In honor of June’s designation as LGBTQ Pride Month, the Gordon Center for Performing Arts next month will hold a series of programs — at the Owings Mills venue and elsewhere — to celebrate and explore the multiple facets of gender, race, religion and class identities.
Baltimore’s third annual Queer Jewish Arts Festival will spotlight local, national and international artists who are making artistic statements with Queer and Jewish content.
“This year, we have expanded our planning committee to include teens — to bring new voices and perspectives of young Queer Jews,” said Sara Shalva, chief arts officer of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore. “Moving off-site is another exciting development. We hope to reach new audiences, build community and expand our impact.”
This year’s festival events will include:
Thursday, June 1, 7:30 p.m.
Creative Alliance
3134 Eastern Ave., Baltimore
The Stoop Storytelling Series will present “Glitter, Gefilte, Guilt and Guts: Stories by People who are Jewish, Queer and Here,” an evening of celebrating multi-faceted identities through storytelling.
Thursday, June 22, 7:30 p.m.
Gordon Center
3506 Gwynnbrook Ave., Owings Mills
Emmy Award-winning stand-up comedian, actress, podcaster, author, television writer and producer Judy Gold will perform. Gold was part of Netflix’s “Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration.” She is the author of “Yes, I Can Say That: When They Come For The Comedians, We Are All In Trouble” (Dey Street Books), a critically acclaimed 2020 book about free speech and cancel culture. She is also host of the hit podcast, “Kill Me Now with Judy Gold.”
September 2023
Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Art Gallery
Gordon Center
A visual art exhibition will focus on works by Jewish Queer artists. The Gordon Center will host an exhibit opening preceding a live music show in September. Proposals from Queer Jewish artists will be juried by the Gordon Center’s Queer Jewish Arts Festival committee. Opportunities are available for a one-month exhibition, beginning in September. The committee is seeking works on paper, photographs, paintings and textiles. (No 3-D exhibits will be accepted at this time.) Submissions should include the artist’s resume and biography, 4-10 images of their work and details for each piece (time, year, dimensions, medium and price). Submissions should be emailed to Melissa Seltzer at mseltzer@jcc.org.
The Queer Jewish Arts Festival is sponsored by the Grandchildren of Harvey M. & Lyn P. Meyerhoff Philanthropic Fund, and was made possible in part by funding from JPride Baltimore.
The festival’s community partners include The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, Beth Am Synagogue, Beth El Congregation, Beth Israel Congregation, Bolton Street Synagogue, Chevrei Tzedek Congregation, Chizuk Amuno Congregation, Eshel, Faith Communities of Baltimore with Pride, Hinenu: The Baltimore Jewish Sthiebl, the Pride Center of Maryland, Repair the World, the Macks Center for Jewish Education, Har Sinai-Oheb Shalom Congregation, and the Hopkins, Towson and UMBC Hillels.
For information, visit jcc.org/gordon-center/queer-jewish-arts-festival.
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