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Baltimore, MD — Artscape, one of the East Coast’s largest free arts festivals, will return to Downtown Baltimore over Memorial Day weekend, May 23-24, 2026, with GRAMMY award-winning artists The Roots and Stephanie Mills headlining the main stage. The announcement was made by Mayor Brandon M. Scott and the Mayor’s Office of Art, Culture, & Entertainment (MOACE), in partnership with Create Baltimore. The festival will also feature Artscape After Dark programming each evening from 9 p.m. to midnight.
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The Roots are scheduled to perform on Saturday, May 23, and Stephanie Mills will take the stage on Sunday, May 24. Further artist announcements are anticipated leading up to the event. Last year’s Artscape, which was relocated to Downtown Baltimore, generated an economic impact of $8.8 million for the city. The festival saw an average daily attendance of 60,000 people, a nearly 15% increase from the previous year. The inaugural Scout Art Fair also proved successful, generating over $74,000 in direct revenue for participating local artists, and food and beverage vendor sales experienced a 6.2% increase. The Peale Museum, which hosted an exhibition of Sondheim semifinalists, surpassed its annual attendance figures within a single weekend.
This year’s Artscape will include a variety of returning features and new additions. Alongside the traditional Sondheim Semifinalists Exhibition, the Artists’ Market, Pop Up Performances, Kidscape, Community Row, and numerous food and beverage vendors, the festival will once again host the Scout Affordable Art Fair, Beyond the Reel, Flavor Lab, and the In Conversations series. Attendees can also anticipate an expanded presence of public art installations and interactive experiences.
Applications are currently open for various festival participants, including food and beverage vendors, Artists’ Market participants, Kidscape vendors and nonprofits, performers for the Echoes of the City stages, Community Row participants, pop-up performers, volunteers, and sponsors. The deadline for early bird applications is January 25, 2026, at midnight. All other applications will close on February 20, 2026, at 5:00 PM. Residents can stay informed about festival updates by following Create Baltimore on social media at @create_baltimore or by visiting http://www.artscape.org.
Article by Mel Anara, based upon information from the City of Baltimore.
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