakeholders, Arts, and Entertainment Districts, County Arts Agencies of Maryland, Public Artists, Boards of Directors, and Folklife Artists.
It is an opportunity to network, share the fantastic work that is being done across the state, learn about communities different from your own, celebrate the accomplishments of what we as a sector have achieved, and, through dialogue and action, bring to light where systems have fallen short of the support required to help artists and organizations thrive. The Maryland Arts Summit is a place for productive conversations to move the Maryland arts sector forward and ensure its long-term success.
When: Tuesday, June 16th- Wednesday, June 17th, 2026
Location: Prince George’s Community College, Center for Performing Arts located at 301 Largo Road, Largo, MD 20774
Thanks to our Community Partners
Registration- Now Open
There are many ways to attend the Maryland Arts Summit! Read below to learn about the different types of registration and engagement- there’s a lot of great information! Please take the time to read it thoroughly. Email info@mdarts.org with any questions you might have!
Virtual Admission:
- Virtual Access Ticket – $15
General Admission: [CLOSED]
- One Day Admission – $40
- Two Day Admission – $70
Member Organization Rate: [CLOSED]
Organizations that have paid their dues in **full** and have paid during the fiscal year 2025 (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025) have access to special pricing. Pricing extends to all staff and board members of dues paying organizations.
- One Day Admission – $35
- Two Day Admission – $60
Haven’t paid dues yet this year, or you’re unsure of your organization’s status? That’s okay! You can pay your dues and gain access to this pricing.
**Organizations that would like access to this pricing should email Amanda Morell at amanda@mdarts.org for the discount code and to check the status of their membership**
Community Supported Pricing: [CLOSED]
We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to participate, regardless of financial circumstances. Our Community-Supported Pricing offers a reduced rate for individuals who may find the standard cost prohibitive. This initiative is made possible through the generous support of our community and partners, who help us keep our events accessible and inclusive for all.
- One Day Community Supported Pricing – $25
- Two Day Community Supported Pricing – $50
We’re excited to have you join us at the Maryland Arts Summit 2026!
Tuesday, June 16, 2026 Schedule
Check in 8:00 am
Opening Plenary – 9:00 am – 10:00 am
The Opening Plenary features Lindsey Baker, Steven Skerritt-Davis, Kisha Mason, and Rob Forloney, leaders at the forefront of Maryland’s arts and humanities sectors.
This engaging keynote conversation will examine the opportunities, challenges, and collective action needed to ensure the arts and humanities continue to thrive. Exploring why these fields are connected and how stronger collaboration can amplify their impact on communities across the state.
Maryland continues to rank among the nation’s most vibrant arts communities, sustained investment, advocacy, and partnership are more important than ever. This panel is the perfect way to launch the Maryland Arts Summit’s two day summit.
Breakout Session 1: 10:15 am – 11:15 am
From Talent to Tuition: Funding Pathways for Arts Students
Presenter: LaTonya Adams
Description: While funding in arts education is often centered on programs and institutions, many creative students lack access to clear, structured pathways to fund their postsecondary goals. This interactive workshop focuses on student-level funding and equips participants with a practical framework to help arts students access scholarships and financial opportunities beyond traditional talent-based awards.
Participants will engage in guided exploration of real or sample student profiles to learn how to identify funding opportunities aligned with students’ identities, interests, and goals. The session will introduce key strategies for expanding scholarship searches beyond portfolios and auditions, as well as tools that streamline the process of matching students to relevant opportunities.
Intention not Perfection: Disability Justice and Inclusive Practice in the Arts
Presenters: Emily Davidson, Levi Lewis & Deborah Mason
Description: This panel brings together artists, educators, youth voices, and institutional leaders to explore how arts organizations can move beyond performative accessibility toward sustained, anti-ableist practice grounded in lived experience. Rooted in the work of Baltimore-based organizations, this session centers disability justice as an essential-not supplemental- framework for programming, exhibitions, and community engagement. Panelists will share real examples from their work across museums, community arts spaces, and youth media programs, highlighting both successful strategies and ongoing challenges. The conversation will address: How “access” is often treated as an afterthought-and how to shift it to a core value; Building an organizational culture that resists ableism, even within constraints (time, staffing, funding); Collaborating with disabled artists, youth, and consultants as co-creators, not just participants; Rethinking access holistically: language, marketing, physical space, scheduling, hybrid access, captioning, and ASL; Developing new standards of practice that reflect accountability, transparency, and care. Panelists will emphasize the importance of lived experience, highlighting how artists and community members directly impacted by accessibility barriers must be included in planning, decision-making, and evaluation processes. The session will also acknowledge real institutional limitations, such as capacity and funding, while encouraging actionable, incremental change rooted in intention rather than perfection.
Building Civic Dialogue Through Art: A Community-Based Artist Residency in Montgomery County
Presenters: Kenya Miles & Flannery Winchester
Description: What happens when you move an artist’s studio into the heart of a community’s most complex conversations? The Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County (AHCMC) recently concluded an 18-month artist residency program that embedded three local artists within distinct regions of the County to center their practices in community conversations and civic dialogue. Through artistic engagements and community convenings, Artists-in-Residence (AiRs) Jasmine Adams, Liliane Blom, and Alyscia Cunningham facilitated dialogue on critical local priorities such as identity, resilience, economic development, housing, transportation, healthcare, food access, and education. Often referred to as an “experiment,” this program was a brand-new endeavor for all involved. During this session, we will share the inside scoop on the project’s evolution from its conceptual beginnings to the challenges and celebratory moments we encountered along the way. Alongside documentation of each artist’s work, the program manager, consulting artist, and three AiRs will demystify the process by sharing their collective firsthand experiences.
