For Families
Amy Sherald: American Sublime Community Day
Celebrate the opening of Amy Sherald: American Sublime during this free event for all ages.
Explore the special exhibition and enjoy art-making activities, interactive writing projects, lite-bites and a pop-up family photo booth that brings Sherald’s themes of identity, imagination, and everyday beauty to life. Connect with friends and neighbors, create your own works of art, and experience the Museum as a space of joy, reflection, and community.
Free timed-entry tickets to access Amy Sherald: American Sublime on Sunday, November 2 are now SOLD OUT.
Schedule of Events
10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Amy Sherald: American Sublime | Contemporary Wing
Free timed-entry tickets to see Amy Sherald: American Sublime on Sunday, November 2 are now SOLD OUT. Tickets are required to see the exhibition.
11 a.m.–4 p.m.
Free Family Sundays: Community & Self Portraits | Joseph Education Center Studio
How do you want to be seen? Draw your own self-portrait or community portrait. Led by BMA Family Programs Educator Catherine Mapp.
11 a.m.–2 p.m.
Portrait Photo Booths | Fox Court
11 a.m.–2 p.m.
The Clifton House brings BEAMS to the BMA | Fox Court
The Clifton House is bringing its signature family program, BEAMS, to the BMA. Participants will create their own poetry in response to Amy Sherald’s paintings and/or their own portrait.
12:30 p.m.
Bites by Midnite Confections and Mera Kitchen Collective | Antioch Court
1 p.m.–1:30 p.m.
Sunday Shorts | Meet in East Lobby
Spotlight tour of Bronzino’s Young Man (1985) by Grace Hartigan.
A Baltimore Homecoming: Amy Sherald & Asma Naeem in Conversation
Sunday, November 2, 2-2:30 p.m. | Sold Out; Watch Live
Separate tickets are required to attend the talk. Tickets to the talk are now sold out.
Acclaimed artist Amy Sherald returns to Baltimore for the opening of American Sublime and a special conversation in the Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Auditorium with BMA Director Asma Naeem. Join us during Community Day to hear this inspiring conversation.
Community Day Participants
The Clifton House
The Clifton House, a nonprofit arts organization based in Baltimore, MD, celebrates the legacy of poet Lucille Clifton and her activist husband Fred Clifton. Grounded in Lucille and Fred’s lives and work and operating from their historic family home, The Clifton House is proud to offer low- to no-cost poetry and writing workshops, art classes, and opportunities for creative development and networking to Baltimore artists and beyond.
BEAMS
BEAMS is a weekend drop-in arts program for Baltimore families with children ages 5-12 at The Clifton House. These hands-on sessions offer young makers and their families activities to explore their creativity and imagination. To learn more, visit us at www.thecliftonhouse.org or follow us on Instagram @thecliftonhousebaltimore.
Catherine Mapp
Catherine Mapp (b. 1994 in Miami, FL) is a Baltimore-based muralist and fiber artist whose work explores the intersections of culture, memory, music, and community. With a BFA in Interdisciplinary Sculpture and an MAT in Art Education from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Mapp brings a vibrant, symbolic language to both public and gallery spaces. Her murals and fiber-based works reflect her Mexican, Cuban, and Guyanese heritage, and center joy, storytelling, and gathering. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, with shows in Uruguay, Canada, England, and across the U.S., including the 7th World Textile Art Biennial, Creative Alliance, Chesapeake Arts Center, and Boomer Gallery in London. Mapp has led and contributed to large-scale murals with Graham Projects, Sol Raya Public Spaces, and BRUSH Mural Fest, and was commissioned by the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum for a permanent mural installation. She is the recipient of multiple awards, including a 2024 MSAC Professional Development Grant, the Rooted Muralist Conference Scholarship, and residencies in Oaxaca, Mexico and Maryland. Mapp is currently the Lead Educator at the Baltimore Museum of Art and is committed to art as a vehicle for education, safety, and transformation in public space.
Midnite Confections
We began Midnite Confections because we wanted to spend our time doing something we loved…baking and making people happy. Our name was born from Aaron, my son, being up at midnight, baking all kinds of desserts and breads when he was in college. We tested our recipes (that are all small batch and made from scratch) with family and friends and decided to take a leap of faith. We just celebrated our 15th year in business and will be opening a location in LA before the end of the year! We have fabulous customers (families, businesses, churches, and schools) and our customer service and professionalism are as much a part of our brand as the desserts. Our employees are like family and help us keep our brand intact. Hope to see you soon!
Mera Kitchen Collective
Mera Kitchen Collective began in 2018 when a group of women from Cameroon, Syria, Kuwait and the US met at a library to dream up ideas we had about hosting community dinners to provide opportunities for newcomers to share their food and create connections with their new Baltimore community.
We started by hosting dinners in our homes with friends, which led to pop-ups at local restaurants and then, the opportunity to vend at the Baltimore Farmers Market. There, we introduced Mera to thousands of new people, many who invited us to cater their special events.
After five years of sharing kitchens, we opened a restaurant of our own. We believe food brings people together, no matter where you are from. It’s a ritual, we gather with our friends and family around the table, not only feeding our bodies but feeding our souls, connecting with people we care about.
This event is sponsored by The Aaron Straus and Lillie Straus Foundation.
Image: Amy Sherald. A Midsummer Afternoon Dream. 2020. Private Collection. © Amy Sherald. Photo by Joseph Hyde, courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth