Maine College of Art

RECEPTION: Open Studios at Monson Arts Center
2018-11-01 15:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Monson Arts Center, N Main St., Monson, ME, 04464, United States
Stop by the Monson Arts Center from 3-5PM to see what’s been happening in the studios during the October residency session. Making Migration Visible: Traces, Tracks & Pathways featured artist Maria Patricia Tinajero will be a resident artist at the Center, and will be on site showcasing work produced during her residency.

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Eric Gottesman: Visiting Artist Lecture
2018-11-01 18:00 - 19:00 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Eric Gottesman: Visiting Artist Lecture
Thursday, November 1, 2018; 6–7pm
Porteous Building, Osher Hall, Second Floor
Free and open to the public
Eric Gottesman, For Freedoms Super PAC
Eric Gottesman is a photographic artist, teacher, and activist. Since 1999 he has been working in and around the Middle East and Africa collaborating with communities to produce photographs and videos that often challenge preexisting images and perceptions of a culture and/or place as well as the concept of singular artistic authorship.
His current collaborative project For Freedoms, is the first artist-run Super PAC. Starting in January 2016 with Gottesman’s co-founder Hank Willis Thomas to encourage new forms of public critical discourse. The medium for this project is American democracy, the "readymade" is the Super PAC (a federal designation for organizations that raise money for "political speech"), and the mission is to forge more transparent and representative forms of political discourse.

EXHIBITION: A Nation of Immigrants: Home Lost, Home Found
2018-11-02 - 2018-11-24 | Harlow Gallery, 100 Water Street, Hallowell, ME, 04347, United States
This is a raw and fraught time in the world as we struggle to respond to the fact that 65 million people have been displaced from their homes. What is the experience of those newly arrived and those who may have come long ago? What has been gained, what has been lost? What does it mean to be a “Nation of Immigrants”?
Opening reception (potluck! Please bring a dish or beverage to share) November 2nd, 5-7 pm.

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Traces | SYMPOSIUM: Art + Politics | @ MECA&D
2018-11-02 09:30 - 17:30 | Maine College of Art & Design, 522 Congress Street, Portland, ME, 04101, United States

SYMPOSIUM: Art + Politics | Maine College of Art & Design
2018-11-02 10:00 - 19:00 | Maine College of Art & Design, 522 Congress Street, Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Leaders in the art community will speak on the role of art in cultivating spaces for civic engagement on controversial topics and sparking social change. Break-out groups led by local experts will explore specific topics, ranging from Wabanaki perspectives on mobilities, borders, and sustainability to artists's political action. The symposium culminates in a keynote address and a closing reception. Registration is free. Due to limited seating, please complete the RSVP Form found on the Symposium Website.

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CONVERSATION: Positive Proof: Contributions from our Immigrant Community
2018-11-03 17:30 - 19:00 | Portland Stage, 25 Forest Ave., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
A discussion with members of the immigrant community from entrepreneurs to teachers. Following the 4pm matinee of Refuge Malja ملجأ at Portland Stage.

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CONVERSATION: Children of War: The Young Refugee Experience
2018-11-04 15:30 - 17:00 | Portland Stage, 25 Forest Ave., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Artistic Perspective discussion following the 2pm matinee of Refuge Malja ملجأ at Portland Stage inviting immigrant community members to talk about what they left behind.

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FILM: El Mar La Mar
2018-11-04 18:30 - 20:30 | SPACE Gallery, 538 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04103, United States
An immersive and enthralling journey through the Sonoran Desert on the U.S.-Mexico border, EL MAR LA MAR weaves together harrowing oral histories from the area with hand-processed 16mm images of flora, fauna and items left behind by travelers. Emerging from the ethos of Harvard's Sensory Ethnography Lab, J.P. Sniadecki's attentive documentary approach mixes perfectly with Joshua Bonnetta's meditations on the materiality of film.
Screening begins at 7, doors open at 6:30. For more information contact Jon Courtney at jon@space538.org
www.space538.org/events/el-mar-la-mar

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LECTURE: The Immigration Debate in Maine | Catherine Besteman
2018-11-05 17:00 - 19:00 | Center for Global Humanities, UNE Portland Campus, 716 Stevens Ave., Portland, ME, 04103, United States
The Center for Global Humanities at the University of New England will be hosting Anthropologist and Colby College Professor Catherine Besteman who will be speaking on the immigration debate in Maine. Reception at 5 pm in the UNE Art Gallery, followed by the lecture at 6 pm in the WCHP Lecture Hall in Parker Pavilion.

