It didn’t take long for Dave Harp and his long-time cohorts, Tom Horton and Sandy Cannon-Brown, to come up with the title of their new documentary film on Chesapeake oysters. While sharing drinks at a local bar, it was declared that the film’s goal was to document and pass along the incredible passion for oysters on the Eastern Shore.

And that is what was accomplished in “A Passion for Oysters,” which will be shown at the Chesapeake Film Festival on September 30th and a few weeks later in Cambridge.

By showcasing the strong passion found in the watermen, scientific, and environmental communities, the 45-minute film gives the audience reason for encouragement as all three important segments work together as never before to save Maryland’s oyster and its unique culture.

The Spy sat down with Dave last week at the Spy studio to hear about the film and, yes, his passion for oysters.

This video is approximately four minutes in length. To attend the world premiere please find tickets and more information here.

 

 

Gail Patterson is not a typical doctor, just as Out of the Fire is not your typical local restaurant. What these two have in common, though, is what makes them so unique. And it’s a pairing worth exploring.

First, the doctor: Patterson is a year away from retirement after a long and distinguished career as an anesthesiologist. Beyond her regular responsibilities, Patterson devoted more than two decades to volunteering in low- and middle-income countries, providing anesthesia and medical relief. Her global travels, undertaken alongside her profound commitment to her profession, led her to amass an impressive art collection, primarily focusing on Haitian and African pieces.

“There was war, poverty, and degradation all over the world,” she said. ‘But the opposite of that was not peace and contentment. It was creation. Art seemed to be the most hopeful and powerful – the opposite of soul-crushing.” 

It became something Patterson knew she wanted to share with others. 

In 2012, Patterson established her online gallery, Spiralis, and was accepted into prestigious art fairs such as Art Basel in Miami and the Outsider Art Fair in New York City (‘the’ premier fair dedicated to self-taught art). “I was very lucky,” she said about being selected so early on in her new endeavor. But running an art gallery while working 80+ hours a week in ORs soon became an overwhelming challenge. Although she continued to collect art, she temporarily put her gallery idea aside until it could be a full-time pursuit. 

With her retirement around the corner, Patterson is now ready.

As before, Spiralis focuses on Afro-Caribbean works and ‘outsider’ self-taught artists. “I’ve always felt that there’s something special about self-taught, honest art, without the confines and conventions of classical art teaching. It is just something that comes out of an artist’s soul and has to go into the world,” said Patterson.

Enter Out of the Fire, known for its wood-fired cuisine, fresh ingredients, curated wine list, and welcoming atmosphere. Its walls have also served as a canvas for local artists to exhibit their artwork and for diners to experience while enjoying their food. Patterson, a long-time customer of the establishment, had always appreciated the ever-changing art, which brought “new and vibrant energy to the restaurant.” 

It was restaurant owner Amy Haines who suggested a collaboration—given that Spiralis Gallery didn’t yet have space in Easton, how about doing something at Out of the Fire? Patterson invited Hines to view her collection, and that made it happen for both. “When I saw her art work, I was immediately taken by it and thought this could be really powerful,” Hines said, adding: “This is the first time I’ve hosted a gallery and have had art done by other than local artists.” 

The collaboration works. “Amy has been lovely and incredibly kind. She’s deeply supportive,” said Patterson.” And that support has extended to patrons of both art and the restaurant. Patterson was gratified and surprised at the sizable crowd attending the opening night of the Out of the Fire Spiralis exhibition, titled Things Fall Together. Word-of-mouth has further fueled interest since then.

Running through October 1st, the exhibition features works by Haitian artist Mireille Delice who incorporates sequins and beads in his designs; Haitian impressionist Desarmes; oil painter Gerard; Liberian artist Leslie Lumeh; ONEL (aka Lionel Paul), whose work is highlighted on the postcard; and others.

The display also showcases pieces by local creators represented by Patterson, including Holly Jackson, a young fiber artist who uses centuries-old embroidery techniques to address modern issues such as climate change and women’s rights. Their partnership surprised Jackson: “When you are self-taught and make something really different, the gallery route usually seems reserved for those with formal art school education. But with Gail’s selection of artists, there is a shared commonality that I can’t name, but it’s there. There is also a message that she wants to make it easier for me to continue to do exactly what I’ve been doing and it feels right.” 

