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Residences at Vantage Point Features Local Painter, Writers and Young Performers in Series Starting Oct. 9

Award-winning painter Mary Jo Tydlacka launches free programs open to the public in retirement community's auditorium in Downtown Columbia

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Mary Jo Tydlacka
Mary Jo Tydlacka

Residences at Vantage Point launches its Arts & Culture Collective Fall series on Friday, Oct. 9, 11 a.m.-noon, with “Mary Jo Tydlacka: The Artist as Archivist.” A slide show and discussion feature the award-winning local painter in conversation with community arts leader Tim Singleton.

Tydlacka has been a resident studio artist at the Howard County Arts Council for over two decades. She has long been recognized for her colorful depictions of historic Ellicott City as well as for her expressive paintings of performances at the Columbia Lakefront and elsewhere in the Baltimore-Washington corridor. Her work is also distinguished by its capturing of intimate domestic scenes and sharp attention to architectural characteristics.

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Slides of the artist’s work through the years will be shown during her interview by Singleton, who has written extensively about local and other artists for the Little Patuxent Review. He teaches philosophy courses at Howard Community College and serves as co-chair of the Howard County Poetry and Literature Society (HoCoPoLitSo), a local literary organization.

In addition to Tydlacka’s presentation, Vantage Point’s three-part Fall series will include a new edition of “The Author Next Door,” a showcase for local writers developed by George Clack, a teacher at Howard Community College and the founder and orchestrator of the Literati, an on-line community of people with literary interests. Clack will moderate a reading and conversation with Karen Outen, HoCoPoLitSo’s 2025-2026 Bauder Writer-in-Residence, on Friday, Oct. 23, 11 a.m.-noon.

Outen’s debut novel Dixon, Descending, was published in February 2024. Her work has appeared in literary and cultural publications such as Glimmer Train, The North American Review, and Essence. As Writer-in-Residence, Outen engaged with and mentored student writers in Howard County high schools and participated in public events.

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The third program in the series, “Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts: A Musical Update,” features Brynn Williams, CCTA Program and Education Director, and young performers who have received training at the center, on Friday, Nov. 6, 11 a.m.-noon.

The Arts & Culture Collective was established by Residences at Vantage Point in response to community members’ interest in hosting public activities that engage and educate as well as entertain. To register for individual sessions, call 410-995-9743 or visit www.VantagePointResidences.org/arts

About Residences at Vantage Point

Residences at Vantage Point was founded in 1990 and is a nonprofit serving people age 60 and above. The community includes a variety of residential living arrangements from studio to two-bedroom deluxe apartments. It provides long-term health services available for residents should they need them.

Residences at Vantage Point is noted for its arts, cultural and educational activities, as well as for resident engagement with the larger community of Columbia. It is located at 5400 Vantage Point Road. Visit www.VantagePointResidences.org for more information.

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