On Saturday there’s a party planned at Baltimore’s Reginald F. Lewis Museum to celebrate the release of “Middle East Baltimore Stories: Images and Words from a Displaced Community,” a project of the Save Middle East Action Committee and Art on Purpose.

The book is a collection of photographs and interviews by Elizabeth Barbush, of Art on Purpose. “Middle East Baltimore Stories” is meant to convey the experiences of those most affected by the city’s massive East Baltimore redevelopment project, in which about 100 acres in the so-called Middle East neighborhood are being converted into a biotechnology research park associated with Johns Hopkins Hospital. Whole city blocks were razed and more than 400 families were relocated as part of the $1.4 billion project.

The party takes place in conjunction with the museum’s, “East Side Stories” exhibit, which features audio and photographs from the book. Copies of the book will be for sale at the event.

Saturday May 30th from 2 – 6pm
Reginald F. Lewis Museum
830 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202
For directions call: 443-263-1800

Schedule:
2 – 4pm: Meet your neighbors: Hear the stories. The audio portion of the Middle East Baltimore Stories will be available for listening.

4 – 6pm: Mindy Thompson Fullilove, MD. Professor of clinical psychiatry and public health at Columbia University and author of “Root Shock,” will speak along with representatives of SMEAC, Art on Purpose, and the Middle East Community.

The event is free and will include food and refreshments.