Maine Arts Commission

10/20/2026

Creativity Builds Connection: ▶️Watch the Full Program!

Couldn’t join us in Portland or online? Now you can catch the whole thing on demand.

Back in August, the Crewe Center for the Arts was packed for Creativity Builds Connection: Arts, Health, and Well-Being in Maine, a statewide gathering held during a visit from National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Mary Anne Carter. The program features presentations, panel discussions, and a grants workshop with staff from the NEA and Maine Arts Commission.

The full recording is available as a resource, whether you missed the event or want to revisit the conversations and information shared throughout the day.

Click the link below to watch the full video:
https://youtu.be/r5Ji1CoBj-o?si=NnaRsgdI3uz3rUJR

10/16/2026

We had a great time at the opening of Because the Sky is Blue at the CMCA in Rockland!

It explores painting in all its forms, along with sculpture, photography, prints, and film. The work invites you to slow down, look a little closer, and see things from a different perspective.

We especially enjoyed seeing the beautiful night skies of artist Vija Celmins, whose intricate prints are something else up close.

If you’re in Rockland, stop by and spend some time with this exhibition. It’s well worth a visit! Featuring artists: Clémentine Adou, Wilfrid Almendra, Bo Bartlett, Vija Celmins, Selena Kimball, Ryosuke Kumakura, Glenn Ligon, Sharon Lockhart, Matthew Metzger, Julie Poitras Santos, and Miao Wang.

10/16/2026

🌲Pinecone Pair with Tassel is now a permanent fixture on the historic grounds of the Blaine House!

What a perfect fall day we had to celebrate the unveiling of this beautiful work of public art by Maine metal artist Patrick Plourde.

Made entirely from reclaimed hand tools, the two pinecones are positioned to catch the changing light and cast interesting shadows throughout the day. They’ll look different from every angle and in every season, from the bright colors of fall to a fresh blanket of snow. And they’ll be there for generations to come.

It took a lot of good people working together to make this happen. The Friends of the Blaine House raised the funds privately to purchase the sculpture, while the Maine Arts Commission led the statewide artist selection process in collaboration with the Blaine House Commission and the Office of Governor Janet Mills

A special congratulations to Patrick, whose imagination transformed a collection of tools into a beautiful tribute to Maine’s state flower, and a work of art that feels right at home. A pretty wonderful day for public art in Maine. Stay tuned for the full video! ✨

10/15/2026

10/12/2026

On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we’re thinking back to a gathering that felt especially connected to the this place we now call Maine.

On September 29, Shared Tables, Shared Stories traveled north to The Gathering Place in Millinocket, a 50-acre property along the Penobscot watershed owned and operated by Wabanaki Public Health & Wellness (WPHW). The land is an important part of WPHW’s culturally-centered approach to healing, land, culture, ceremony and community.

After a tour of the Medicine Trail, neighbors and friends gathered inside and filled tables with the fall harvest and shared stories. We listened to one another and enjoyed the grace of being together.

As we recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we’re grateful for the reminder that creativity and  connection are forms of healing and stewardship. They ask us to pay attention and care for the creatures, the land, the air, the waters and one another, and to honor the knowledge and traditions carried across generations.

Our deep thanks to WPHW CEO Lisa Sockabasin (Passamaquoddy Tribe at Motahkomikuk) and the entire Wabanaki PHW team for welcoming us so graciously to The Gathering Place and for sharing this beautiful place with us. And deepest thanks to friends, new and old, who joined us around the table.

  
creativitybuildsconnection

10/08/2026

Less than a week to go!

The deadline for the 2027 Maine Artist Fellowships is coming up next Wednesday, October 14.

Six Maine artists will receive $5,000 fellowships recognizing artistic excellence and sustained commitment to their practice.

Fellowships are available in:

Fine Craft
Performing Arts
Literary Arts
Traditional Arts
Visual Arts
Media Arts & Photography, with Photography joining as a new category this year.

If an application has been sitting on your to-do list, this is your sign to get it across the finish line.

Deadline: October 14 at 5 p.m.

Learn more and apply at the link below:

https://mainearts.maine.gov/Pages/Funding/Individual-Artist-Fellowships

📷 2026 Maine Performing Arts Fellow Kate Russell during a performance of where the river widens (panawáhpskə́wihtəkʷ), an original community-devised outdoor play co-created and directed by Russell in partnership with Wabanaki REACH . Photo by Dan Ratjer.

10/07/2026

What if we treated public art like medicine?

That’s the idea Maine Arts Commission Executive Director Amy Hausmann explores in her essay, Art Is Medicine: The Case for Public Art as Our Most Essential Prescription, featured in TEMPOart Portland 's newest publication, The Shared Space.

We look at the ways art in our shared spaces can do more than make a place beautiful. It can help us feel connected, create a sense of belonging, strengthen our relationship to place, and remind us that public space really does belong to all of us.

The Shared Space is a love letter to public art, packed with stories about artists and projects in Portland and across Maine, plus a statewide guide to public art worth getting out and seeing for yourself.

So grab a coffee and spend a little time with some good art and good ideas. Read the full digital issue of The Shared Space in the link in the link below:

https://mainearts.maine.gov/Postings/Blogs/Detail/ART-IS-MEDICINE-The-case-for-public-art-as-our-most-essential-prescription

10/06/2026

Hope everyone got to get out and enjoy the beautiful Maine Craft Weekend we just had!

We had the pleasure of kicking things off Friday evening at Watershed Ceramics for the opening of Mentors + Apprentices: Work from the 2026 Craft Apprentice Program.

The exhibition brings together work from seven mentor-apprentice pairs who spent months working side by side, learning techniques and sharing their knowledge.

Shown here are works by ceramic artists Malley Weber (mentor) and Michelle “Misha” Oraa Ali (apprentice), fiber artist Travis Clough (mentor), ceramic artists Tyler Gulden (mentor) and Janet Moran (apprentice), and Jason Fox (mentor) and Zachary Sherman (apprentice), whose work explores traditional Japanese joinery and frame design.

And the exhibition isn’t finished yet! The work will travel next to the League of NH Craftsmen in Concord, where it will be on view November 5 through December 4, with an opening reception November 5.

Congratulations to all of this year’s mentors and apprentices, and to everyone who made Maine Craft Weekend another great celebration of craft!

10/02/2026

On our way back from northern Maine, we stopped in for a visit at nibezun , a Wabanaki-run organization along the Penobscot River.

We met up with co-directors Charlene Huerth and Kage Johnson, who showed us around this sacred land. We walked parts of the Medicine Trail and learned more about the deep history of Wabanaki people in this place, now known as Olamon Island, and the work that went into returning the land to Wabanaki stewardship.

In the Penobscot language, “nibezun” means medicine, with its root word, nibi, meaning water — the first medicine. That connection to the river, the land, and generations of Wabanaki people is woven throughout the campus.

Today, Nibezun is a special place for healing, gathering, culture, the arts, and connection. It’s also a growing organization doing meaningful work, and we’re excited to watch what takes root.