🎵 Now Playing: “Paint the Town Red” – Doja Cat

Sometimes the best Baltimore experiences happen when you aren’t actually looking for them. I spent a beautiful summer day in Fells Point with my friend, starting with a great lunch at Papi’s Tacos. After we finished eating, I remembered there was a record store on the same block that I had been meaning to check out, so naturally that became our next stop. Unfortunately, when we got there, the store was closed. Instead of letting that ruin our plans, we decided to take a walk and enjoy the weather. I’m so glad we did because that random walk led us to one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had in Baltimore. We stumbled upon Winkel Gallery.

When we walked inside, the owner, Justin, was sitting at a table and immediately welcomed us in. The walls were covered with abstract paintings, and throughout the gallery were colorful glass tables that almost looked like someone had turned watercolor paintings into furniture. I later found out that Justin had made the tables himself. He walked us through the gallery and told us about his background as a Baltimore native and his experience commissioning artwork for Baltimore City. As he talked about his work, it was obvious how passionate he was about creating and sharing art with other people. Then he showed us something that completely changed the experience. On the back wall was a large canvas, and Justin asked if we wanted to help finish it.

UMMMM… YES?!

He explained that anyone who came into the gallery could contribute to the piece, which he called The Shared Surface. There were different mediums available for us to use, including acrylic paint, markers, crayons, and something I had never used before: chalk that turns into watercolor paint when you add water. Of course, I had to try that one! I cannot lie, this was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done.

As we added our own marks to the canvas, Justin explained the meaning behind the project. The Shared Surface was created as a participatory artwork where visitors could move beyond simply looking at art and actually become part of its creation. People could come into the gallery, let loose, reconnect with their creativity, and put whatever they wanted onto the canvas. There was no expectation that it had to be perfect, and there was no guarantee that your contribution would remain untouched.

Someone could walk through the doors tomorrow and draw directly over something I created that day. And that was completely okay. I loved that idea because it made me think about how much we put pressure on ourselves to create something perfect. As adults, we don’t always give ourselves permission to simply play, experiment, and make something without worrying about whether it’s “good.” As a child, you could grab some crayons and draw whatever came to mind without thinking twice. At Winkel Gallery, I got to experience that feeling again.

The Shared Surface also reminded me of something I’ve been learning throughout this entire summer of exploring Baltimore: things are constantly changing. A painting can change every time someone adds something new to it. A neighborhood can change when someone moves into an abandoned building and turns it into a business. A city can change when people decide to invest their time, creativity, and energy into it. And just like the painting, you don’t always know what the finished product is going to look like.

Justin told us that he photographs the progress of The Shared Surface and uploads the updates to his website so people can follow its transformation throughout the project. I loved knowing that even though my contribution might eventually be covered by someone else’s, I was still permanently part of the history of that piece. I walked into the gallery as a visitor and walked out knowing that I had contributed to a work of art. But the experience didn’t stop with the shared canvas.

Justin also had artwork that he created specifically to accompany vinyl records he selected. As someone who has been exploring Baltimore’s vinyl community throughout this blog, I thought this was such a cool combination. He even gave us headphones so we could listen while viewing the artwork. The music changed the way I experienced what I was looking at, making the gallery feel even more immersive.

I went to Fells Point expecting tacos I became an artist for the day! That is one of my favorite things about exploring Baltimore. You can make a plan, have that plan fall through, and somehow end up experiencing something you never would have found if everything had gone according to schedule. We didn’t plan to participate in a live art project. We simply decided to take a walk, and that walk introduced me to a Baltimore artist and a completely new way of experiencing art. Experiences like this are exactly why I want people to look at Baltimore differently. There is so much happening here that you can easily miss if you only focus on the things the city is known for. Baltimore has artists, musicians, restaurants, galleries, small businesses, and people creating experiences that deserve to be discovered.

So if you’re ever walking around Fells Point and stumble upon Winkel Gallery, go inside! Talk to Justin, look at the art, put on the headphones, and if The Shared Surface is still evolving, leave your mark. And if you see a little piece of my watercolor chalk somewhere on that canvas, just know… I was there!

Until next time,

Signed, A Baltimore Native