Our Story
Making Space Bmore
Making Space Bmore is an art gallery, print studio, and community hub in the heart of Baltimore.
Making Space Bmore first incorporated as a non-profit and launched operations with a small volunteer staff in early 2025. We emerged from the continuing work of founder Carolyn Hartmann, who has fostered DIY arts spaces in the region for over 15 years. As artists, curators, and organizers, we are passionately motivated to uplift creatives living and working at the intersection of arts and activism, provide space for community-driven programs, and invite everyone to imagine and engage in the work of community change.
Making Space Bmore provides free and heavily subsidized studio space to selected long-term artists-in-residence, curates impactful exhibitions, and hosts a variety of public programs and events.
What We Believe
Mission
Making Space Bmore provides a collaborative hub for artists and organizations to create, exhibit, and organize. We support projects that challenge oppression, amplify marginalized voices, and use art as a tool for personal and social transformation. We aim to inspire and engage everyone in the work of community change.
Vision
A world where art and creativity dismantle systems of oppression, foster healing, and build liberated, equitable communities.
Values
Liberation: We use art to challenge oppression and create pathways for collective freedom and self-determination.
Inclusivity: We center marginalized voices and ensure our spaces and programs are accessible to all.
Collaboration: We value partnerships and collective action, recognizing that transformative change happens through shared effort and mutual support.
Art As Activism: We believe art transforms individuals and communities, driving personal and social change.
Sustainability: We are committed to building systems and practices that are environmentally, financially, and socially sustainable.
Photo: The Sanctuaries
History
Origins
Making Space Bmore grows from Carolyn Hartmann’s 15-year legacy of supporting artists, activists, and community organizations in their work to challenge systems of oppression and create transformative change. Hartmann first founded Open Studio DC in 2010, offering studio space and screenprinting classes as well as providing resources for both beginner and professional artists. Over the years, Open Studio DC hosted impactful projects like The Sanctuaries, Empower DC, and The Poor People’s Campaign, and created a vibrant community of artists and activists collaborating through art and organizing.
In 2019, she transitioned the project to Baltimore, purchasing two historic buildings in the Bromo Arts District with a vision to create a space that artists and activists could call their own. The renovation process, which began just before the COVID-19 pandemic, has been a long and challenging journey, and continues today. Currently, Making Space Bmore houses a professional gallery, a printmaking studio, and a space for community-driven programs.
Open Studio DC (2010-2018)
2010
Open Studio DC began offering studio space and screenprinting classes, welcoming beginners and providing all necessary supplies. With the Corcoran College of Art and Design closing, the studio fostered a community of artists and printmakers.
2013
Hosted Superstition, a collaborative exhibition featuring prints by Corcoran College of Art and Design Art & the Book MFA students and local poets, exploring themes of myth and belief.
2015
Organized and curated Show Posters featuring more than 20 local artists from DC and Baltimore who design and create posters for music shows in the DMV.
2016-2018
Collaborated with Empower DC and the Sanctuaries in a multi-year coordinated campaign to fight to transform DC Ivy City’s Crummell School into a Rec Center for Local Youth. Offered printmaking classes to Ivy City community members and use of the studio for art builds in support of the campaign.
2016
Hosted artists and musicians as part of the annual Damaged City Fest, a celebration of DC punk music and art.
2016-2017
Hosted 4 different Aunty’s Tea Parties, all woman-curated and performed multimedia art and music shows, curated by Jahni Bravo, [Taylorlofo and Powlamartinex].
2017
Hosted fundraiser and show, Operation Consent DC, curated by Cannot Complain, creating a healing space of art installations with the mission of transforming society of rape culture to a culture of consent.
2018
Showcased the work of Pepa Leon, a Madrid-born artist and Corcoran College alumna, whose multidisciplinary practice spanned textile design, illustration, fashion, painting, and printmaking.
March for Our Lives community poster printing for national march demanding a future free of gun violence.
Art Underground DC, a nomadic art collective in the DMV working to bring vitality, peace, equality and exposure to all artists.
Closing Show: Celebrated the studio’s legacy with a fundraising event featuring haircuts by Amber Wolf’s Hair Salon, a collaborative installation by Lordyko, and limited-edition prints and capsule items for sale.
Open Studio DC’s first home at 1348 Florida Ave NE. Photo: Phil Hutinet for East City Art
Open Studio DC (2016) Photo: Christina Scheltema for East City Art
Screenprinting class at Open Studio DC (2017)
Fawna Xiao and Carolyn Hartmann showing guests how to screenprint during Art All Night: Nuit Blanche DC (2014). Photo: IA&A at Hillyer
The Real Ivy City project by the Sanctuaries and Empower DC. Photo: Rev Erik Martinez-Resly
Making Space Bmore (2018-Present)
2018
Making Space Bmore was born when two buildings on N Howard Street, Baltimore, were acquired with the belief that artists and activists need to own their spaces. The goal was to create a professional-level gallery, community art-making space, and printmaking studio
2019
Renovations began on the buildings, previously used for manufacturing by Skarie Inc. Portions of these buildings dated back to the late 1800s and required extensive upgrades. The project was delayed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic but continued as work was completed on the community space and gallery in 2022. The printmaking studio was finally connected to electricity in January 2025
2021–2024
Offered NoMüNoMü, an intersectional arts collaborative, free use of the gallery and community space. Provided seed funding for operations and assisted in creating non-profit legal structures. Learn more about NoMüNoMü.
2023-2024
Offered the use of the printmaking studio to NoMüNoMü and their collaborators to create prints for fundraising, protests, and other community partnerships.
2023-Present
The Islam & Print Fellowship, created by Dan Flounders and Safiyah Cheatam, uses the printmaking studio to create artwork that champions diverse Muslim experiences and strengthens career readiness by building a network of regional emerging visual artists. Learn more about Islam & Print.
JESS JESS PRESS, an emerging press dedicated to uplifting queer, fem, and artists of color in the comics/magazine publishing industry, has made Making Space Bmore its home. JessJessPress is also a 2024 MICA UP/Start venture winner. Learn more about JessJessPress.
2024–2025
Charles Mason III and Dan Flounders used the printmaking studio to create a limited edition of prints, with proceeds supporting the Two Lane Stories Endowed Fund, which benefits emerging artists within Morgan State University’s visual arts program. Learn more about Charles Mason III
Nando Alvarez creating work for Free Palestine (2024)
Dan Flounders screenprinting for Free Gaza art build (2024)
Let there be light! New electrical pole for the print studio is part of many ongoing renovations to buildings dating from the late 1800s (2024)
Art by Charles Mason III printed by Dan Flounders (2025)