Reflections and Project Update (Week of March 23, 2015)

This past week, our class was fortunate enough to have Jazmin Simmons come speak to us about changes going on in her neighborhood of Station North. We also had the opportunity to meet with our groups to discuss the next course of action and schedule for our projects.

Throughout the semester, I have enjoyed all of the guest lectures very much, especially Baltimore's Art in Transit group working on the Baltimore Red Line and Ben Stone's talks about Station North's future development. With that said, I found Jazmin to be very refreshing and charismatic, which sometimes gets lost amidst discussing business and planning. Moreover, Jazmin provided us with valuable insight into her personal experiences of working at the Bohemian Coffee House and the Charles North Garden. Her experiences seemed more relatable to a college student, and in turn, her views seemed to be the most honest and straightforward out of our lecturers in our class. Probably the most important thing I learned from her talk was her connection to the youth of Station North. Children and young adults often get kicked to the curb during the development of an arts district. Her proposal of having a safe space for the kids of Station North sounded very important and needed in order to create the best neighborhood possible for all parties. 

In regards to the term project, my group discussed the next steps of our plan. We now have all of the places logged, so now we need to gather photographs and any other additional data that we might want to add later on. For myself, I will begin to enter the data into our Google Map, and ensure that we place our data in all of the correct locations.

So far, I have already created the map online and made sure that everyone has access so they can observe the progress of our final product. In addition, I went ahead and downloaded shape files of the neighborhood boundaries of Station North. This way everyone will be able to easily locate our neighborhood. On April 14, we set the deadline to have all of our photographs gathered for the map, so that Mike and I can add those as well. We hope to have everything ready to go before schedule so that we can make any adjustments to the overall map.

Adventure 2: Exploring Art at MICA in Station North

 

For my second adventure, I was curious about looking into the arts scene at Station North. In particular, I was interested in learning more about MICA's relatively new presence in the arts district. Since a lot of the neighborhood's growth is a result of MICA's expansion on North Avenue, I figured it would be good to get a firsthand look at the spaces they occupy, and how it relates to the community.

During spring break, I attended the faculty exhibit going on at the Lazarus Center (aka the Graduate Studio Center). The building was once used as a factory for Morgan Millwork Company and later for Jos. A. Bank clothiers, a local Baltimore menswear company. After an 18 million dollar renovation, the Lazarus Center officially opened in October 2012.

Like most of Station North, I have driven past this structure many times, and had always been interested in its interior and historical significance. Upon entering the building, I felt like I had stepped into a gallery in Chelsea or Tribeca. I was very impressed by the architectural renovation, as well as the design of the gallery. Instead of sheltering the art from the avenue, the gallery was the first thing you encountered as you entered. This layout gave me a welcoming feeling, encouraging an artistic dialogue with the outside community.

Along with viewing the show, I went to the building's cafe, Nancy, where I got a coffee and a delicious pastry. Nancy also had a very welcoming and bright atmosphere, having tables and chairs looking out onto the avenue. The owners were also very friendly, adding to the overall experience. Afterwards, I found out that Nancy is owned by the same people who run the Station North Arts Cafe on Charles Street. In terms of the art, I enjoyed the show very much. My favorite pieces were the oxen pastel drawings (shown above). The inventory of the gallery was very diverse and eclectic, triggering the eyes of any passerby. In a way, the diversity represented in the show could easily be connected to the diversity of Station North, and how there are countless ways to express ourselves through the arts.