Participants will leave better prepared to embark on their own impact driven strategies for engaging communities in meaningful civic dialogue through creative practice and public convening, even when the process feels uncertain.
The Road Ahead: Impacts of National Policy on Arts Education in Maryland
Presenters: Amanda Karhuse & Amy Hairston
Description: This deep dive will cover the current state of Federal arts education policy and its impacts on the delivery of arts education at the state level. National Association for Music Educators (NAfME) co-presenter Amanda Karhuse and Maryland Music Educators Association (MMEA) co-presenter Amy Hairston provide up to date information in a rapidly changing federal education policy landscape and implications for Maryland’s arts educators.
Participants will walk away with an understanding of the ways in which federal education legislation and funds support the arts and learn about up-to-date policy priorities that affect music education.
Presenters: Courtney Hobson, and Dr. Shauna Knox
Description: What comes to mind when you hear the word humanities? This interactive discussion invites participants to explore two questions: What are the humanities, and what counts as a humanities project?
Through guided discussion, participants will work together to unpack assumptions, challenge boundaries, and build a shared working definition of the humanities that reflects the experiences, contexts, and perspectives in the state of Maryland. This session will broaden how we see and value humanities work in our everyday lives.
By the end of this session, participants will leave with an understanding of what the humanities are, why they matter, and how their own work and experiences connect to the arts.
Breakout Session 2: 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Redefining & Reimagining Professional Development
Presenter: Sarah Lewitus
Description: In the Redefining & Reimagining Professional Development Campfire Chat, participants will discuss the role of professional development in today’s arts ecosystem, share examples of unconventional approaches to professional development, and brainstorm future approaches to professional development both personally and organizationally.
In a time where the National Endowment for the Arts’ subgranting restrictions limit Regional Arts Organizations’ grants to individuals to “professional development”, Mid Atlantic Arts staff invite the Maryland arts community to brainstorm about what professional development really looks like today — and what it could look like in the future.
Profiles in Artivism: Amy Sherald, Kara Walker and Faith Ringgold
Presenter: Eileen Cave
Description: Explore these dynamic pioneering Black women artists, and learn how they address race, gender and American history, yet they differ significantly in medium and tone. Their thematic focus, narrative power and cultural impact are integrated with the social justice anchors of identity, diversity, justice and action. Participants will apply their understanding of artivism, by creating their own art project inspired by these artists. Art supplies and an arts integration lesson plan seed will also be provided.
Mural Painting 101: From Concept to Community—A Model for Scalable Public Art Programs
Presenters: Jamie Gerhold, Carly Lederer & Karissa Scaffidi
Description: During this session, attendees will learn about the framework behind Mural Painting 101, a successful public art program that supports emerging artists, engages the community, and delivers lasting civic impact. Artist Jamie Gerhold will share how the program was developed, how it is structured, and how it integrates artist mentorship, community engagement, and the creation of public artwork.
The session will include real-world examples, including individuals who, after completing the program, have gone on to develop and execute their own mural projects, highlighting the program’s impact in creating professional pathways for artists. Attendees will also gain insight into how this model can be adapted and implemented in other cities, counties, and organizations as a scalable approach to public art programming.
All Fun & Games: Engaging Community Through Play
Presenter: Naelis A. Ervin
Description: Although a lost art, the concept and execution of Play is essential. This powerful tool for creativity, connection, and learning will enable educators and leaders to explore how intentional play can strengthen collaboration, support emotional wellness, and increase engagement in schools and organizations. Participants will experience playful, hands-on activities that model strategies for staff development, classroom instruction, and community building.
Collaboration & Community Building in the Arts and Humanities
Moderator: Aditya Desai – Panelists: Joy Davis, Rob Forloney, Savannah Wade, & Josephine Ansah-Brew
Description: This panel discussion brings together practitioners, artists, and humanities professionals to explore the intersections between the arts and humanities, and what becomes possible when the two come together. Through selected cases, panelists will explore how cross-sector collaboration has sparked new ways of telling stories, preserving culture, and engaging communities. Participants will have the opportunity to hear directly from those at the forefront of this work, ask questions, and reflect on how collaboration might enrich their own practice.
Lunch & Learn: 12:45 pm – 1:45 pm
Achieving Authentic Collaborations in Arts-Based Community Engagement Work
Presenters: Kate Keeney, Hannah Kelly, Jose A. Granados & Jane Hirshberg
Description: There are many reasons why arts organizations might collaborate. These collaborations happen across sectors and take many organizational forms. Despite the potential advantages of these partnerships, there are also challenges in developing such collaborations that benefit all parties. This session draws upon the recent work of the Community Engagement office at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in partnership with the Latin American Youth Center. Using this case as a reference point, we will explore the ways in which authentic collaborations centered on relationships may be achieved, and the benefits and challenges in developing such partnerships.
