Over the past month, as the media has been focused on all levels of the election (remember to check your voter registration status and finalize your voting plan!), Baltimore—the city Goucher is proud to be part of, from our admissions brochure to our number of students, staff and faculty that call it home—has been brimming with stories. One story in development is the fate of the 22-year partnership between the City of Baltimore and the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA), which was formed under the mayoralty of Martin O’Malley.
What Happened?
On September 18th, The Baltimore Banner reported an emergency meeting of the BOPA Board of Directors had been scheduled for the next day regarding the future of the agency. “Discuss Personnel and Business Location – VOTE REQUIRED” was noted on the envelope, according to reports.
Speculation began immediately, with most people pointing towards the financial issues plaguing the organization. Being the city’s art council and film office, a facilities manager for locations such as the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower in Baltimore and the Cloisters Castle in Timonium, and the organizer for many iconic city cultural events such as Artscape, the Baltimore Book Festival, and the Baltimore Farmers’ Market, the organization has been entrenched in financial difficulties. These were worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic and cancellations of events between 2020 and 2022. The matter on September 18th was a significant blow, but hardly surprising for the quasi-governmental agency which receives more than two-thirds of its funding from the city government.
Following the meeting, it was revealed that BOPA is now financially insolvent, meaning its remaining funds are not enough to cover all of its expenses. Consequently, it asked the Mayor’s Office of the City of Baltimore for $1.8 million in funding to cover immediate expenses and keep the organization afloat. This funding request became the catalyst for a back-and-forth exchange between Rachel Graham, Director of BOPA since March 2024, and Mayor of Baltimore Brandon Scott regarding a $1.5 million grant given to the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture in the lead-up to Artscape 2023. The Mayor’s Office insisted that this grant was a restricted grant reserved for use by the city (and that it would not have been majorly impacted BOPA’s financial outlook), however BOPA was adamant that the grant has always been reflected in their financial records as “expected revenues”, meaning it was meant for their use. State Senator Anthony Hayes, the broker for this grant, declared it was meant for use by the city due to the resignation of BOPA’s former CEO, Donna Drew Sawyer, in January 2023.
This request for additional funding, due to mounting disagreements across multiple years—including the resignation and severance of Donna Drew Sawyer, the cancellation of the 2023 MLK Day parade, and the trademark attempt of the name Artscape—was not granted. On October 16th, the Mayor’s Office of the City of Baltimore issued a letter to the CEO and Executive Board of BOPA, noting their intent for the Mayor to terminate the contractual relationship between the city and BOPA effective January 20th, 2025. Marvin James, the Mayor’s Chief of Staff, noted in the letter that this was not a lightly-made decision:
“We recognize and deeply appreciate BOPA’s long-standing contributions to Baltimore’s vibrant arts and cultural scene. For over two decades, BOPA has played a pivotal role in shaping our city’s cultural landscape, organizing beloved events like Artscape, managing vital cultural spaces, and supporting countless local artists and organizations.”
It was further noted that “financial instability has raised serious concerns about BOPA’s ability to continue fulfilling its obligations to the City and its arts community.”
The Talk of the Town
Given BOPA’s position as the heart of Baltimore’s cultural life, this unfolding saga has become the talk of the city’s cultural community. As outlined by the City’s letter, four focuses of the transition process include the organization of BOPA’s key events (especially with the Baltimore Farmers’ Market restarting in April), the stewardship of BOPA-owned properties, the future employment of BOPA staff, and the continuation of the Creative Baltimore Fund, a life-saving grant program for Baltimore-based artists and cultural organizations that is currently under BOPA. The news of the motion to end the partnership has been met with disappointment and concern from the Baltimore art community. Reacting to the news, Ryan Haase, co-owner of Station North’s The Club Car Baltimore, told the Banner that “It’s always easy to pull the plug on the arts. High school politics in the real world. Funding for the arts will always be cut first […] To lose BOPA as a funded entity will only do harm to our city and the artists who year after year rely on the funding from the nonprofit.” Professor Adam David Bencomo of UMBC’s Visual Arts department and a long-time patron of Artscape noted that “[BOPA has enabled] arts to have an opportunity to not only grow but flourish [in a city with little funding] […] Baltimore has a great arts scene, but like all great things, it needs continuous cultivation and care. With organizations like BOPA and Artscape, Baltimore can continue to evolve.”
