Drew Poland: Local Skaters Opening Reception Saturday January 10, 2026 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM **Artist Statement:** *Local Skaters examines Baltimore’s skateparks as social environments built through the presence and individuality of the people who use them. These parks attract a wide range of skaters and non-skaters, each with their own style, personality, and way of moving through the space. The project focuses on these differences and how they contribute to the identity of the parks as a whole.* *The work pays attention to small interactions and the ways people acknowledge, observe, or respond to one another. These moments reveal how the parks operate as informal social systems where people negotiate space, build connections, and express who they are.* *The project avoids idealizing or dramatizing the skate scene. Instead, the goal is to present the parks as they function day to day: fluid, open, and shaped by the diversity of the people who gather there. Each individual adds something to the environment, and together they form a community that is both loose and distinctly recognizable.* *Through portraits and straightforward documentary images, Local Skaters shows how identity and belonging emerge in these public spaces and how the parks become meaningful through the people who inhabit them.* Presented by Metro Gallery LLC. All ages