NEWS

Over the last decade, Johnston Square’s community organizers and development partners have mapped out a block-by-block strategy to eliminate about 550 vacants. The approach was so successful that the city adopted it, intent on rehabilitating over 3,000 blighted blocks across Baltimore with a $3 billion plan. The “whole block” approach emphasizes redeveloping an entire block, house by house, and persisting until every last one is stable, then moving on to an adjacent block until the market rebounds.

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The $55 million project was funded through a combination of public dollars, including the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), private capital, and, as Regina noted, “community grit,” with volunteers — including youth — helping transform the neglected area into a thriving neighborhood.

“Anyone listening who wants this to happen in your neighborhood, it can,” she said. “All over Baltimore, we’re going to change our neighborhoods.”

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For a community that suffered from disinvestment for decades, a 54-million-dollar project like this once seemed virtually impossible. Now, in place of 42 vacant lots, there has risen the centerpiece of East Baltimore’s redevelopment effort, which will carry the name of the Hammond couple who spent the last 12 years fighting to make their vision a reality.

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The show opens on December 5 for 12 performances, at Baltimore’s Motor House Theater, closing December 21.

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Open Works, a signature grantee of the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, was ranked third on a list of the state’s largest business incubators and accelerators.

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This week on Spotlight On Maryland, Gina Crash was joined in studio by Tori Martin, Program Director, Baltimore Arts Realty Corporation, (BARCO), and Jessica Smith, Managing Director, Motor House, to talk about Motor House's 10-year anniversary celebration and the history and mission of BARCO and its connection to Motor House.

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Motor House in Baltimore is celebrating their 10 year anniversary.

They are known for bringing bold, exciting, and unique artistic experiences to Charm City.

Alex Parker was there today to learn more.

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New/Next Film Festival, presented by Baltimore Public Media, will return for a fourth installment in the fall of 2026, organizers announced  … The 2025 New/Next Festival was made possible by the generous support of the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, the William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, creator of the Baker Artist Portfolios, the Baltimore Community Foundation, the John J. Leidy Foundation, the Maryland State Arts Council, the Maryland Department of Commerce Film Office, Whiting-Turner, and other generous sponsors including SAGIndie, Moxie Chocolatier, Lime, Sanity Lounge and Modera Wealth. 

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Community-based artist and folklorist Ashley Minner Jones, a member of the Lumbee community [and RWD Foundation Fellow], has used her talents to preserve, document and educate people about the community for years. She talks with us about her latest project: 'Beyond Baltimore Street: Living Lumbee Legacies.'

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The Robert W. Deutsch Foundation presents the BRUSH Mural Fest 2025 Celebration Day. Check out six brand new murals, enjoy music by DJs Blaqstarr, Alex Beaslay, and Movement With Noor, and participate in a free community spray painting. Noon to 3 p.m. at Graffiti Alley, 120 W. North Avenue. For more information, go to brushmuralfest.com. 

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Local designers, engineers, neighbors, and the State of Maryland are teaming up to improve transit access and pedestrian safety at West North Avenue’s busy intersections with McCulloh Street and Druid Hill Avenue. Graham Projects, the West North Avenue Development Authority (WNADA), and Open Works Baltimore are collaborating on feedback, budgets, and public art designs to enhance the streetscape.

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Motor House is celebrating 10 years with a whole weekend of events celebrating Baltimore arts and fashion, from workshops to a runway show. Watch this TV interview with its new Managing Director, Jessica Smith!

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Leon Pinkett III is the Executive Director and CEO of the Baltimore Arts Realty Corporation (BARCO), a nonprofit real estate development organization that creates and manages spaces for artists and makers in Baltimore. BARCO oversees key creative hubs such as Open Works, a makerspace in Station North, and Motor House, a multidisciplinary arts center that brings together performance, visual arts, and community programming.

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After a car crashed through the front doors of Motor House last month, the Baltimore arts hub is holding a series of events to raise money for repairs and celebrate its 10th anniversary. Baltimore Arts Realty Corporation (BARCO), the nonprofit that runs Motor House, will hold two rent parties.

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Through a partnership with the Maryland Community Investment Corporation, more than $1 millions in grants from philanthropic partners have been approved for the Support Fund. These organizations include the Goldseker Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Abell Foundation, the Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund, the Middendorf Foundation, and the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation.

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Organizations including the Goldseker Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Abell Foundation, the Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund, the Middendorf Foundation, and the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation are supporting the Baltimore Vacants Reinvestment Initiative Support Fund. 

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A native of Baltimore’s Cherry Hill neighborhood and a graduate of Morgan State University, Hopkins brings seventeen years of experience as a community leader, organizer, and pastor. He most recently served as co-chair of Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD), an organization building community power to improve housing, increase job opportunities, and rebuild schools and neighborhoods.

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According to a report released Wednesday, there are spots for only half of Baltimore children under 5 at local, regulated early childhood education programs. The first years are even harder: There’s capacity to serve just 20% of the city’s infants, according to the Baltimore City Early Care and Education Landscape Analysis, which brings together hard-to-gather data on conditions for children ages 0 to 5 in Baltimore.

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Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development, the community group that organized Sunday’s event, said in a news release its new private sector partners plan to “organize a significant private capital fund that will leverage the public funds already committed. This private investment will be critical to rebuilding housing markets in neighborhoods broken by the legacy of redlining.”

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Who would have imagined portraits of Regina Hammond and her husband, Keith hanging just steps away from internationally acclaimed artwork in the Baltimore Museum of Art? Mrs. Hammond is president of the ReBuild Johnston Square Neighborhood Organization, and her husband is a dedicated volunteer in Johnston Square – a community they have called home for more than 40 years and one that continues to show us what transformation looks like when rooted in love, leadership and legacy.

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