August 18 – September 26, 2026

Side by Side: The Gurlz of Baltimore

Goya Contemporary

In Person Viewing:
Mill Centre Studio 214
3000 Chestnut Avenue
Baltimore, Maryland 21211

Online Viewing:
https://www.goyacontemporary.com/exhibitions/side-by-side-the-gurlz-of-baltimore

Reception: August 23rd from 4-6 PM

Goya Contemporary Gallery presents Side by Side: The Gurlz of Baltimore, an exhibition bringing together, for the first time in public, all nine members of a remarkable circle of artists, scholars, curators, and cultural leaders whose friendships and working lives have shaped one another and Baltimore’s art community for more than five decades.

Co-curated by Lowery Stokes Sims and Amy Eva Raehse, the exhibition features the art of Leslie King Hammond, Linda DePalma, Patti Tronolone, Ellen Burchenal, Oletha DeVane, Joyce J. Scott, and Linda Day Clark.

The “Gurlz of Baltimore” began in the 1970s with a group of six women—King Hammond, DePalma, Scott, Tronolone, Burchenal, and DeVane—and expanded over time to include Raehse, Day Clark, and Stokes Sims. Their fields and practices differ—painting, photography, sculpture, performance, works on paper, public art, scholarship, and curatorial practice—but the group has never been defined by a common style. What holds them together is friendship: sustained, generous, and unwavering.  That distinction matters because Side by Side is not an exhibition about a movement or a school. It is about what becomes possible within a culture of genuine mutual support.

Over the years, these nine women have exchanged ideas, opened doors for one another, shared opportunities, and helped shape the careers and perspectives of generations of artists, curators, institutions, and audiences. The exhibition places their individual achievements alongside the history they have made together. In doing so, Side by Side considers how one can remain fully oneself while belonging to a community. For the Gurlz, the answer has been neither conformity nor rivalry, but an enduring practice of standing in support.

Side by Side: The Gurlz of Baltimore will be on view at Goya Contemporary Gallery from August 18 through September 26, 2026. A public reception will be held August 23 from 4–6 p.m. A new publication accompanying the exhibition will also be available.

Click here for more information on the exhibition

For inquiries & acquisitions, please contact: gallery@goyacontemporary.com