Art Rysing 2026: Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation

Baltimore’s creative heart beats stronger than ever as we gather for Art Rysing 2026: Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation — a citywide celebration of art, equity, and community healing through creative expression.

Building on the legacy of previous Arts Rysing gatherings as a creative response to the murder of Freddie Gray in 2015, this year’s 11th convening expands its reach and impact, bringing together youth arts organizations, cultural leaders, educators, and community visionaries who use art as a catalyst for justice, belonging, and renewal. Hosted at the Rita Rossi Calwell Center (IMET) Building on Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, Art Rysing 2026 will showcase the transformative power of the arts to bridge divides, amplify silenced voices, and foster truth-telling in pursuit of racial equity and collective healing.

Rooted in the Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation framework, Art Rysing 2026 embodies a deep commitment to dismantling systems and mindsets that uphold racial hierarchy, while cultivating spaces for authentic dialogue, trust, and repair. TRHT envisions a Baltimore — and a world — where every young person, artist, and neighbor experiences a genuine sense of belonging. It centers the stories of those historically excluded, while celebrating art’s power to spark empathy, courage, and change.

This gathering will uplift collaborations with Baltimore’s thriving arts community, ensuring that transformation is multiracial, multigenerational, and rooted in community voice.

For complete information, please visit the Art Rysing page at the Shriver Center.

Admission is free, but an r.s.v.p. is required.

Art Rysing 2026 is sponsored by the Shriver Center’s Choice Program, in collaboration with the Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation Campus Center and WombWork Productions, Inc.

Invited partners: Arts for Learning Maryland, Bloomberg Arts Internship, Baltimore Peace Movement, Baltimore School for the Arts, Choice Youth, Digital Empath, DJ Nice, Holistic Life Foundation, Larry Whaddup Caudle, Leaders of A Beautiful Struggle, Linehan Artist Scholars, Living Classrooms, MICA, Sisterhood (UMBC), The Gathering Space at UMBC, Bloomberg Arts, and Youth As Resources.