In Her Presence Cooking Video & Tasting Event
2018-11-30 16:30 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Maine College of Art & Design, 522 Congress Street, Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Culinary Talents of Immigrant Women to Be Showcased in Cooking Videos Screening and Food Tasting on November 30
The public event is a collaboration of In Her Presence and Maine College of Art & Design
On Friday, November 30, 4:30-5pm, cooking videos of seven immigrant women preparing their most treasured recipes will be screened at Maine College of Art & Design (MECA&D), Osher Hall, 2nd floor, 522 Congress Street, Portland. A tasting of the dishes in the videos will follow from 5–7 pm. On hand will be the immigrant women who participated in the project - a partnership of the In Her Presence non-profit and MECA&D - and the MECA&D student filmmakers who made the videos. The screening and tasting event is open to all members of the public.
“Maine College of Art & Design appreciates the opportunity to partner with In Her Presence, which is doing so much to empower women and girls from minority communities in Maine,” said Amelia Garretson- Persans, MECA&D project faculty advisor. “We encourage the Portland community to join us on November 30th to get to know the chefs behind the recipes, experience their delicious dishes, and gain insight into cultures from all over the world.”
Claudette Ndayininahaze, co-founder with Abusana Micky Bondo, In Her Presence, said, “We are thrilled to be able to share the talents of some of the remarkable women from In Her Presence. We hope this series will help them raise their visibility in the community and achieve their personal ambitions.”
Among the chefs and recipes showcased in the videos are Yolande Matoko Makaba, a resident of Portland, who came to Maine in 2016 from The Republic of the Congo. In the video, she prepares crème brûlée and crêpes, which she describes as the “most requested recipes within the realm of desserts,” and “simple and small, but very delicious.” Yolande trained professionally in the French pastry arts back home and has worked in grand hotels and restaurants. She hopes to someday use her skills professionally in the U.S. Other dishes featured in the videos include fish, brochette (BBQ skewers), and desserts from countries such as Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, and Angola.
Each year, Maine College of Art & Design partners with a local nonprofit organization on a public engagement project designed to benefit the community.
For updates on the project, visit inherkitchen.org or follow them on Instagram (@in.her.kitchen).
To RSVP to the screening and tasting (RSVP recommended) email inherkitchenofficial@gmail.com. There is a suggested donation of $10 for this event.
About In Her Presence
In Her Presence is created by and for women from minority communities in Maine. Through increased educational opportunities and providing access to knowledge through high level training, the nonprofit’s goal is to empower more women and girls to reduce systems of inequity, to advocate for themselves and their families, understand, analyze and assess the impact of racial injustices and learn tools to combat inequities. (www.inherpresence.org)

Traces | CONVERSATION + FOOD: The History of Chinese in Maine | @ MECA&D
2018-12-13 17:00 - 19:00 | Maine College of Art & Design, 522 Congress Street, Portland, ME, 04101, United States
While there has been a relatively small population of Chinese residents of Maine over the years, those who have settled here have made their mark, dating back to the first Chinese immigrant who came in 1857. Come hear some stories about these early Chinese Mainers, and also enjoy some Chinese tea and snacks, sponsored by the Chinese & American Friendship Association of Maine.

This event will be hosted in the Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA&D.

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Traces | CONVERSATION + FOOD: The History of Chinese in Maine | @ MECA&D
2018-12-13 17:00 - 19:00 | Maine College of Art & Design, 522 Congress Street, Portland, ME, 04101, United States

Making Migration Visible | Yu-Wen Wu: Gallery Talk | @ MECA&D
2018-12-13 18:00 - 19:00 | Maine College of Art & Design, 522 Congress Street, Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Making Migration Visible: Traces, Tracks & Pathways featured artist Yu-Wen Wu will discuss her artwork in the galleries, describing the research processes and community practices that contribute to her work. Following her talk, the artist will lead a workshop in conjunction with her Leavings/Belongings series. Leavings/Belongings is comprised of multitudes of cloth wrapped bundles representing all that is left behind– home, family, possessions and what may be carried in migration–survival, hope, dreams. In the tradition of gathering to make things and tell stories, this workshop invites participation in the making of bundles and the sharing of stories.
This event will be hosted in the Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA&D.

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Drawing Now: Exhibition
2019-01-17 11:00 - 2019-03-22 17:00 | Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art & Design, first floor
Drawing Now
On view from January 17–March 22, 2019
Exhibition Opening: Friday, February 1, 2019, 5:00–8:00pm
Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art & Design
ICA Gallery hours: Wed–Sun, 11:00am–5:00pm, Thurs, 11:00am–7:00pm, Friday, 11:00am–5:00pm, (FFAW until 8:00pm)
This exhibition is organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art & Design, Director of Exhibitions, Erin Hutton and co-curated by Bruce Brown and Munira Naqui.
Drawing Now celebrates the works by artists of the Drawing Collective and three guest artists. With its members hailing from eleven countries, the Drawing Collective’s objective is to maintain the development of an international aesthetic. The common denominator uniting these artists is the practice of drawing.
Descendants of Bauhaus, De Stijl, Réalities Nouvelles and Art Concret their works represent a contemporary continuum of research in the formal purity of abstraction. The core of the Drawing Collective lies in the inter-connectivity of artists separated by geographical, linguistic and cultural barriers. Devoted to the exploration of new strategies and methods, their works expand upon a rich intellectual and aesthetic history of abstract drawing.
Following Paris and Sydney, Drawing Now at the Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art & Design in Portland, Maine is the Drawing Collective's first exhibition in the United States.
Bruce Brown and Munira Naqui, Guest Curators
Artist Biographies
View Artist Biographies

Wahida Azhari (Germany) A Hamburg-based artist, Azhari is inspired by the relationships between space, emptiness and light.
Louise Blyton (Australia) A reductive artist experimenting with light and form, Blyton explores the fragility of beauty through subtle shifts of light and shadow.
Christine Boiry (France) Boiry’s work comes from the study of color, material and movement to create a minimal space, in search of rhythm, emptiness and light.
Anne Brochot (France) Brochot’s work is influenced by the geometrical patterns, materials and tools of architecture, as well as the organic structures of the countryside.
Liz Davidson (Canada) Davidson’s drawings are not preparatory sketches for other works. They are studies of light and shadow observed through the seasons in her studio in rural Quebec.
Elena Dombrovska (Ukraine) Dombrovska uses the line as a structural and form producing element to reflect on the aesthetics of geometric forms.
Clint Fulkerson (USA) Fulkerson is a graduate of the Maine College of Art & Design (MECA&D). Fulkerson’s work features complex patterns and forms made by an accumulation of hand drawn marks. His art is influenced by science, mathematics and information technology, as well as an innate curiosity about the fundamental aspects of existence.
André Geertse (Netherlands) Geertse’s work is inspired by his time spent on the North Sea Coast of the Netherlands with the spectacle of sea, light and air. The work reflects a strength of color, space and light.
Ellen Golden (USA) Golden’s drawings flow from an intuitive and emotional response to the natural world. Her drawings are products of a very focused meditative process.
Barbara Halnan (Australia) Halnan, a multimedia artist believes drawing is essential to her art-making. Her fine line drawings on paper reference the flatness of the dry lake bed .of Menindee in NSW - the distant horizon, the sky and the colors of the local vegetation, sand and earth.
Daniel G. Hill (USA) A multi-disciplinary artist who has worked in sculpture, installation, painting, and digital media, Hill focuses on the works construction and its physical presence that gives rise to self reflective viewing ito remind us of our capacity to wonder. Hill is an Assistant Professor of Fine Arts at the Parsons School of Design in NYC and is the President of American Abstract Artists.
Erdem Kucuk-Koroglu (Turkey) Having a master’s degree in mathematics has greatly influenced Kucuk-Koroglu’s artwork, which he describes as geometric abstract paintings.

