Alley Walk Opening! Sunday May 23 2-6pm

Please come to our 2nd Alley Walk on Sunday, May 23  from 2-pm to see new artworks transforming the alley!

Projects are located in the alley behind the 2000, 2100 and 2200 blocks of N.Calvert Street, 21218.

New works by the following artists:

Axis Alley would like to thank the  the Baltimore Neighborhood Collaborative  for their generous support funded by the Anne E. Casey Foundation. The continued presence of artists and artworks though the spring has been made possible with their Central Baltimore Community Initiatives Grant.

things are still happening in the alley…

the sanitation department finaly showed up, thanks to a mayors office person

and our trash pile is gone.

more work beginning!

TwoCan Collective (Emily C-D & Jessie Unterhalter) goes up!

murals begin

MICA grad student Cyle Metzger begins the first of two murals he will be doing for the project.

Vacant: Activating Baltimore Alleys through Creative Action

Axis Alley seeks through creative engagement to utilize the backyards of vacant properties and vacant lots as a  canvas for creative works that transform, activate and revitalize the overlooked, under-attended areas of Baltimore’s back alleys. In neighborhoods where the vacancy rate of properties runs high, the alley seems to become the indicator of urban difficulties…trash, rats, homeless people, prostitution and drugs. These somewhat forbidding alley’s (dark and unlit at night),while speaking of endemic problems in the city, posess a certain toxic beauty and  provide a fascinating possibility of urban intervention and creative gesture.

Call for Entries and Participation!

Axis Alley calls for propsals for site -specific works to be installed in the alley behind N.Calvert street in the blocks between 25th st and North avenue and possibly extending in both North and South directions to re-activate the alley connecting Station North to the BMA through creative works.

Works in  all media and disciplines are encourage to  submit, but all works should be highly site-specific. Works that utilize solar light as an illumination device for a night prescence are highly encouraged.

All works must be minimally invasive physically to the site and must be able to withstand all conditions of a public venue for six-months, such as weather conditions, vandalism and so forth.

Recent project while waiting for approval…

My studio is in between Hargrove Alley and the proposed N.Calvert street alley. My neighbor on the Hargrove side bought the property just in front of me, and since he does really nice rehabs, he threw out a perfectly salvalgable backyard fence which i , in fact, salvaged.

One of my neighbors on the calvert alley, had a back yard in need of help. Turns out they were getting a lot of tickets from the city, and were happy to have me oddly approach them with the offer of a free fence, professionally installed…that came painted with a picture of two dancing rats and christopher robin on it. They were especially happy with the picture.

After a preliminary clean up, one of the occupants worked with me this last weekend and we installed their new fence.

Below are before and after shots.

It was hot, hard work (especially removing the old     posts and concrete footings), but well worth it.

Many neighbors have reacted very positively to the change and it feels good to re-purpose the fence.