October Open House: BFA Admissions
2019-10-19 10:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York) | 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 in your confirmation email. Sign up below!
If you have any questions about our Open Houses, you can contact us at admissions@meca.edu or 207.699.5026. Learn more about visiting MECA&D here.

Salt Online Information Session
2019-10-24 12:00 - 13:00 | ME
Salt Online Information Session
Tune in virtually on Thursday, October 24 from 12–1pm for an online info session on Salt's 15-week intensive and a live Q+A session to address any questions you may have about the program, our Salt Fellowship, and how to apply.

Hear from Colin Cheney, Salt Chair, about Salt and the Salt Diversity Fellowship
Join Joel Tsui, Salt '19 and Graduate Admissions Counselor, and Nora Boydell, Salt '19 and current Salt TA, to hear about their experiences as alumni
Learn about our one-semester graduate certificate program in storytelling (with audio and visual tracks)
Listen to short pieces from current students and Salt alumni
Ask your questions about the program, the application process, and more

Upon registration, we'll send you details and a link to the info session in your confirmation email and we'll send you a link to the recorded session to watch later as well. You can also join us directly on YouTube Live on October 24 at 12pm here.
If you have any questions about the info session, you can contact us at admissions@meca.edu or 207.699.5026. Learn more about visiting MECA&D here.

RSVP for Salt's Online Info Session

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Header Image: Nicolas Tanner, Torch, 2011

'Birds and Buildings', Nick Liadis, RA: Lecture
2019-10-30 18:00 - 19:00 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Nick G Liadis, RA
Wednesday, October 30th, 6–7pm
MECA&D, Osher Hall, Second floor
Free and open to the public
Millions of birds in North America fatally strike windows each year. Strikes can occur on any building type—from single family homes to large towers—and primarily affect migrating songbirds. The talk explores why birds strike windows and how design can help them safely navigate around buildings and cities.
Nick G Liadis is a cross-disciplinary thinker working at the interface of architecture and avian conservation biology. Trained as an architect—balancing professional practice with teaching at Carnegie Mellon and Chatham Universities—he’s defined a new approach to architecture by expanding a strong interest in the natural world, and in particular, birdlife. Central to this cross-disciplinary work is protecting birds from colliding into the windows of buildings, which occurs when they get tricked into perceiving their habitat reflected in glass.
Nick has expanded his research with appointments at the Point Reyes Bird Observatory in California, and at the Powdermill Avian Research Center and Fallingwater Institute in Pennsylvania. His bi-coastal experiences have given him tremendous insight into the struggles birds face when they encounter North American cities. This unique perspective is defined by promoting healthy landscapes across the multitude of environments that birds traverse as they migrate, from forests to cities.
As a research fellow at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Nick leverages his cross-disciplinary background with the depth of resources at the museum, such as the Bird Safe Pittsburgh Program. With his endorsement by the American Bird Conservancy and the American Institute of Architects to teach about bird-safe cities and buildings, he unites architects, planners, policy makers, and scientists around the protection of birds in cities.
This lecture is hosted by the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) at MECA&D, in conjunction with the exhibition DesignInquiry: Futurespective. On view October 4 - December 14, 2019.

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):

November Open House: MFA Admissions
2019-11-09 10:00 - 15:00 | Maine College of Art & Design, First Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Visit MECA&D for a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Open House
We invite you to join us at MECA&D on Saturday, November 9, 2019 to learn more about our MFA Program!
MECA&D’s Master of Fine Arts Program encourages each student to think across traditional academic boundaries and challenge their art practice and intellectual curiosity. Studio-based, with renowned faculty, visiting artists and carefully selected graduate advisors, the curriculum emphasizes the intersection of studio production, individual research, critical analysis, and travel to important and inspiring locations. Learn more about the MFA Program.
Schedule

Check-in with refreshments
Information session for the Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art program
Lunch
Tour of facilities & studios
Optional: Lingering questions & grad resources

November Open House: BFA Admissions
2019-11-09 10:00 - 15:00 | Maine College of Art & Design, 522 Congress Street, Portland, ME, 04101, United States

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.

Discussion with Leila Day (Co-Host of the Stoop)
2019-11-12 19:00 - 20:30 | ME
Leila Day (Co-Host of the Stoop)
Listening Session + Discussion

Tuesday, November 12, 7–8:30pm
MECA&D, Osher Hall, Second floor
Free and open to the public
Limited seating
The Stoop podcast digs into stories that are not always shared out in the open. Hosts Leila Day and Hana Baba start conversations about what it means to be black and how we talk about blackness. It’s a celebration of black joy with a mission to dig deeper into stories that we don’t hear enough about.
Leila Day is between New York and San Francisco reporting and producing for The Stoop and Pineapple Street Media.

