Baltimore Arts

Across the nation, consumers snapped up TVs, toys and other mass-produced goodies last week, as the holiday shopping season expanded into "Black Thursday" (aka Thanksgiving). But closer to home, authors, artists and musicians have been toiling over works that, given as gifts, are more apt to say, "Baltimore pride" than "Doorbuster special!" In the spirit of local enterprise, we've rounded up locally themed gift ideas that sample the offerings this year from Baltimore's arts and culture scene.

In the past 12 months, some especially high-energy creators have relocated from other metropolises and set up shop within city limits. While a scrappy inventiveness isn't new here — far from it — it could be that the city is reaching a critical mass of innovative thinkers in the arts. Baltimore may be on the verge of a growth spurt that will establish it once and for all as an arts center. It may be about to become a laboratory for experiments that blur the lines between theater, music and dance and the rest of life.

A 22-year-old man was critically wounded after being shot in the Charles North neighborhood early Friday morning, according to Baltimore Police. The incident occurred at 12:30 a.m., in the 1900 block of Maryland Ave., police said. The victim was standing at a bus stop when he was approached by two people, police spokesman Detective Kevin Brown said. One pulled out a gun and fired, hitting the victim twice in the back, chief police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. The victim was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center for treatment, Guglielmi said.

October always tends to be a busy cultural month, as arts organizations fully immerse themselves in their new seasons. This month's designation as National Arts and Humanities Month will focus even more public attention on this dizzying array of activities.Developed by the National Cultural Alliance, a non-profit coalition of arts and humanities organizations nationwide, this designation is for the most part a means of calling attention to already existing events. Politicians and arts organizers will be finding various ways to spread the word about the importance of the arts.

Timothy A. Moore, who worked as an art teacher in Baltimore public schools for a quarter-century, died Friday after suffering a heart attack. He was 60. Born in DuBois, Pa., Mr. Moore graduated from DuBois Area High School. He then earned a degree from Colorado State University. When he wasn't teaching, traveling around the world or mentoring inner-city youth, he was an active member of the Pine Valley Swim and Tennis Club in Baltimore County, family members said. A visitation will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. tomorrow at the Ruck Funeral Home, 5305 Harford Road, Baltimore.

Whenever the theft of a major artwork happens, like that of Edvard Munch's famous painting "The Scream" from the National Art Museum in Oslo, Norway, over the weekend, it's only natural to wonder if it could happen here.It could, and it has.Baltimore's three most prominent museums -- the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Walters Art Gallery and the Maryland Historical Society -- have all sustained thefts, large and small, over the years.When it happens, museums invariably talk about beefing up their security, but they're reluctant to go into details.

Charles Albert Wunder, a lifelong Baltimorean and avid supporter of the city's arts institutions, died Dec. 20 of complications from metastatic melanoma at Gilchrist Hospice in Towson. The retired life insurance salesman was 77. Mr. Wunder was born in Baltimore and grew up in a West Baltimore rowhouse on Grantley Street with his family, which included two sisters. As a teen, he hitchhiked across town to attend Loyola Blakefield High School in Towson, and was among the members of the first ROTC class to graduate from Loyola College in 1955.

Inside the once-bustling movie theater on North Avenue, moss thrives on shattered marble walls. Broken tiles hang from the ceiling. Rainwater pours through the roof. But this derelict structure is now seen as a future centerpiece for the growing midtown arts district. A nonprofit developer, backed financially by the Maryland Institute College of Art and a private foundation, envisions the Art Deco building as the home of film screenings, music venues, artists' studios, galleries, a playhouse and a restaurant.

This year's fundraiser for the Baltimore Choral Arts Society had an added kick. During the cocktail hour at the Grand Lodge in Hunt Valley, the air was abuzz with excitement over Mark Nadler , this year's featured performer at "A Ruby Cabaret." Nadler is known for his own personal brand of zippiness. "Mark is one of the nicest guys in the business. He's also very funny. He's one of the great personalities in the music business," said Tom Hall , BCA music director, as he and BCA executive director Linda Moxley greeted guests.