{"id":662597,"date":"2026-05-24T16:56:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T16:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/662597\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T16:56:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T16:56:13","slug":"a-mica-student-meet-the-artists-and-collectors-behind-artscape-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/662597\/","title":{"rendered":"A MICA student: Meet the artists and collectors behind Artscape 2026."},"content":{"rendered":"

Curious buyers dodged puddles and dripping rain to peek into the white tents lined up under the Jones Falls Expressway. Inside, painters, photographers and clothing designers<\/a> waited to greet them. <\/p>\n

Despite the 50-degree temperatures and the rain, collectors and artists made the most of this year\u2019s Artscape<\/a>, which is going on all weekend in downtown Baltimore. The arts festival<\/a>, one of the largest in the country that is free and open to the public, has been a celebration of culture since 1982.<\/p>\n

One of the dozens of artists braving the rain was Alyssa Curry, a 25-year-old who recently moved to Baltimore with her art partner, Sam Mullen, 26. The two sell an array of art<\/a>, including ceramics and prints.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe art scene in Baltimore is great,\u201d she said, adding that the creative community \u201chas opened their arms\u201d to the duo.<\/p>\n

Musical artists also performed all afternoon and evening, with The Roots headlining on Saturday. Local food vendors, selling barbecue, skewers and snacks, set up shop for the weekend. <\/p>\n

The War Memorial Building<\/a> and The Reginald F. Lewis Museum<\/a> hosted curated exhibits for those looking for reprieve from the rain. Other interactive events were scattered around Baltimore\u2019s downtown and Inner Harbor area, including an LGBTQIA+ Pride Kickoff at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Here are some of the people who attended:<\/p>\n

D.C. artist inspired by gardening grandmother from Calvert County<\/p>\n

Vetiver Vonne Napper<\/a> was raised in Washington, surrounded by the city landscape. But the 37-year-old artist\u2019s work is all about nature.<\/p>\n

Their exhibit showcased naturally dyed tapestries of plants and seedlings, partially inspired by their grandmother from Owings near the Chesapeake Bay. Vonne Napper said their grandmother\u2019s backyard was filled with grapevines, squash and a cherry tree, among other plants.<\/p>\n

Now, after their grandmother\u2019s death, Vonne Napper connects with her through gardening and land stewardship. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I did start to get into the soil and start to plant, I felt her helping me to learn how to do these things,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Family history plays a big role in the work of Baltimore artist Vetiver Vonne Napper. (Jerry Jackson\/The Banner)<\/p>\n

Vonne Napper, a Maryland Institute College<\/a> graduate, attended Artscape in the 2010s, but this was their first time showing off their own work.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up in D.C., I\u2019ve heard different stories about Baltimore,\u201d they said. \u201cBut Artscape showed me a lot of what is not highlighted and what should be highlighted, which is the people, the art, the culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

The food, Vonne Napper added, was also amazing.<\/p>\n

Essex native finds beauty in the discarded remnants of vacant rowhomes<\/p>\n

Both sides of Nicholas Wisniewski<\/a>\u2019s family were raised in Highlandtown and Greektown.<\/p>\n

At his second exhibition at Artscape, jagged pieces he collected from vacant homes and dumpsters in two East Baltimore neighborhoods extended on wooden planks. The profiles of rowhomes were sketched into each.<\/p>\n

\"\"Artist Nicholas Wisniewski carves Baltimore rowhouse facades into discarded remnants of drywall. (Jerry Jackson\/The Banner)<\/p>\n

\u201cI see these as metaphors for how we can impact our built environment,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat we build ultimately changes who we are, so depending on what we build is a decision on who we want to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Wisniewski grew up in Essex, he visited Baltimore often to see family. The 43-year-old artist now lives in Waverly.<\/p>\n

He said he sees his work as \u201csort of like hopeful gestures to rethink and rebuild the kind of city we want to live in.\u201d<\/p>\n

A lawyer and her friend drive in to buy big in Baltimore<\/p>\n

Bisi Ugunmefun<\/a>, a 27-year-old lawyer living in D.C., had one thing on her mind when she drove in for Artscape on Saturday: a piece created by Lauren Bessette<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bessette creates textured pieces made of sand and painted in vibrant colors. Ugunmefun said she had been following her work since December.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the beach. I love the sun. I love just being free,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s what her art reminded me of.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Artist Lauren Bessette, center, with patron Bisi Ogunmefun, left, and her friend Christine Smith. Ogunmefun bought the pink sand-based relief sculpture. (Jerry Jackson\/The Banner)<\/p>\n

Ugunmefun, accompanied by her friend Christine Smith, 29, who flew in from Houston, said she made a beeline for Bessette\u2019s booth when she arrived. The two decided on a bright pink piece, called \u201cPinkies Up,\u201d which cost over $3,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is for me,\u201d she said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to become a Picasso or nothing. It\u2019s something I like, and that\u2019s OK with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s her personal Picasso,\u201d Smith chimed in.<\/p>\n

A glimpse at Artscape 2026 <\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal in life is just to fill my house up,\u201d Ugunmefun said. \u201cMoney comes and goes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Life-size paintings put us in this MICA student\u2019s family reunions<\/p>\n

When Jada McAliley received the news that she was one of the artists who would be featured in this year\u2019s fair, she emailed a professor who encouraged her to apply.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it, I was so surprised,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The 20-year-old MICA student was raised in Randallstown, though her family, which inspires her work, is from Baltimore.<\/p>\n

She forces onlookers to take a step into her family\u2019s annual reunion, which take places in different cities around the country. This year\u2019s will be in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jada McAliley just finished her sophomore year at MICA. Her vibrant paintings displayed at Artscape are based on memories of family reunions. (Jerry Jackson\/The Banner)<\/p>\n

The pink-, yellow- and orange-hued scenes of her relatives playing cards and tending to each other are created using oil paints and spray paint, she said. She introduced spray paint into her work after completing an assignment about connecting her art to the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe art scene in Baltimore, I love it,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd graffiti is one of the big things in Baltimore, so I picked up spray paint.\u201d <\/p>\n

You can view McAliley\u2019s work among others at Artscape on Sunday from 11 a.m.-9 p.m.<\/a><\/p>\n