BALTIMORE — If it's Artscape, it's crazy weather.
Over the weekend, storms curbed live music at the 40th Artscape festival, canceling Friday and Saturday night shows.
READ MORE: Performances slated for Saturday night for Artscape have been canceled, says BOPA
Between those cancellations and the years the pandemic halted the entire festival, the last few years have proven turbulent for Artscape. Local artists, many of whom depend on the festival for income, are staying persistent.
Shawn Theron, a Baltimore artist, has attended Artscape for more than a decade, setting up his 'Sogh Art Truck' at the festival.
"Artscape's amazing," Theron told WMAR. "As you're an artist, you grow and grow and are able to take part in these big events and be part of them. It's just thrilling; it changes your world."
Theron called the poor weather, including the storms and heat, "a sucker punch, right to the gut, for us all."
Turnout, Theron observed, was 'greatly' affected. Theron said his last good Artscape was 2019.
"Someplace like Artscape can be a third, half of your yearly income. For me, it's at least a third. And it's not there," Theron added.
BOPA, the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, puts hours of manpower into Artscape. The festival is rain or shine, but on Saturday, it said it canceled performances on all stages out of an abundance of caution for attendees.
The bad weather hurt, to be sure. But thankfully, in 2024, Theron pointed out how easy it is to find artists and support their work.
"You put yourself out there as much as you can," Theron said. "You book more events; you hope for no rain. You get on the social and say 'hey, listen. Maybe some artists have sales just to get stuff going to have more income.'"
Social media and websites have changed the game.
"That in itself," Theron continued, "is a remarkable thing of the world we live in today. We can get the word out, and people can also go to Artscape.org and see the list of the artists that were participating in Artscape."
"We're artists. We're resilient. We keep going. On to the next, let's go do it," Theron concluded.
