Upcoming
Flashback: Two Centuries of Baltimore Photography
Date
Sunday, October 4, 2026 - Sunday, February 21, 2027
See the first major exhibition to trace Baltimore’s role in the history and evolution of photography.
Baltimore isn’t just the subject—it’s a driving force in photography. Discover how Baltimore helped shape the history of photography through more than 200 photographs taken over the past 185 years. Experience Baltimore through the lenses of artists who have documented its people, neighborhoods, and defining moments for nearly two centuries.
Featured Artists
- A. Aubrey Bodine
- Elinor B. Cahn
- Carl Clark
- Roland L. Freeman
- Irving Henry Phillips
- Devin Allen
- SHAN Wallace
- Elle Pérez
- Gioncarlo Valentine
- Connie Imboden
- and many more
This exhibition is co-curated by Dr. Leslie Cozzi, BMA Curator and Department Head of Prints, Drawings and Photographs, and Antoinette Roberts, BMA Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art; with Jenna Paper-Evers, BMA Curatorial Assistant, Prints, Drawings and Photographs; and initial contributions by Andaleeb Badiee Banta, former BMA Senior Curator and Department Head, Prints, Drawings and Photographs.
Advisory Panel
Exhibition research and interpretation was supported by an advisory panel of critics and historians: Lawrence Burney, writer, critic, and founder of True Laurels; Beth Saunders, Associate Director and Curator of Special Collections and Gallery, Albin O. Kuhn Library at University of Maryland Baltimore County; Shannon Perich, Curator, Photographic History Collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History; Aaron Bryant, Curator of Photography, Visual Anthropology, and Contemporary History at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture; Deirdre Cross, former Director of Public Programs at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture; Deyane Moses, Director, Programs & Partnerships, Afro Charities; educator, curator, and founder of Blackives, LLC; and Angela N. Carroll, writer, curator and art historian; Adjunct Professorial Lecturer, College of Arts & Sciences, American University.
Sponsored By
This exhibition is supported by The Alvin and Fanny B. Thalheimer Exhibition Endowment Fund, Nancy Dorman and Stanley Mazaroff, Murthy/NAYAK Global Photography Endowment Fund, and Stuart and Becky Cooper.
The catalog is made possible by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Publication Endowment Fund.
The media partner is WJZ-TV.
Location
Special Exhibition Galleries
Select Artworks in this Exhibition
Elinor B. Cahn
I am an American Day Parade
1980-1981
Elinor B. Cahn
Mary and Michael Kujawa Raised Five Children in Their Two-and-a-Half-Bedroom Rowhouse in Canton
1979
Joan Clark Netherwood
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Frenchy
1978
Linda G. Rich
Summer Afternoon, East Baltimore Street
c. 1976-1979
Elinor B. Cahn
Solomon Faiman Reading His Daily Yiddish Newspaper
1979
Elinor B. Cahn
Saturday Afternoon Bingo at St. Casimin’s in Canton
1979
Joan Clark Netherwood
Nan Cotrelle Coiffeurs
1979
Carl Clark
Image No.43 (Sunday Morning While Considering a Decisive Moment)
1991, printed 1997
Roland L. Freeman
Mrs. Brown, East Baltimore, Maryland, November 1970
1970
Roland L. Freeman
400 Block of East Lorraine Avenue, Baltimore
1972
Roland L. Freeman
Drums in the Park, Baltimore, Maryland, August 1973
1973
Roland L. Freeman
Arabbing, South Baltimore
1970
Applications Closed
Concurrent with the 2026 exhibition Flashback: Two Centuries of Baltimore Photography, the Baltimore Museum of Art invites photographers to submit work for the Flashback Open Call, a rotating presentation celebrating diverse photographic perspectives on Baltimore life.
Press Contacts
Anne Brown
Baltimore Museum of Art
Senior Director of Communications
abrown@artbma.org
410-274-9907
Sarah Pedroni
Baltimore Museum of Art
Communications Manager
spedroni@artbma.org
410-428-4668
Alina Sumajin
PAVE Communications
alina@paveconsult.com
646-369-2050