MICA is a hive of grassroots activity, energized by student- and faculty-led endeavors, curricular initiatives, and an institutional commitment to investing in the health of Baltimore.

Here are a just few examples of MICA + Baltimore partnerships:

• FRANCE-MERRICK COMMUNITY ART PARTNERSHIP FELLOWSHIP: A MICA funding program that makes awards to students who propose projects that use art as a way to create social change in the lives of Baltimore citizens.
• URBAN STUDIO: A collaboration among MICA students and faculty, the Johns Hopkins University climate scientists and engineers, and Baltimore’s Department of Planning that uses GIS historical research and bit data to look at spatial patterns of income, isolation, and racial segregation over time in Baltimore.
• REFUGEE YOUTH PROJECT MURAL: A collaboration between MICA students and the Refugee Youth Project (RYP) giving voice to the issues and challenges faced by many of Baltimore’s refugee youth.
• BALTIMORE COLLEGETOWN LEADERSHAPE PROGRAM: A collaboration between MICA and 13 other Baltimore colleges connecting students with underserved communities to create programs that make a better Baltimore. A recent spin-off program, COLLEGETOWN UNDERGROUND WEST BALTIMORE, offered students a week in the neighborhood where the 2015 unrest occurred to gain an understanding from community leaders about the history, culture, and systemic issues impacting these city residents.