But it is not only the artist whose lives Patterson wants to touch or change through the works she chooses for her gallery. “I want to be able to spark meaningful conversations through story-driven art,” she says. “You can love, hate, understand, or not get it at all, just so it starts a human conversation.” She also hopes to build connections with underserved groups in Easton, including the local Haitian population, by teaming up with Chesapeake Multicultural Center. “I would like to create some community where maybe none exists.” Lastly, she hopes the gallery can be a spiritual experience, echoing the sentiments expressed in a quote by Haitian artist Denis Smith (translated from Creole): “It’s not really me that travels the world. It’s my spirit through my artwork.”  

For now, these and other spirits can be seen either at Out of the Fire or on the Spiralis website. There you will also find some helpful features, including ‘View it in a Room,’ where you can visualize a piece you’re interested in above a bed or bench or an augmented reality function that allows you to project the art onto a wall in your home. And that’s important for Patterson, who emphasizes the sensory and organic nature of art appreciation: “Art is an experience that should bring joy and connection.”

Patterson is grateful that Easton, including the art community, has been receptive and welcoming, and she looks forward to bringing some new voices into the Easton art scene. She may be retiring from medicine, but her next chapter is just beginning.

Spiralis Gallery: https://spiralisgallery.com

Out of the Fire: 111 South Washington St., Easton, MD. https://www.outofthefire.com

 

It’s one thing to talk about affordable housing as a campaign issue or as a matter of policy, but it’s quite a different when a great example is staring you in the face.

And that will be the experience of thousands of Easton motorists and pedestrians as they travel on Port Street over the next year as they watch the construction of a three-floor mixed-use building,  just a block from Route 322, called Port Street Commons.

With an official groundbreaking already done, The Arc, and its Chesapeake Neighbors affiliate, are well on their way to creating a unique model for affordable housing. While the first floor will house The Arc’s service center, which will provide a much-needed community resource center for those with intellectual or developmental disabilities, the building will offer nine affordable housing units ranging from two to three-bedroom apartments, targeting families with a household income at or below 60% of the area median income.

It’s a bold vision for what The Arc calls “expanding the possible.” But it does nonetheless come with  some real challenges. We asked Arc advisor, Rivers & Roads’ Ross Benincasa, to walk us through that vision, some of the obstacles being faced, and the unique model Port Street Commons might become in the years ahead as other Eastern Shore communities find new ways to meet their housing needs.

This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about The Arc-Central Chesapeake, its Chesapeake Neighbors program, or Port Street Commons please go here. 

Various Artificial Intelligence systems have been around for years. Look no further than web search engines like Google, content recommendations like Netflix and Amazon, or those annoying pop-up ads targeting you on Facebook.

But when the AI chatbot Chat GPT debuted in November 2022, colleges and universities from California to the UK were quick to react by prohibiting access to what they perceived as a readily available means of cheating. 

After all, in a mere ten seconds, one could effortlessly produce a well-crafted 1500-word essay in response to a prompt like, “Provide examples of 19th-century English poverty as depicted in three of Charles Dickens’ novels,” or as MIT has discovered, tackle complex physics problems.

Simply put, more recent state-of-the-art computer algorithms have achieved accuracies at par with or exceeding human experts. It may well be one of the most revolutionary changes in human life.

Since November, the initial wave of panic has begun to subside, and academic institutions are now considering alternative approaches to engaging with AI. Rather than strictly policing or outright rejecting its use, some educators are embracing AI as a valuable learning tool and are exploring ways to use it in the classroom by challenging traditional ways of teaching and testing students.

What will be the effect of AI programs like Chat GTP on academic environments? How will transparency and authorship be determined if students submit essays using AI language that notoriously does not offer citations for its output? How do we detect bias in AI output?

These are some of the vexing questions colleges and universities face as machine-learning AI becomes a systemic force permeating every facet of life, but rather than panic, many teachers see it as an opportunity to work with a powerful new tool for learning.

The Spy recently interviewed Washington College Writing Program Director Sean Meehan to talk about how the College is adapting to the presence of AI in collegiate studies.

This video is approximately ten minutes in length. For more information about Washington College please go here.