Emma Langridge (Australia) Landridge, who considers herself primarily a painter, applies the same strict practice used in her paintings in her drawings. She uses everyday materials, strictly controlled procedures, and a reliance on millimeter increments with allowance for irregularities.
Danielle Lescot (France) Lescot is a painter, ceramist and sculptor who lives and works in Paris. Lescot”s drawings are results of a daily exploration of color and form in her studio.
Jean-Luc Manguin (France) The basis of Manquin’s art work is the square, a quadrilateral figure that is a surface to divide evenly, a checker board space to fill, or an element to build into a grid.
Marilyn Chapin Massey (France) Passionate about color, Massey’s work is inspired by the colors and shapes of urban areas, such as New York and Paris. Massey”s recent drawings use non color as she continues to experiment with the underground transportation web.
Munira Naqui (USA) The Drawing Collective founder Naqui, born in Bangladesh came to the USA in 1982 after studying in Moscow. She lives in Portland and works from her studio in New Gloucester. For Naqui, drawing is a meditative exercise that follows the manner of Tibetan mandalas, always focusing on the process to reach clarity of thought.
Michael Perlbach (Germany) A visual artist who uses a drawing technique he calls “dissolution”, Perlbach’s drawings are assembled from tiny structures sometimes not distinguishable from simple dots.
Marion Piper ( UK) Drawing and painting are increasingly indivisible activities in Piper’s studio. Each sets the stage for the other and creates space for an improvised performance in both the manufacture and the content of the work. Colour, materials and surface form part of the plot.
Tineke Porck (Netherlands) The nature of Porck’s art is abstract, minimal and has interfaces with constructivism, zero and minimal art. She uses a basic language of form - lines, points, crosses and surfaces – and sober colors, such as shades of grey, white and black.
Grieteke Roosma (France) Roosma pursued drawing and photography after earlier careers in education and fashion design. A keen observer of nature and different cultures, her drawings are abstract studies greatly influenced by the physical and emotional world.
Diane Scott (New Zealand) A sculptor, Scott uses sculpture to inform her drawings through their shared concerns of space, illusion, materiality and light. She employs different media for her drawings that push the boundaries of traditional drawings.

Jamel Sghaier (Germany) After serving in the Merchant Marines, Tunis-born Sghaier, became a self-taught visual artist. His work is inspired by pure abstractions of forms. He currently lives and works in Tunisia and Germany.
Bogumila Strojna (France) A sculptor born in Poland Strojna lives and works in Paris.She has used drawing as a sketching tool, as well as a point of departure to develop independent works.
Truong Thanh (Vietnam) Thanh focuses his work on the use of three-dimensional geometry, inspired by constructivist and minimalist art. His drawings are based on the structures of objects and their response to forces.
Richard van der Aa (France) Born in New Zealand, van der Aa lives and works in Paris. He is the founder of ParisCONCRET. The works on paper van der Aa is presenting in Drawing Now are indicative of the lexicon of reduced but evocative forms the artist has been employing over many years in his exploration of the limits of minimalism and formal abstraction.
Wilma Vissers (Netherlands) A Dutch visual artist who is inspired by emptiness and space, Vissers believes spatiality and infinite space must be present even in the smallest work.

Participating artists also include the following guest artists:
Josefina Auslender (USA) Born in Argentina during the era of abstract art, Auslender established herself as a successful sculptor. The troubled times of the 80s in that part of the world brought her to the USA where she started again as a visual artist. Her repertoire include intricately executed drawings that go beyond intellectual mark making. She uses simple forms to address complex issues related to her unique world view.
Kevin Townsend (USA) An internationally recognized artist and professor currently living and working in Kansas City as part of KCAI’s foundation department, Townsend’s expanded drawing practice centers around mark-making, obsession and the phenomenology of time. He previously taught as visiting professor in the Art Education Department of Massachusetts College of Art and Design and as a visiting artist and lecturer in Drawing & Painting at Boston’s School of the Museum of Fine Art at Tufts University.
Michael Winkler (USA) Winkler is a visual/conceptual artist. For over 35 years he has been engaged in an exploration of the imagery and implications of a process-based transformation of the signs of language. His abstract images reveal the patterns encoded in the letter-sequences of the spelling of word. Winkler says: “A word’s spelling is an unplanned product of a collective awareness which extends back to the word’s ultimate origin.”

Masthead Image: Clint Fulkerson, Portal 20 (cropped), graphite, ink and gouache on paper, 30" x 22", 2018

Meet the Residencies: Info Session
2019-01-22 18:00 - 20:00 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Meet the Residencies: Information Session
Tuesday, January 22, 2019, 6–8pm
Maine College of Art & Design, Porteous Building, Osher Hall
Admission is free. To reserve a seat, contact artistsatwork@meca.edu or 207.699.5016.

Maine College of Art & Design and Hewnoaks present "Meet the Residencies". Representatives from Maine artist residencies will offer an overview of their various programs.
Presenters include the Hewnoaks Artist Colony, Monson Arts, The Ellis-Beauregard Foundation, Monhegan Artist Residency, MECA&D Residencies, Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, and the Joseph A. Fiore Art Center. Administrators will discuss the specifics of their residency, who is a good fit, and what makes for a successful application.
Snow date: Wednesday, January 23, 2019 at 6:00pm.
Cover image: Meg Hahn, 2017 MECA&D alum, was accepted into two residency programs last summer, the Monhegan Artist Residency and Hewnoaks (Photographer: Alban Maino)

Charles Tracy: Visiting Artist Lecture
2019-01-25 13:30 - 14:30 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Charles Tracy: Visiting Artist Lecture
Friday, January 25, 2019, 1:30pm
Maine College of Art & Design, Porteous Building, Osher Hall
Admission is free, all are welcome.
Charles Tracy is a landscape architect with the National Park Service who guides long-distance trail development and regional landscape conservation initiatives in New England, including the New England National Scenic Trail. On the national level, he specializes in partnerships with artists and arts organizations to expand the experience of art in national parks and art as a catalyst for inspiring environmental stewardship.
Crossing, 2015 (cropped in header) BANDALOOP founder Amelia Rudolph on Dana Pillar; Photo by Braden Mayfield