MAT Online Information Session
2019-11-25 12:00 - 13:00 | ME
MAT Online Information Session
Tune in virtually on Monday, November 25th from 12–1pm for an online info session on MECA&D's 10-Month Master of Arts in Teaching Program. There will also be a live Q+A session to address any questions you may have about the program or the application process.
Hosted by Kelly McConnell, Director of Art Education Outreach, Chair of Art Education, Assistant Professor; Rachel Somerville, Assistant Professor of Art Education; and Joel Tsui, Graduate Admissions Counselor.

Learn about the history of the program, coursework, and teaching practices
Discuss career preparation and career transition upon graduation
Listen to questions and answers about the program, the application process, and more

You can view the live event on November 25th at 12pm via this link: youtu.be/ZTuzxgFUZJE
If you have any questions about the info session, you can contact us at admissions@meca.edu or 207.699.5023.
Learn more about visiting MECA&D here.

Header Image: Kyle Dubay '18

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.

Holiday Sale 2019
2019-12-06 17:30 - 2019-12-07 17:00 | Porteous Building, Maine College of Art & Design, 522 Congress Street, Portland, ME, 04101, United States

Performance: o t i t o | Sondra Graff + Petra van Noort
2019-12-06 18:15 - 19:30 | Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art & Design, first floor
Please join us in the Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA&D for a one-night performative dance from Sondra Graff + Petra van Noort. An event developed in collaboration with the ICA's current exhibition DesignInquiry: Futurespective, the performance will begin Friday, December 6 at 6:15PM in the ICA. Free and open to the public.

Meet the Residencies
2019-12-10 18:00 - 19:30 | ME
Meet the Residencies
Tuesday, December 10, 6pm
MECA&D, Osher Hall, Second floor
Free admission

Representatives from Maine artist residencies will offer an overview of their various programs which have or will have application processes open to Maine artists for 2020. Meet the Residencies will be held at Maine College of Art & Design on Tuesday, December 10 at 6pm, followed by a short reception and chances for attendees to talk individually with the residency program representatives.
Presenters include the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation, the Joseph A. Fiore Art Center, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Hewnoaks Artist Colony, Maine College of Art & Design Residencies, Monhegan Artist Residency, Monson Arts, and Watershed Center for the Arts.
Administrators and representatives will discuss the specifics of their residency program, which artists are a good fit, how to apply, and what makes for a successful application. Admission is free. To reserve a seat, contact artistsatwork@meca.edu or 207.699.5016.
Facebook Event Link: facebook.com/events/1360182324142275/

Header image:
Pilar Nadal, MECA&D MFA alum, during a residency at Hewnoaks.
Image credit: Alban Maino

...to unravel the bind: Maine College of Art & Design 2020 Faculty Triennial Opening Reception
2020-01-17 17:00 - 20:00 | ME
...to unravel the bind:
Maine College of Art & Design 2020 Faculty Triennial
Opening Reception
On view from January 17 – March 1, 2020
Exhibition Opening: Friday, January 17, 2020, 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 Julie Poitras Santos, and Juror Ellen Tani, Boston-based art historian and independent curator.
Is the end in sight, or can we already see the end times? In 2020, we will weather the swells and tensions of subterfuge, irreversible change, and societal forces that tend toward self-destruction. Now more than ever, we need the thinking, making, and imagining that drives artists to make work both because of and in spite of these challenges. Inevitably pulled into the fray, where there is no clear path forward, up, or out, their practices navigate shifting grounds one step at a time, adapting to uncertainty both provisionally and purposefully. To unravel the bind, some pursue processes of dismantling, yielding new spaces and material configurations. Others take up forms, materials and design once intended to visually obscure or physically confine, transforming or repurposing them into new tools and structures for generative exploration. In doing so they explore the increasingly evanescent contours of truth, knowledge, and fact, reading the world as it presents itself—in all its complexity and imbalance—even when it does not make sense.
- Ellen Y. Tani, Guest Juror

Featured Artists
Marian Baker, Stephen Benenson, Michel Droge MFA '10, Annika Earley MFA '16, John P. Gardiner '07, MFA '14, Kate Greene, Adrian King '12, Alysha Kupferer, Alex Lukas, Honour Mack, Kelly McConnell, Rachel Eleni Somerville, Ling-Wen Tsai

