Press & Media
National recognition. Cultural impact. Proven results.
Over the years, What Works Studio has captured national and international attention for its bold ideas, cultural leadership, and creative innovation. From reimagining Baltimore’s identity through the Light City Innovation Festival, to redefining digital storytelling with What Weekly, and turning a floating trash interceptor into the globally beloved character Mr. Trash Wheel, our work has captured attention far beyond the city. We've been featured in The New York Times, CNN, The Guardian, and National Geographic’s print magazine—proof that when creative vision meets cultural resonance, people take notice.
These stories reflect more than media coverage—they document a journey of creative risk-taking, community transformation, and strategic impact. As we pivot into AI-driven brand strategy and innovation, this legacy continues to shape our vision, proving that when creativity meets purpose, people take notice.
Smart CEO Magazine
By Alyssa Hurst and Tina Irgang, Sept/Oct 2016
“The creative minds behind this small design studio have launched a whole series of projects designed to put Baltimore on the map and let the world know about the creative talent working in the city.”
“The creators of What Weekly, Light City and Mr. Trash Wheel were on a mission to showcase a brighter side of Baltimore. So they built a coalition of the city’s most prominent business and civic leaders to make it happen.”
New York Times
Festival and Hotel News: Lights in Baltimore, Music in St. Martin
January 29, 2016
“Featuring 28 art installations along a 1.5-mile stretch of waterfront, the inaugural Light City Baltimore is set for March 28 to April 3.”
CNN
16 intriguing things to see and do in the U.S. in 2016
By Marnie Hunter and Katia Hetter, January 8, 2016
“When the inaugural Light City Baltimore goes live, 28 light art installations will illuminate a 1.5-mile path along the city’s Inner Harbor, with pop-up performances and musical acts adding to the festivities.”
The New Yorker
The Promise of Mr. Trash Wheel
By Carolyn Kormann, Nov 6, 2019
The What Works Studio team developed the Mr. Trash Wheel concept, character, name, and social media presence—transforming an industrial trash interceptor into a beloved environmental icon with a global fanbase. Through imaginative branding, storytelling, and a viral digital campaign, we helped turn Mr. Trash Wheel into a cultural movement, spawning three sibling wheels, three themed beers, a fan festival, and a dedicated environmental society: The Order of the Wheel.
“By 2014, Kellett’s invention was reborn as Mr. Trash Wheel—a fifty-foot-long machine, weighing nearly a hundred thousand pounds, that resembles a friendly mollusk, with giant, googly eyes and its own Twitter account.
Five years later, Mr. Trash Wheel has spawned three replicas around Baltimore—Professor Trash Wheel, Captain Trash Wheel, and another that was announced last week but has yet to be named or installed in the water. Three local beers are named in their honor, and the city has both a trash-wheel fan festival and a society dedicated to promoting environmental awareness known as the Order of the Wheel. As plastic pollution in the world’s oceans has become a growing crisis, the trash wheels have gained an international following.”
National Geographic Magazine
Googly-Eyed Trash Eaters May Clean a Harbor Near You
By Jackie Snow, Feb 17, 2017
What Works Studio developed the full creative identity behind Mr. Trash Wheel—including the name, persona, and viral digital voice—elevating a mechanical device into a symbol of environmental innovation with global reach.
“Baltimore’s harbor is cleaner than it has been in decades thanks to two anthropomorphic trash wheels pulling debris from its waters.
Mr. Trash Wheel and Professor Trash Wheel, the latter of which was installed in December, are solar- and hydro-powered trash interceptors based in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, clearing debris before it enters the Chesapeake Bay. Over a million pounds of trash has been pulled out of the water by Mr. Trash Wheel since it was installed in May 2014.
After a creative agency got involved and an online campaign was launched, the trash wheel got eyes and a social media presence. Now a video of Mr. Trash Wheel has more than a million views on Youtube and a Twitter account has more than 9,000 followers.
“We did not foresee how positive the response was going to be,” said Lindquist.”
