Objects Made Holy Curated by Gina Pierleoni On View February 12, 2026 - March 29, 2026 | 2nd Floor Objects Made Holy gathers deeply personal objects and stories from 42 Baltimore residents, each invited to reflect on an item that carries meaning beyond its physical form. Chosen for their emotional, cultural, ancestral, or healing significance, these objects reveal how ordinary things - a spoon, a keepsake, a fragment - can become sacred through lived experience.

Embers Held Works by LeRease Clark  On View February 2, 2026 - March 22, 2026    Moses Williams Center, 1st Floor   Curated by Daisy Brown, Embers Held gathers works made across years of Baltimore artist LeRease Clark's life.  LeRease Clark is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist and exhibit installer based in Baltimore, MD. Drawing from personal experience, ancestral memory, and spiritual insight, Clark creates work rooted in emotional truth, sacred darkness, and the power of transformation.

Illuminator Award Honorees 2026 Five Forces Shaping Baltimore’s Cultural Future The Peale is proud to announce the five honorees of the 2026 Illuminator Awards, individuals and institutions whose work has expanded access, strengthened communities, and shaped Baltimore’s cultural life in lasting ways. Together, this inaugural group reflects the spirit of the Illuminator Awards — recognizing leadership that bridges history and innovation, creativity and civic responsibility, legacy and future impact.

The Guild @ The Peale Building the Next Generation of Preservation Tradespeople​ The Guild @ The Peale is a paid apprenticeship program training the next generation of preservation tradespeople while creating pathways to stable, well-paying careers for Baltimore residents. Launched in 2020, the program provides hands-on experience in historic building trades including masonry repair, carpentry, window restoration, plastering, and conservation of historic materials.

Grit Fund 2026 Is Open Apply for Project Grants or Serve as a Juror Grit Fund is now accepting applications for 2026 Project Grants and welcoming applications from community members interested in serving as jurors for the upcoming grant cycle. Together, these opportunities support Baltimore’s vibrant creative ecosystem—by funding collaborative artist-led projects and engaging local leaders, artists, and organizers in the grant-making process itself.

PNC – Illuminating Community, Arts LAURA GAMBLE for PNC FOUNDATION PNC to be Honored at the 2026 Illuminator Awards for Championing Education, Economic Development and the Arts Baltimore, MD – The Illuminator Awards, a signature fundraising event celebrating leaders who amplify Baltimore’s cultural landscape, will recognize The PNC Financial Services, Group, Inc., on April 16, 2026. PNC is a champion of Baltimore’s cultural community, renowned for its leadership in expanding arts access and education.

The Peale Announces New Advisory Board The Peale, Baltimore’s Community Museum, is proud to announce the formation of a new Advisory Board—an engaged group of leaders, thinkers, and practitioners who will help guide the museum’s next chapter of community-centered storytelling, creative programming, and civic engagement. The Advisory Board is designed to complement the work of The Peale’s Board of Directors by providing strategic advice, subject-matter expertise, and ongoing dialogue with staff—particularly around programs, partnerships, and emerging opportunities.

AFRO HOUSE Baltimore, MD — The 2026 Illuminator Awards are proud to honor Afro House, a Baltimore-based arts organization known for creating immersive performances that bring together music, dance, film, theater, and visual art. Afro House’s work invites audiences into shared, live experiences that are bold, collaborative, and grounded in cultural storytelling.Founded in 2011, Afro [...]

We’re excited to announce the launch of Peale Fine Art Framing, a new professional framing service now available inside The Peale

Former Baltimore Museum of Art Director Dr. Doreen Bolger to Be Honored at 2026 Illuminator Awards for Transformative Cultural Leadership DOREEN BOLGER Baltimore, MD – The Illuminator Awards are pleased to recognize Dr. Doreen Bolger, former director of the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA), for her visionary leadership and enduring contributions to the arts. Bolger served as director of the BMA from…

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Education, Resistance, and the Legacy of The Peale   From 1878 to 1889, the Peale building played a pivotal role in Baltimore’s African American educational history. Known then as Male and Female Colored School No. 1, the building housed one of the city’s first grammar schools for Black students—and later became the first high school for people of color in the state of Maryland…

On View: January 9, - March 29, 2026   The Secret City: Works on Color Film features new works from Baltimore photographer, Joseph Mario Giordano.   Capturing glimpses of the lives and landscapes of Baltimore, this exhibit highlights the city's diversity, vibrancy, and hidden rhythms that shape everyday lives.    Opening Reception: Friday, January 16, 2026 | 6-8 PM 

Moses Williams silhouette Recovering a Master Artist’s Story   Moses Williams: Cutter of Profiles brings long-overdue attention to one of the most prolific—and overlooked—artists of early America. Born around 1776, Moses Williams was an extraordinary silhouette artist whose finely cut “profiles” captured the likenesses of hundreds of people at a time when photography did not yet exist.   Williams was born enslaved to artist and museum founder Charles Willson Peale and grew up working in Peale’s Philadelphia museum.

When Science, Art, and Accessibility Collide In 1801, Charles Willson Peale and his son Rembrandt launched what would become the first scientific expedition in U.S. history—unearthing massive bones from a New York farm that were later identified as a prehistoric mastodon. That discovery helped introduce a radical idea to the American public: species could go extinct.

AFRO HOUSE Baltimore, MD – The 2026 Illuminator Awards are proud to honor Afro House, a Baltimore‑based production company specializing in the convergence of disruptive sonic, kinetic, literary and cinematic interventions to create immersive experiences set in a life-giving future. Under the artistic leadership of co‑founder Scott Patterson, Afro House’s work includes groundbreaking projects such as Cloud Nebula, a futuristic space odyssey that combines large cinematic visuals, original music performed live by the Astronaut Symphony and immersive technology, to transport audiences into another galaxy and the Afro House Concert Series, which celebrates Baltimore’s extraordinary maker scene. 

JOHNS HOPKINS Baltimore, MD – The 2026 Illuminator Awards will celebrate Johns Hopkins, executive director of Baltimore Heritage. The awards recognize his leadership in preserving Baltimore’s historic places and revitalizing its neighborhoods. Hopkins has directed the nonprofit since 2003. He has worked tirelessly to protect historic buildings. He tells the stories of the city’s diverse communities. He leads Baltimore Heritage’s popular tours and advocacy efforts, engaging with the community to promote a deeper understanding of the city's rich history and cultural significance.

CARA OBER for BMOREART Baltimore, MD – The Illuminator Awards will recognize Cara Ober, artist, arts writer and founding editor of BmoreArt. She is being honored for her tireless advocacy. Her storytelling on behalf of Baltimore’s arts community is also being recognized. As executive director of BmoreArt, Ober has spent over a decade building a local audience for art and culture.

The Peale Announces the Illuminator Awards 2026 An Evening Celebrating the People and Organizations Shaping Baltimore’s Future The Peale, Baltimore’s Community Museum, will host the 2026 Illuminator Awards on Thursday, April 16, 2026. The event will bring together leaders from various fields for a night of celebration and storytelling. The Illuminator Awards honor people and groups that enhance Baltimore’s culture, build communities, and promote inclusivity and creativity.

The Night Gaslight Changed Everything at The Peale On a fall evening in 1816, people gathered along Holliday Street, drawn by a strange new glow coming from inside a museum.  Baltimoreans crowd around the Peale Museum in an artist's rendering of the 19th-century gaslight demonstrations. Image courtesy of BGE. Visitors pressed close to the windows [...]