For more info, visit: meca.edu/to-unravel-the-bind

Featured Image: Michel Droge

Zhiwan Cheung: Artist Lecture (Sculpture + Salt)
2020-01-21 18:00 - 19:00 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Zhiwan Cheung
Visiting Artist Lecture

Tuesday, January 21, 6 pm
MECA&D, Osher Hall, Second floor
Free and open to the public
Limited seating

Zhiwan Cheung works in sculpture, film, and performance at the intersection of national identities and the personal psyche, often forging paths where they join and diverge. Zhiwan has a BFA from Cornell University and an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University. His work has been exhibited across the United States, in Korea, Germany, and Italy. He is a recent Fulbright Scholar in Germany and is currently a Professor of Media Arts at the United International College in Zhuhai, GuangDong, China.
Zhiwan Cheung is also the host of the Seeing Color Podcast, a show that talks with cultural workers and artists of color in order to expand the area of what is a predominantly white space in the arts. Find out more: seeingcolorpod.com

January Open House: MFA Admissions
2020-01-25 10:00 - 15:00 | Maine College of Art & Design, 522 Congress Street, Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Visit MECA&D for a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Open House
We invite you to join us at MECA&D on Saturday, January 25, 2020 to learn more about our MFA Program!
MECA&D’s Master of Fine Arts Program encourages each student to think across traditional academic boundaries and challenge their art practice and intellectual curiosity. Studio-based, with renowned faculty, visiting artists and carefully selected graduate advisors, the curriculum emphasizes the intersection of studio production, individual research, critical analysis, and travel to important and inspiring locations. Learn more about the MFA Program.
Schedule

Check-in with refreshments
Information session for the Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art program
Lunch
Tour of facilities & studios
Optional: Lingering questions & grad resources

Image Credit: Rand Renfrow ’18

January Open House: BFA Admissions
2020-01-25 10:00 - 15:00 | Maine College of Art & Design, 522 Congress Street, Portland, ME, 04101, United States

MAT Open House
2020-01-25 11:00 - 15:00 | Maine College of Art & Design. Room 509, Fifth Floor, 522 Congress Street, PORTLAND, ME, 04101, United States
Visit MECA&D for a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Open House
We invite you to join us at MECA&D on Saturday, January 25, 2020 to learn more about our MAT Program!
Start here. Go Anywhere. Maine College of Art & Design’s ten-month Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Program prepares artists to become effective art educators who learn to translate their unique qualities into creative teaching practices.

David Hilliard: Artist Lecture (Photography)
2020-01-30 18:00 - 19:30 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
David Hillard
Visiting Artist Lecture
Thursday, January 30, 6pm
MECA&D, Osher Hall, Second floor
Free and open to the public
Limited seating
Maine College of Art & Design and the Bakery Photo Collective are proud to present a talk with acclaimed photographer David Hilliard. Join us as he discusses the balance between autobiography and fiction that distinguishes his large-scale, multi-paneled photographs.
David Hilliard is the recipient of a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship and a Fulbright Grant. His work has been exhibited in numerous institutions including Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Kemper Art Museum, St Louis; Miami Art Museum; Addison Museum of American Art, Andover; Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, Tampa; and DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA. Hilliard’s work is represented in many public collections including Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Art Institute of Chicago; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Header image: David Hilliard, Rock Bottom, 2008

Liliana Pérez: Artist Lecture (Printmaking)
2020-02-03 18:00 - 19:00 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Liliana Pérez
Visiting Artist Lecture
Monday, February 3, 6pm
MECA&D, Osher Hall, Second floor
Free and open to the public
Limited seating

