About a year ago, I walked into Womb Works on Wallbrook Avenue and there were framed portraits of the staff hanging on the wall. Wombs Works is an African-centered music, dance and theater company founded by Kay Lawal-Muhammad and Rashida Forman-Bey in 1997.
In each portrait, Womb Work staff wore a smile and radiant brown skin. I didn’t need to see the portraits to know that the company was Black-owned and led. It is evident through their community engagement that Black people are at the center of their operations.
The building was spacious, dimly lit and smelled of a sweet, musky oil. Portraits of Black leaders hung above a selection of drums.
Outside, the Womb Works building felt tucked away and insular. Inside, it was full of Black history, arts and culture. What happens when Womb Works is properly funded and able to expand its current reach? What happens when other community art organizations exist in that same neighborhood? What community and culture can that create? How will the community change when Black arts and culture are at the center?
Baltimore City is home to three art and entertainment districts: Station North, Bromo Arts Tower, and Highlandtown. In 2001, the Maryland Arts and Entertainment (A&E) District Program was created to drive arts-related investment. Station North was the first area in Baltimore to receive the state designation as an Arts & Entertainment District in 2002.
Art and entertainment district programs are city or state approved areas that are developed through partnerships between corporations, local universities, and businesses for economic growth. The idea is that the arts can drive traffic to the area, stimulate economic growth, and garner interest from investors.
In Baltimore, beginning in the 1920’s, Pennsylvania Avenue was adorned with nightclubs, restaurants and popular theaters such as the Regent Theater and Royal Theater. “The Avenue” was full of black arts and business. One could grab a drink, enjoy the legendary stylings of Billie Holliday, Cab Calloway, Red Foxx and more. However, by the end of the 1970s, many of the establishments were either vacant or occupied by new businesses. Historically, Baltimore has informally harbored one of the best Black arts and entertainment districts that fostered international legends.
Currently, there are over 150 galleries and performance art spaces in Baltimore city, but the majority of them are not Black-owned. Many Black-owned restaurants and cafes such as Dovecote Cafe on Madison Avenue and Terra Cafe on East 25th Street have pushed dining tables aside to act as arts spaces. Baltimore has an abundant Black arts scene that is often unlinked and segmented across the city, but what if we centralize our creativity?
Economically and culturally, art and entertainment districts in Baltimore city will thrive off the emotional and creative labor of Black artists. The constant redevelopment of North Avenue from the performance art center, Motor House, the art gallery, Space Camp, and the coming Parkway Theater, shows that The Station North art and entertainment district is upon us. But, what is the role of Black people in this district if not ownership? When the art district is built, with flashy theaters and glassy galleries, who will they expect to entertain the tourists?
We need an arts and entertainment district centered on the socioeconomic growth of Black people instead of solely utilizing their talents for entertainment.
An intentional Black arts district could rebuild the social fabric torn apart by gentrification and develop an arts/cultural rites of passage for upcoming artists and business owners. The district could be a central point for work that is already happening in the city and further community engagement. A Black arts district could aggregate financial resources to provide affordable housing and offer support to the community organizations and local businesses.
According to The Maryland States Arts Council, the arts generated $1.2 billion in the state in 2007. Alongside states and localities offering incentive packages, funding museums and symphony halls, and designating arts and culture zones, there is a robust arts non-profit sector in Baltimore too. However, Black-led art organizations such as Womb Works, Dew More Baltimore and House of New Beginnings, are often underfunded, but mobilize some of the most inspirational art pieces from Baltimore’s youth from music, theater to spoken word.
Any institution that is not Black-owned and operated for the needs of black people has a difficult time addressing the true concerns of the community. Solutions are hard to cultivate because there is no personal human experience or study to contextualize the problem. The Black experience is fundamental in one’s personal assessment of the problem and the solution.
However, even with the Black experience, Black people’s social, economic and political needs must be the core motivation. Otherwise, economic interests will immediately outweigh social progression if we are not accountable to community. It is not enough to be owned and led by Black people. The black arts district needs to be unapologetically for Black people.
In our city, there is much pain to process which also means there is much art to be created. There is more than enough arts and culture in Baltimore to develop a Black arts and entertainment district — a place that could revitalize not just Black neighborhoods, but also Black people.
Nakia Brown is a student at the University of Baltimore. She is an intern in the Baltimore office of the AFRO.