Come see our city sidewalks come alive as Harbor East and Maryland Art Place (MAP) present Window Wonderland – A Holiday Arts Exhibit. Various shops and restaurants around the neighborhood will feature unique holiday windows designed by some of Baltimore’s most talented local artists. Baltimore residents and visitors alike are invited to join us for an evening full of holiday jolly while they experience some of Baltimore’s best shopping, dining and entertainment – turning Harbor East into a merry masterpiece for the holiday season!
This very special art exhibit runs November 19 through New Year’s Day and includes the following merchants: Amaryllis Handcrafted Jewelry, BIN 604, City Sports, Courtyard Marriott, Haute Blow Dry Bar, Lebanese Taverna, Loafers and Laces, Sassanova, South Moon Under, Taco Fiesta, Talara, White House Black Market and Whole Foods Market.
The Window Wonderland Unveiling Event was on Wednesday, November 19th from 5:30PM-8:30PM. It was an opportunity to tour the windows, meet the artists and watch as our noted panel of judges choose their favorite, with the “Best in Show” artist awarded a $1,000 cash prize! Guests too were welcome to cast their ballot for the “People’s Choice” award! Carolers, acrobats, street performers, ice sculptures and festive music will fill the streets with holiday cheer all evening long. Warm up indoors as participating Window Wonderland retailers offer complimentary refreshments and treats, and enjoy drink specials and extended happy hours featured at participating restaurants.
Our FREE holiday Parking begins the same day as Window Wonderland! Show $100 in same-day receipts and receive five hours of FREE parking at a Harbor East self park garage. For more details, click here.
Harbor East and MAP thank the following artist and merchants for their collaboration on this project!
Talara – 615 S. President Street
Artist: Shahrzad Taavoni
Shahrzad Taavoni incorporates vibrant colors, using recycled material and light in her interactive ‘light orbs’ that have largely been inspired by her healing work as an acupuncturist, philosopher, nature lover and spiritual seeker. Her art installations are made from lightweight shatter-resistant plexi-glass from recycled or re-purposed candy machines.
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Haute Blow Dry Bar – 644 S. Exeter Street
Artist: Jihee Kang
Circles commonly represent unity, wholeness, and infinity. In this piece, the circle signifies the means of communication in society and community. Jihee creates little human-like figurines to literally represent people and use the formations of the circles to visualize the relationships among people. Casted out of paraffin wax, each little figurine is hung from the top with fishing thread. The groups of figurines are made as small circles that gradually get bigger in size and numbers.
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Whole Foods – 1001 Fleet Street
Artist: Mollye Bendall
As the holidays approach, long shopping lists dominate our short days. These gift-wrapped row homes remind the viewer that the true gift of the season is the time we spend with our friends and family. Each row home, made of laser-cut acrylic, is wrapped in a different shade of blue wrapping paper. Through the windows, viewers can see photos of families celebrating the season in Baltimore – be it a marriage proposal on 33rd, a visit to Santa in Harbor East, ice skating with friends, or a home-cooked dinner with family. Each home is modeled after a house in Baltimore, and each photo was generously donated by a local family.
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BIN 604 – 604 S. Exeter Street
Artist: Patrick Ratliff
Patrick’s project includes the layering of various implied shapes to create an artistic representation of snowfall, while capturing the celebratory nature of the holiday season. These shapes include various textures that emulate traditional holiday relics in order to stimulate the joyous holiday mindset.
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Loafers and Laces – 612 S. Exeter Street
Artist: Stephanie Lewis
The installation at Loafers and Laces is not only a nod to classic holiday aesthetics, but also aims to compliment the fine, classic product within the boutique. The installation uses common materials in an elevated manner attempting to mirror the sophistication of the Loafers and Laces atmosphere.
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Taco Fiesta – 618 S. Exeter Street
Artist: Diana Marta
Ambassadors of festivity, “Whimsical Window Birds” are happily perched in hula-hoops, peering out of the windows into the patrons of Taco Fiesta. Fabricated with bright colors and glittering decorative materials, they evoke the magic of the holidays.