Living takes its toll and the body tells a story. Scars, hair, tattoos and blood. Fertility and waste. Self-harm and healing. Liliana Pérez-Brennan is engaged in an ongoing process of documenting stories as told by her own body as a way of taking control of her own narrative and exploring the possibilities and limitations of corporeal expression.
Pérez-Brennan received a degree in Interior Design at CEDIM (Centro de Diseño de Monterrey) and began to specialize in furniture design. She works as an independent design consultant in México City and the United States. She studied black and white analogue photography and darkroom techniques at The Gallery of Photography in Dublin, Ireland. A love for the process of developing images led her to study Printmaking, and Drawing and Visual Investigation at NCAD (National College of Art and Design) in Dublin. Upon returning to Mexico completed a lithography residency at La Ceiba Grafica in Veracruz and later studied mezzotint with Tomiyuki Sakuta. Her photographic work has appeared in Winter Papers, Abridged and The Well.
In collaboration with Mexico City-based poet, Dylan Brennan, Perez-Brennan has combined text and photography through prose poems juxtaposed against photographs as well as short fragments of text superimposed over images. She is interested in the ways an image can be transformed in the mind of the viewer and how the addition of or, indeed, subtraction of text lead an image to be read in a certain way. Unsurprisingly, in addition to poetry, advertising and online meme culture feed into this process. Contemporary media tell us how to feel and what to do on a daily basis. However, in the same way that Eisenstein, with his revolutionary concept of ideational montage, hoped to create sparks of meaning in the minds of the spectator, Pérez-Brennan aims to combine words and images in a way that is not overtly didactic or prescriptive, being more interested in the koan- like effect of these kinds of juxtapositions that may lead to quiet moments of internal reflection.

Header image: Liliana Pérez, Sundays Familiares, 2017

Katie Hudnall: Artist Lecture
2020-02-06 18:00 - 19:00 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Katie Hudnall
Visiting Artist Lecture
Thursday, February 6, 6–7pm
MECA&D, Osher Hall, Second floor
Free and open to the public
Limited seating

Katie Hudnall received her BFA from the Corcoran College of Art & Design and her MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in Furniture Design/Woodworking. Her work has been included in many publications and exhibitions including Crafting A Continuum: Rethinking Contemporary Craft, Making A Seat at the Table: Women Transform Woodworking, and in American Craft Magazine’s February/March 2017 issue. Hudnall is an Associate Professor in Furniture Design at the Herron School of Art & Design in Indianapolis, IN, where she lives, teaches, and makes tools for problems both real and imagined.
Funded through the generous support of the Windgate Charitable Foundation.

MECA&D’s Visiting Artist & Guest Lecturer Series invites professional artists, educators, curators, thought leaders, and creative entrepreneurs to present on topics of interest and importance to the MECA&D community.
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 Isabel K. Pease Trust, and friends of the College through the Osher Chair Naming Program.

Header image: Katie Hudnall, Symbiosis #4: Drawings & Drawers, 2014

Freestyle Friday (Resilience Week)
2020-02-07 20:30 - 22:00 | Cafe
Freestyle Friday
Click image for a downloadable poster
Friday, February 7 from 8:30–10pm
MECA&D, Porteous, Cafe, Second floor
Free and open to the public
Freestyle Friday will bring students together to practice different ways of sharing, listening, and cultivating collaboration while engaging in a freestyle creation of music. The participants will have the opportunity to explore hip-hop culture through the lens of artists in the community and get some tips to build confidence in public speaking using a mic.

This event is part of Resilience Week at MECA&D (February 7–14, 2020). View the event schedule and details here.

Mend the Gap: A Community Blanket (Resilience Week)
2020-02-08 11:00 - 14:00 | 380 Cumberland Avenue, 380 Cumberland Avenue, Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Mend the Gap: A Community Blanket
Click image for a downloadable poster
Saturday, February 8 from 11am–2pm
MECA&D, 380 Cumberland Avenue, Portland
Free and open to the public
Participants will be making quilt squares out of upcycled textile material. The individual squares will be sewn together to create a community blanket. Focused on collective healing through the act of patching, mending, and upcycling textiles to generate conversation surrounding the topics of diversity, representation and inclusivity through art making. The final blanket will be included in an exhibition at MECA&D called Resilience of Diversity on February 15, 2020.

This event is part of Resilience Week at MECA&D (February 7–14, 2020). View the event schedule and details here.

Navigating the Intersection: Film Festival & Panel (Resilience Week)
2020-02-08 12:00 - 22:30 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Navigating the Intersection Film Festival & Panel
Click image for a downloadable poster
Saturday, February 8 from 12–10:30pm
MECA&D, Porteous, Osher Hall, Second floor
Free and open to the public
Navigating the Intersection takes place February 8th, 2020 from 12pm-10:30 pm in Osher Hall at Maine College of Art & Design. The night is dedicated to the exploration of the intersection between gender identity, sexuality, and race within a historical and contemporary context. Some of the media that will be screened include Paris is Burning (1990), Tangerine (2015), Moonlight (2016), and more. Join us in expanding the conversation beyond what we know to explore the intersection of life, race, identity, and circumstance. Please view the film schedule calendar here.

