Maryland opens arms to welcome artists fleeing Trump's DC [View all]
Source: www.thebanner.com
Wesley Case 3/2/2026 5:30 a.m. EST
The whole region could benefit: hotels, restaurants and more. But it’s not all good news.
When opportunity knocks, Lyric Baltimore CEO Thomas Bailey knows he has to be ready to answer. Even on a weekend.
So, when he saw the news on a Friday in January that the Washington National Opera was leaving the Kennedy Center after 55 years, he sent a Hail Mary through the group’s website: “We in Baltimore would really love to have you,” Bailey wrote.
He did not receive an answer. But Bailey spent the entire weekend working his networks until he connected with WNO officials. Less than a week later, the opera was coming to Baltimore.
Bailey’s canceled Saturday night out was a small price to pay for “a revolutionary chance,” he said. The WNO will perform “West Side Story” at the Lyric in May....................
Read more: https://www.thebanner.com/culture/arts/culture-baltimore-kennedy-center-trump-V6XVFSHN3NH5NOICOHAG73N5JY/
Maryland opens arms to welcome artists fleeing Trump’s DC
— (@oceancalm.bsky.social) 2026-03-02T12:34:11.304Z
www.thebanner.com/culture/arts...
Artist Amy Sherald films on her phone as she takes the stage ahead of a live event at the
Baltimore Museum of Art in November. (Ariel Zambelich/The Banner)
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