Michael Harris and the hilarious actors from MidAtlantic Improv have brought improvised plays to venues from Baltimore to Fredrick to DC, including the sold out hit, BAH HUMBUG: A Christmas Carol (Mostly) Improvised.

Now they bring you Law & Order SIU: Special Improv Unit! You'll see every aspect of the Law & Order formula from the discovery of the victim (played by an audience member) to a tough but fair Lieutenant pushing for results to a final verdict decided by you!

This is Law & Order SIU -- And these are your stories.

Workshop
GRIOT GENDER by Oreoluwa Akinyode

Saturday, 10.25.2025
12:00 – 3:00 pm

GRIOT GENDER is a workshop that invites individuals to pass a story to one another within a communal learning and sharing space. Participants are invited to come to this workshop with a short story about themselves, their life, their community, where they come from, and truly any niche story one wants to live through the passing of stories. Oreoluwa will invite participants to demystify archival methods and exalt the history of traditional oral storytelling with them. In this writing and performance based workshop Oreoluwa will also be sharing writing, short film, musical and sonic examples of the storytellers who paved the way for them to think of the ways a story can take shape and morph into something new everyday.

Join us for AREA 405 Open House on a city-wide Open Door Day!

Launched in 2014, Doors Open Baltimore, hosted by Baltimore Architecture Foundation, is an annual city-wide festival honoring Baltimore’s diverse cultural tapestry by highlighting its vibrant neighborhoods, captivating architecture, and distinctive spaces that contribute to the city’s exceptional charm.

Come Join us to make a colorful, fun lantern to celebrate Halloween, hang on your porch, bring to the parade, and light up the night!

Join light extraordinaire 💡 artist Laure Drogoul and the Inviting Light team for a fun & festive lantern-making workshop at Area 405 in Greenmount West!

🎨 Kids, adults & families can craft funky, glowing lanterns to carry in the Great Halloween Lantern Parade that night in Patterson Park! (see poster below 👇).

🕚 Doors at 9:30am. Workshop runs 10 am–12 pm with snacks included. Come create, celebrate & light up the night with your own glowing masterpiece! 🌟

🎃 This is the LAST lantern workshop before the big parade—don’t miss your chance! Even if you can’t make it to the parade, you’re welcome to join and take home a lantern for your porch or window.

✨ Take a little light with you—to the parade, your home, and the next Inviting Light installation on Nov. 12!

WHAT TO BRING:

• recycled, cleaned plastic jugs of all sizes (but we’ll have some you can use too)

• a fun creature in mind to help guide your design!

• comfortable clothes that can get a little glue on them!

REGISTER TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT!

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About Inviting Light:

Informed by the Station North Public Space Plan and Signal Station North, a two-year community engagement, planning, and prototyping process that sought to understand light’s impact on the nighttime environment and our sense of comfort and place, illuminate the city’s lighting history and infrastructure, and bring transparency and access to everyday citizens, Inviting Light’s five distinct artistic light installations will promote safety and further revitalization efforts in a historically disinvested area.

Inviting Light is sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies and facilitated by Central Baltimore Partnership in partnership with the Mayor’s Office and Senior Advisor for Arts & Culture, and the Neighborhood Design Center. Read more about the award here.

For any questions, please email Catherine Borg at cborg@centralbaltimore.com

Get updates at invitinglight.org and Instagram @invitinglightbaltimore

Photography used courtesy of Laure Drogoul.

A Night in 4 Parts: GROUP SINGING, ACTION, PERFORMANCE, OPEN MIC

Gathering Act is an intentional community building space to uplift social change and support a strong experimental performance community in Baltimore. This show is part of a bi-monthly series. We are coming together around the shared values of advocating for social and environmental change and the power of art to connect people.

Doors at 6:30

Meal 6:30 -7 pm

Gathering Act- 7- 10 pm

A Night in 4 Parts:

1.GROUP SINGING

lead by Megan Livingston

2.ACTION

Renuka Purimetla (from story to

song- commuity activity)

3.PERFORMANCE

Talbolt Johnson (dance)

Momo Mullings (poems)

Renuka (stories)

4.OPEN MIC

Open to all!

Young people will be in the audience so please plan content for all ages.

We welcome performers regardless of gender expression or identity, sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation, race, age, religious identity, political affiliation, ability, class, or immigration status. We do not tolerate racism, transphobia/homophobia, sexism, ableism, ageism, classism or Zionism in this space.

