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Light City Baltimore has
created a sense of wonder and imagination in Baltimore that is the combination
of innovation, light, music and artistic expression. When I was approached
about the concept a little over a year ago I was thrilled with the idea we could
bring a week-long night festival to life. Perhaps more important, was embracing
the passionate vision of co-founders Brooke Hall and Justin Allen and expanding
it into our neighborhoods. The idea of having communities work with artists to
illuminate their streets was a special addition, and one I hope everyone will
take time to explore.
We often hear reports
about the amount of hard work that goes into making platforms like Light City
Baltimore a success, but we seldom hear enough about the driving forces behind
these events. In the case of Light City, numerous city agencies and departments
have been working tirelessly to keep it running smoothly. I want to thank
everyone who has been a part of the behind-the-scenes efforts from police to
fire, department of public works and transportation,
Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, and so many others. Their passion
to make this global festival a success is evident in every installation,
performance, and educational event.
As I walked through the
festival the past several days I was happy to see people from our
neighborhoods, young, old, families and couples, along with people from all
over coming together. There were numerous languages being spoken. And
throughout, Baltimoreans were helping our visitors take pictures, providing
directions, making restaurant recommendations, and I know new friendships were
formed.
Light City Baltimore has
unlocked forward thinking ideas and tools to positively impact and grow healthy
and sustainable communities in a way that we’ve never experienced before. The
impressive line-up of workshops, art and entertainment has brought together
diverse groups of designers, makers, artists, entrepreneurs, futurists,
storytellers, and big thinkers to explore how emerging creative practices will
shape our world.
As I introduced the
Arts and Society panel at the Light City U Innovation Conference, that
featured Marin Alsop, Director and Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony
Orchestra; Kwame Kwei-Armah, Creative Director at CenterStage; and Samuel Hoi,
President of MICA; they, much like many of the other speakers, discussed how
their respective passions led them to their higher purpose, which, in their
case, is using the arts to transform lives and communities. Baltimore’s
cultural institutions are blessed to have such extraordinary minds at the helm.
Light City Baltimore
festivities continue through this weekend, ending Sunday, April 3rd. I encourage our youngest residents to attend the Bright
Lights Youth Festival which is specifically designed to engage
middle and high school students around art and innovation. There are many fun
panels planned along with leadership-building activities such as debate,
poetry, dance, robotics, design and music. All events are free and open to the
public. This 2-day youth festival kicks off today and ends tomorrow, Saturday,
April 2nd.
I also want to emphasize
the culinary talents of Baltimore chefs and encourage everyone to support
our local restaurants and bars when exploring Light City Baltimore. There are hundreds of
options.
As a final note, I would
love to see everyone posting their pictures on #LightCityBaltimore. There have
been some wonderful and amazing posts and I know your contribution will make it
even more special.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake
Mayor
City of Baltimore
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