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POETRY: Reading by Chen Chen
2018-11-07 17:00 - 18:30 | Miller Library, Colby College, 5100 Mayflower Hill Dr, Waterville, ME, 04901, United States
Chen Chen is the author of When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities, which was longlisted for the National Book Award and won the A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize, the GLCA New Writers Award, and the Thom Gunn Award for Gay Poetry. His work appears in many publications, including Poetry, Tin House, The New York Times Magazine, The Best American Poetry, and The Best American Nonrequired Reading. He is the 2018-2020 Jacob Ziskind Poet-in-Residence at Brandeis University. He lives with his partner and their pug dog, Mr. Rupert Giles.
Part of the Colby College Visiting Writers Series. Chen appears as the Kristina Stahl Writer-in-Residence.

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PANEL: IXNOS Artists Discussion
2018-11-07 17:30 - 19:00 | USM Glickman Library, Room 423/4, 314 Forest Ave., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
IXNOS (which means “trace” in Greek) will focus on Lesvos, one of the most significant locations involved in the current worldwide movement of migrants and refugees. This year Portland celebrates its 15 year anniversary of its sister-city relationship with Mytilene, Lesvos. The island is also a major world center for bird migration. The exhibit will consist of photographs, art work, portfolio books, texts and artifacts relating to these paths of migration through the island. In addition to work by Allen-Efstathiou and Snell, featured will be photographs by Michael Honegger of Nice, France; maps by Dr. Irwin Novak, plus work by Jeff and Lydia Badger, and members of the Peregrine Press -- Jessyca Broekman, Kate Chappell, Delphine Sherin, Kit Browne Pike, Susan Amons, Debbie Schmitt, Kate Katomski and others.
Hosted by the Hellenic Society of Maine with support from Peregrine Press.
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FILM: Immigration and Popular Culture
2018-11-07 18:00 - 20:00 | Auburn Hasty Community Center, 46 Pettengil Park, Auburn, ME, 04210, United States
Screening of The Search for General Tso by Ian Chenney. As much an immigration history as a culinary one, this entertaining and informative documentary uses the ubiquitous Americanized Chinese dish, General Tso’s chicken, as a lens onto a larger story of migration, adaptation and innovation in American popular culture. Early on, the film poses the question, “If Chinese Americans comprise only 1% of the U.S. population, why are there Chinese restaurants in almost every city across America?” The filmmakers seek the answer in a thoughtful journey through the Chinese American experience, from the arrival of boatloads of immigrants to take part in the Gold Rush and the building of the railroads in the 19th century, all the way to the age of Panda Express.
Part of Becoming American: A Documentary Film and Discussion Series on Our Immigration Experience. The Becoming American series is a three-month public program featuring documentary film screenings and moderated discussions designed to encourage an informed discussion of immigration issues against the backdrop of our immigration history.
Please register to attend here. Sponsored by Museum L-A.

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CONVERSATION: The Stranger and the Spiritual
2018-11-07 21:00 - 21:30 | Portland Stage, 25 Forest Ave., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
A discussion with a Rabbi and an Imam about their faiths, and about what different scriptures say with regard to how we care for those we don't know. Following the 7:30pm performance of Refuge *Malja* ملج at Portland Stage.

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PANEL: Immigrant Advocacy in Maine
2018-11-08 12:00 - 13:00 | Rhines Auditorium, Portland Public Library, 5 Monument Way, Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Join us for a panel discussion about Immigrant Advocacy in Maine, hosted by Portland Press Herald reporter, John Richardson. Panelists will talk about advocacy and programs to support Maine immigrants.
Panelists include:
Juliet Brown from the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP),
Hannah DeAngelis, Director of Refugee Resettlement at Catholic Charities
Dinah Minot, Director of the Creative Portland, City of Portland
TBA
Find more information at Portland Public Library.

