Memento mori at The Parlor: Baltimore’s Newest Art Space in a Former Funeral Home

“Marking a significant transition in the life of 108 West North Avenue, Memento mori mines the liminality of this architectural ghost and the profound association with loss and remembrance imbued in the funeral home setting,” reads curator Catherine Borg’s statement. “The expansive space is a readymade work of art further enhanced with the artworks presented in the exhibition – gathered here to acknowledge and celebrate the building’s past, and its future, which will include providing space for art and artists in the Station North Arts District. Memento mori is a meditation on mortality and memory and is dedicated to lives lost in Baltimore and the loved ones left behind as we enter the holiday season.”

Borg is an independent curator interested in curating more pop-up exhibits in transitional spaces. She says it’s important to consider the rich and specific history of a building, neighborhood, and community, to document it, and then to curate an art exhibit that meaningfully builds on that history. She hopes to create a digital repository to connect Station North visitors with the documentation efforts and to capture history through artistic interventions of all kinds.

Building on the themes of death, loss, and missing a loved one on the holidays, it was important to Borg to include a dedication to Roberta’s House, which offers bereavement care, and hopes visitors will consider donating to support their work.

You can visit the exhibition in this creepy and beautiful historic space on the coming Fridays and Saturdays, with special performances and bar hours on both Saturdays:

Friday, December 9, 5-8 pm
Saturday, December 10, 12 – 8 pm
The Afterlife speakeasy by No Land Beyond opens 4-8 pm, with a sound and video performance by Carrie Fucile and Brenton Lim Dada Morte beginning at 6:30 pm
Friday, December 16, 5-8 pm
Saturday, December 17, 5-8 pm 
Performances on the first floor at 6:30 and 7:30 by Konjur Collective featuring Bashi Rose, Jamal Moore, and King Soloman

Memento mori features work by artists Amy Berbert Vu, Antonio McAfee, Bao Nguyen, Besan Khamis, Carrie Fucile and Brenton Lim, Dina Fiasconaro, Edgar Reyes, Jill Fannon, Lynn Silverman, Michele Blu, Stephen Hendee, and Webster Phillips / I Henry Photo Project.

Memento mori
November 18 – December 17, 2022
The Parlor
108 West North Ave. Baltimore