Baltimore City students' art could hang in courthouse, win scholarships

Baltimore City high school artists got a rare civic stage: a chance for their work to hang in a courthouse, earn scholarship money and become part of the city’s public life.

The Courting Art Baltimore 2026 reception was held at Baltimore Unity Hall, 1505 Eutaw Pl., Baltimore, MD 21217, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. A panel of jurors selected finalists there, and winners are set to be announced later at the Finalists Courthouse Reception on May 11.

Arts Every Day said the contest is open to all Baltimore City Public Schools high school students. City Schools set a March 13 submission deadline, giving students a clear path from classroom work to public exhibition, and then to possible CollegeBound Foundation Scholarships.

The biggest prize is visibility with staying power. Arts Every Day said this year’s finalists will be on long-term display at the Eastside District Courthouse, turning student artwork into part of a building Baltimore residents enter for serious legal business. In 2025, the program awarded $20,500 in scholarships to seven winners, and more than 130 works were hanging on courthouse walls.

Courting Art Baltimore is now in its ninth year, according to prior coverage, and its purpose has broadened beyond an art show. The project was originally hosted by the District Court of Maryland in partnership with the Baltimore Bar Foundation and the Bar Association of Baltimore City, and it now connects Baltimore City Public Schools, Arts Every Day, the CollegeBound Foundation, Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts and Gordon Feinblatt. The result is a project that uses student creativity to soften a civic space, welcome visitors more warmly and give young artists a public audience.