Two New Percent for Art Competitions Offer $50,000 Each

The Maine Arts Commission is seeking applications for two new Percent for Art competitions; one is in Ellsworth and the other Falmouth.

For the Ellsworth competition, the agency is making a call to all artists living in Maine or those who have strong personal and professional ties to the state. Artists are invited to submit proposals to design, create and install artwork at the Ellsworth Elementary-Middle School. The total project budget is $50,000 and the submission deadline is May 20, 2010.
The art selection committee for the Ellsworth site is looking for art that focuses more on the future of the school, both in terms of the changing city, and the dynamic and modern architectural features that the new school provides. Areas that are under consideration for this call are the main entrance corridor, the library and the main entrance itself. Full details of this call are available in the Percent for Art section of MaineArts.com.

For the Falmouth competition, the Maine Arts Commission is making a call to all artists living in North America to submit proposals to design, create and install artwork at the Falmouth Elementary School Percent for Art site. The total project budget is $50,000 and the submission deadline is June 1, 2010.
The Committee is looking for art proposals that are appropriate for Pre-K-5th grade students but also challenges them by providing another educational experience as they progress through their development at the school. The piece(s) should also have relevance to staff, parents and the community at large. Although the community is proud of its historic past, the selection committee requests artists to propose projects that look toward to its future and reflects the modern design of the new building, addressing the unique architectural features of the building.
Areas that are being considered for this call are the entry atrium, which has two large walls on either side, or the green roof feature between an outdoor botanical classroom and large windows that look into the atrium. Full details of this call are available in the Percent for Art section of MaineArts.com.

Major Movie Producers to Meet With Governor Today

An article in today's Portland Press Herald details a meeting today in Augusta where the producers of a major movie about the Wyeth family will discuss the possibility of shooting large portions of the movie in Maine. The producers will meet with Governor John Baldacci and representatives of various state agencies.

Image: Governor Baldacci with Lea Girardin as the Governor signs LD 1449, “An Act to Expand Tax Incentives for Visual Media Productions,” into law.

The meeting will be facilitated by Donna McNeil, Director of the Maine Arts Commission and Lea Girardin of the Maine Film Office. Representatives of the Finance Authority of Maine and the Department of Economic and Community Development will also be present.

Read the entire article, written by Bob Keyes, on the Portland Press Herald website.

Poetry Out Loud Update From Washington

William Whitham majestically recited his poems this morning at the Lisner Auditorium. He received an incredible response from the audience and progressed through the first round of the competition to face stiff opposition in the second round.

William's second round recital was of the highest quality but unfortunately the judges could only pick three students from among the 18 competing and William was not selected to proceed to the grand final tomorrow evening.

National Finals of Poetry Out Loud Underway

At 9:00 am on Monday, William Whitham from Bangor High School will take to the stage in the Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University (GWU) in Washington, D.C. to represent Maine in the national final of Poetry Out Loud.

William is in the nation’s capital for the second year running after finishing in the top 12 of the contest last year. Once again he will compete against 53 champions from every state and territory in what has been an incredible year for this competition which began with over 400,000 students competing across the country.

During the final William will recite three poems from memory in front of an audience of up to 1,000 people. The poems he has selected for the final are “Come up from the Fields Father” by Walt Whitman; "Doña Josefina Counsels Doña Concepción Before Entering Sears" by Maurice Kilwein Guevara; and "Alabanza: in Praise of Local 100" by Martín Espada.

The schedule for William is rather grueling. After an opening banquet Sunday night, William competes in the first of the semifinals on Monday morning. On Tuesday morning there is a Congressional Breakfast in the Cannon House Office Building where William will meet with Senator Susan Collins, Senator Olympia Snowe and Congressman Michaud before being whisked back to the GWU in order to compete in the grand final (reliant upon his performance in the semifinals).

William’s family is here in D.C to cheer him on, and we are sure that there will be many well wishers back in Maine sending their positive thoughts.

You can follow Williams’s progress in the contest through the Maine Arts Commission’s tweets by visiting, http://twitter.com/MaineArts.

Maine’s Second Congressional District 2010 Congressional Art Contest Winner Announced

Anna Smedley
SelfPortrait
2009

Today, Congressman Mike Michaud announced that Anna Smedley of Lewiston High School is Maine’s Second Congressional District winner of the 2010 Congressional High School Art Competition.