This event is part of Resilience Week at MECA&D (February 7–14, 2020). View the event schedule and details here.

Get Down + Groove Dance Party (Resilience Week)
2020-02-09 19:00 - 22:30 | SPACE Gallery, 538 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04103, United States
Live Performance with Alejandro Graciano and DJ Session with Liz Rhaney
Click image for a downloadable poster
Sunday, February 9 from 7–10:30pm
Space Gallery, 538 Congress Street, Portland (down the street from MECA&D)
Free and open to the public
The live performance with Alejandro Graciano and DJ session with Liz Rhaney is intended to bring students together to celebrate Latin and African blues music with original poetry. The performance invites participants to explore self-expression and to experience many musical influences.

This event is part of Resilience Week at MECA&D (February 7–14, 2020). View the event schedule and details here.

Séan Alonzo Harris: Artist Lecture (Resilience Week)
2020-02-10 18:00 - 19:00 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Séan Alonzo Harris: Artist Lecture
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Monday, February 10 from 6–7pm
MECA&D, Porteous, Osher Hall, Second floor
Free and open to the public

Séan Alonzo Harris is a professional photographer and his work focuses on human experience and identity and examines how individuals visualize themselves and how they are portrayed. His images bear witness to often invisible or overlooked members of our communities, and create portraits that provide a counter-image and narrative of self-worth and personal agency.

Harris has received critical acclaim for his work, is a Kindling Fund grant recipient and was selected for the 2018 Portland Museum of Art Biennial. He has a BFA from the Art Institute of Boston and his professional practice includes collaborative, community-driven projects with nonprofit organizations.

"My work is marked by a fine art sensibility and an emphasis on environmental portraits. My creative process draws from a wide range of photographic traditions and methods and is driven by an authentic connection to my subjects and my clients. I’m genuinely curious about peoples’ lives and the experiences that shape their world.”

With support from Indigo Arts Alliance.

This event is part of Resilience Week at MECA&D (February 7–14, 2020). View the event schedule and details here.
Supported in part by the Isabel K. Pease Trust, and friends of the College through the Osher Chair Naming Program.

Resilience of Diversity: Opening Reception
2020-02-10 19:15 - 20:15 | Joanne Waxman Library
Resilience of Diversity: Opening Reception
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Monday, February 10 from 7:15-8:15pm
MECA&D, Porteous, Joanne Waxman Library, Second floor
Free and open to the public
Resilience of Diversity brings together student artists from MECA&D, alumni, faculty and members of the community to broaden the narrative of artists of color. In sharing the intimate pockets of the emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual mind of these artists, we invite you to look beyond any preconceived ideas to explore the nuances of our stories, our work, and our experiences. As makers, as humans, as a family, we share ourselves with you to expand the conversation beyond stereotypes and ignorance. We showcase the beauty and resilience of diversity while critiquing the Western art historical canon that perpetuates racist, sexist, and exclusionary pedagogy throughout art institutions. Together, the participating artists showcase the beauty of intersectionality, vulnerability and their own cultural traditions to tell the story of community, identity, resistance, and justice.

Resilience Week at MECA&D
Friday, February 7 – Friday, February 14, 2020
Brought to you by the Diversity Committee at MECA&D and the Students of Color Coalition, Resilience Week is dedicated to our mission of racial, sexual, and gender inclusivity here at MECA&D. By bringing together an exhibition, reading lists, film screenings, community meals, and workshops, we provide a network of support for those committed to fostering change here at MECA&D. Generating conversation and awareness of topics surrounding identity, race, representation, and justice we are carving a space where our students of color don’t just survive. They thrive.
View all public Resilience Week events here

Black Poets Speak Out (Resilience Week)
2020-02-11 11:00 - 12:00 | Osher Hall, Maine College of Art & Design, 2nd Floor, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Black Poets Speak Out
Click image for a downloadable poster
Tuesday, February 11 from 11am–12pm
MECA&D, Porteous, Osher Hall, Second floor
Free and open to the public
*via VideoConference
This workshop focuses on poetry’s ability to help engage communities and address social justice initiatives. As the cofounder of Black Poets Speak Out, Amanda Johnston, will lead participants through a conversation about the movement against police brutality as well as the use of art to express solidarity and transform policy.

This event is part of Resilience Week at MECA&D (February 7–14, 2020). View the event schedule and details here.
