Ayana Gordon is a self-taught Antiguan-Haitian photographer and multimedia artist based in Baltimore, MD. Working primarily with analog film and darkroom printing, she creates textured, immersive images that explore identity, heritage, and the spiritual connections between people and their environments.

Ayana’s practice celebrates Black identity, feminine strength, and the intimacy of place, memory, and legacy. Her images honor the relationships that shape us: between family and homeland, between ritual and daily life, between who we are and who we come from. By blending personal narrative with broader cultural histories, she creates space for reflection, connection, and a fuller telling of Caribbean and Haitian experience.

Cover art photo credit: Hassan Hunt

On this episode we feature Amanda Leigh Burnham, a visual artist based in Baltimore who makes drawings and large, site specific installations which are also drawings.

Amanda’s vivid, chaotic compositions incorporate a variety of materials, styles, and techniques which result in three-dimensional collages that leap off the walls. The effect is somewhere between a comic book and a stage set.

In 2025, Amanda was the recipient of the Sondheim Art Prize. This $30,000 juried prize is awarded each year through Create Baltimore - in partnership with The Walters Art Museum - to a visual artist or visual artist collaborators living and working in the Baltimore region, targeting makers who are poised for a creative breakout.

A graduate of Harvard University (BA) and Yale University (MFA), Burnham is now a Professor of Art at Towson University.

On this episode we feature Adam Kaufman, the creator of Jewish Jerky Brand. After a move from Los Angeles to Baltimore and a few literal signs along the way, Adam has shifted his focus onto an unexpected project: snacks.

Made with Chutzpah, Jewish Jerky Brand has set out to create a new take on an age-old practice. Drawing on the spices, seasonings, and cuisines found in the places where Jews have settled throughout the world, Adam’s food challenges assumptions about what jerky can be.

Through passion and dedication, as well as support from Baltimore locals at his synagogue and other chefs he’s met along the way, Jewish Jerky Brand has arrived at places like the Baltimore Farmers’ Market. There, Adam is looking for more than just a point of sale. He’s interested in being in conversation and contributing to his community while providing an elevated product.

This episode features the multi-hyphenate theater artist and writer, Bell Gaskin-Burr. As a writer, Belle works to uplift through the content on “Pop Culture Uncovered" aka PCU, a social and media commentary platform she helps run. Her goal is to amplify underrepresented voices, advocate for equity, and give back to the city of Baltimore.

Bell is also heavily invested in the Baltimore theater community. As a working actor and self-described performer who adapts, she continually hones her skills through both short-form and long-form improv.

As a director, Belle always encourages nontraditional performers to audition. She taps into her connections at pop culture conventions throughout the region to expand the pool of actors here in Baltimore and change perceptions about inclusivity in local performances.

Belle is joined in conversation with Barbara Hauck, Director of Arts Council Programming at Create Baltimore.

Alanah Nichole Davis is a Bronx-born, Baltimore-raised writer, cultural strategist, and social designer whose work bridges storytelling, civic imagination, and community care. She’s built a legacy of using creativity and empathy to connect people, nurture ideas, and reimagine what’s possible for her city.

Her essays, talks, and public projects often explore the intersections of race, womanhood, technology, and belonging — inviting audiences to see Baltimore not just as a place, but as a living story. Beyond her role in city government, where she serves as the Chief Storyteller in the Mayor’s Office of Innovation, Alanah’s influence extends through arts, journalism, and local advocacy, where she’s helped amplify voices and shape spaces that honor authenticity and joy.

A proud graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art’s Master of Social Design program, she continues to mentor emerging changemakers and collaborate with artists, institutions, and neighborhoods invested in Baltimore’s collective future.

On this episode we're joined by Robyn Murphy, the CEO of the newly announced Create Baltimore.

Create Baltimore is our new name and brand identity, launched this week with blessing of the city and Mayor Brandon M. Scott under Robyn’s leadership.

Just as Robyn has created a space for us to connect with creatives and hear their stories on our podcast, this week we’ll hear from her about her experiences in media, business, arts and culture, and most importantly, her vision for Baltimore’s creative come-up and laying the groundwork for meaningful, sustainable growth.

Please remember to like, comment, and subscribe so we can keep sharing stories of Baltimore’s creative community!

On this episode we feature Katie Pumphrey, an interdisciplinary artist and ultramarathon open water swimmer living and working in Baltimore.

In June 2024, Katie swam an incredible 24 miles from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Her effort was a celebration of a swimmable Inner Harbor, which has been transformed into a safe, recreational resource for the city.

Pulling from her experiences in the water, her paintings, sculptures, and installations use abstraction and imagery to investigate our anxieties and fears, as well as how our imagination sometimes plays tricks on us. Katie explores these tensions through humor, the connectedness between human instincts, and play.

Her latest exhibition, Swimming Pool, which features her signature style, large canvases, and detailed set design, is a full circle moment as she returns back to the Creative Alliance where she was a resident artist from 2011-2014.

On this episode we feature VILLAGER, a Nigerian-born artist living in Baltimore. VILLAGER's work spans across various media in an interconnected ritual of honoring and remembering Indigenous Yorùbá knowledge systems, visual & material culture, and African spiritual technologies and philosophies.

After immigrating to the United States, VILLAGER was left to process the trauma and grief of abruptly moving to a new home. This struggle ultimately lead them to several difficult decisions, including curtailing their formal education in Earth science and adopting a new name that more closely aligned with their choice to practice art in Baltimore.

We’ll also discuss VILLAGER’s recent solo exhibitions including ÀṢẸ: Embodying the Divine, which was part of BOPA’s Emerge series, as well as Devotion, Dreams, and Destiny at the Eubie Blake Cultural Center - a collection partially inspired by the novel The Famished Road by Nigerian author Ben Okri. And on top of that, this year VILLAGER was a recipient of the Mayor's Office Individual Artist Award through the Creative Baltimore Fund.