Susanna Coffey: Visiting Artist Lecture
2019-01-31 12:30 - 13:30 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Susanna Coffey: Visiting Artist Lecture
Thursday, January 31, 2019, 12:30–1:30pm
Maine College of Art & Design, Porteous Building, Osher Hall
Admission is free, all are welcome.
Susanna Coffey, Green, 2013, 15x12", oil on panel
Susanna Coffey is the F.H. Sellers Professor in Painting at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She received a BFA from from the University of Connecticut at Storrs and an MFA from The Yale School of Art.
Her portraits are investigations of the iconic human head. The work is driven by questions about what a portrait image can mean. What is a beautiful appearance? Why do conventionally gendered images involve caricature? Can inchoate feeling-states be adequately portrayed?
Meticulously observed, most works show her in many guises and locations: under dramatic lighting, highly costumed, inside a studio, within landscapes, foliage, places of fiery devastation, and amidst phantasmagoric patterns. Some portraits seem almost entirely abstract with only the barest suggestion of a human face.
Susanna Coffey’s work is represented by Steven Harvey Fine Arts Projects in New York City, Alpha Gallery in Boston and Galeria Isabel Ignacio in Seville, Spain.

Kevin Townsend: Visiting Artist Lecture
2019-01-31 18:00 - 19:00 | ME
Kevin Townsend: Visiting Artist Lecture Series
Thursday January 31, 2019, 6–7pm
Maine College of Art & Design, Porteous Building, Osher Hall
Admission is free, all are welcome.
Kevin Townsend is an internationally recognized artist and professor currently living and working in Kansas City as part of KCAI’s foundation department. Kevin’s expanded drawing practice centers around mark-making, obsession and the phenomenology of time. His current work brings together elements of drawing, sound, video, installation, and performance where the resulting works are temporary, durational, and often public.
Kevin Townsend is currently included in the ICA at MECA&D exhibition Drawing Now.
Supported in part by the Gene R. Cohen Charitable Foundation, and the Isabel K. Pease Trust.
Image: Kevin Townsend, in ghost time (cropped for header), unfixed chalk on panel, 72" x 108", 2 hours, 2016

Joel Weissman: Visiting Artist Lecture
2019-02-11 12:00 - 13:15 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Joel Weissman: Visiting Artist Lecture
Sculptor and Ceramicist
Monday, February 11, 2019, 12–1:15pm
Maine College of Art & Design, Porteous Building, Osher Hall
Admission is free, all are welcome.
Joel Weissman has a BFA in Ceramics from Montana State University and an MFA from Syracuse University. Joel is an interdisciplinary artist whose projects hybridize traditional approaches to art making such as ceramics and metal casting, with the more contemporary practices such as digital fabrication, video art and street art. Joel is an Assistant Professor of Visual Art at Ramapo College in Mahwah New Jersey.
Supported by the MECA&D Sculpture Department
Joel Weissman, Subpar (1 of 3): Anything you Say, 2013, hand made stoneware tile, screen-printed ceramic decal, gold luster, abandoned phone booth Syracuse NY.

Kyungmin Park: Visiting Artist Lecture
2019-02-21 12:00 - 13:00 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Kyungmin Park: Windgate Visiting Artist Lecture
Thursday, February 21, 2019; 12–1pm
Porteous Building, Osher Hall, second floor
Admission is free, all are welcome.
Funded through the generous support of the Windgate Charitable Foundation.
Kyungmin Park, Shall We?, 2017, Porcelain, Underglaze, Glaze, Resin, Cubic Zirconia
Kyungmin Park is a figurative ceramic sculptor drawing inspiration from childlike perspectives. Contrasting the darker emotions and restricted psyche of adulthood with the boundless consciousness of children, Kyungmin’s sculptures confront the view with uncomfortable juxtapositions, encouraging reflection upon personal expectations and narratives. Kyungmin largely uses handbuilding techniques to construct her figures out of porcelain, a material she prefers for its ability to contrast starkly with bright and colorful decoration.
Originally from South Korea, Kyungmin earned her MFA in Ceramics from the University of Georgia in 2012 and her BFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 2008.
Currently, Kyungmin is an Assistant Professor of 3D studio Art at Endicott College in Beverly, MA. Park was a long-term resident artist at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana where she earned 2014-2015 Matsutani Fellowship and 2015-2016 Windgate Fellowship. Park has won multiple awards; her most recent recognition being from the National Council on Education the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) for, which granted her the 2016 Emerging Artist of the Year Award; Ceramics Monthly Magazine also gave her that same designation in 2015. Kyungmin was invited as a 2017 Guest Artist at the Jingdezhen International Studio in Taoxichuan Ceramic Park, Jingdezhen, China and One of the recent exhibitions, 74th Scripps College Ceramic Annual show in 2018 was features in LA Times.
She has exhibited both nationally and internationally, most notably at: the Aqua Art Miami Basel, SOFA Chicago, Scripps College Ceramic Annual, Claremont, Ca, Penland school of Crafts, in NC , Arrowmont School of Arts in Gatlinburg, TN, Museum of Arts and Science in Macon, GA, Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art in, Auburn, AL, along with a multitude of galleries, including: the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, Belger Arts Center, Morean Art Center, Lillstreet Art Center, Eutectic, Kolva-Sulivan, Duane Reed, Abmeyer + Wood galleries.

Nick Dong: Visiting Artist Lecture (Windgate)
2019-02-28 18:00 - 19:00 | ME
Nick Dong: Visiting Artist Lecture Series
Thursday, February 28, 2019, 6–7pm
Maine College of Art & Design, Porteous Building, Osher Hall
Admission is free, all are welcome.
Nick Dong is a conceptual metalsmith, mixed-media sculptor and socio-commodity engineer with the intention of creating works in order to ignite an experiential moment. Dong uses mixed-media fields to change the relationship of the viewer’s apperception. Art is not an object nor a picture; art is the unique impact created by that object or picture. Dong's work partakes of both aspects to achieve the unique impact and constructs the particular sentiment or antipathy.
Funded by the Windgate Foundation for Crafts
Image: Nick Dong, En-Lightening (cropped for header)

Exhibition: Visual Tensions | Parasitic Honeyshoes | Letting Yourself Go
2019-04-05 17:00 - 2019-04-26 17:00 | ME
The Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art & Design Presents ICA Spring Exhibitions:
Visual Tensions | Séan Alonzo Harris
Parasitic Honeyshoes | Greta Bank
Letting Yourself Go | Philip Brou
On view from April 5-26, 2019
Exhibition Reception: Friday, April 5, 2019, 5–8pm
ICA Gallery hours: Wed–Sun, 11am–5pm, Thurs, 11am–7pm, Friday, 11am–5pm, (FFAW until 8pm)

PORTLAND, Maine - The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) at Maine College of Art & Design (MECA&D) is pleased to announce the opening of the ICA Spring Exhibitions, a collective of three solo exhibitions: Visual Tensions | Séan Alonzo Harris, Parasitic Honeyshoes | Greta Bank, and Letting Yourself Go | Philip Brou. On view April 5-26, 2019, with a public Opening Reception on Friday, April 5, 5–8pm.