“The students competing in this art competition always remind me of the tremendous skill and promise among our young adults in Maine,” said Michaud. “I appreciate all those who participated this year and the tremendous role that the Maine Arts Commission played in the competition.”

Each year, thousands of students from around the country enter the Congressional High School Art Competition. One winner is chosen from each congressional district, and their artwork is hung for one year in the U.S. Capitol Building. The winner from each congressional district is eligible for a scholarship to the Savannah College of Art and will be flown to Washington, DC by Southwest Airlines for the official opening of the show in June. The Maine winner and runners-up will be honored at a reception at the Blaine House on May 15th.

“Walking by the artwork in Washington reminds members of Congress and their staff of their states and districts,” said Michaud. “Seeing the artwork as I go to vote or attend meetings in the Capitol Building is always a warm reminder of home.”

Anthony Shostak, Education Curator for the Bates College Museum of Art, and Robyn Holman, Curator of Atrium Art Gallery at the University of Southern Maine, Lewiston-Auburn College, judged the art work submitted for the competition, which was managed by the Maine Arts Commission.

“The jurors were impressed by the self-portraits done from direct observation,” said Shostak and Holman, referring to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place portraits. “While holding to the traditional format of portraiture, the paintings remained fresh and creative. Each carefully considered composition conveyed a sense of the artist's searching gaze, intense sustained effort, and confident skill in handling paint in a manner appropriate to the academic or expressionist style of the painting. Through the timeless endeavor of self-portraiture, the students reference a venerable art historical tradition that connects them to the greatest artists of all time.”

In addition to the winner, the jury also chose the following runners-up for the Second Congressional District:

•First Runner Up: Matthew McKeown, Oak Hill High School, Self Portrait, oil on canvas (image above center)
•Second Runner Up: Rebecca Spilecki, Lewiston High School, Reflection, oil on canvas (image above)
•Honorable Mentions: Siobhan McCarthy, Bangor High School, Fallen Figure, mixed media; Tristan Herbold, Bangor High School, Cartoonz, mixed media

Maine Arts Commission Director Interviewed on MPBN Television

Donna McNeil, director of the Maine Arts Commission, was interviewed on MPBN recently as part of the Conversations with Maine series. This series introduces influential people within Maine to a wider audience. The entire video is viewable now on the website of MPBN.

Emmy winning interviewer Frank Ferrel introduces many thought-provoking topics throughout this conversation. The discussion includes the importance of arts in education, the creative economy, the business of being an artist and importance of artists to our everyday lives.

Enjoy this wonderful piece of advocacy for the arts in Maine and beyond.

Click for video.

Berwick student wins Congressional Art Competition

Amanda Morin’s photograph (above) will hang in the halls of Congress
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree announced today that the artwork of Noble High School student Amanda Morin of Berwick has been chosen, through a process overseen by the Maine Arts Commission, to hang at the U.S. Capitol building. As the local winner of the 2010 Congressional High School Art Competition, Morin’s digital photograph will represent Maine’s 1st District in an exhibition that features artwork from every Congressional District in the country.

“Congratulations to all the students who participated this year—I was really impressed by the caliber of the submissions,” said Pingree. “I’m proud that Amanda’s striking photo will represent our district and show everyone in Washington what strong artistic talent we have in Maine.”

Portland Museum of Art Curator Sage Lewis and Michelle Lewis, Chair of Art Education at Maine College of Art, judged the competition.

“This photograph demonstrates an intimate multi layered look at a sleeping figure,” the two judges said of Morin’s winning piece, an untitled photograph that overlays several components. “The contrast of the hard edge of the architecture with the skin and softness of the fabric is mirrored in the way dark and light, night and day play in the composition. It’s evocative of a dream state and the unique sense of space that is inherent in the processing of multiple thoughts and images.”

Nearly 50 submissions were sent in this year from across the district. Second place was awarded to Madeline Bunker of Wells High School for her pencil drawing Circles (above), and third place to David Brann of Mount Ararat High School for his photograph Watching the World Go By (below). Honorable mentions were given to Emma Cameron of Kents Hill School and Harold Luttrell of Lakes Region High School.Images of the top-five finishing pieces can be seen online.