The Baltimore Sun
Light City Baltimore adds $33.8 million to economy, study finds
By Brittany Britto, May 18, 2016
“Light City contributed $33.8 million to the local economy during the festival’s inaugural run in March and April, according to Forward Analytics.
“Brooke Hall, the creator of Light City, said though she was excited about the festival’s economic impact, it was about more than the numbers. She emphasized the importance of the city’s spirit and sense of community that week. “It’s hard to measure how you uplift a community, but I think we were able to do that,” Hall said.
“Hall said she is confident that next year will be a success.“Light City is my baby. You’ll always be connected to your baby,” Hall said. “I’m excited to see it grow.”
The Baltimore Sun
Nearly 400,000 come for Light City Baltimore
By Andrea K. McDaniels, April 4, 2016
“The event was conceived by Brooke Hall and Justin Allen of What Works Studio... Allen and Hall, who are married to each other, had worked for three years to bring the festival to Baltimore. They had wanted to present a positive, unified image of the city. “I would like to see it become a citywide celebration,” Allen said. “We imagined that over time it will spread throughout Baltimore and it will be an event that all Baltimore residents celebrate.”
Baltimore Magazine
Light City U Conference Wrap-Up: Weeklong sessions highlight social, tech, and creative innovation.
By Jess Mayhugh, April 2, 2016
“If you don’t like what you see back in your past, look ahead and build something new.” -Brooke Hall from the Wonder Women Panel: Featuring Asha Curran, Director, Center for Innovation and Social Impact at 92Y, Brooke Hall, Founder of What Works Studio, Vanessa Garrison, Co-Founder and COO at GirlTrek, and Sonja Sohn, American Actress and Star of The Wire.”
Rawlings-Blake Review
Celebrating Our Innovation and Creativity
By Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, April 1, 2016
“Light City Baltimore has created a sense of wonder and imagination in Baltimore that is the combination of innovation, light, music and artistic expression…Perhaps more important, was embracing the passionate vision of co-founders Brooke Hall and Justin Allen and expanding it into our neighborhoods.
“Light City Baltimore has unlocked forward thinking ideas and tools to positively impact and grow healthy and sustainable communities in a way that we’ve never experienced before.”
New York Magazine
Go Neighborhood-Hopping in Baltimore
October 17, 2013
“Independent digital resource What Weekly covers Baltimore’s emerging neighborhoods, cultures, and countercultures. It was rated the city’s best new magazine by old stalwart Baltimore Magazine in 2011.”
The Guardian
“Boston, Baltimore, and Philadelphia: Best blogs for travelers”
Vicky Baker, October 4, 2013
“‘We asked ourselves, what if we could show a different side of Baltimore (the story HBO's The Wire didn't tell)? Is it possible for media, used in right way, to make Baltimore internationally known as a cultural hotspot for artistic and intellectual pursuits?’ So write the site's founders, Justin Allen and Brooke Hall, a married couple with their fingers on the pulse of all things hot and creative in Charm City. Here they've assembled a collective of artists, entrepreneurs, educators and writers to put that other side forward, through a range of essays and portraits, reviews and previews.”
The Huffington Post
The Baltimore Experiment: Getting Out From Under “The Wire'“
By Jim Luce, June 29, 2012
“‘Can Good News Revive a City? A new media experiment is underway in Baltimore, Maryland to find out. Is it possible for media, used in right way, to make Baltimore internationally known as a cultural hotspot for artistic and intellectual pursuits?”
Salzburg Global Seminar
Famous Fellows: Brooke Hall, 2022
“Brooke Hall participated in the first session of the Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Innovators in 2014 and went on to launch Light City Baltimore, a festival that sought to unite a city divided by issues of racial inequality. Connections made in Salzburg helped Hall create the festival, which featured illuminated art installations, street theater, and concerts, as well as conferences on social justice and equality. The premier festival in 2016 attracted 400,000 visitors, injected nearly $34 million into the local economy, and positioned Baltimore as a global hub for art and innovation. ”
See the full list of Famous Fellows.
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