The City of Baltimore will terminate its contract with the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, the organization in charge of putting on Artscape, the Baltimore Book Festival, and certain other city events.In a letter to BOPA’s leadership Wednesday, the mayor’s office writes that “the persistent financial difficulties that have come to light in recent months have led us to conclude that this is the best course of action to ensure the long-term sustainability of our city’s arts and cultural programming. The financial instability has raised serious concerns about BOPA’s ability to continue fulfilling its obligations to the City and its arts community.”Baltimore officials informed BOPA of the city’s intent to exercise the 90-day termination clause in their contract with the organization.According to a news release from the mayor’s office, BOPA will execute the two remaining events outlined in the current contract — the city’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display and the Martin Luther King Jr. Parade — and will receive full payment for those services once the events are completed.City officials said they hope to retain BOPA staff members within the city’s cultural sector.The city also plans to make case-by-case arrangements for ongoing projects and events, including partnering with other local organizations or creating new entities that would manage programs and facilities.City officials wrote that they want to ensure cultural assets such as School 33 Art Center, the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower, and The Cloisters continue to be operated and maintained. The city also plans to ensure local artists and arts organizations have continued access to grant programs and support services. “We want to assure you, the BOPA board, staff, and the entire Baltimore arts community that our commitment to Baltimore’s arts and cultural sector remains steadfast,” the letter reads. “We further desire this transition to strengthen and stabilize the support and services provided to our City’s creatives and cultural institutions. We believe that by defining a new path forward, we can ensure greater financial stability, transparency, and accountability.”Later, the letter continues, “We recognize that this change may cause concern among BOPA’s staff, partnering organizations, and the broader arts community. Please be assured that we are committed to maintaining open lines of communication throughout this process and will work diligently to address concerns and minimize any disruptions to Baltimore’s cultural programming.”Drones form a crab during the New Year’s drone and fireworks show at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Photo by Ed Gunts.The news comes after a tumultuous relationship between the city and its events organizer.The Baltimore City Council temporarily withheld $196,000 from BOPA’s fiscal year 2023 budget after not receiving satisfactory answers to their line of questions about the organization’s operations and fulfillment of contract obligations.A week and a half before the 2023 Martin Luther King Jr. Parade, BOPA announced that the parade would not be held that year and they opted to celebrate King’s legacy with a “day of service” instead.After outcry from Baltimore residents and political leaders, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott announced that the city would have a parade in King’s honor after all.2023 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. parade in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo: Carl Schmidt/Federal Hill Photography)In the midst of the parade kerfuffle, Scott expressed he had “lost confidence” in BOPA’s CEO at the time, Donna Drew Sawyer. Days later, Sawyer resigned.By June 2023, BOPA had named an interim CEO, Todd Yuhanick. (BOPA board chair Brian Lyles had overseen the organization since mid-January, without pay.)The city council again temporarily withheld money from BOPA’s budget as councilmembers expressed concerns about the organization’s spending.View south on Charles St. Artscape 2023 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Credit: Carl Schmidt/Federal Hill Photography, LLC)Yuhanick steered the organization for the next nine months, during which BOPA held Artscape festival for the first time since 2019. Despite the festival’s controversial move from its traditional summertime period to early fall, and several activities being rained out by a tropical storm, many in Baltimore’s arts community applauded the event’s return nonetheless.In addition to its traditional New Year’s Even fireworks display, Baltimore welcomed 2024 with a drone show for the first time.Left, illuminated drones draw an eagle, next to fireworks. July 4 2024 at the Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland. (credit: Carl Schmidt/Federal Hill Photography)During a press conference announcing 2024 dates of several city events, Scott indicated he had regained confidence in BOPA.Come March 2024, Rachel D. Graham took the helm of BOPA. She led the city’s 40th Artscape festival, which was shifted back to the summer months after criticism around the previous year’s event dates. Under Graham, BOPA paired fireworks with the city’s first-ever Fourth of July drone display. Last month, she oversaw the Baltimore Book Festival, which also had not been held since 2019 and which moved to Baltimore’s Waverly neighborhood this year.Authors Susan Muaddi Darraj and Rion Amilcar Scott engage in conversation at the Baltimore Book Festival on Sept. 29, 2024. Photo by Maggie Jones.But in September 2024, BOPA asked for $1.8 million from the city, which city officials withheld while calling for an “independent forensic audit” of the organization.A leaked memo from 2023 revealed that the mayor’s office had considered a takeover of the arts organization.BOPA leaders met Wednesday with plans to “realign” their relationship with the mayor’s office. During that meeting, the board approved “staffing efficiencies” — in other words, layoffs.“Ending this contract will be an intricate process that will require cooperation between both BOPA leadership and staff and the City, which will be done through the transition team established at today’s board meeting,” Scott said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.He continued, “Most importantly, it is critical for Baltimore’s arts community to know that this step is being taken to aid support for their critical work in our city. We will work diligently to ensure that the events, property management, and, most importantly, direct support for artists and their work is not significantly interrupted. Supporting our artists is critically important, and Baltimore will always do what is right to ensure our artists get the support they need.”