 

 

 

A few years ago, the “affordable housing” issue facing most Mid-Shore communities would rarely make the top ten concerns for voters, but that’s not true anymore.

For various reasons, a community’s need for workforce and young professional housing has risen to the top of pressing issues in towns like Chestertown and Easton. One of those factors was the rise of real estate prices during the COVID pandemic, which made these historically affordable places to live suddenly beyond the reach of so many. And as the region loses valuable workers and much-needed healthcare workers, the Mid-Shore municipalities are seeking strategies to address this crisis.

And like many crises, once unknown partners come to the forefront to help. And in the case of affordable housing, that is certainly the case with the relatively recent arrival of The Arc and its powerful Chesapeake Neighbors division to work with towns, counties, and the private sector to provide the synergy and financial means to make affordable housing a reality.

For the uninitiated, The Arc is not your typical affordable housing nonprofit. Starting in 1961 in Anne Arundel County, the Arc had the stated mission of supporting those with intellectual disability and developmental disability. And while a good portion of their work then was assisting with all forms of assistance and advocacy, it was The Arc’s work in finding homes where those with IDD could live independently.

Over the years, this $200 million organization has increasingly seen affordable housing missions move beyond the IDD population and become far more inclusive for all impacted by a home shortage.

On the Shore, it has become the central focus of the Arc’s Chesapeake Region office and its Chesapeake Neighbors program. Currently working on two major affordable housing projects in Easton and one set for Chestertown, which collectively is close to $20 million of construction, the Arc has almost overnight become an essential player.

The Spy sat down with Jonathon Rondeau, the Arc’s Central Chesapeake CEO, to hear more about the organization’s plans for the Mid-Shore and their approach to real and sustainable affordable housing.

This video is approximately 10 minutes in length. For more information about The Arc please go here.

 

 

Have you ever wondered what lies behind the formidable figure of Frederick Douglass, the renowned abolitionist and social reformer? Beyond the usual stories of his life as a slave and his escape to freedom, there lies a treasure trove of wisdom and philosophy that has long been overshadowed. Enter Bill Lawson, a distinguished professor of philosophy, and Celeste-Marie Bernier, a professor at the University of Edinburgh, who have joined forces to shed light on the Douglass family’s legacy as philosophers and egalitarian thinkers.

For too long, Frederick Douglass has been perceived as a mere talking head, but Lawson and Bernier’s research reveals that his speeches were in fact well-crafted philosophical arguments. Moreover, they discovered that the entire Douglass family contributed to this intellectual legacy. Anna Murray Douglass, Frederick’s wife, and their five children – Rosetta, Lewis, Henry, Frederick Jr., Charles, and Annie – were all involved in shaping their father’s thoughts and speeches.

What could have caused this misconception of the Douglass family’s contributions? Lawson and Bernier suggest that it could be due to a lack of in-depth reading of Frederick Douglass’s writings, as well as the historical context in which he lived. By keeping his family out of the limelight, Douglass was trying to protect them from the harsh scrutiny and attacks that he himself faced.

However, the Douglass family’s voice still rings through history, thanks to Frederick Douglass Jr.’s diligent efforts to preserve their thoughts and ideas in scrapbooks. These valuable records, filled with their philosophical musings, are now in the hands of Dr. Walter Evans, who has helped bring their legacy to light.

To celebrate and honor the Douglass family’s rich intellectual heritage, an exciting event hosted by Frederick Douglass Honor Society will take place on the 21st of the month at the Wye House in Talbot County. Esteemed scholars and activists, including Kenneth B. Morris Jr. (Anna Maria Douglass’s great-great-great-grandson), Ernestine Jenkins, and Kim F. Hall, will share their perspectives on the family’s impact on social justice and human rights.

Ernestine Jenkins, who has written extensively on Anna Murray Douglass, will discuss her idea of “photographs as vehicles of liberation,” while Kim F. Hall will explore the “methodology of liberation” inherent in the Douglass family’s activism. This gathering will not only honor the family’s revolutionary legacy but also help us better understand their significant contributions to shaping a more egalitarian world.

This video is approximately seven minutes in length. For tickets, which support the Frederick Douglass Honor Society Scholarship Fund, please go here.