Beginning tonight, the mental and physical borders that separate black and white Baltimore will dissolve into a raucous three-day reprieve called Artscape, now in its 17th year. One festival regular calls it the summer version of a snow day, a designated time when the usual routines, stereotypes and fears just don't hold.
On what always seems to be the summer's steamiest weekend, Mount Royal Avenue becomes a cheek-by-jowl promenade. And the art, music, drama and food become a sideshow for the real spectacle: people of all colors, creeds and ages grooving together as one sweaty but harmonious organism.
For those who crave evidence to keep their faith in Baltimore, Artscape is sublime affirmation.
How does this festival achieve maximum diversity while the rest of the year Baltimore remains primarily a city segregated socially and culturally?
There are easy, obvious answers: Artscape is free and takes place in an open, centrally located space; the music; the beer.
But most important, Artscape offers something for everyone, from all that beer to Shakespeare, says Jane Vallery-Davis, who promoted Artscape for the Mayor's Advisory Committee on Art and Culture for eight years and now serves as coordinator for the festival's literary arts programs.
"There is a real determined attempt to provide something for everyone, to go across the board of people, interests and tastes, and at the same time to give people something that they may not be familiar with," Vallery-Davis says.
At Artscape several years ago, she remembers overhearing a conversation between two young black men who were skeptical about a performer named Buckwheat Zydeco. To them, the first name recalled the stereotype black character from the movie serial "Our Gang." But once the man and his band got rocking, they said, "Hey, they're not bad!"
For Vallery-Davis, that moment demonstrated how Artscape encourages people to venture beyond their usual boundaries and try new experiences.
The groundwork for Artscape's success is laid during the year in low-profile programs that can have a profound impact, says Claudia Bismark, director of development for the committee on arts and culture. For example, the school-year workshop Bright StARTS, a visual arts program for city children, culminates in an Artscape exhibition, which draws the participants and their families. From there, the arts committee staff ensures that Bright StARTS visitors partake of all of the festival's riches. "Kids who have that introduction see this whole world open up," Bismark says.