Organized as a facilitated workshop, the presenters will first provide background and resources from the existing partnership and then pose prompts and organize discussion around questions, gaps, and challenges that exist in arts-based collaborations in community contexts. As our focus is on collaboration, including partnerships across sectors, the workshop will be designed for multiple intended audiences including artists, community arts, and arts organizations. At the end of the session, participants will reflect on their small group discussion with all those in attendance.
Stories That Matter: The Case for Independent Media Today
Presenters: Rob Lee & Camille Kashaka
Description: Rob Lee, host of the The Truth In This Art podcast, has made an extensive archive of podcasts focusing on stories that matter. In a world of trends and algorithms, Rob Lee has maintained a focus on authentic, independent storytelling. Arts administrator Camille Kashaka will interview Rob Lee to share insights on why independent media matters and make the case to keep storytelling authentic and why our real stories matter.
Understanding Nonprofit Board Governance
Presenters: Adam Holofcener & Christia Ravenell
Description: A nonprofit organization’s board is responsible for ensuring that the organization works toward its mission and serves its community. Join Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (MDVLA) to learn about the legal obligations of an arts nonprofit’s board, as well as an overview of an arts nonprofit’s bylaws.
This workshop is great for new organizations that are currently building their boards, new or aspiring executive directors and board members wanting to better understand board governance, and seasoned leadership or staff who are looking for a refresher.
Breakout Session 3: 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Presenters: Select County Arts Council Directors
Description: Meet your County Arts Council! Did you know that every county in MD including Baltimore City has a county arts council? County arts councils receive a block grant from MSAC to redistribute for the arts in each county–The County Arts Development (CAD) program. Your county arts council is your first stop for information about grants, programs, and the arts in your community! They are also your local extension of the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC), meaning they can help connect you with MSAC resources, as well.
Join them for cookies, conversation and learn about CAAM (County Arts Agencies of MD) and how we can support you!
From Learning to Practice: Integrating Racial Justice into Arts Leadership
Presenters: Quanice Floyd & Alysia Lee
Description: This interactive workshop introduces key concepts and strategies from the Maryland Arts Institute for Racial Justice and invites arts leaders to examine how equity can be meaningfully embedded within institutional practice.
Participants will:
- Explore how systems of power shape arts organizations and cultural policy
- Analyze barriers to equity within arts institutions
- Examine case studies of racial justice work in the field
- Identify concrete steps for advancing equity within their own organizations
These sessions will:
- Strengthen the MAIRJ alumni network
- Extend racial justice learning to the broader Maryland arts community
- Provide practical tools for equity-centered leadership
- Reinforce the role of artists and cultural organizations in advancing justice within Maryland’s cultural ecosystem
Creative Aging in Action: Strategies for Engaging Older Adults Through the Arts
Presenters: Sharon Burton & Aimee Olivo
Description: As the population of older adults continues to grow, arts organizations have a powerful opportunity to serve this community through meaningful creative engagement. Creative aging programs not only enrich the lives of older adults but also generate measurable social impact for communities, including improved mental health, reduced isolation, and stronger
intergenerational connections. This interactive 60-minute workshop introduces arts organizations to the concept and value of creative aging programming and provides research-based insights into its benefits through the experience of Artworks Now. Art Works Now (AWN) is a Hyattsville, Maryland based, 501 C3 non-profit organization that serves students of all ages and abilities and provides them with age-appropriate, high-quality arts learning experiences catered to their interests and needs. AWN provides students with the tools, instruction and a great studio space to stimulate creative exploration alongside a community of their peers.
Through the Lifetime Arts organization (a national leader in arts and aging/best practices for creative aging programs) and the National Guild for Community Arts Education, Art Works Now learned best practices for serving students who are 55 years of age and better. Based on this learning, AWN developed the Creative Aging Program (CAP), a free weekly sequential arts program designed to to serve older adults (55+) seeking arts learning that connects them to a creative network of peers, Participants will explore strategies for designing and implementing arts programming that engages older adults while strengthening organizational relevance and community impact. Through research findings, and guided exercises, participants will leave with practical tools to begin developing a creative aging strategy tailored to their organization.
Presenters: Davina Etwaroo, Michael Friend & Natalie Monteleon
Description: This interactive session explores Flamenco, West African drumming and dance, and Bharatanatyam through live demonstrations, movement, and collaborative performance.
Participants will gain tools for cross-cultural collaboration while honoring the history, integrity, and traditions of each art form.
Presenters: Stacey Cruise & Kadeisha Stothart
Description: “When age diverse teams collaborate intentionally, they share a wider range of knowledge, skills, and networks.” (Harvard Business Review, 2022). Yet many arts communities still operate in generational silos, limiting opportunities for mentorship, collaboration, and shared learning.
This interactive workshop explores how intentional partnerships between emerging artists and legacy creatives can strengthen artistic practice and sustain vibrant creative communities. The session draws on the work of Tribe 55+, a collective of 68 creative Black women artists and writers representing five Maryland counties. Tribeswomen are engaged in active, creative journeys, ranging from established professional artists to those embracing artistic practice later in life.
Tribe 55+ recently collaborated with the Joshua Johnson Council and the Baltimore Museum of Art on the intergenerational Greyscale Workshop in connection with Amy Sherald’s American Sublime exhibition. Building on that experience, Tribe 55+ is launching a new initiative connecting 55+ artists with college visual and literary artists. A visual art major will cofacilitate the session, modeling intergenerational collaboration while participants explore strategies for mentorship, creative exchange, and community building.