All five students—along with their families and art teachers—will be honored by Governor Baldacci at a Blaine House reception on Saturday, May 15. Morin will be flown to Washington, D.C., for the exhibit’s opening in June.

Results from the 2nd congressional district will be published shortly.

If you are looking for something to do this weekend, look no further than the Festival of the Book in Portland.

The fourth annual Maine Festival of the Book will take place in Portland April 9-11, with a full day of free programs Saturday, April 10 at the University of Southern Maine’s Abromson Center. Programs are unticketed, with the exception of Opening Night: An Evening with Tess Gerritsen and Anita Shreve on Friday evening, April 9 at USM.

The festival is designed to appeal to readers with a range of interests and gives the public the chance to learn what goes on behind the scenes when producing a book. The festival is presented by the nonprofit Maine Reads, in collaboration with organizations statewide and is chaired by First Lady Karen M. Baldacci.

The festival’s goal is to encourage a dialogue between authors and readers through programs. Many of the programs will feature two authors engaged in a discussion that captures an aspect of their writing; these subjects may include memoir, biography, gardening, architecture and fiction writing. Question and answer periods, as well as book signings, follow.

Free, unticketed programming for all ages and interests starts Saturday, April 10 at 9 am and runs through the weekend. Concurrent programs will run from 9 am to 5 pm at the Abromson Center at the University of Southern Maine in Portland.

Visit the Maine Reads website for all the details of this weekend's event.

New incentives for Maine visual media producers!

If you are a film or video maker and you have a project that plans to spend at least $75,000 on production expenses in Maine, then you may qualify for the The Maine Visual Media Incentive!

The production incentives include:

• A wage-tax rebate of 12% of wages for each resident hired
• A wage-tax rebate of 10% of wages for each non resident hired
• An income tax rebate for investors in media projects
• No state sales/use taxes on production items
• No state sales tax on purchases of most fuel and electricity for productions
• Reimbursement on lodging taxes for stays of 28 days or more
• And much more

For more information about this exciting new incentive program visit the Maine Film Office at http://www.filminmaine.com/incentives/default.aspx.

Maine Arts Commission Director to Feature on MPBN Television

Maine Arts Commission director will be featured on Conversations With Maine on MPBN television this Thursday night at 8:30 pm.

Interviewer Frank Ferrel  has received three Emmy nominations for his work on Made in Maine and won an Emmy for the episode entitled “Small Boats.”
Frank is an experienced broadcaster with 13 years producing and hosting news and features for the broadcast service of the Christian Science Monitor winning national awards.

Frank lives in Bath, where he pursues an active interest in traditional music and folklore. He is an accomplished fiddle player and has published three collections of traditional fiddle music, one of which was chosen by the Library of Congress to include on their select list of 25 Representative Recordings of American Folk Music.

Who better then to interview the agency’s director and to ask her questions about the arts in Maine? This is sure to be a not to be missed episode that will highlight Maine’s cultural sector.

This television broadcast will be repeated on MPBN radio at 12:30 pm, on Wednesday, April 14.

Poetry Out Loud Video

Enjoy the highlights of the 2010 Maine State Final of Poetry Out Loud. This competition began with over 4,000 students competing across Maine, and ended at the Waterville Opera House with 10 state finalists.

This video contains footage of the students competing at the final, and it also includes behind the scenes interviews with the students as they give their views on poetry and being part of the Poetry Out Loud competition here in Maine.

Young Artists Honored at the Blaine House

Maine’s First Lady, Karen M. Baldacci, welcomed young artists from 11 schools to the Blaine House this week to honor their participation in the Maine Youth Excellence in Art program.
Students from Readfield Elementary School, Maranacook Middle School, Wiscasset High School, Indian Island School, Riley School, Viola Rand School, East Grand School, Brunswick High School, Waterville High School, Dr. Lewis S. Libby School and Madison Area Memorial High School, came to the Blaine House to receive medallions, certificates and the applause of their fellow artists and well wishers; none more so than Maine’s First Lady who was responsible for starting this program in 2004.

“In the last six years, the Maine Youth Excellence in Art program has given young artists from all of Maine's 818 public and private K-12 schools an opportunity to have their artwork exhibited in Augusta,” said the First Lady. “To date, more than 500 student works have been shown in the state capital, and showcasing student art is a wonderful way to create a vibrant space for our governor, legislature, citizens and visitors to enjoy.”