BALTIMORE — Mayor Brandon Scott announced the city will be cutting ties with the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA).
“Ending the city’s contractual relationship with BOPA is not a decision taken lightly. We are taking this step after deep and careful consideration following several years of turmoil within the organization. Ending this contract will be an intricate process that will require cooperation between both BOPA leadership and staff and the city, which will be done through the transition team established at today’s board meeting," the mayor said.
BOPA will execute the two remaining events on their contract and once those are done, they will receive full payment for those services.
They've issued the following statement about the termination:
As an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the designated arts council for the City of Baltimore, the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA) remains deeply committed to the artists, cultural institutions, and creative community of Baltimore. Despite the City’s decision to terminate its contract with us, BOPA’s mission to support and elevate the arts will continue to guide our work. We want to be transparent with you, our valued stakeholders, about the steps we have taken to ensure the organization’s stability and future success. We also want to be clear about the concern we hold for how the decision to terminate the contract, without a clear plan of how to manage a 90-day transition, places our organization and the arts community at extreme risk.
The last scheduled event is the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade according to the letter.
The termination of this agreement is effective as of January 20, 2025.
In the letter, Scott says "financial difficulties" have led to this outcome.
"The financial instability has raised serious concerns about BOPA's ability to continue fulfilling its obligations to the city and its arts community," the letter says.
This news comes after BOPA was asking for the city to supplement its funding. The group had concerns about pulling off Artscape just a month ago.
BOPA CEO Rachel Graham said they didn't have a true understanding of the cost of Artscape until a few weeks earlier - but, "even if we had fully covered the cost of Artscape, we would still be at a deficit."
RELATED: Baltimore Office of Promotion & Arts continues to face major financial issues
The deficit in 2019 was at $1.1 million.
BOPA says they presented a plan that would allow them to transition in eight months as opposed to 90 days.
This plan was approved, but just hours later they were notified of the changes.
"We respect the Mayor’s decision, however, it is an enormous challenge to transition years of institutional history and infrastructure in just 90 days. We will do our best to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible, while continuing to advocate for the artists and cultural institutions that have relied on us for over two decades," BOPA said.
