“Jones Falls 2076” Invites Baltimore to Imagine a Different Riverfront

“The Civic Forest” imagines a greener Jones Falls corridor; the artwork depicts a possible future, not existing conditions.

What could Baltimore look like if the Jones Falls became a more visible part of everyday city life? “Jones Falls 2076,” now open at The Peale, asks residents to consider that question through art, design and imagined futures. The exhibition runs through November 22nd in the museum’s third-floor galleries.

The Peale says the show brings together 14 newly commissioned speculative works that consider Baltimore 50 years from now. The river and the highway built over portions of its corridor provide the starting point. These are creative proposals and invitations to think, rather than an announcement that a particular redevelopment project has been approved.

A conversation about public space

The wider Jones Falls 2076 project invites artists, designers, residents and community leaders to consider what the corridor might become. Its organizers use exhibitions, workshops and publications to open that conversation beyond traditional planning settings. For people who experience the corridor mainly as a route through the city, the project offers another way to consider its place in Baltimore.

At The Peale, contemporary works appear alongside historical thinking about the river. The museum identifies Bruce Willen, Anand Pandian and Lee Davis as curators, with contributors including Kondwani Fidel, Ashley Minner Jones, Curry Hackett and Lia Purpura. Visitor prompts invite the public to contribute ideas rather than simply look at finished images.

Plan a visit

The exhibition opened October 15th at 225 Holliday Street. Visit Baltimore lists admission as free, with hours of 3–7 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays and 10 a.m.–4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Check the museum’s current visitor information before traveling, particularly for access to the third-floor galleries or any special programs.

For Baltimore residents, the value is an opportunity to discuss public space through something tangible: pictures, writing and scenarios that make an unfamiliar future easier to consider. The show does not require visitors to agree on one solution. It asks them to participate in imagining what should matter. Find more local developments and community coverage in PowerPage’s Power Beat section.