Explore UMBC's Arts Calendar

The Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery presents Mary Ellen Mark: Ward 81, a photography exhibition on display from January 26 through May 22. In 1976, American photographer Mary Ellen Mark and sociologist Karen Folger Jacobs spent thirty-six days living in the Oregon State Hospital, where they photographed the residents of Ward 81, the hospital’s all-female, high-security psychiatric unit. Their unprecedented access allowed them to create a deeply nuanced portrayal of women navigating psychiatric care in the mid-1970s. Mary Ellen Mark: Ward 81 brings together Mark’s photographs, Jacobs’s newly uncovered audio recordings, and rare archival materials, offering an intimate and expanded view of this landmark documentary project.

The Center for Innovation, Research, and Creativity in the Arts (CIRCA) presents artist Zoë Charlton, who will speak about the process behind creating Third Watch, her new public art work featuring illuminated sculptures depicting three pregnant female figures, inspired by African traditions. Charlton will be joined by Adam Nelson and Peter Karis from Paradise Labs, the team that she worked with to fabricate the work.

The Intermedia and Digital Arts Master’s Program presents despite // bất chấp: The 2026 Intermedia and Digital Arts (IMDA) MFA Thesis Exhibition. On view from April 1 through 18 at the Center for Art, Design, and Visual Culture, the exhibition features work by graduating students Taylor Goad, Nia Hampton, Bao Nguyen, and Lynn Nguyen.

In this artist lecture, Amina Ross unearths the possibilities of a multi-media practice through an active engagement of turbulence. How might an art practice pull apart the complexities of our current conditions by offering transitory spaces of refuge? How might transformation of an unbearable reality become possible only through “staying with the trouble”?