Open Walls Baltimore 1

In spring of 2012, Station North Arts & Entertainment, Inc. joined forces with Gaia, a resident of Station North and leader in the international street art movement, to produce Open Walls Baltimore.  Over the course of two months, an unparalleled outdoor exhibition of twenty three murals and installations created by twenty nine street artists was mounted in Station North Arts & Entertainment District.  The Open Walls murals have enlivened public spaces, stimulated community revitalization and national dialogue, and attracted visitors and investors to Station North.  Part public art project, part community revitalization strategy, Open Walls Baltimore has brought increased attention, civic pride, and increased investment to the Station North Arts District, its artists and businesses.

In addition to the walls, SNAE produced an array of Open Walls events varying in scale and intended audience: small gatherings for artist talks and community potlucks, walking and bike tours, and Open Walls’s grand finale featuring Dan Deacon that attracted 1000 people to a vacant lot in Greenmount West. These public events explored the discourse on public art, mural making and stewardship, the role of art and artists in community development, and promoted the celebratory nature of the project.

The scale and scope of the project garnered major media attention for Open Walls Baltimore and the Station North Arts & Entertainment District as a whole.  In addition to being featured in hundreds of blog posts, to date Open Walls Baltimore has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, the Huffington Post, Grist, and more.  The project won the Best of Baltimore:  Best Public Art Project from Baltimore Magazine, and Best of Baltimore:  Best Exhibition from Baltimore City Paper.





For more information, visit www.stationnorth.org