Séan Alonzo Harris, Visual Tensions, 2018
Visual Tensions is a collaborative photography project that brings community members together with members of law enforcement. African American photographer Séan Alonzo Harris creates photographic portraits as a means to foster relationships and build bridges between people of color with members of law enforcement. The project provides a platform to cultivate mutual respect and transform our images and perceptions of others.
Artist Biography
Séan Alonzo Harris’ work as an editorial, commercial and fine art photographer concentrating on narrative and environmental portraiture. Over the past 25 years, Sean’s work is in a range of national publications, advertising campaigns, and exhibitions. In these varied contexts, Sean’s work focuses on human experience, identity, and challenging stereotypes. Sean’s images bear witness to often invisible or overlooked members of our communities, and creates portraits that provide a counter image and narrative of self-worth and personal agency. The Visual Tensions project aligns with the goals and vision of Séan Alonzo Harris’ current practice and with past collaborative photo projects.
His work has been published in Atlantic Magazine, Paris Review, Boston Magazine, Down East, Portland Magazine, Maine Home and Design, Photo District News Rising Star feature, Maine Magazine, Harvard University Magazine, Ralph Lauren magazine, Mother Jones, Adweek, Consumer Reports, Teaching Tolerance, and USA Today. He has received several awards and grants for his work including: Kindling Fund grant from the Warhol Foundation, Good Idea Grant and Arts in the Capital Program, from the Maine Arts Commission, the Broderson Bronze Award, and the VanDerZee Black Heritage Award, from the University of Lowell. Most recently Séan’s work was featured in International Regional Magazine Awards, Silver Award Arts and Culture, Portrait Photography 2015 and One Eyeland, Best of the Best Photographers 2016.
To learn more about Séan or to get involved in the project go to seanalonzoharris.com.

Greta Bank, Parasitic Honeyshoes, mixed media installation, 2019

Parasitic Honeyshoes is a testimony to the colonization of the material and spirit world. It is intended for an audience to see in 15 years, implying that our present is responsive to the future. It is a cosmic sh!t accountable to another reality.
The parasitic behavior of the human species is a form of cannibalism, we consume to sustain a false reflection. We are not living, but surviving in a capitalist ecosystem, negotiating a spiritual crisis deeply founded on centuries of exploitation and extraction.
Artist Biography
Born in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, Greta Bank currently resides in Hollis, Maine. She received her BFA from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and a MFA focused on painting from the University of Arizona. Her sculptural work, performance, installations and multi media, often use both topical and historical content to provoke social inquiry. Bank describes her work as visual essays, positioning her audience to reflect on diverse matters such as environmental corruption, mass consumption and social constructs. She has exhibited at SPACE Gallery, the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, the Center for Maine Contemporary Art and most recently the Hunterdon Museum of Art. Bank has received multiple grants from the Maine Arts Commission, as well as from the Taconic Community Foundation and an Emerging Artist Grant from the Joan Mitchell Foundation.
To learn more about Greta Bank, visit gretabank.com.

Philip Brou, i, oil on linen, 48_ x 32_, 2017
Letting Yourself Go is a new project by Philip Brou investigating ideas of selfhood, power, and the human condition. The project is rooted in a critical examination of the famous story of Polyphemus, the cyclops from Homer’s Odyssey. In Odysseus’ epic journey to return home, he and his men are held captive in Polyphemus’ cave. As part of a plan to free himself, Odysseus concocts a lie: he tells Polyphemus that his name is Nemo, which translates to Nobody. The presence of the Nobody, as a persona used to escape captivity, dismantle the archetype of the hero, and confront the ego, is at the core of Brou’s project. Although the work is rooted in a story from ancient times, its layered messages resonate today. Letting Yourself Go consists of paintings, drawings, sculptures and found objects. All works in the exhibition function as either portraits or utterances of Nemo, which is to say: portraits or utterances of Nobody.
Artist Biography
Philip Brou is an artist and educator based in Portland, Maine. Brou earned his MFA from The Ohio State University and his BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University. His work has been exhibited at venues such as the Fitchburg Art Museum in Fitchburg, Massachusetts; Corey Daniels Gallery in Wells, Maine; Able Baker Contemporary in Portland, Maine; the Urban Arts Space in Columbus, Ohio; 1708 Gallery in Richmond, Virginia; The Portland Museum of Art in Portland, Maine; The Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art & Design in Portland, Maine; and The Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockland, Maine. His work is in the collection of the Portland Museum of Art. He has received numerous awards including the Biennial Purchase Prize from the Portland Museum of Art, a Good Idea Grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Greater Columbus Arts Council, and a Presidential Fellowship from The Ohio State University. Reviews and acknowledgements of his work in notable publications include Art New England, Two Coats of Paint, The Portland Press Herald, The Portland Phoenix and The Columbus Dispatch. Philip Brou and his wife, Jennifer, currently live in South Portland, Maine. He is an Associate Professor in the Painting and Foundation Programs at Maine College of Art & Design. To learn more about Philip Brou, visit philipbrou.com.
NOTE TO MEDIA: For exhibition images, photo credits and captions, please visit this link.
For further information about the exhibition, please visit this link.
Header Image:
Philip Brou, i, 2017 (cropped)

Walter Kitundu: Visiting Artist Lecture Series
2019-04-11 18:00 - 19:00 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Walter Kitundu is an artist, educator, and 2008 MacArthur Fellow.
Kitundu creates kinetic sculptures and sonic installations, develops public works, builds (and performs on) extraordinary musical instruments, while studying and documenting the natural world. He is the inventor of a family of Phonoharps, multi-stringed instruments made from record players that rely on the turntable’s sensitivity to vibration. Kitundu has created hand-built record players driven by the wind and rain, fire and earthquakes, birds, light, and the force of ocean waves. In 2008 he received a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship in recognition of his work and creative potential.
His eclectic art practice includes receiving a major public art commission, creating a complex site-specific installation in a small town museum, developing wildly imaginative instruments for a string quartet, composing for dance and theatrical production, teaching sculpture at the university level, engaging in fieldwork with wild birds of prey, and heading the design and fabrication of environments for learning at a prominent science institution.
Kitundu has performed and been in residence at art centers and science museums internationally. He has collaborated with the renowned Kronos Quartet, bassist Meshell Ndegeocello, the electronic music duo Matmos, and the legendary Marshall Allen of Sun Ra’s Arkestra - in venues from Carnegie Hall to a high school library in Egilstaadir, Iceland.
Funded by the Windgate Foundation for Crafts
All lectures in this series are hosted in Osher Hall and are open to the public at no charge. Seating is limited. Supported in part by the Gene R. Cohen Charitable Foundation, the Isabel K. Pease Trust, and friends of the College through the Osher Chair Naming Program. Call 207.699.5010 for more information.

