AFRAM '26
It's not summer until you're sweating to club jams in Druid Hill Park
DEAR EXPOSEUR—Look, I’m not a big festival person. And despite whatever my proclivity toward street portraiture might tell you, I am most assuredly not an extrovert.
But I make special exception for AFRAM, one of the largest (and free!) African American festivals on the East Coast.
It is such a wonderful synthesis of Baltimore joy. Where else are you going to walk into a rolling meadow surrounded by kids doing wheelies on dirt bikes, while up on the main stage the mayor does the Park Heights strut and the emcees run an East Side vs. West Side dance-off to Baltimore club staple “Dance My Pain Away,” all in front of a 150,000-strong crowd?1
I've been photographing AFRAM for a few years now, and no two sets of photos have been the same. There's always something interesting to focus on every time I go. This year, I felt very drawn to individual acts of self-expression. Night one happened to fall on Juneteenth, and I spent most of my time in the park talking to folks about style, heritage, and joy. I loved seeing how people wore all of it.
Upcoming Events
The next Baltimore photo book meet-up is July 23, 2026 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Pratt Free Library Central Branch fine arts department.
Make some prints and trade them with other photographers (or just swing by and take a look) at our next print swap, August 22 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
You don’t have to live in Baltimore to attend either — in fact, we’d love it if you’d make the trek into town to see what the city's actually like. Come make a weekend out of it, even.
Call for interviews
Are you working on a project you’d like to talk about? Have a story you want to tell? After last week’s incredibly fulfilling artist talk with Angela Cappetta, I’d love to keep the series going. Email me or message me here on Substack if you’d like to schedule a Substack Live in the near future!