The initiative highlights the cultural leadership of Black women artists while creating meaningful pathways for emerging artists to learn from them.
Breakout Session 3.5: 3:15 pm – 4:15 pm
JUBilant Spaces: Where Teaching Artists and Community Missions Intersect
Presenters: Gen Fraser, HOPE McCorkle & Keyarra Johnson
Description: Rooted in the experience and expertise of the staff at Jubilee Arts, this 60-minute workshop explores how teaching artists can amplify their artistry while responding to community needs through intentional curriculum design. With a small staff supporting daily operations and outreach, Jubilee relies on a network of contracted teaching artists from across Baltimore, who are essential collaborators. These artists design and lead classes rooted in their own artistic practices while responding to the interests and needs of the demographic we serve as an organization.
Participants will leave with practical curriculum-building tools, collaborative strategies, and a clearer understanding of how teaching artists can use their creative practice to foster inclusive, socially impactful arts experiences.
Creating Space: Addressing Equity in Classical Music through Sampling & Performance
Presenter: Maestra Chameleon
Description: Serving as an extension of her Master’s thesis, Maestra Chameleon will present to the Maryland arts community a mini lecture-performance exploring equity issues in classical music. She will discuss how she identified these issues from her own pre-professional experience through to her current work as a teaching artist. Maestra will then demonstrate how she is addressing them through her artistic process: using DJing and music production to reframe classical music in the modern musical world. Participants are invited to listen, self-reflect, and create actionable goals within their own professions for confronting classical music inequity.
Learn. Show. Sell. — A Statewide Initiative to Support Visual Artists
Presenter: Jen Sterling
Description: Artist Open Studios presents two Maryland-based programs supporting visual artists: a spring open studios tour and an online community for artistic and business growth. Join Executive Director, Jen Sterling, to explore what’s been built and share ideas to shape future support.
Envisioning the Arts and Humanities
Moderator: Alexandra Cenatus – Panelists: Terri Freeman, Lindsey Baker & Chanel Johnson
Description: Where do we go from here? This forward-looking panel brings together voices from across the arts and humanities to reflect on where the field has been, where it stands today, and where it is headed.
As communities evolve, funding shifts, and the demand for inclusive programming grows, the humanities face both new challenges and opportunities. Panelists will share their visions for the future of humanities programming, exploring models of engagement, and the role the arts and humanities can play in shaping more inclusive and connected communities.
This session is an invitation to think boldly about the programs we have yet to build, the communities we have yet to reach, and the stories we have yet to tell.
Networking Event & Artist Bazaar 4:15 pm – 5:15 pm
All attendees are welcome to enjoy light refreshments, casual networking and the Artist Bazaar in the Atrium of the Center forthe Performing Arts! Browse and support local artists and connect with your fellow attendees before heading out for the evening! This reception is free and open to anyone who has registered for the Maryland Arts Summit.
Paint & Chat -**Additional fee is associated in taking part in the session described below.
Facilitator: Cary Michael Robinson, Artbae
Cary Michael Robinson is an interdisciplinary artist, curator, and cultural strategist whose work bridges visual art, community engagement, and social impact. As the founder of Artbae, an award-winning arts organization based in Washington, DC, he creates immersive exhibitions and cultural experiences that center healing, storytelling, and connection. His work has been featured in exhibitions and public activations across the region, and he continues to collaborate with artists, institutions, and communities to expand access to meaningful creative experiences.
Wednesday, June 17, 2026 Schedule
Check In & Breakfast 9:00 am – 10:00 am
Presenters: MSAC Staff
Description: Join the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC), the state’s largest arts funding organization, for Coffee with the Council, an informal group conversation bringing the state’s arts community together to connect and share. This conversation will be facilitated by the MSAC team and driven by participant inquiry, so attendees are encouraged to bring their questions, ideas and examples of inspiring work.
Breakout Session 4: 10:15 am – 11:15am
Presenter: Alexander Golob
Description: How does a community move from wanting a more vibrant arts ecosystem to actually building the conditions that make it possible?
This session presents Charles County’s Public Art and Cultural Master Plan as a case study in what a rigorous, community-grounded approach to culture and art development can look like – and what other counties, arts organizations, and community stakeholders across Maryland can take from it.
The session is organized around four interlocking contributions:
Statewide data as a catalyst for action: The session shares findings from an original study of per-capita arts spending by Maryland county, showing how comparative funding data can help communities understand their position, identify gaps, and make a stronger case for investment.
Arts-supportive zoning as cultural infrastructure: The session highlights new policy and zoning recommendations designed to leverage public and private sector investments to create more stable, long-term space for artists, arts organizations, and public-facing creative activity, offering a framework for thinking about zoning as an arts infrastructure tool.
Turning policy into place-based strategy: The plan pairs countywide recommendations with specific site typologies – including town centers, commercial corridors, and rural main streets showing how broad policy goals can be translated into concrete, place-specific arts, culture, and public art strategies.
Leading Change in Arts Education: Tools & Tactics for Advocacy
Presenter: Rachel McGrain
Description: This session will provide a broad look at arts education in Maryland as the future of our creative sector. The session will educate attendees on 1) what Maryland public school students are entitled to by regulation; 2) impacts of current statewide priorities on arts education; and 3) resources to elevate their voices to help increase arts education access in their communities.