Panel Discussion & Community Conversation: Visual Tensions
2019-04-18 18:00 - 19:00 | Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art & Design, first floor
Visual Tensions Panel Discussion & Community Conversation
Please join us in the ICA for a public panel discussion and community conversation in conjunction with the exhibition Visual Tensions from artist Séan Alonzo Harris. The artist will be joined by a panel of project participants: Sophia Namara, Chanel Lewis, and Kelly Gorham.

About the Panel
Sophia Namara / Photo by Séan Alonzo Harris
Sophia Namara is an arts administrator living and working in Portland, ME. After graduating from Bowdoin College, she joined Portland’s art community as the manager of PhoPa Gallery, an exhibition space dedicated to showcasing photography and works on paper from Maine-based artists. At Phopa, Sophia curated and organized exhibitions, designed promotional content, and built a strong network of artists, makers, and curators in Southern Maine. After PhoPa closed its doors in 2018, Namara joined the Portland Museum of Art as the Communications Manager, where she now spearheads projects in marketing, design, advertising and PR for the museum. Namara’s passion for art and curation was ignited by the Visual Arts and Art History programs at Bowdoin and nurtured by the thriving art community of the city she now calls home.

Chanel Lewis / Photo by Séan Alonzo Harris
Chanel Lewis believes in the power of listening, learning, dialogue, and action as tools for change. Her work and passion is fueled by a desire to live in a society and community where everyone is included and has equitable access to empathy, compassion, understanding, and respect. Chanel, like many in her generation, has a 9-to-5, juggles multiple projects, engages her community, and somehow manages to make friends as an adult. Ultimately, Chanel is enthused and energized by people, community, communication, and culture.
Chanel is an Employer Relationship Manager at the University of Southern Maine’s Career & Employment Hub. In this role, she facilitates engagement opportunities with organizations to provide equitable access for students in hiring, experiential learning opportunities, and professional connections. As a member of her community, Chanel created an initiative called A Seat at the Table, serves as a board member for the Portland Parks Conservancy, and previously lended her perspective as a member of the City of Portland’s Office of Economic Opportunity advisory council.
Chanel lives in Westbrook, Maine with her spouse and local musician, Just Plain Jones. She is an amateur photographer, avid cook, and organizational development nerd. A lifelong fan of Harry Potter, Chanel believes in the power of friendship, community, and love. In particular, how those three values work together to make our communities stronger, full of compassion, empathetic, respectful, and full of joy.

Kelly Gorham / Photo by Séan Alonzo Harris
Detective Kelly Gorham has been a member of the Portland Police Department since 2002.

Séan Alonzo Harris’ work as an editorial, commercial and fine art photographer concentrating on narrative and environmental portraiture. Over the past 25 years, Sean’s work is in a range of national publications, advertising campaigns, and exhibitions. In these varied contexts, Sean’s work focuses on human experience, identity, and challenging stereotypes. Sean’s images bear witness to often invisible or overlooked members of our communities, and creates portraits that provide a counter image and narrative of self-worth and personal agency. The Visual Tensions project aligns with the goals and vision of Séan Alonzo Harris’ current practice and with past collaborative photo projects.
His work has been published in Atlantic Magazine, Paris Review, Boston Magazine, Down East, Portland Magazine, Maine Home and Design, Photo District News Rising Star feature, Maine Magazine, Harvard University Magazine, Ralph Lauren magazine, Mother Jones, Adweek, Consumer Reports, Teaching Tolerance, and USA Today. He has received several awards and grants for his work including: Kindling Fund grant from the Warhol Foundation, Good Idea Grant and Arts in the Capital Program, from the Maine Arts Commission, the Broderson Bronze Award, and the VanDerZee Black Heritage Award, from the University of Lowell. Most recently Séan’s work was featured in International Regional Magazine Awards, Silver Award Arts and Culture, Portrait Photography 2015 and One Eyeland, Best of the Best Photographers 2016.

About the Project
Visual Tensions is a collaborative photographic project and community dialogue that pairs people of color with members of law enforcement. African American photographer Séan Alonzo Harris worked with local residents and officers from the City of Portland, Maine Police Department to create photographic portraits as a means to confront and question cultural and racial assumptions, stereotypes and fears.
After individual photographs were complete, the artist placed the images within a diptych composition and positioned the portrait subjects to face each other to create a heightened moment of recognition and tension. While the placement of the subjects and scale of the images capture a powerful visual tension, the individuals also appear to be looking just past each other. This moment of disconnection reflects the rupture and breaches within our communities locally and nationally.
The project provides a platform to examine the relationship between people of color and law enforcement, to provoke dialogue about injustice and implicit bias, and make space to engage these critical issues creatively. In addition to creating the photographic portraits, the artist interviewed project participants and asked about their personal experiences with racism, law enforcement, their sense of belonging or not belonging in their community and their interactions with people across difference.
This project is supported in part by The Kindling Fund, SPACE Gallery grant program.

Header Image: Séan Alonzo Harris, Anthony and Mwiza, 2019 (cropped)

MECA&Dmorphosis 2019
2019-05-03 17:00 - 20:00 | Maine College of Art & Design, 522 Congress Street, Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Save the Date!
This year, the MECA&Dmorphosis Spring Gala will take place on Friday, May 3, 2019. Attendees will be able to see both the Runway Fashion Show and the BFA Thesis Exhibit.

The Fashion Show has SOLD OUT and tickets are no longer available. To be added to a wait list in the event of cancellations, please contact Abby Peck at 207.699.5012 or apeck@meca.edu.
Friday, May 3, 2019
The event will coincide with the First Friday Artwalk.
For sponsorship levels or more information, contact Abby Peck, Director of Institutional Giving & Special Events, at apeck@meca.edu or 207.699.5012.