World-Building Workshop
Imagining Otherwise: from Mantis Harper-Blanco and Alberto Garaulet

Saturday, 10.11.2025
12:00 – 1:30 pm

Imagining Otherwise is a playful and collaborative workshop exploring how worlds—real or imagined—are made and remade. Drawing from Odyssey Works’ four foundational elements of worldbuilding, we will join in groups to discuss and respond to an imagined scenario. Together, we’ll shed light on the power of collective imagination, and rekindle the agency we all have as active contributors of larger narratives.

Fix-It Fair is a FREE, family friendly event hosted by the Station North Tool Library and open to the public. At Fix-It Fair, you’ll get help from experienced volunteers making common repairs on clothes, furniture, leather items, bikes, etc.

Please register for the event! This helps us prep tools and consumables, screen for items that aren't a good fit, and set up volunteers for success. While registration is strongly preferred; drop-ins are welcome. All participants will need to check-in their items on site.

We are partnering with the Department of Public Works (DPW) and will be offering Textile & Electronics recycling again! Due to the immense success and interest from previous Fix-It Fairs, we’ll also be extending the event by one hour!

• Textiles – Donate clothes, linens, or rags you no longer need. Reusable items will be sorted and sent to thrift partners, while non-reusable items will be recycled into materials like insulation or industrial wiper rags. More information on textile recycling here. 

• Electronics – Bring old electronics like phones, printers, controllers, and TVs. They will be dismantled to recover valuable materials, and harmful substances like mercury or lead will be safely removed and disposed of. More information on electronics recycling here.  

Join photographer Qadir El-Amin from the Yosdorth Productions for Built from Love: A West Baltimore Family Legacy — a family’s genesis told through visuals, sounds, and history you can touch.

This is more than a pop-up one-day exhibit — it’s heart on the wall. A tribute to family, Black culture, West Baltimore, and the art in us all.

This exhibition is curated by Zsa-Shane Smith.

Please like, share, support — and most of all, show up. Let’s celebrate something built from love.

A public program of the Sweaty Eyeballs exhibition.

In this modern interpretation of the vaudeville format, artists who are exhibiting in the exhibition, or who practice performance arts closely related to animation, will take the stage for a series of  5-10-minute acts of eclectic delight. An animation screening of short films by artists in the exhibition will follow the live acts with a short Q&A. These artists push the boundaries of animation as an art form, making films that incorporate experimental techniques, alternative narrative and non-narrative approaches, and a span of new and old technology. Visitors are welcome to attend all or part of the event.

Michael Harris and the hilarious actors from MidAtlantic Improv have brought improvised plays to venues from Baltimore to Fredrick to DC, including the sold out hit, BAH HUMBUG: A Christmas Carol (Mostly) Improvised.

Now they bring you Law & Order SIU: Special Improv Unit! You'll see every aspect of the Law & Order formula from the discovery of the victim (played by an audience member) to a tough but fair Lieutenant pushing for results to a final verdict decided by you!

This is Law & Order SIU -- And these are your stories.

The Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival will be returning in Fall 2025 and will include an International Shorts program and Baltimore Showcase program screening at Falvey Hall Theatre at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.

There will also be a corresponding group art exhibition at Area 405 Gallery. The festival this year will be an invitational format, so no open call for entry on filmfreeway.com. If you have a new animated short (under 20 minutes) that you would like to submit for consideration for SEAF 2025 please email festival director/curator Phil Davis at phil@sweatyeyeballs.com.

Greenmount West! We have much to discuss and want to hear from you!

There are matters that may require a vote, so please make sure your membership is up to date! Information about membership is on the graphic below.

Donations accepted here

Please join the Baltimore arts community at AREA 405 to celebrate, and mourn, our friend David Herman.

We lost an amazing human on July 4th. Friends of David will be gathering at AREA 405 to honor his life and grieve together. We'll have some of his paintings on view, enjoy his music, and share stories, pictures, light snacks and hugs. Please join us on August 10 to remember Dave and be together, which he would love.

If you have photos of Dave to include in a slide show, please email them to Kristin Fuller at kristinfullerart@gmail.com by July 25.

What Freedom Cost is a multi-part visual and performance-based project in collaboration with Nandi Kaye, Nature is Balm (NIB). It is an exploration of the legacy of systemic violence against people of the African Diaspora, specifically those living in the United States. Enslavement tore Black people away from their ancestral homelands, cultures, traditions, and practices, and new iterations of oppression still impact their lives across the waters. Those with formal involvement in the criminal legal system feel that acutely, navigating constant surveillance and punishment. What Freedom Cost unearths the true impact of the cost of freedom from formal institutions of violence and criminalization – it asks whether freedom is actually free.