Participants will walk away from the session with the realization that all Maryland creatives are stakeholders in Maryland students’ equitable access to arts education. Participants will be made aware of Maryland students’ rights to arts education access and the current state of inequitable access in the state. Participants will understand that there is a key role that they, as part of a community’s broader constituency, have to play in ensuring Maryland’s creative future.
Participants will have achieved the session goals if they can (1) summarize what arts education students are entitled to OR where to find that information and (2) identify one way they might get involved to advocate for arts education in their community.
The Resort Residency Advantage: Leveraging Guest Relationships for Artistic Growth
Presenters: Amanda Haymans, Claire Hardy & Donald Smith
Description: Resort-based Artist‑in‑Residence (AiR) programs offer artists something uniquely powerful: direct, sustained access to guests who often have the resources, influence, networks, and enthusiasm to propel an artist’s career forward. Unlike traditional residencies, resorts bring artists into contact with individuals who may be collectors, executives, arts supporters, philanthropists, or cultural decision-makers—all within a relaxed and naturally conversational environment.
Using the lens of a resort AiR program, we will examine how guest interactions can serve as pivotal professional touchpoints—opening doors to exhibitions, commissions, collaborations, mentorship, and long-term patron relationships. The session will demystify how artists can strategically engage with resort guests, present their work with impact, and cultivate supportive relationships that extend far beyond the residency stay. We’ll also discuss best practices for resorts in designing guest facing residency experiences—open studios, in lobby demonstrations, gallery talks, and personalized encounters—that meaningfully connect guests to artists’ processes and careers.
Participants will leave with a toolkit for intentionally using hospitality-based residency environments as career accelerators, driven not by community programming, but by high value guest engagement and professional relationship development.
TAMA’s Fair Pay Journey: Transformative Tools for Moving Teaching Artists from Surviving to Thriving
Presenters: Jennifer Ridgway, Marcie Wolf Hubbard & Lynne Streeter Childress
Description: This session tackles the urgent need for equitable, sustainable pay for Teaching Artists. President Jennifer Ridgway will share TAMA’s journey, rooted in the Teaching Artists Guild Pay Rate Calculator, a foundational resource that evolved into the creation of TAMA’s mid-Atlantic Fair Salary Ranges and comprehensive Pay Rate Builder. Through real-world case studies with TAMA members, attendees will gain actionable strategies and discover how the TAMA network, tools, and resources foster stronger arts ecosystems and positively impact artists’ professional lives. The session culminates in an invitation to join TAMA’s Thriving Artists, Thriving Communities initiative.
Breakout Session 5: 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Setting The Stage – The Road to Developing a Cultural Plan in Montgomery County Maryland
Presenters: Suzan Jenkins, Joe Frandoni & Todd Bressi
Description: Participants at this case study session will leave with a sense of our journey, along with an understanding of the various resources – fiscal, physical, human, philosophical – needed to conduct such a plan, along with other key steps and learnings that we believe would be informative and helpful to county leaders across the state as they consider cultural and strategic plans tailored to their residents in these volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous times.
Montgomery County’s thirty-year general plan, Thrive Montgomery 2050, approved in October 2022, recommended the creation of a new cultural plan for Montgomery County. After more than 2 years of gathering information and laying the groundwork for a new plan, in 2024 the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County (AHCMC) selected Metris Arts Consulting to lead the cultural planning process. In 2025 AHCMC and Metris began spearheading the County’s first comprehensive cultural planning initiative in over two decades and now, following the conclusion of the data-gathering “Discover” phase, the agency is entering the “Envision” phase to synthesize qualitative and quantitative data into a draft cultural plan with policy recommendations. A full draft is expected in mid 2026, followed by a “Confirm” broad public review phase with finalization by late summer to fall, 2026.
Where Practice Meets Public: Building Programs that Resonate
Presenters: Merrell Hambleton, FAITH McCorkle & Colby Ware
Description: Join the Public Engagement team from the Baltimore Museum of Art for a behind-the-scenes look at how impactful, community-centered programming is built and sustained. Drawing from their work at BMA Lexington Market, participants will gain insight into how this dynamic site operates as a hub for creative engagement and community connection, while exploring how to design layered, accessible programs through a public engagement lens rooted in collaboration, clarity, and care. Grounded in the realities of a drop-in, highly variable public space, this approach considers how to welcome diverse audiences—across abilities, experiences, and levels of participation—through free, accessible programming that invites meaningful connection.
Highlighting collaborative approaches to program design and centering partnerships with artist and organization hosts as integral to shaping responsive, community-rooted experiences, this session also emphasizes ongoing learning, adaptation, and reflection as essential to this work. Through reflections, hands-on activities, and real-world examples, participants will unpack strategies for framing ideas, making artistic practices approachable, and building proposals that resonate with institutions and communities alike. Whether representing an arts organization or working as an independent artist or educator, participants will reflect on their own role and begin shaping a responsive program of their own.
Leave with practical tools, fresh perspective, and the confidence to craft and pitch compelling programs that feel both substantial and undeniable.