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Meredith Host: Windgate Visiting Artist Lecture
2018-11-08 12:00 - 13:00 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Meredith Host: Windgate Visiting Artist Lecture
Thursday November 8, 2018. 12–1pm
Porteous Building, Osher Hall, second floor

Meredith Host was born and raised in Detroit Rock City and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics from Kansas City Art Institute in 2001. Meredith has spent time at numerous ceramic residencies including The School for American Crafts at RIT in Rochester, NY, Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, ME, and Dresdner Porzellan Manufactory in Dresden, Germany. At Watershed, Meredith was the 2005 Salad Days Artist where she designed and produced 500 salad plates for their annual fundraiser. In 2008, she completed her Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics from The Ohio State University . In 2011, Meredith was named one of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Emerging Artists as well as one of the Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artists. Meredith lives in Kansas City, MO where she is a full time studio potter. She is a core member of the Kansas City Urban Potters.
Funded through the generous support of the Windgate Charitable Foundation.

Header Photography: Jason Bradbury; courtesy of the artist

FILM: There is My Home
2018-11-08 16:00 - 18:00 | Room 108, USM, Lewiston Campus, 51 Westminster St, Lewiston, ME, 04240, United States
The University of Southern Maine Food Studies Program presents There is My Home on November 8, 2019 at 4pm in room 108 of USM's Lewiston campus.
This 30-minute documentary features Hawa Ibrahim and Batula Ismail, two women trying to support their families as farmers in Maine. Born and raised in the Jubba River Valley of Somalia, both learned to farm at a young age from their parents. When civil war broke out in 1991, their villages were repeatedly raided for food. Thousands of friends, family and fellow villagers were brutally killed. Hawa and Batula fled and eventually reached safety in refugee camps in Kenya. In 2004, they were resettled in Dallas and Baltimore respectively. But they struggled to adapt to city life. In 2004 they learned of a place called Lewiston, Maine — a small northern city close to farmland. That's where this story begins.

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MUSIC + POETRY: Culture and Displacement | hosted by Maine College of Art & Design
2018-11-08 17:00 - 18:30 | Maine College of Art & Design, 522 Congress Street, Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Musicians from Palaver Strings will collaborate with Portland based Iraqi immigrants Kifah Abdulla and Jawad Al-Fatlawi to showcase the experiences of Iraqi immigrants in Maine through spoken word and music. Kifah Abdulla, a poet and artist will share his personal narrative through spoken word while Jawad Al-Fatlawi, a oud player, composer, and oud maker, will present his story through his instrument. Palaver musicians will support the two musicians through new arrangements of Iraqi songs and through improvisational accompaniment to the verbal story. They will be joined by poets and writers Reza Jalali and Ekhlas Ahmed who will read from their work.
As a musician-led ensemble, Palaver is driven by collaborative processes, through which its Co-Artistic Directors share musical and administrative leadership. While each member of the ensemble brings unique experiences to the table, they share a passion for taking classical music beyond the concert hall to engage with new and diverse audiences. In these personal, unconventional settings, Palaver strives to use music to address social issues, promote education and healing, and inspire peers and community to support the arts.
This event will be hosted in the Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA&D.

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Traces | MUSIC + POETRY: Culture + Displacement | @ MECA&D
2018-11-08 17:00 - 18:30 | Maine College of Art & Design, 522 Congress Street, Portland, ME, 04101, United States

FILM: Human Flow by Ai Weiwei
2018-11-08 19:00 - 21:30 | Olin Arts Center, Bates College, 75 Russell St., Lewiston, ME, 04240, United States
Human Flow is director and artist Ai Weiwei's detailed and heartbreaking exploration into the global refugee crisis.
More than 65 million people around the world have been forced from their homes to escape famine, climate change and war, the greatest displacement since World War II. Filmmaker Ai Weiwei examines the staggering scale of the refugee crisis and its profoundly personal human impact. Over the course of one year in 23 countries, Weiwei follows a chain of urgent human stories that stretch across the globe, including Afghanistan, France, Greece, Germany and Iraq.
Hosted by the Bates College Museum of Art.