Art in Exodus
2019-05-30 - 2019-06-20 | Porteous Building, Maine College of Art & Design, 522 Congress Street, Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Art in Exodus is a mentoring and exhibition project through which refugee artists and Mainers from underrepresented populations share their art and culture.
Maine College of Art & Design presents Art in Exodus, a mentoring and exhibition project through which immigrant artists and Mainers from underrepresented populations share their art and culture.
The third Art in Exodus exhibition takes place in MECA&D’s flagship Porteous Building from May 30–June 20, 2019. Art in Exodus began in recognition of World Refugee Day, which takes place every year on June 20 and features a variety of celebrations.
Art in Exodus features eight artists; an opening reception will be held on June 6, 2019 from 5-8pm. The exhibit will also be open for the June 7 First Friday Artwalk from 5-8pm at which work by the artists will be for sale in the Porteous lobby.
This year’s artists include Liz Rhaney MFA '20 from Savannah, Georgia (multimedia); Caroline and Papa Mendy from Senegal (recycled wood designs); Amber Shahzad from Pakistan (painting); Jordan Carey ’19 from Bermuda (textiles); Shannon Infantes ’21, originally from Peru (photography); Sabina Najafova from Azerbaijan (painting, installation); and Hadithi Abdulle from Somalia (music). The various components of this event encourage underrepresented artists to share their art in a venue rooted in the center of the Arts District, gain confidence in their work, and build lasting connections with MECA&D and the greater Portland and Maine communities.
Amber Shahzad says, “I have been painting since childhood but the thirst of learning still remains. I want to be a skillful artist who could capture and perceive what an eye could see, a mind could imagine, and beyond imagination! I am searching for the light inside the human spirit which gives us faith and strength through my work. Whenever I paint I feel the urge to learn more. The vast ocean of knowledge stands in front of me and I am just waiting to jump in!”
Sabina Najafova who graduated from Azerbaijan State Academy of Art with a degree in applied arts, folk art & ceramics, says, “I want to invite my love for life, for nature, my love for my home country of Azerbaijan, which I love unconditionally, in this work. Azerbaijan is rich with natural resources and beauties, such as oil, gas, minerals, the Caspian Sea and Caucasus Mountains. When I look at the material, I know what to create from it, but fantasies come in the process. The day I came here I thought about MECA&D and how I could be involved, and now I am part of MECA&D. Here, I have free artistic expression. I have been building my network, making new work, and experimenting. I am learning about contemporary art and how to share my experiences with people.”
Recent MECA&D graduate Jordan Carey ’19, who majored in Textile & Fashion Design, says, “I always wanted to be an artist but found little to no opportunities for me in Bermuda. My father is American and through him I was able to come to the United States and pursue an art education. Feeling unfulfilled in my country of origin and unrepresented in my new home I struggle to find a fulfilling identity. In my work, I play with the contrasting voices of the Caribbean and the Celtic Isles that I see as polar voices blurred together within me.”
This project reflects MECA&D’s historic and ongoing interests in diversity, community, and public engagement and supports the College’s mission to “educate artists for life.” There is strong value in inviting artists of color and members of underrepresented communities to exhibit at one of Portland’s premier art spaces, where artists can gain greater visibility, interact within a central core of the Maine/Portland art community, and further their professional development skills.
The exhibition initially started as a way to recognize World Refugee Day, a global celebration that is held annually to honor the courage and struggles of the more than 15 million people worldwide displaced by war and persecution. Each year, Maine welcomes refugees from war-torn countries and helps them to rebuild their lives in safety. Since 2002, Maine has resettled more than 4,000 refugees from 24 countries.
This project is funded in part by a generous gift from the Moser Family Foundation, with in-kind support from Maine College of Art & Design and the participating artists.
Contacts
Leah Igo, Director of Marketing & Communications
207.699.5010 or ligo@meca.edu
Kelly McConnell, MAT Professor and Director of Art Education Outreach
207.699.5042 or kmcconnell@meca.edu

Header: Artwork by Sabina Najafova (cropped)

Transfer Day at MECA&D
2019-05-31 13:00 - 16:00 | Maine College of Art & Design, 522 Congress Street, Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Transfer Day at Maine College of Art & Design
Friday, May 31, 2019
1–4pm
Thinking about transferring to Maine College of Art & Design? Our Transfer Day is designed to show you what MECA&D has to offer to students with previous college experience. You can even get a transfer evaluation done while you're on campus to see where your credits fall in our graduation plan!
Over the course of the afternoon, you can:
+ Take a tour of our studios and res halls
+ Learn how a MECA&D education will prepare you for a career in the arts
+ Get your admissions, financial aid, and credit transfer questions answered
+ Understand how your credits will transfer into MECA&D
+ Explore the vibrant art scene in downtown Portland, Maine
+ Receive an admissions decision on the spot!*
*In order to offer a decision, students must submit their application, essay, and recommendations at least a week in advance of the Transfer Day AND must either submit transcripts and portfolio in advance as well or bring official transcripts and portfolio to MECA&D for review.

RSVP: Transfer Day

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AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCabo VerdeCambodiaCameroonCanadaCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, Democratic Republic of theCook IslandsCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzechiaCôte d'IvoireDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFalkland IslandsFaroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and McDonald IslandsHoly SeeHondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea, Democratic People's Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People's Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorth MacedoniaNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestine, State ofPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarRomaniaRussian FederationRwandaRéunionSaint BarthélemySaint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint MartinSaint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint MaartenSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwedenSwitzerlandSyria Arab RepublicTaiwanTajikistanTanzania, the United Republic ofThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluTürkiyeUS Minor Outlying IslandsUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuelaViet NamVirgin Islands, BritishVirgin Islands, U.S.Wallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabweÅland Islands
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Phone*College/University Transferring From:* Which Transfer Day would you like to attend?Friday, May 31, 2019: 1–4pmWhat program and year are you interested in attending?*BFA, starting Fall 2019BFA, starting Spring 2020BFA, starting Fall 2020Other/UnsureWould you like a Portfolio Review and/or Transcript Evaluation while on campus?

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COLLECT: MECA&D’s 2019 Summer Art Sale
2019-06-27 10:00 - 2019-06-29 18:00 | Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art & Design, first floor

Alumni Residency Open Studios
2019-07-25 16:00 - 18:00 | Maine College of Art & Design, 522 Congress Street, Portland, ME, 04101, United States
We are excited to welcome to campus our 2019 residents for our Alumni Residency at MECA&D.
We will be having an Alumni Open Studio to end the residency on July 25, from 4pm–6pm — stop by, talk, and check out the great artwork!
Location: MECA&D Porteous Building, 4th and 5th floors
The 2019 Residents are Asherah Cinnamon ’08, Kelsey Haley ’15, Savanna Pettengill ’14, and Lauren Tosswill ’14.

The residency program runs from July 1–July 26 and is designed to bring degree-holding alumni back to the College each summer for four weeks in July to re-engage in an intensive on-campus experience in conjunction with the MFA Summer Intensive. Residents will have studio space in the Porteous building for four weeks with access to the department facilities.
Header Art: Asherah Cinnamon '08, Forgiveness: Selichot, Beech wood, synthetic fiber strips, paint, gold leaf, 22" x 24"x 6", 2016.

Alexandra Silverthorne MFA ’10: 'yes is the only living thing' | Artist Talk + Book Signing
2019-08-01 17:30 - 19:00 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Alexandra Silverthorne MFA ’10: yes is the only living thing

On view: July 5–August 16, 2019
Opening Reception: July 5, 6–8pm
Artists at Work Gallery at MECA&D

Artist Talk + Book Signing
August 1, 5:30pm
Osher Hall at MECA&D

There will be an Artist Talk + Book Signing featuring a conversation with Julie Poitras Santos on August 1, 5:30pm at Maine College of Art & Design in Osher Hall.