So You Want to Teach? Pathways to the Arts Classroom
Presenter: Sophia Fitzpatrick
Description: For independent artists and teaching artists who are looking for opportunities to share their love of art, dance, theatre, and music with students in the PK-12 public school space, this session walks through vital information to become licensed to teach, including the new fine arts transcript analysis pathway that went into effect in March 2026. This session is presented by Sophia Fitzpatrick, Director of Licensure at the Maryland State Department of Education.
Participants will gain an understanding of the variety of opportunities available to them for entering into the space of arts education in Maryland’s public schools and have a working familiarity with the processes involved in engaging with those opportunities.
The AATEvolution of Valerie & Steve: Reflecting on Friendship, Puppetry, and Collaborative Practice
Presenters: Steven Barker & Valerie Baugh-Schlossberg
Description: Valerie Baugh-Schlossberg and Steven Barker first met at AATE 2007 in Vancouver, sparking an eighteen-year friendship shaped by artistry, mentorship, and the joyful possibilities of puppetry. Using a Greek dramatic framework—complete with mythic pairings such as Narcissus & Echo, Artemis & Apollo, and Hestia & Dionysus—they trace their evolution as collaborators, educators, and conference companions across nearly two decades of AATE gatherings.
Through stories of residencies, shadow puppetry, pandemic pivots, and community-based projects, they reveal how puppetry has become both their shared artistic language and a flexible teaching tool adaptable to PreK–adult learners. Participants will engage in hands-on puppetry manipulation, improvisation, and short-form devising as Valerie and Steven model the structures they use in classrooms and community settings. This session celebrates the echoes that shape us—our mentors, our conferences, our creative risks, and the friendships that revive our practice.
Positioning your brand for story publication
Presenters: Ceylon Mitchell & Allison Leigh Eatough
Description: To gain media attention, you must “serve” rather than “sell” by providing journalists, publishers, and editors with a timely, relevant, concise, unique, and high-value story angle. Research the right people, craft a compelling pitch, build relationships and credibility with a professional portfolio or media Kit, and master the follow-up. In this panel, participants will learn best practices from experienced marketing and public relations experts, including the University of Maryland Associate Director of Communications and a City Lifestyle Magazine Director of Photography.
Lunch & Learn: 12:45 pm – 1:45 pm
Presenter: Quanice Floyd
Description: This session is for alumni of the Maryland Arts Institute for Racial Justice (MAIRJ). To reconnect alumni from MAIRJ cohorts, provide space for reflection, and strengthen relationships among arts leaders committed to advancing racial justice in Maryland.
Activities include:
- Reflection on participants’ racial justice leadership journeys
- Small group dialogue on challenges and successes in implementing equity practices
- Collaborative discussion on opportunities for collective action across the Maryland arts sector
Participant Goals:
- Strengthened relationships among MAIRJ alumni
- Shared learning across cohorts
- Expanded collaboration among equity-focused arts leaders statewide
Presenters: Nicholas Cohen, Debbie Ellinghaus, Paula Saneaux, Representatives from MSAC
Description: Join this session for a debrief from the Arts Incubator Workgroup, created by the Maryland General Assembly in 2023 and appointed by Governor Moore to explore ways to better support individual artists across Maryland. You’ll hear how the workgroup came to be, along with reflections from two participants about their experience being appointed and serving on the workgroup over the past two years.
The group wrapped up its work in 2025 with the submission of a final report to the General Assembly. During the session, we’ll share an overview of key findings and recommendations for future research, potential legislation, and considerations for the Maryland State Arts Council. Anyone interested in artists’ access to fair wages, affordable housing, and cross-sector resources is encouraged to attend, and there will be plenty of time for questions.
Breakout Session 6: 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Closing Creative Keynote
Drawing What Words Cannot Say: Visual Storytelling as Research and Community Practice
Presenter: Joan Marie Kelly
Description: This participatory workshop positions drawing as an accessible methodology for storytelling, research, listening, and community engagement. Through guided exercises that require no prior drawing experience, participants will explore how drawing can unlock memory, perception, and narrative exchange in both personal and collective contexts, enabling the communication of experiences that are often difficult to express through words alone.
As participants engage in these exercises, the presenter demonstrates how the same prompts operate as practical tools across education, artistic practice, and community-based research. Drawing from her work as a visual artist and educator, she shows how these methods have been adapted within diverse settings.
Examples include workshops with educators and university students in Singapore, where drawing supports teaching and learning; collaborative projects with the Kayan people, an ethnic community living as refugees in Thailand, where drawing facilitates ethnographic research and cultural storytelling; and trauma-informed workshops with earthquake survivors in Türkiye, where drawing creates supportive spaces for reflection and emotional expression.
Together, these examples demonstrate how drawing and storytelling function as a practical methodology for education, research, community engagement, and wellbeing. Through case examples and hands-on activities, participants gain strategies for adapting these methods to support dialogue, reflection, and storytelling in their own professional or community contexts.