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LECTURE: Understanding Violence in Central Africa, Laura Seay
2018-11-09 12:00 - 13:00 | Chace Community Forum, 178 Main St, Waterville, ME, 04901, United States
Understanding Violence in Central Africa
From Laura Seay:
"I am an assistant professor of Government at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. My research is centered around the study of community responses to conflict and U.S. foreign policy in Africa’s Great Lakes region. I am currently finishing a book, Substituting for the State, about the role non-state actors play in governing the eastern DRC in response to the Congolese state’s weakness in North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri. I am also engaged in a new project on the effects of U.S. legislation designed to mitigate conflict in central Africa and in 2014, I am leading an impact evaluation of a large community-based reconstruction (CBD) governance intervention in four Congolese provinces.
My research and teaching interests include qualitative and mixed methods, African politics and development, and post-conflict state reconstruction. I have also worked with the World Bank in Nigeria on efforts to improve the national primary health care system through evaluating the implementation of a results-based finance system, with particular attention to reducing instances of maternal, infant, and child mortality by removing demand-side barriers to system access.
At Colby, I teach African politics, conflict, and research methods. I blog about African politics, development, and security at Texas in Africa and am a contributor to the Duck of Minerva, the Christian Science Monitor’s Africa Monitor blog, and The Atlantic.com."
Find out more about this event on the Mid-Maine Global Forum website.

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FILM: Infiltrators by Khaled Jarrar | Maine College of Art & Design
2018-11-09 18:00 - 20:00 | Maine College of Art & Design, 522 Congress Street, Portland, ME, 04101, United States
The checkpoint is closed: “Detour, detour!” shouts a taxi driver, announcing the beginning of yet another uncertain search for a way around the barriers curtailing Palestinian movement in the West Bank.
Infiltrators is a visceral “road movie” that chronicles the daily travails of Palestinians of all backgrounds as they seek routes through, under, around, and over a bewildering matrix of barriers.
Following this high stakes “game” of cat and mouse with a handheld video camera, Khaled Jarrarʼs debut documentary was the standout success at the 2012 Dubai International Film Festival, winning the Muhr Arab Documentary Prize, the Special Jury Prize, and the International Critics Prize.
Maine College of Art & Design MFA'19 candidate Inass Yassin will introduce the film, and lead a short discussion after the screening.
This event will take place in MECA&D's Osher Hall.

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Traces | FILM: Infiltrators by Khaled Jarrar | @ MECA&D
2018-11-09 18:00 - 20:00 | Maine College of Art & Design, 522 Congress Street, Portland, ME, 04101, United States

Empower the Immigrant Woman Conference
2018-11-10 09:00 - 20:00 | USM Wishcamper Center, 34 Bedford St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
With a mission to “Empower, Educate & Inspire the Immigrant Woman”, EIW works to motivate Maine’s immigrant women to, with the League of Women Voters, highlight voting engagement issues specific to their mission, raise awareness of their challenges, and honor their community “Trailblazers”. The all-day conference will kick off at 9am with a Forum whose goal will be to educate the newest Americans on the programs and services available to address education, social and challenges faced. Join us at 6pm as we recognize trailblazer women who are serving and changing Maine communities with their work in specific immigrant communities in Maine, across America, and abroad.
Morning events at USM Wishcamper Center
9am - 1pm - Conference Program Flow
11:30 - 1pm Resource Fair Display & Networking with Service Providers
***PLEASE NOTE AFTERNOON CHANGE OF VENUE TO CONGREGATIOM BET HA'AM (81 Westbrook St, South Portland, ME 04106)***
5:30pm Pre-event Reception
6:30pm· Evening Trailblazer Celebration

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November Open House: BFA Admissions
2018-11-10 10:30 - 15:00 | Porteous Building, Maine College of Art & Design, 522 Congress Street, Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Visit MECA&D for an Open House!
Come see first-hand why students are choosing to study in MECA&D's close-knit community and rigorous artistic programs. At an Open House, you'll have a chance to:

Get to know faculty and current students
Take a tour of our studios and res halls
Have your portfolio reviewed with professional artists
Explore the vibrant art scene in downtown Portland, Maine

This Open House is specifically designed for students interested in our BFA program — we'll send you more information upon registration.
Sign up below!
If you have any questions about our Open Houses, you can contact us at admissions@meca.edu or 207.699.5026.