Alexandra Silverthorne MFA '10 is releasing her new book, yes is the only living thing, a series of 76 images looking at moments of celebration, wonder, and stillness in her own life. Shot the year following a friend’s sudden cancer relapse and near-immediate death, the images echo her attempts to infuse her own life with some of the same determination, thoughtfulness, and grace that was ever-present in her life. The series was captured with recently-discontinued peel apart instant film on a fickle hand-me-down Polaroid Reporter camera. Silverthorne was attracted to the unpredictability of both the film and the camera and how this seemed to echo the unpredictability of life, itself. The book features all 76 images, a collection of text by Julie Poitras Santos, and a conversation with Annie Mahon.
This summer, Alexandra Silverthorne will be showing work from the series at the Artist at Work Gallery at MECA&D. The show will be up from July 5—August 16, with an opening reception July 5, 6-8pm.

View the project and learn more here.

Machine Dazzle: Visiting Artist Lecture
2019-09-17 18:00 - 19:30 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Artist Lecture: Machine Dazzle
Costume Designer for Taylor Mac
Tuesday, September 17, 6pm
Osher Hall, Porteous, Second Floor
Free and open to the public.
Limited seating.
Photographer: Little Fang
Taylor Mac maintains we are “a nation of makers” and that one of his favorite makers is costume designer Machine Dazzle. Machine, whose parents met and married in Pembroke, Maine, will be in residence at Maine College of Art & Design from September 15th – 19th 2019. The residency includes an exhibition of costumes designed for Taylor’s performances, on display in the Bob Crewe Gallery Windows. Select students from the departments of Textiles and Fashion Design will apprentice with Machine during this residency, co-creating something tangibly extraordinary.
During this residency, Machine will also deliver a public lecture, so don’t miss this opportunity to learn from a master the intricate ins and outs of over-the-top costume design!
Portland Ovations presents Taylor Mac at the State Theater on September 19. Learn more.

Image Header: Photographer: Joseph Beyer
Images courtesy of Portland Ovations

A Reading + Discussion with Jaed Coffin, Author of 'Roughhouse Friday' (Salt)
2019-09-25 18:30 - 20:00 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
A Reading + Discussion with Jaed Coffin,
Author of Roughhouse Friday: A Memoir
Wednesday, September 25; 6:30–8pm
MECA&D, Osher Hall, Second floor
Free and open to the public
Jaed Coffin
Raised in Maine, former Salt instructor Jaed Coffin is the author of A Chant to Soothe Wild Elephants, a memoir about the summer he spent as a Buddhist monk in his mother’s village in Thailand. Roughhouse Friday chronicles the year Coffin won the middleweight title of a barroom boxing show in Alaska.
“Roughhouse Friday is as bare and intimate a rendering of masculinity, of young adulthood, of being human as I have ever read. This is a fearless and exquisite work of art.” —Lily King, author of the New York Times bestseller Euphoria

This Reading + Discussion is part of Salt is Story. Words. Sound. Image. Conversation.

RSVP online for event reminders

Rodney Sayers: Visiting Artist Lecture | 'DesignInquiry: Futurespective'
2019-10-02 18:00 - 19:00 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Artist Lecture: Rodney Sayers
Wednesday, October 2nd, 6–7pm
Porteous, Osher Hall, Second floor
Free and open to the public
Limited seating
Image courtesy of the artist
Klewetua, Rodney Sayers, is a Hupacasath artist from Ahswinis, Port Alberni, British Columbia, and is a descendant of the Nuu Chah Nulth peoples.
Sayers’s practice examines the role of traditional artwork in a contemporary world. He believes that for an art form to remain vibrant, it must evolve and adapt, but remain true to its origins.
Sayers will take part in the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) at MECA&D's exhibition DesignInquiry: Futurespective. On view from October 4 – December 14, 2019. Learn more.

Bettina Dittlmann: Artist Lecture (BFA)
2019-10-10 18:00 - 19:00 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Bettina Dittlman
Thursday, October 10, 6–7pm
MECA&D, Osher Hall, Second floor
Free and open to the public
Limited seating
Bettina Dittlmann lives and works in her native Germany. After completing an apprenticeship in jewelry in Neugablonz, she joined the prestigious Kunstakademie in Munich, where she studied under Hermann Jünger until 1989. She then came to America for to complete a master's degree at SUNY New Paltz, New York, before returning to the Kunstakademie, this time under the direction of Otto Künzli, to graduate in 1993. Having moved his studio a few times between the United States and Europe, it is now based in Breitenbach, in western Germany, since 2008.
The new pieces she offers are made with calamine, the iron oxide chips that are on the surface of the metal after the forge. Coupling this material with neodymium magnets, she uses the laws of physics to determine the orientation and disposition of each component of her jewelry. With the power of magnetic fields, Dittlmann represents metaphorically the social and political turbulence in which we evolve, being forced to forces that seem invisible and uncontrollable. Arranged concentrically by the force of the magnet, like flowers, the pins of Bettina Dittlmann recall both the tumult, the change and the ephemerality of life.
Funded by the Windgate Foundation.

Kevin Snipes: Artist Lecture (Ceramics)
2019-10-31 12:00 - 13:30 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Kevin Snipes
Ceramics Artist
Thursday, October 31, 2019; 12:00 pm
MECA&D, Osher Hall, Second floor
Free and open to the public
Limited seating
Kevin Snipes, Numbskull #1, 2015
Kevin Snipes is an American artist born in Philadelphia and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He received a B.F.A. in ceramics and drawing from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1994 and concluded graduate studies at the University of Florida in 2003. Snipes has been awarded numerous awards and artist residencies including fellowships at The Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences in Rabun Gap, GA, The Clay Studio in Philadelphia; Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts in New Castle, ME; A.I.R. in Vallauris, France and C.R.E.T.A. Rome. Snipes received a Taunt Fellowship from the Archie Bray Foundation in Montana in 2008 and a McKnight Residency award from Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, MN in 2011. In 2014, he was awarded a Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant. Other awards include the Purchase Award at the 2009 NCECA Clay National Biennial, an Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council in Columbus and a Marie P. Cowen Fellowship in ceramics from Worcester Center for Crafts in MA. Snipes has exhibited both nationally and internationally, as far away as Jingdezhen, China. He currently resides in Macon, Georgia, where he is the visiting artist at Wesleyan College.
Kevin Snipes, La Dee Da #1, 2015; (full size artwork of header image)
Snipes' artwork explores concepts of otherness. Snipes employs techniques of narrative drawing and hand-constructed porcelain to craft objects that cross the boundary between sculpture and painting. His works are a combination of atypical pottery forms, quirky figurative drawings and contemporary vernacular language. His pieces are influenced by traditional and nontraditional art forms including street art, architecture, contemporary painting, art history and even children’s toys and drawings. His work has an underlying sophistication based in existentialist thought, creating a dynamic body of work that is both culturally transcendent and personally identifiable. Through his use of multi-faceted narratives he challenges the viewer to consider the concept of otherness in confrontation with the self.

Hosted by the Ceramics Department.
Funded by the Windgate Foundation.