Táncház: The Hungarian Dance House Movement with Tisza Ensemble
Presenter: Tisza Ensemble
Description: Tisza Ensemble, a Hungarian folk dance ensemble, will immerse participants in an interactive workshop centered around the táncház, or “dance house.” Attendees will enjoy a curated performance and teaching demonstration covering two different regions of Hungary and Transylvania. Each dance will be introduced and culturally contextualized. First, the participants will be delighted with a performance of the dances of Dél-Alföld, or the “Southern Great Plains” region of Hungary. The Délalföldi dances are known for their leaping, hopping, and lively style, featuring athletic movements, quick jumps, and a characteristic dip of the partner. Tisza’s choreography includes the men’s solo oláhos, followed by the couples’ páros oláhos, concluding with the slow lassú and fast friss csárdás couples’ dances. There will be an interlude between performances consisting of teaching led by artistic director Cathy Lamont in which dancers will learn line and circle dances typically danced at táncház events as well as some basic improvisational csárdás steps—after all, Hungarian folk dancing is routed in improvisation. Immediately following the interactive component of the workshop, attendees will be treated to a performance of the dances of Szilágyság, a region found in Western Transylvania. Dances from this region are lower to the ground, but are still just as elegant and intricate. This region’s location between two major dance cultural hotspots in Transylvania gives its dances an idiosyncratic character that is both high-energy and technically sophisticated. Tisza Ensemble’s choreography includes the men’s cövekelő dance, the couples’ “citizen/bourgeois” polgári dance (a dance that playfully makes fun of the urban middle class of Budapest!), and the slow lassú and fast friss csárdás couples’ dances.
Presenter: Kendall Arin
Description: This session will open with an excerpt from Epiphany, featuring real-life stories of individuals whose lives were transformed by art during moments of vulnerability. This reading will lead into a reflective discussion on the role and impact of the arts in participants’ own lives. By the end of the session, participants will collaboratively create a script that weaves together their shared stories and experiences, highlighting the transformative power of the arts.
Virtual Program
We are happy to have a virtual option to see selections of our summit!
This schedule will capture the following sessions for a live online audience:
Tuesday, June 16th
Opening Plenary – 9:00 am – 10:00 am
The Opening Plenary features Lindsey Baker, Steven Skerritt-Davis, Kisha Mason, and Rob Forloney, leaders at the forefront of Maryland’s arts and humanities sectors.
This engaging keynote conversation will examine the opportunities, challenges, and collective action needed to ensure the arts and humanities continue to thrive. Exploring why these fields are connected and how stronger collaboration can amplify their impact on communities across the state.
Maryland continues to rank among the nation’s most vibrant arts communities, sustained investment, advocacy, and partnership are more important than ever. This panel is the perfect way to launch the Maryland Arts Summit’s two day summit.
Intention not Perfection: Disability Justice and Inclusive Practice in the Arts
Presenters: Emily Davidson, Levi Lewis & Deborah Mason
Description: This panel brings together artists, educators, youth voices, and institutional leaders to explore how arts organizations can move beyond performative accessibility toward sustained, anti-ableist practice grounded in lived experience. Rooted in the work of Baltimore-based organizations, this session centers disability justice as an essential-not supplemental- framework for programming, exhibitions, and community engagement. Panelists will share real examples from their work across museums, community arts spaces, and youth media programs, highlighting both successful strategies and ongoing challenges. The conversation will address: How “access” is often treated as an afterthought-and how to shift it to a core value; Building an organizational culture that resists ableism, even within constraints (time, staffing, funding); Collaborating with disabled artists, youth, and consultants as co-creators, not just participants; Rethinking access holistically: language, marketing, physical space, scheduling, hybrid access, captioning, and ASL; Developing new standards of practice that reflect accountability, transparency, and care. Panelists will emphasize the importance of lived experience, highlighting how artists and community members directly impacted by accessibility barriers must be included in planning, decision-making, and evaluation processes. The session will also acknowledge real institutional limitations, such as capacity and funding, while encouraging actionable, incremental change rooted in intention rather than perfection.
Profiles in Artivism: Amy Sherald, Kara Walker and Faith Ringgold
Presenter: Eileen Cave
Description: Explore these dynamic pioneering Black women artists, and learn how they address race, gender and American history, yet they differ significantly in medium and tone. Their thematic focus, narrative power and cultural impact are integrated with the social justice anchors of identity, diversity, justice and action. Participants will apply their understanding of artivism, by creating their own art project inspired by these artists. Art supplies and an arts integration lesson plan seed will also be provided.
Stories That Matter: The Case for Independent Media Today
Presenters: Rob Lee & Camille Kashaka
Description: Rob Lee, host of the The Truth In This Art podcast, has made an extensive archive of podcasts focusing on stories that matter. In a world of trends and algorithms, Rob Lee has maintained a focus on authentic, independent storytelling. Arts administrator Camille Kashaka will interview Rob Lee to share insights on why independent media matters and make the case to keep storytelling authentic and why our real stories matter.
Presenters: Stacey Cruise & Kadeisha Stothart
Description: “When age diverse teams collaborate intentionally, they share a wider range of knowledge, skills, and networks.” (Harvard Business Review, 2022). Yet many arts communities still operate in generational silos, limiting opportunities for mentorship, collaboration, and shared learning.
This interactive workshop explores how intentional partnerships between emerging artists and legacy creatives can strengthen artistic practice and sustain vibrant creative communities. The session draws on the work of Tribe 55+, a collective of 68 creative Black women artists and writers representing five Maryland counties. Tribeswomen are engaged in active, creative journeys, ranging from established professional artists to those embracing artistic practice later in life.
