A laughing Bunny Switchblade is dancing with a dollar in her top and threatens to drop her dress to start the party right. Her mischievous husband Taz’s stomach keeps showing up in my photographs and DJ Mark Dennis has his eyes closed as he drops an endless array of hip hop, dance and Motown classics. Tattooed hipsters are open and friendly; straight looking college students talk mysticism and the Tibetan Book Of The Dead; urbane professor types with long scarves tell off-color jokes, and even a couple of off-duty mothers are flailing stereo-types and dancing and laughing together as if they were family.

Photo and story by Philip Laubner.

Editor’s Note: Phil Laubner would never compromise his journalistic integrity by plugging his own event at Gallery 788 in this story but the editors of What Weekly are totally biased and think highly of Phil so we thought we’d do it for him so here it is: Instant Gratification.

It’s the first Thursday of the month, and this collision of culture is just a normal opening at Gallery 788 in Pigtown. Each month up to 20 painters, sculptures, photographers and multimedia artists display new work. The setting is ordered, professional and well lit like a high-end gallery, but the atmosphere is laid-back and friendly like a neighborhood bar.

Photo and story by Philip Laubner.

Mark Smith and Eduardo Rodriguez

A Maryland native for sixty years, contractor and owner of Gallery 788 and Magnum Construction Mark Smith remembers a Pigtown from his childhood that was safe and racially diversified. He even remembers little league parades on main street. But that was forty years ago. Pigtown, like many other downtown neighborhoods in the rust belt, saw a down turn in the 1960s. There’s been been glimmers or prosperity; nice condos on it’s edges, and there was even a time when it was a good place to buy antiques, but the neighborhood has a hard time re-establishing itself as a destination for people from other parts of the city.

In 1992 the Orlioles moved into Camden Yards just next door to Pigtown and six years later the Ravens took up residence in the adjacent lot at M&T stadium. You’d think that this would have helped Pigtown’s fortunes. Mark Smith tells a diffferent story: “Pigtown has suffered the burden of speculation from investors. When they talked about building the stadiums, the speculators came in here and bought up everything. Being so close to the the stadiums they thought there was going to be this big explosion, but the boom didn’t happen. The problem was these guys just wanted to buy the the buildings and flip them, they really didn’t want to do anything with them. the buildings sat and started to collapse, all of main street turned into ruin. I’m buying them and trying to do something with them, we’re not just sitting on them.”

Photo and story by Philip Laubner.

Eduardo Rodriguez and Mark Smith

In 2009 Smith was approached by a community organization to convert the corner property at 788 Washinngton Blvd. into a shared community space. Although Smith wasn’t interested in a free-for-all shared space, it did give him the idea of using the space for the community. His wife and business partner Patrice, who also has a degree in Art History suggested a gallery, and they both decided on a co-op, or multi-artist approach to bring in the community.

Running a gallery is a full time job on its own. Mark and Patrice Smith were too busy with the contracting business to run Gallery 788, so they chose a newly transplanted DC native, the charismatic photographer Eduardo Rodriguez to be their gallery director.

Photo and story by Philip Laubner.

Eduardo Rodriguez

Eduardo Rodriguez is a veteran of the bustling and competitive Washington DC art scene. He’s paid and watched other artists pay outrageous fees to show their art. When he met Mark Smith, Eduardo had just moved to Baltimore and had already fallen in love with the cities quirky, creative and laid back charm. I remember him being amazed at how open and friendly everyone in the city was.

Photo and story by Philip Laubner.

Emily Sloman

Mark and Eduardo decided on low gallery admission fees and offered the artists one hundred percent commission on their work. This was unheard of, and soon there were artists being turned away for lack of space. Mark still hasn’t turned a profit on the space, but he’s committed to it because he feels the success of the gallery helps the whole neighborhood.

Photo and story by Philip Laubner.

Editor’s Note: This is yet another place where Phil Laubner wouldn’t think of plugging his own event at Gallery 788 but we started What Weekly to plug whatever the hell we want so if you missed the first link to his event here’s two in a row. Instant Gratification Instant Gratification

Lauren Barnhart

Since the fall of 2009 there’s been several, successful monthly shows at Gallery 788. Each month has it’s own unique theme and Eduardo encourages the artists to come up with parties and events during the months that they show. The next big event will be this Sunday’s Instant Gratification, a multimedia show thats been around since 2009 and usually has poets, performance artists, singer-songwriters, bands, comedians, filmmakers and chefs all displaying their work on the same day in the gallery.

Photo and story by Philip Laubner.

In addition to directing Gallery 788 and the new Gallery 21G on the same block. Eduardo has become involved in the greater Baltimore art scene and community. He recently sat on a three person panel to pick a design for the BNote, a new Baltimore-based currency that’s starting in Hampden. Eduadro has agree’d to host an auction and dance party to support the new currency at Gallery 788 and that party happens tonight, Thusday, March 10th.

Photo and story by Philip Laubner.

Theresa Keil

Mark Smith and Magnum Construction Inc. are in the midst of renovating four new buildings on the same block as Gallery 788. He plans on opening a restaurant named Angels and Thieves in one of them. The restaurant will have a connected art gallery that will be run by Eduardo Rodriguez and there’s also a large court yard in the back that Patrice Smith’s production company Baltic Gold is going to use for concerts and performances. It’s an exciting time for Pigtown and for the arts in Baltimore.

Photo and story by Philip Laubner.

WHAT DO A YOUTH MEDIA FESTIVAL AND A FARM-TO-TABLE RESTAURANT HAVE IN COMMON?

Wide Angle Youth Media started the Who Are You? Youth Media Festival in 2005 to build local audiences for local youth voices in order to strengthen ties and foster understanding in our community. For this year’s festival benefit, Wide Angle is very excited to feature Spike and Amy Gjerde, co-owners of Woodberry Kitchen, Baltimore’s premiere farm-to-table restaurant grounded in the traditions and ingredients of the Chesapeake region. Woodberry’s commitment to partnering with local farmers is a model for how to build a business based on the values of community, sustainability and strong relationships. We hope you’ll join us!

INFO: info@wideanglemedia.org, 443-759-6700.