Matt Soar: Artist Lecture (BFA)
2019-10-31 18:00 - 19:00 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Matt Soar
Intermedia Artist, Filmmaker, and Writer
Thursday, October 31, 6–7pm
MECA&D, Osher Hall, Second floor
Free and open to the public
Limited seating

Matt Soar is an intermedia artist, filmmaker and design writer. His creative practice ranges from cameraless animation on film to the remediation of two 1970s airport information displays; from photomontage and stained glass to interactive media installations and nonlinear documentaries. Soar is the co-founder and director of the Montréal Signs Project and has been a regular participant in DesignInquiry.
Soar will take part in the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) at MECA&D’s exhibition DesignInquiry: Futurespective. On view from October 4–December 14, 2019.

Header image (detail):

Young Joon Kwak: Artist Lecture (Sculpture)
2019-11-11 18:00 - 19:30 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Young Joon Kwak
Multi-disciplinary Artist
Monday, November 11, 2019; 6pm
MECA&D, Osher Hall, Second floor
Free and open to the public
Young Joon Kwak, ATTACK SUSTAIN RELEASE DECAY, Performance collaboration, 2015. Click to view larger.
Young Joon Kwak is an LA-based multi-disciplinary artist working primarily through sculpture, performance, video, and collaboration. Kwak's work aims to transform our perception of bodies by reimagining their form, functionality, and materiality—from static and bound to pre-inscribed power structures, to an expanded sense of bodies and their environs as mutable and open-ended.
Kwak is the founder of Mutant Salon, a roving beauty salon/platform for experimental performance collaborations with their community of queer, trans, femme, POC artists and performers. Kwak is the lead performer in the electronic-dance-noise band Xina Xurner.

Young Joon Kwak, Wig Heel Purse, 2016, Mixed Media. Click to view larger.
Performances and exhibitions include: the Hammer Museum, The Broad, REDCAT, ONE National LGBT Archives, and Commonwealth & Council, Los Angeles; 47 Canal, Regina Rex, and Smack Mellon, NYC; Wattis Institute, Southern Exposure, San Francisco; Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Antenna Space, Shanghai, China; Pavillon Vendôme Centre d’Art Contemporain, Clichy, France; the Art Museum of the National University of Colombia, Bogotá; Walter Phillips Gallery at the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity, Alberta, Canada.
Along with Mutant Salon, Kwak was Artist-in-Residence at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE) during Summer 2018. Kwak received the Rema Hort Mann Foundation’s Emerging Artist Grant in 2018, and the Art Matters Grant in 2016. Kwak received an MFA from the University of Southern California, MA in Humanities from the University of Chicago, and BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Kwak’s work has been reviewed and featured in Artforum, ARTnews, Artillery Magazine, BOMB Magazine, Hyperallergic, and LA Times, among others.
Click to download Young Joon Kwak Lecture poster

Header image (detail):
Young Joon Kwak + Kim Ye, Where I Am My Own Other, Where My Mother Is Me, (2016 – ongoing)
Performance & Film/video collaboration with Kim Ye
Click to view full-sized artwork.

In Her Kitchen: Culinary Talents of Immigrant Women
2019-12-04 16:30 - 19:00 | Maine College of Art & Design, 522 Congress Street, Portland, ME, 04101, United States
In Her Kitchen: Culinary Talents of Immigrant Women
a collaboration between In Her Presence and Maine College of Art & Design
Wednesday, December 4, 4:30–5pm Screening; 5–7pm Tasting
MECA&D, Osher Hall, Second floor
Suggested donation: $10 to benefit In Her Presence
Limited seating

On Wednesday, December 4th, at 4:30 pm, cooking videos of seven immigrant women preparing their most treasured recipes will be screened at Maine College of Art & Design (MECA&D), Osher Hall, 2nd floor, 522 Congress Street, Portland. A tasting of the dishes in the videos will follow from 5 - 7 pm. On hand will be the immigrant women who participated in the project - a partnership of the In Her Presence non-profit and MECA&D - and the MECA&D student filmmakers who made the videos. The screening and tasting event is open to all members of the public.
This will be the second iteration of the In Her Kitchen partnership. “After last year’s successful community dinner, the staff of the Cafe @ Meca is once again looking forward to hosting the culminating event this year. Working with the chefs and founders of In Her Presence and the participating students was a highlight from last year that we look forward to repeating,” said Pam Ryder, Cafe Manager.
“Maine College of Art & Design appreciates the opportunity to partner with In Her Presence, which is doing so much to empower women and girls from minority communities in Maine,” said Amelia Garretson-Persans, the MECA&D faculty behind the In Her Kitchen project. “We encourage the Portland community to join us on December 4th to get to know the chefs behind the recipes, experience their delicious dishes, and gain insight into cultures from all over the world.”
Claudette Ndayininahaze, co-founder with Abusana Micky Bondo, In Her Presence, said, “We are thrilled to be able to share the talents of some of the remarkable women from In Her Presence. We hope this series will help them raise their visibility in the community and achieve their personal ambitions.”
Among the chefs and recipes showcased in the videos is Lydie, who came to Maine from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Lydie spends her time cooking for large groups of people at different events in the Portland area. Eugenie, another featured chef, when asked for any advice to share, said “You need to learn from others and you need to also share the skills you have so others can take it.”
Each year, Maine College of Art & Design partners with a local nonprofit organization on a public engagement project designed to benefit the community. This year, students are working with seven female chefs from the local organization In Her Presence to create engaging recipe videos that combine the talents of both the students and chefs involved. Both parties benefit from this project, the students being able to learn and create videos while simultaneously being exposed to new cultures, while the chefs from In Her Presence are given a platform to educate others on their cultures as well as voice their goals.
When asked what it was like to be a part of a project like this, student Bridget Foner said “It’s a life changing experience, being able to meet with these women I would not be able to meet with normally and experiencing their culture through cooking.”

For updates on the project, visit inherkitchen.org or follow them on Instagram (@in.her.kitchen). To RSVP to the screening and tasting (RSVP recommended) email agarretson-persans@meca.edu or respond to our facebook event.

About In Her Presence
In Her Presence is created by and for women from minority communities in Maine. Through increased educational opportunities and providing access to knowledge through high level training, the nonprofit’s goal is to empower more women and girls to reduce systems of inequity, to advocate for themselves and their families, understand, analyze and assess the impact of racial injustices and learn tools to combat inequities. (inherpresence.org)

Header image by Liz Burdick

Bethany Johns: Artist Lecture
2019-12-05 18:00 - 19:00 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Bethany Johns
Print + Publication Designer for the Arts

Thursday, December 5, 6–7pm
MECA&D, Osher Hall, Second floor
Free and open to the public
Limited seating
Bethany Johns specializes in print and publication design for museums, arts institutions, publishers, and individual artists. Their practice surrounds issues of the archive and chronicling recurring and evolving relationships with people, places, and cultural issues.
Johns will take part in the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) at MECA&D’s exhibition DesignInquiry: Futurespective. On view from October 4–December 14, 2019.

Header image (detail):

Images courtesy of the artist.