Tribe 55+ recently collaborated with the Joshua Johnson Council and the Baltimore Museum of Art on the intergenerational Greyscale Workshop in connection with Amy Sherald’s American Sublime exhibition. Building on that experience, Tribe 55+ is launching a new initiative connecting 55+ artists with college visual and literary artists. A visual art major will cofacilitate the session, modeling intergenerational collaboration while participants explore strategies for mentorship, creative exchange, and community building.
The initiative highlights the cultural leadership of Black women artists while creating meaningful pathways for emerging artists to learn from them.
Creating Space: Addressing Equity in Classical Music through Sampling & Performance
Presenter: Maestra Chameleon
Description: Serving as an extension of her Master’s thesis, Maestra Chameleon will present to the Maryland arts community a mini lecture-performance exploring equity issues in classical music. She will discuss how she identified these issues from her own pre-professional experience through to her current work as a teaching artist. Maestra will then demonstrate how she is addressing them through her artistic process: using DJing and music production to reframe classical music in the modern musical world. Participants are invited to listen, self-reflect, and create actionable goals within their own professions for confronting classical music inequity.
Wednesday, June 17th
Presenters: MSAC Staff
Description: Join the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC), the state’s largest arts funding organization, for Coffee with the Council, an informal group conversation bringing the state’s arts community together to connect and share. This conversation will be facilitated by the MSAC team and driven by participant inquiry, so attendees are encouraged to bring their questions, ideas and examples of inspiring work.
The Resort Residency Advantage: Leveraging Guest Relationships for Artistic Growth
Presenters: Amanda Haymans, Claire Hardy & Donald Smith
Description: Resort-based Artist‑in‑Residence (AiR) programs offer artists something uniquely powerful: direct, sustained access to guests who often have the resources, influence, networks, and enthusiasm to propel an artist’s career forward. Unlike traditional residencies, resorts bring artists into contact with individuals who may be collectors, executives, arts supporters, philanthropists, or cultural decision-makers—all within a relaxed and naturally conversational environment.
Using the lens of a resort AiR program, we will examine how guest interactions can serve as pivotal professional touchpoints—opening doors to exhibitions, commissions, collaborations, mentorship, and long-term patron relationships. The session will demystify how artists can strategically engage with resort guests, present their work with impact, and cultivate supportive relationships that extend far beyond the residency stay. We’ll also discuss best practices for resorts in designing guest facing residency experiences—open studios, in lobby demonstrations, gallery talks, and personalized encounters—that meaningfully connect guests to artists’ processes and careers.
Participants will leave with a toolkit for intentionally using hospitality-based residency environments as career accelerators, driven not by community programming, but by high value guest engagement and professional relationship development.
Positioning your brand for story publication
Presenters: Ceylon Mitchell & Allison Leigh Eatough
Description: To gain media attention, you must “serve” rather than “sell” by providing journalists, publishers, and editors with a timely, relevant, concise, unique, and high-value story angle. Research the right people, craft a compelling pitch, build relationships and credibility with a professional portfolio or media Kit, and master the follow-up. In this panel, participants will learn best practices from experienced marketing and public relations experts, including the University of Maryland Associate Director of Communications and a City Lifestyle Magazine Director of Photography.
Presenters: Nicholas Cohen, Debbie Ellinghaus, Paula Saneaux, Representatives from MSAC
Description: Join this session for a debrief from the Arts Incubator Workgroup, created by the Maryland General Assembly in 2023 and appointed by Governor Moore to explore ways to better support individual artists across Maryland. You’ll hear how the workgroup came to be, along with reflections from two participants about their experience being appointed and serving on the workgroup over the past two years.
The group wrapped up its work in 2025 with the submission of a final report to the General Assembly. During the session, we’ll share an overview of key findings and recommendations for future research, potential legislation, and considerations for the Maryland State Arts Council. Anyone interested in artists’ access to fair wages, affordable housing, and cross-sector resources is encouraged to attend, and there will be plenty of time for questions.
Presenter: Kendall Arin
Description: This session will open with an excerpt from Epiphany, featuring real-life stories of individuals whose lives were transformed by art during moments of vulnerability. This reading will lead into a reflective discussion on the role and impact of the arts in participants’ own lives. By the end of the session, participants will collaboratively create a script that weaves together their shared stories and experiences, highlighting the transformative power of the arts.
Program
Click on the image below to view our full program!
Statement of Commitment
The Maryland Arts Summit partners have committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion in the planning and implementation of the Summit. We are aided by the work of the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, and the Creative States Coalition, as they have clarified and shared approaches to uncover cultural bias in the procedures and policies of state arts organizations.
In the spirit of partnership and communal creativity, the Summit is designed to:
- engage organizations and individuals representative of the varying backgrounds and disciplines of the Maryland arts communities
- encourage submissions that do not fall under the suggested topics to yield a greater variety of professional development opportunities
- invite members of the Maryland arts community from all genre backgrounds and cultural practices to participate
- eliminate biases that may be found in any part of the planning and implementation process
- acknowledge positions of privilege while questioning practices, shifting paradigms of status quo arts activities, and taking more risks
- expand deliberations to include criteria beyond current conventions or Western traditions.
We recognize that this is an ongoing effort. We are committed to listening to feedback, both throughout the process and after the Maryland Arts Summit, to inform subsequent programming.