BALTIMORE, MD.- The Baltimore Museum of Art is coming to a neighborhood near you. On Thursday, September 18, the museum launched the BMA Outpost, a portable museum that will take up temporary residence in a variety of communities throughout Baltimore City this fall. This innovative program led by the BMA’s Amy and Marc Meadows Education Fellow Katie Bachler includes a playful display of reproductions of artworks from the BMA’s collection along with a variety of art-making and storytelling activities that offer opportunities for inspiration and discovery. The Outpost’s first location is at the Boone Street Farm (2100 Boone St., Baltimore). It will be open to the public 1–5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday.

“The BMA Outpost strengthens the museum’s connection to Baltimore communities through a lively exchange of art, ideas, and personal reflections,” said BMA Director Doreen Bolger. “I am looking forward to seeing how people respond to this new experience of art in their environment.”

Many of the BMA Outpost activities explore the universal idea of home and individual responses to this theme. Reproductions from the collection show the many ways artists from different time periods and cultures have explored the meaning of home. Community participants of all ages are invited to share their memories and experiences of home, make a map of their neighborhood, and create artwork inspired by home. Ideas generated by these community events will inform an interactive exhibition in the BMA’s new center for learning and creativity, scheduled to open in the fall of 2015.

The BMA Outpost was designed and produced by Baltimore Development Cooperative in collaboration with the museum. Look for it at community gardens, farmers’ markets, playgrounds, and other local gathering spots. Bachler will post upcoming locations on blog.artbma.org and will also be posting about her experiences around the city.

Bachler has a Master of Public Art Studies in Art/Curatorial Practices in the Public Sphere from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in Women’s Studies/Minor in Studio Art from Occidental College, Los Angeles. Her community-based art and design experience includes creating a unique map for the Walker Art Center’s 2013 exhibition Fritz Haeg: At Home in the City and collaborating with day laborers and domestic workers in Los Angeles to create a braided rug out of articles of clothing used for work as part of the Craft and Folk Art Museum’s 2010 exhibition Folk Art Everywhere.