Open Walls Baltimore

Spanish street artist Escif's "Looks Much Better Now" 

Santtu Mustonen

"Frontiers" by Gaia, who is also the curator for the show. 

Nanook 

Baltimore gets a pretty bad rap sometimes. There's the murder rate, the crime, the abandoned buildings - all looming in the shadow of The Wire, but at the end of the day it's still Charm City and it's where we like to hang our hat and have a good time.

Part of that charm is the growing arts revitalization efforts occurring in Baltimore at the moment. The latest art installation is Open Walls Baltimore, which features renowned street artists from across the globe assembling in Baltimore's Station North Arts District and brightening up vacant and otherwise plain walls.

This past weekend I convinced the hubs to come with me to check out a few of the murals. We parked the Prius and walked along the streets admiring the murals. And you know what - we not only had a great time, but we got out of our comfort zone. I couldn't wipe the grin off my face from that massive smiley face mural.  Mission accomplished.

If you're interested the Closing Party is this Friday, May 30th. For more information click here.

Oh, and we happened to come across a street performance of a few of the hub's favorite Michael Jackson songs by an incredibly talented impersonator.  That was a huge win for the hubs.