BOOKS: I'm Your Neighbor at the Harlow Gallery
2018-11-10 11:00 - 13:00 | Harlow Gallery, 100 Water Street, Hallowell, ME, 04347, United States
Welcoming Immigrants with Literature
As part of the Maine Migrations statewide celebration, we are honoring the contribution that children’s literature plays in the larger immigration conversation. Author and illustrator Anne Sibley O’Brien will share her new picture book SOMEONE NEW, the companion to her award-winning I’M NEW HERE. In her interconnected books, "new arrival" students and "long term” students explore belonging and friendship. Anne will be joined by Kirsten Cappy of I’m Your Neighbor Books who will share other books set in immigrant communities. Additionally they will demonstrate how Maine has taken the lead nationally on using children’s books to welcome immigrants with the creation of the Welcoming Library. Audience members will have the opportunity to purchase immigration titles to benefit of local schools and the Welcoming Library will be available to view until 11/29/18.

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WORKSHOP: Multi-generational Art Workshop with Pamela Moulton & Titi de Baccarat
2018-11-10 11:00 - 15:00 | Meeting Room 1, Portland Public Library, 5 Monument Way, Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Join teaching artists Pamela Moulton and Titi de Baccarat for a multi-generational art workshop on Saturday, November 10 between 11:00am and 3:00pm. The artists will work with Adults, Children and Teens to create imaginary, surreal, multi-cultural houses to be suspended on an interactive papermache tree which will be kept on display at Portland Public Library and/or bring their creations home.
Pamela Moulton, currently resides in Maine after spending 23 years in France. A Pennsylvania-born, Franco-American artist, Pamela is sculptor and installation artist. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont and Villa Arson, France. Pamela worked in New York as a set designer and art director while continuing to exhibit abroad as a fine artist. Motherhood brought her to Europe where she received her MFA from the Ecole Supérieure d’Art d’ Aix and studied choreography and education at IUFM Blois.
Titi de Baccarat is an artist who possesses many facets at once painter, sculptor, jeweler, clothing designer, and writer. Dedicated to justice in a hostile political context, he was forced to flee his country, Gabon, with only the wealth of his artistic ability. He has lived in Portland since February 2015. He believes that Art rehabilitates love, bringing together people of all countries, of all backgrounds, of all cultures, and all ethnicities. His upcoming work as a Printers Without Margins fellow will describe his experiences as an immigrant in the United States: his pain, fear, uncertainty, and his hope for his future here. “Immigration is not a color, it is pain and hope.”
Find more information at Portland Public Library.

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MUSIC + POETRY: Arabic Culture Night | Cony High School
2018-11-10 18:00 - 20:00 | Cony High School, 60 Pierce Drive, Augusta, ME, United States
Arabic Culture Night
Featuring Music by Jawad Al-Fatlawi and Poetry by Kifah Abdullah.
This event is co- sponsored by the Capital Area New Mainers Project and Augusta English-Languae Learners Program at Cony High School.
Refreshments following the performance.

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CONVERSATION: Artist as Activist
2018-11-11 15:30 - 16:00 | Portland Stage, 25 Forest Ave., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
A post show discussion with the actors engaged in the creation of Refuge *Malja* ملجأ following the 2pm matinee at Portland Stage.

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THEATER: American Dreams | An original play by Linda Britt
2018-11-11 16:00 - 18:00 | First Universalist Church of Auburn, 169 Pleasant St., Auburn, ME, 04210, United States
“American Dreams” is an original play by Linda Britt with monologues that focus on the immigrant experience in the U.S., an experience which varies widely depending on country of origin, race, religion, age, and location. The monologues allow the actors to tell the story of each immigrant character, and focus on the aspect of their immigration story that is most meaningful to them. There are 26 monologues total; the producing company may do as few as ten or as many more as they choose.
Sponsored by Museum L-A.

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CONVERSATION: Assimilation: What must we give—and give up—to be American?
2018-11-11 18:30 - 20:30 | Beth Israel Congregation, 291 Main St., Waterville, ME, 04903, United States
Part of the Community Conversations series, co-hosted by Beth Israel Congregation and the Center for Small Town Jewish Life. Entering its third year, Community Conversations aims to bring together college students with the local community to talk about issues of common concern. It brings top-notch speakers to Beth Israel Congregation for an hour-long educational program followed by an hour for attendees to have discussions about core questions facing the community.

The theme for the 2018-2019 academic year is "Home."

Community Conversations is funded in part through a generous grant from the Maine Humanities Council.

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