arts and culture : Featured Stories

What happens when a gun-slinging, Stetson-wearing high school teacher retires after 35 years? He gets his own movie. 73-year-old former Park School teacher John Roemer is quite the character, but he's very much the real deal. After helping integrate Maryland in the '60s with peaceful protests (and sarcastic flair) and working for the ACLU, Roemer dedicated his life to inspiring his students. One of whom is Sophie Hamacher -- the filmmaker giving Roemer a starring role in the documentary of his life's passions and successes. The two have developed a unique bond, and while Roemer's career as a teacher is coming to an end, Hamacher is on the brink of something potentially huge. 

Mexican artist Paco Loza established Baltimore as his American base through visits and exhibitions throughout the years. Now, he's begun a tradition of bringing his Huichol Indian friends from their mountain homes to Highlandtown's Creative Alliance, to represent their people through art.

Between reality TV and social networking, between the Royal Wedding and the Jersey Shore, people watching is all the rage. If that trend seems like perhaps it's not always a good thing that's because it isn't. But it doesn't have to be that way. Meet Baltimore artist Erin Fitzpatrick, who uses the age-old form of portraiture to turn people watching into an art form -- literally and figuratively.

For ten seasons, Duff Goldman and the crew at Charm City Cakes showcased a dizzying array of talent and creativity on the Food Network's "Ace of Cakes." Now that the show is over, what happens next? Between opening a second location in LA and launching a new line of affordable ready-mades (among other ventures), Goldman is as busy as he's ever been.

Failure is a part of life. It's unavoidable, and -- when it comes to our creative endeavors -- it's often even necessary. Yet the word itself is a taboo. People are afraid to share their failures with the world. But not the Failure Support Group. They'll be at Baltimore's 8th Annual Transmodern Festival this month, and they want to expose failure. The more gruesome, the better. Because only once we talk about our failures can we learn from them and help others learn from them, too.

Join us as we explore, in images and words, a notion of Baltimore as it was once known...and could be again.

You can learn a lot about a city by looking at its restaurants. World-class cities have world-class dining, and the reverse is generally true as well. So where does Baltimore rank? Perhaps not on par with a New York or a Paris, but thanks in part to an emerging crop of talented, innovative folks we're more than holding our own. We tracked down five local chefs whose names you should know (and whose food you should try).