Opposite page: Kinetic Sculpture Race at the American Visionary Arts Museum, Baltimore; Clockwise: Reginald F. Lewis Museum, Baltimore; Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown; Light City Baltimore Museum’s collection spans five millennia and includes Ancient Egyptian sarcophagi, medieval armor, a 17th-century chamber of wonders, and important works from the 20th century. For eye-popping creations by outsider artists, stop by Baltimore’s American Visionary Arts Museum. The African-American experience is rendered through oral histories, military artifacts, photographs, textiles and fine art at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture. The collections at the Maryland Historical Society are rich with art and objects from the state’s storied past, including an original hand-written manuscript of Francis Scott Key’s “Star-Spangled Banner.” Art Takes the Stage collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution and the National Gallery and displays works on paper from its rich collection of American and European art. Wander the Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center where art and nature mingle. See works by portraitist Charles Willson Peale at the lovely lakeside Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in Hagerstown, and then walk Hagerstown’s cultural trail after visiting the museum to see a cityscape adorned with large-scale installations by internationally acclaimed artists. Meet master artisans at the Spruce Forest Artisan Village and witness their work sculpting masterpieces, weaving wonders, and turning clay into crafts of incomparable beauty. Marshmallows are the star at the Carroll Arts Center’s annual PEEPshow, where artists create life-size sculptures and mosaics out of the famous neon-colored candy. Located in a renovated 19th-century mill in Frederick, the Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center features works from regional and national artists. Experience the beauty, history and complexity of a living craft tradition at the Fiber Arts Center of the Eastern Shore in Denton. And you never know what treasures you’ll find browsing through the Ocean City Arts Center’s gallery or at its annual Boardwalk Art Show. You’ll find plenty of drama (all of it staged) in Maryland’s historic theaters and contemporary music halls. Experience the work of the Bard at the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, housed in the newly renovated, 19th-century former Mercantile Deposit and Trust Company bank building in Baltimore. Bring a picnic to the company’s atmospheric summer home, where the stage is built within the remnants of a 19th-century girls’ school in the wooded Patapsco Female Institute Historic Park in Ellicott City. Ian McKellen, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy and Gloria Swanson all once trod the boards at the Olney Theatre, and Toby’s Dinner Theatre presents theater in-the-round in Columbia. Bethesda’s Round House Theatre produces musicals, classic plays, and new and cutting-edge drama. In La Plata, the Port Tobacco Players perform musicals and familiar favorites in a renovated 1940s movie theater. Hear the Annapolis Symphony perform at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts. Visit the Weinberg Center for the Arts, dubbed “The Jewel of Frederick,” for concerts (some featuring the center’s historic 1920s Wurlitzer organ), dance performances and classic film screenings. You can find the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in two places in Maryland. Its Baltimore residence, the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, also showcases other musical concerts, from Broadway to indie to rock. In North Bethesda, the Music Center at Strathmore hosts the BSO, as well as several arts partnerships including the National Philharmonic and CityDance. Artistic director Maestra Marin Alsop brings her dynamic style and musicianship to every BSO performance. ✥ Must-See Museums Baltimore is home to amazing museums with world-renowned collections. Come face to face with Rodin’s Thinker , Degas’ Little Dancer , and the famous Cone Collection at the Baltimore Museum of Art, home of the largest public holding of works by Matisse. The Walters Art PHOTOS: REGINALD F. LEWIS MUSEUM; VISIT BALTIMORE Visit Maryland’s 25 Arts & Entertainment Districts throughout the state to tour artists’ studios and enjoy events. VisitMaryland.org/article/marylands-arts-entertainment-districts. DESTINATION MARYLAND ✥ 39
Maryland Official Visitors Guide 2018 Maryland Official Visitors Guide: Page 39
