Art After Hours: Joyce J. Scott

*This event is now SOLD OUT.

Baltimore’s best late-night art party is back celebrating the work and influence of Joyce J. Scott, one of the most significant artists of our time.

Enjoy late night-access to the galleries, free admission to Joyce J. Scott: Walk a Mile in My Dreams, and dance the night away to music by DJ Ty Alexander. Don’t miss a pop-up performance by Joyce J. Scott featuring Kay Lawal-Muhammad and stop by the Turning the Tables gallery for a weaving tutorial with the Weavers Guild of Greater Baltimore. Necessary Tomorrows founder Sharayna Christmas will lead an interactive writing experience and multidisciplinary artist Michele Blu will help you express your inner artist during a wearable crochet workshop.

Tickets

Members: $25 | Non-Members: $30

Admission includes one free food or drink ticket.

This event is for adults ages 21 and older. Parking is limited; ridesharing is encouraged.

Schedule

8:00 p.m.

Doors open

8:00–11:00 p.m.

Wearable Crochet Workshop with Michele Blu
Joseph Education Center Studio

Better Out Than In // Credo on (the pathways of) Joyce J. Scott interactive writing experience
Antioch Court

Community Weaving Experience with the Weavers Guild of Greater Baltimore
Special Exhibition Weaving Gallery

9:30–9:45 p.m.

Live performance by Joyce J. Scott featuring Kay Lawal Muhammad
Fox Court Stage

11:00 p.m.

Program ends

Participants

DJ Ty Alexander

Opening up for powerhouse talents like Lucky Daye, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Estelle, BJ The Chicago Kid, and Diana Ross has made Ty Alexander the new kid on the block to watch. Ty Alexander is an open format dj from Baltimore, MD who specializes in premiere industry events, corporate events, private celebrity events, and brand activations. Ty has developed deep relationships and spun for brands like Amazon Music, Black Girls Rock!, Target, Patron, Maker’s Mark, Essence Festival, L’Oreal, OWN, HULU, Palmer’s, NIKE, Harlem’s Fashion Row, JD Sports, and Cadillac. When you get to experience her spin in-person, you immediately understand and feel the passion, the love and the respect she has for music and the art of curating a vibe (some folks call it deejaying). She’s an old soul moving the music with her hands and always focusing on the feeling of the music while helping you create a perfectly aligned message at your event. Ty Alexander services both East and West Coast clients.

Michele Blu

Michele Blu is founder of Blu Treasures / Blu Treasures Kemetic Yoga & Arts, a handcrafted line of one-of-a-kind art, fashion, clothing, jewelry, accessories, and crochet that feature creative textures, fabrics, color, and paint. She is a multidisciplinary artist, born and raised in Baltimore City, with a passion for art and fashion. At an early age, Michele began to make crochet blankets for anyone in the family having a baby and then learned to make hats, sweaters, and booties. This accessible craft was a way for Michele to learn culture and identity. Drawing inspiration from fashion allowed her to further develop as a crafter, stylist, and designer, which turned into a form of therapy. Michele worked for Rocawear clothing line in New York City and Cherry Hill, NJ as an international sales representative. She was also nurtured, inspired, and taught to make clothes by her mother, who made all of her clothes as a child and is in partnership with her and her brand Blu Treasures. Michele works with at-risk youth and is a curator, musician, and co-founder of the experiential and energetic call and response band, Kemetic Lullaby. Michele continues to live out her passion of supporting and building a community with the ultimate goal of achieving liberation and love for us all.

H3irloom Food Group

Based in Baltimore, MD, H3irloom Food Group cultivates meaningful culinary experiences that celebrate the region’s authentic foodways, culture, and community, led by Chefs David & Tonya Thomas, Linda Taliaferro (CEO), and Floyd Taliaferro IV (CFO). In addition to operating The Sinclair private event space, the company’s portfolio includes ticketed dinner experiences, catering, pop-ups, sustainable farming initiatives, and the award-winning H3 product line. H3irloom is a 100% Black-owned company with a mission to uplift the Black food narrative and provide a deeply personal approach to the Black food experience that’s rooted in history and culture. Built on a foundation of friendship and a passion for true hospitality, the three in H3irloom represents the familial bond between the founding partners as a nod to their past, present, and future together.

Sharayna Christmas

Sharayna Ashanti Christmas is a mother, womanist, abolitionist and cultural worker who creates at the center of who she is. As a dancer, filmmaker and assemblage artist, her work explores movement in relation to how our bodies connect with the subconscious to tell stories of our past, present and unseen. In 2004, Sharayna founded Muse 360, a youth-led organization on a mission to radically develop youth to use their voice and creative talents in pursuit of knowledge of self. Muse 360 offers opportunities to over 2000 annually in the area of civic engagement, entrepreneurship, high quality dance and artistic training and black diasporic study abroad trips. In 2017, she launched Necessary Tomorrows, a platform to support black/poc artists comprised of an advocacy agency, formative advisory, curatorial practice and fund. Her most recent work, New Generation Scholars Young Artist Archival Fellowship, is a unique opportunity for emerging artists between the ages of 18 and 22 to explore and create new artworks inspired by Black diasporic history. This fellowship aims to provide a platform for young artists to delve into archival research, engage with historical materials, and develop their artistic practice within the context of the Black radical tradition. Sharayna has been the recipient of numerous awards, been featured on both national and international media platforms and holds a B.S. in Finance from Morgan State University.

Kay Lawal-Muhammad

For over five decades, Kay Lawal-Muhammad has performed around on the world on stages in New York City, Edinburgh, Scotland, Amsterdam and Kenya. Blending artistry with activism, Ms. Lawal-Muhammad is a founding director of Actors against Drugs, Kuumba Women’s Theatre Company, and WombWork Productions Inc. Ms. Lawal-Muhammad has appeared in the Emmy award-winning episode of the television series Homicide. Other television appearances include America’s Most Wanted, The Corner and The Wire. One of Ms. Lawal-Muhammad’s most acclaimed productions was her long running comic partnership with the provocative comedy team The Thunder Thigh Revue starring artist Joyce Scott, which toured in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Through her “Kayotic Komedy,” she takes the title of “Laugh Therapist.” Tapping universal themes, she invites audiences in on a healing process. Spoken from the depths of her heart, Kay influences audiences everywhere how to laugh through hardships and how to celebrate everyday joy. Her newest character, “Hip Hop Granny the Virtues Queen,” uses Hip Hop and the use of the 5 strategies of the Virtues Project International and African Centered Rites of Passage to elevate youth. A good laugh never hurts anyone. In fact, humor actually helps promote healing and productivity. Known as “Mama Kay” to the thousands of youth and families who have had life-changing experiences through the work of WombWork Productions, Ms. Lawal-Muhammad serves as Artistic Director of the production company. Pioneering a three-tier mentoring process through the production company’s three performance ensembles, Nu World Art Ensemble (ages 18 and up), Nu Generation Art Ensemble (13-17), and Next Generation Art Ensemble (5-12). Mama Kay now has a film director credit added to her resume. She is an official Rites of Passage Facilitator and a Master Virtues Facilitator (Virtues Project™).

Weavers Guild of Greater Baltimore

The Weavers Guild of Greater Baltimore is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to education and increasing the knowledge of weaving and fiber arts-related skills. Our membership includes over 200 individuals from across Maryland, Pennsylvania, District of Columbia, and Virginia – with some distant members joining us from further afield. The Weavers Guild of Greater Baltimore began as the Baltimore Weavers Guild in 1948. It is one of the oldest guilds in North America with a history of public service, learning, and fine craftsmanship.