Maya Freelon Asante in her studio at The Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower. In 2007 the Baltimore office of Promotion and the Arts rescued the abandoned Bromo Seltzer Tower and renovated it. The effort would have pleased the original builder of the tower, inventor of Bromo-Seltzer, Captain Isaac E. Emerson. Captain Emerson had a sincere interest in the welfare of Baltimore and his iconic tower, which was the tallest building in the city from 1911 to 1923, has served as a landmark for nearly a century.

These days artists like Maya use the building and its space as a creative venue. Once a month they invite the public into their studios to sample their work. The collective of artists is as eclectic as the building is tall and upon visiting you’re sure to find more than a few pieces that speak to you. Maya’s preferred medium is bleeding tissue paper, as shown here.

Artist Jeff Caporizzo with his son Joey. Jeff comes to Baltimore via Boston and New York and expressed his deep appreciation for the thriving artist culture in the city and cited it as his inspiration for putting down roots in Charm City. If his pieces are any indication of what to expect, it’s safe to assume that we’ll be seeing a lot more of him in the future. He’s a part of the Charm City Art Club whose goals are pretty simple according to their Facebook fan page; “art for art’s sake and advocacy for the arts.”

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