Afro House to Receive Illuminator Award for Innovation
Baltimore, MD — The 2026 Illuminator Awards are proud to honor Afro House, a Baltimore-based arts organization known for creating immersive performances that bring together music, dance, film, theater, and visual art. Afro House’s work invites audiences into shared, live experiences that are bold, collaborative, and grounded in cultural storytelling.
Founded in 2011, Afro House explores how performance can imagine new futures while remaining deeply connected to community and place. Drawing on a wide range of musical traditions—including classical, soul, and rock—their projects often reflect Afrofuturist ideas, using movement, sound, and narrative to explore themes of humanity, possibility, and transformation.
Under the artistic leadership of co-founder Scott Patterson, Afro House has developed ambitious and original works such as the opera-ballet Cloud Nebula and the Afro House Concert Series, which celebrates Baltimore’s creative “maker” culture through live performance. Managing Director Alisha Patterson has played a key role in expanding the organization’s reach by building partnerships with cultural institutions and securing support from local and national foundations.
“Afro House challenges our understanding of what performance can be and invites audiences to experience art in new and unexpected ways,” said F. William Chickering, Board President. “Their fearless creativity and commitment to community reflect exactly what the Illuminator Awards were created to celebrate.”
The 2026 Illuminator Awards gala will feature performances by local artists and raise critical funds to support arts education, community programming, and historic preservation in Baltimore. Afro House will join fellow honorees in celebrating the city’s vibrant and evolving cultural landscape. Ticket and sponsorship information will be announced at thepeale.org/illuminate.
About Afro House
Founded in 2011 by composer and pianist Scott Patterson and Managing Director Alisha Patterson, Afro House is a collective of musicians, dancers, designers, and writers dedicated to creating immersive, genre-defying performance work. Afro House has presented projects at venues including Artscape, The Walters Art Museum, and The Peale, and has received support from the T. Rowe Price Foundation, the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, and other philanthropic partners.
