Over 40 professional artists live in Sowebo. This includes some of the area’s earliest pioneers, people who transformed dilapidated properties – old bath houses, chicken factories, collapsed mansions – into attractive housing, work, and gallery space. Their investments have sustained a unique community, which is now a foundation for much needed revitalization.

 

The Sowebohemian Festival is held annually on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. Coined a “Topsy Turvy Excursion into Art and Music,” the festival presents Baltimore’s largest music venue (40+ bands), a sizeable non-juried art exhibit, puppet shows, glass blowing demos, outdoor sculpture, kid’s art & fun. Artists living beyond its borders value Sowebo. Every year, 60+ local and regional artists donate original works for a most popular signature event, the Sowebo Poster Show and Auction. The show is hung in the Charles Theater and area cafes every May. The funky June auction is an incredible way to obtain original art. For more information, click here.

 

New and longstanding establishments serve as
lively anchors in Sowebo and suggest the
beginning of a resurgence.

 

In operation since 1981, near Hollins Market, is the outstanding Corradetti Glass Studio. Corradetti’s work is part of permanent museum collections in New York and Washington, as well as the White House. Glass blowing workshops are regularly conducted. For more information, click here.

 

Next door is the new home of the awe-inspiring Black Cherry Puppet Theater, founded in 1980. Black Cherry has long been entertaining children with performances and educational workshops in schools and festivals regionally. The building will feature a 50-seat theater, a garden performance space, studios, and a Puppetry Resource Center. For more information, click here.

 

On Thursday nights, venture to 1008 Hollins St. where Marc Braun’s cavernous re-invented Carriage House and Gallery hosts the Living Tree Foundation’s Open Mic. Feast on their well-attended potluck dinner, offering music, art, and the spoken word. Living Tree is a nascent network bringing together dedicated, creative, and purposeful youth to organize volunteer programs in the community. Email them here.