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Courtyard Marriott – 1000 Aliceanna Street
Artists: Astoria Aviles
Revisit Bedford Falls, fall in love again with George and Mary, and discover the magic of an angel named Clarence. Be a part of the live studio audience this holiday season at Baltimore’s Center Stage Theater for a live radio play production of Frank Capra’s, “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Inspired by their winter production, this window display illustrates the recording and listening sides of the performance, inviting viewers to join Center Stage for the beloved classic, set in a radio studio on Christmas Eve 1946. It’s the perfect holiday outing for the entire family and, who knows, an angel might even get his wings.
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South Moon Under – 815 Aliceanna Street
Artists: Janeen K. Brown
The concept of this piece is to play off the holidays and the idea of a “Fashion Holiday Angel.” This angel is like the fashion version of Scrooge’s ‘Ghost of Christmas’ yet to come. This character intends to invoke your fashionable future, revealing all the things that encompass fashion. This scene includes a Christmas tree with display openings, which is suggestive of the future that the “Fashion Angel” foretells – to be hidden within the Christmas tree.
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City Sports – 809 Aliceanna Street
Artist: Sue Caldwell
This year’s yarn-bombed window is all about fiber. Twenty suspended pendants were knit and wrapped with thick-and thin yarns; at the end of each is a hand-knit wire sphere encasing a lighted candelabra bulb. Sue’s “trees” are knit with a combination of yarns to create a pine-needle effect. The ornaments are one-of-a-kind pieces, hand-woven onto metal rings using silks, linens and beads. The word JOY is wrapped with recycled sari silk.
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Sassanova – 805 Aliceanna Street
Artist: Lynn Stecher-Cox and Joan Cox
Lynn and Joan’s work consist of hand stenciled black and white foam core. Behind the foam core will be a gap of several inches with lighting installed to shine through the cutout areas. A backing board of a brightly colored foil is in place so there is visual contrast during daylight hour. Lynn and Joan’s hand-cut design combines fashion, vignettes of Baltimore and holiday flair. The windows at Sassanova feature three silhouetted women wearing formal gowns. Each gown is covered in a toile-like pattern of cut-out vignettes of Baltimore including the Inner Harbor, The George Washington Monument, Fells Point and Hampden, just to name a few. The figures are also adorned with hand cut “headdresses” of poinsettias and snowflakes.
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Amaryllis Handcrafted Jewelry – 830 Aliceanna Street
Artist: Jennifer Yoo
Jennifer Yoo was born and raised in San Francisco and went back to South Korea when she was 5. She returned to attend Maryland Institute College of Art in 2005, and she has had several exhibitions in South Korea and the United States. In addition, she coordinated a set of window display for Shinsegae Department store in South Korea. Jennifer is inspired by nature, especially by the moment when flowers grow and bloom. Her ultimate goal is to create works that could positively influence people and engage the public. Moreover, she wishes to become an artist known for art that touches people’s heart.
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White House / Black Market – 810 Aliceanna Street
Artist: Martha Simons
This window represents winter birds – the birds that choose to stay in Baltimore throughout the holidays rather than migrate to more exotic locations. Those of us who live here and those who choose to visit during the colder months can relate to this hardy species that enjoys the beauty of winter and the changing of the seasons.
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Lebanese Taverna – 719 S. President Street
Artists: Timothy Devlin
When individual pieces of silverware are arranged in a collective massing, they take on a new layer of meaning and interpretation. The “Silverware Wreath” features rings of forks, knives, and spoons arranged to form a cohesive design. “May this different take on holiday decor through the use of common restaurant items be a pleasant addition to your holiday season” ~ T. Devlin
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The three judges, freezing, at the end of the event! Jess Bizik, Editor of Baltimore Style Magazine, Cara Ober, Editor of BmoreArt, and Priya Bhayana, Director of Bromo Tower Arts and Entertainment District
See more at: http://www.harboreast.com/events/window-wonderland/#sthash.MZC99Hec.dpuf