Behind the Walls, Between the Lines (BTWBTL) is a movement to deepen the awareness of the legacy of racial inequity in America, particularly within carceral control, and inspire activism aimed at its dismantlement. BTWBTL uses spoken word and other artistic mediums as a platform to tell stories, reclaim narratives, and activate the power of those directly impacted to catalyze change.

Nature is Balm is a space for deep healing, self-discovery, and cultural reconnection through immersive travel. Through guided journeys, ancestral exploration, and community building, NIB provides a safe and enriching way to reclaim roots, embrace cultural traditions, and find belonging.

Join Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for The Art of Caring, where art and advocacy unite to create a brighter future for Baltimore's children. This signature event is more than an art auction—it's a powerful experience of connection, creativity, and community impact.  

On Sunday, June 29, at 3 PM, Area 405 will come alive with stunning one-of-a-kind art pieces available for silent auction, with all proceeds supporting victims of child abuse and neglect. Together, we’ll support CASA’s mission to protect Baltimore’s most vulnerable children while showcasing the incredible talent of our local artists.  

This event has something for everyone! Enjoy heavy hors d’oeuvres, an open bar, face painting for the kids, and enchanting live instrumentals. Connect with artists, corporate and civic leaders, CASA board members, staff, and volunteers, all united in their commitment to the health and safety of our city’s youth.  

Special Highlights:
- Celebrate and honor outstanding volunteers and community champions.  
- Learn how you can make a difference in the lives of children through CASA.  
- Be inspired by the collective impact of a community working together for change.  

Tickets:
- Early Bird Individual Tickets: $75  
- Early Bird Group Tickets (10 guests): $600  

Don't wait—early bird pricing won’t last! Secure your spot today for an evening that’s as meaningful as it is memorable.  

ALL AREA-405-PRESENTED EVENTS IN JUNE ARE FREE! HAPPY PRIDE 🌈!

Experience something fresh and inspiring every month at Station North's Second Friday Art Walk — art, community, and surprises await!

This series of monthly self-guided tours of all the art and culture that Station North (near Baltimore's Penn Station) has to offer is a grassroots, artist-led effort organized by community members and stakeholders. Spanning the neighborhoods of Charles North, Greenmount West, and Barclay, Station North is a diverse collection of artist live-work spaces, studios, galleries, rowhomes, and businesses, all just steps away from Penn Station and several higher learning and cultural institutions in the heart of Baltimore.

AREA 405 will open the door at 5:00 p.m. to welcome you into the space, and we will witness Red Rae’s Closing Performance with Live set by GRL PWR together at 8:00 p.m.

Check out the map for venues and create your own self-guided tour! Map will continue to be updated. Printed maps available at some venues. Follow @stationnorth on Instagram for updates and map pdf!

Free and Open to the Public

Live Performance by Red Rae, Live set by GRL PWR
Door at 5:00 p.m., Performance at 8:00 p.m.

Learn more here

Free and Open to the Public
Red Rae and Eli Erlick

Celebrate the beginning of a beautiful friendship! Mid Atlantic Improv and Area 405 will bring a monthly performance of Law & Order: Special Improv Unit to Central Baltimore!

A never before seen episode will be created, from your suggestions, before your very eyes! From the discovery of the victim (played by an audience member) to cynical quips from an aging detective to lawyers berating every witness on the stand, you will get the complete Law & Order experience right down to a verdict decided by the audience.

Law & Order SIU -- These are Your Stories!

Sliding Scale: $10–$50
Door at 7:00 p.m., Performance at 8:00 p.m.
Red Rae, Soleil, Bao Nguyen, and Live DJ Set by ILUSM

Learn more here

Sliding Scale: $10–$50
Door at 7:00 p.m., Performance at 8:00 p.m.
Red Rae, Alex D’Agostino, and Rahne Alexander

Learn more here

Sliding Scale: $10–$50
Door at 7:00 p.m., Performance at 8:00 p.m.
Red Rae, Alex D’Agostino, and Bao Nguyen

Learn more here

Sliding Scale: $10–$50
Door at 7:00 p.m., Performance at 8:00 p.m.
Red Rae, Alex D’Agostino, and Rahne Alexander

Learn more here

AREA 405 is proud to present Paradise Portals, a seven-channel multimedia video installation and performance directed by Red Rae, a 2024 Rubys Artist Grant awardee. The exhibition opens on May 9, 2025, and runs through June 13, 2025, featuring performances each weekend, 8 in total, with a sliding-scale ticket price of $10–$50. The opening reception will take place May 9 from 5:00 – 9:00, participating in the Station North Second Friday Art Walk.

Learn more here