Dear Black Girls Brunch Held for Black Excellence Media Tour 

With the picturesque Inner Harbor as their backdrop, a powerful group of talented African American creatives recently assembled for a gathering worthy of its mural. The group of artists, journalists, and publicists participated in the Dear Black Girl Brunch hosted in the Creatively Black Baltimore Exhibition space. Visit Baltimore organized this Black Excellence Media FAM (Familiarization Tour) as part of the CIAA press trip.

The event took place on Saturday, March 1, 2025, at the Light Street Pavilion located at Harborplace. The group ‘painted’ the event with spirited dialogue that provided insight about their backgrounds and the inspiration behind their work. The event was hosted by artist Tamara Payne, with catering provided by Heirloom and Cuples Tea, both businesses located in the Light Street Pavilion.

Journalists and publicists included Brenda Medley (BET.com), Kimberly Wilson (Essence), Delaina Dixon (Ebony), Roshae Hemmings (Detour Magazine), Johnae De Felicis (Freelance Travel Writer for Fodor’s Travel, Condé Nast Traveler, Matador Network), Simone Harvin (Travel Noire), publicists Tiffany Nunn of DCI and Catonya Lester of Lester PR and One/35 Agency, and Tracey Johnson and Trish McClean of Visit Baltimore. The event featured brunch and dialogue with Tamara Payne, artist, activist, educator, and creator of The Dear Black Girl Project, an installation of inspiring women images, voices, words, African textiles, and other objects.

The Media FAM included a tour of The Dear Black Girl Project and the Creatively Black Baltimore Pop-Art Exhibition with a show and tell by participating artists. Creatively Black Baltimore is the largest regional exhibition of Black art, featuring more than 500 works by nearly 100 artists of color who live or work in Baltimore.

Several artists discussed their work during the tour and gave Bramble, Brown, and “Poncho” Brown high accolades regarding the day’s events and the groundbreaking exhibit.

“It is a great pleasure as a visual artist to have my work here at the Creatively Black Baltimore exhibit,” said community artist and educator Kenneth Clemons. “Today’s event is awesome and very monumental. It’s an appreciation and celebration because Black artists are often overlooked. Events like this are imperative because artists of all colors should be represented.”

The exhibit seeks to showcase the extensive talent within Baltimore’s creative community and address the lack of support many artists have faced. Admission to the exhibition is free, and all works on view are for sale.

“This event and exhibit are awesome,” said artist Tiffany Harris, who has five pieces in the exhibit. “I’m always encouraged whenever I come and walk through this gallery. The show has been up for eight months now, but every time that I walk through, it’s a rejuvenation, and I’m ready to work my mind about getting into the studio again and just really experimenting and pushing the boundaries of my work.”

Four of Harry Livingston’s pieces are featured in the exhibit. Livingston said he has been creating art since childhood.

“Poncho did a great job with this exhibit,” said Livingston. “I think this is great because we never had anything like this for Black artists in Baltimore.”

For Creatively Black Baltimore hours and other information, visit https://creativelyblackbaltimore.com/.