However, the community has also acknowledged the missteps that BOPA has taken, such as not renewing the full-time director position at School 33 Art Center in South Baltimore (according to Cara Ober, editor-in-chief and publisher of BMoreArt magazine). In a statement, Emmanuel Williams—known professionally as Dapper Dan Midas—noted that “[There] have been a lot of misfires from BOPA […] In order for Artscape to continue and evolve, changes have to be made. An outside company who specializes in large-scale festivals may be the shot in the arm the city needs to get back on track while BOPA gets its house in order.”
BOPA has also conducted multiple outreach efforts to reassure the community in the wake of the breakup. In a virtual town hall held on October 29th, Rachel Graham herself advocated for the continued existence of BOPA as an essential part of the city’s cultural life. “This is a life-or-death matter. […] While we’re having these conversations, artists across this city are suffering. They are suffering from homelessness [, from inadequate health care, and] are some of the prime sufferers in the opioid addiction crisis. I believe that BOPA has a role that it can play.” An article by the Baltimore Banner quoted an attendance of 100 people for the town hall.
What Now?
Per the letter from the City, BOPA and the Mayor’s Office will continue to fulfill the joint organization of the two events remaining under their contract: the 2024 New Year’s Eve fireworks show and the 2025 MLK Day parade. The exact date of the parade is yet to be confirmed due to the scheduled inauguration of the 47th President of the United States in D.C. on the same day as MLK Day (January 20th, 2025). The final decision on this matter will be made in a meeting of the City of Baltimore’s Board of Estimates scheduled for this Wednesday, November 6th.
The consensus within the city’s transition plan is its timeframe, which has been shortened to 90 days from the initial call for an eight-month transition period at the Board meeting on September 19th. It must be noted that this Interim Board meeting also called for a reassessment of the relationship between BOPA and the City of Baltimore, especially as their current level of work has strained BOPA’s capacity for quality planning and execution of events.
In a statement released October 18th, the Interim Board of BOPA expressed their concerns about the short transition period and the risk it poses to Baltimore’s arts community. “We are concerned by the timing of the City’s notification just hours after our board approved a responsible path forward, [which] was approved by the Mayor’s representatives on our board. This reduces […] a productive and responsible 8-month transition to 90 days without any indication of a plan on how to maintain the services provided by BOPA. This is concerning for our arts ecosystem, [places the arts community at significant risk and impacts the Interim Board’s ability to support a healthy transition in their volunteer capacity.]”, the statement noted. Rachel Graham echoed the commitment of BOPA to the city’s art community in her October 31st appearance on WYPR’s Midday; she noted the commitment of BOPA to continue its role as an art advocacy and grant-making body, but also as a partner with local, state, and even national alliances to create a “city-wide creative agenda” and a creative economy for the city.
Another key concern is that a comprehensive plan for the transition has not been released as of writing. This includes the path forward for the Baltimore Farmers’ Market, Artscape 2025, the Baltimore Book Festival, and the Fourth of July fireworks show.
The future of the Creative Baltimore Grant is also in jeopardy, as it was created by a city ordinance and will likely be released from BOPA’s authority once their contract expires. However, Ms. Graham noted in the town hall that grants such as the Public Arts Commission and the Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize will still be under BOPA’s jurisdiction.
Additionally, the future of the staff of BOPA is under question, especially as a layoff is already in place. Stating on her X (formerly Twitter) account, Jess Solomon-DaCosta noted that she “[feels] for the staff,” a sentiment shared by the wider community.
Amongst all of this, both a sense of confusion and a sense of hope are apparent from both BOPA and the city’s artist community, that BOPA is here to stay. To close out this article, I would like to quote Ms. Graham from the October 29th town hall: “I am stubborn to a fault, especially when there are things that I believe in and I feel passionately about, and the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts is one of those things […] I believe in BOPA.”
This is a developing story. This article has cited information courtesy of The Baltimore Banner and the Baltimore Public Media Corporation.
By Jamie Nguyen, ‘25
