Why Should You Attend the Juice Conference?

Juice is a two day conference, November 4 & 5, in midcoast Maine that brings creative folks into dialogue with people from all other sectors: community development, government, business, technology and education. It provides a platform for the kind of cross fertilization of ideas and expertise that enriches any practice. Check out some of the offerings below and then visit JuiceConference.org to sign up today.

Internationally renowned artist Eric Fischl will be the Juice keynote speaker on Saturday, November 5. He will speak about the risks inherent in succeeding in the art world and discuss his latest adventure America: Now and Here, which is a cross-country journey of art and ideas.

Louisa McCall, co founder of Artists in Context (AIC) will be presenting the work of Maine artists addressing issues of social importance. AIC is a flexible, New England wide organizational framework designed to assemble artists and other creative thinkers across disciplines to conceptualize new ways of representing and acting upon the critical issues of our time.

Structured as a 10-year initiative, AIC is a timely and relevant endeavor to cultivate the visions, concepts, plans and projects of contemporary creative practitioners at an historic moment of transition and necessary change. The project initially leverages the intellectual, creative and activist underpinnings of four New England areas --Greater Boston, Rhode Island, Maine and the Pioneer Valley, MA– and organizes situations for conversation, research and artistic production among individuals involved in the arts, architecture, sciences, humanities, commerce and communications.

Ben Sawyer, who is the co-founder of Digitalmill, will be presenting at Juice. Digitalmill is a games consulting firm based in Portland, Maine. Since beginning his career in game development over ten years ago, Sawyer has pioneered major initiatives in the field of serious games and has become a nationally recognized leader within the games community.

For the past seven years, Sawyer has dedicated his professional life to discovering new ways to expand the use of games beyond entertainment. In 2002, he co-founded the Serious Games Initiative, a project of the U.S. Government's Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The following year, Sawyer organized the first-ever Serious Games Summit – a conference which now attracts 300-500 attendees annually, who meet to share best practices in the development of serious games. The Serious Games Initiative continues to serve as one of the leading organizations in the field of serious games.

Over a year ago the governor of Maine and the premier of New Brunswick signed a memorandum of understanding which effectively provided the recognition and support from our mutual heads of state for international cultural exchange. They formally acknowledged that culture was of benefit to all and should be shared, nurtured and grown. Our colleagues from New Brunswick as well as the New England Foundation for the Arts will be at Juice to share their work and initiatives for the future. This is a chance for you to learn how international exchange can be a benefit to you as an artist or a member of an arts organization.


There will be a panel discussion that will focus on the opportunities in accommodating persons with disabilities in arts and cultural venues and businesses; and the challenges in managing the risks. Sixteen percent of Mainers report some type or some level of disability, and the percentage will likely increase as baby boomers encounter age related changes. What are the risks of investing in accommodation and what are the benefits?

Universal design concepts provide opportunities for designers and entrepreneurs. How can your organization incorporate existing technology to improve universal accessibility?
What low cost strategies and improvements can your business or organization adopt right now and how can you fund it? How can Universal design concepts be developed and marketed in Maine?

These are just a demonstration of the breadth of arts offerings at Juice. There are so many more avenues to explore. This event features keynote speeches, workshops, entertainment, competitions and ample time to connect with your colleagues. Sign up today at JuiceConference.org.

Maine Prepares for the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony

Artists at the Spindleworks Art Center in Brunswick are preparing to send 24 ornaments to the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in Washington, DC. Selected by the Maine Arts Commission to represent the state at this event, the artists are creating their interpretations of iconic Maine imagery on each ornament. Mediums as diverse as painting, sculpture, and weaving have been utilized by the artists working on the project so far.

Micah Webbert

"I like designing a feeling of Maine," says artist Micah Webbert as he paints balsam trees onto an ornament's surface, "I think the ornaments on the tree are going to be spectacular." Over the next month, Spindleworks artists will continue working with the plastic globes provided by the National Park Foundation, turning each one into a unique piece of art.

Multiyear Funding of up to $1 million Available to Nonprofit Arts Organizations

Sebastian Spering Kresge

Kresge Foundation's Arts and Culture Program announces final call for Facility Investment and Building Reserve Grant applications. Deadline: March 1, 2012 for preliminary applications.

Facility investment grants will prioritize renovation and repair projects. Building reserve grants are designed to seed or enhance an organization's building reserve fund for the ongoing maintenance and replacement of an organization's facilities (the program does not fund reserves solely for equipment).

Eligible applicants are nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations in the United States whose primary mission is arts and culture and Nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations that have a long-term agreement to operate a government-owned facility are eligible.

Start up organizations or those with less than two full years of operation, and organizations that are both owned and operated by a government entity are not eligible to apply.

Grant amounts will be dependent on the type of project and the size, scope, and business model of the organization. In general, multiyear institutional capitalization grants will not exceed $1 million and/or a period of three years from the time of the grant award.

Complete program information, application guidelines, and the application form are available at the Kresge Web site. http://www.kresge.org/programs/arts-culture/institutional-capitalization/facility-investments-and-building-reserves

Thank You Letter

The Maine Arts Commission received this thank you letter this morning:


October 21,2011
Hermon Middle School
29 Billings Road
Hermon, ME 04401

C/O Angela Molino
Ticket to Ride: Maine Arts Commission

Dear Angela,

It is with deep appreciation that I write this letter. Yesterday, I along with our K-8 art instructor, Mrs. Rachel Case, were able to accompany twelve identified gifted and talented visual art students to the University Of Maine Museum Of Art in downtown Bangor. The morning was spent analyzing art in various forms, from poetry to sketch. I was particularly struck by one student, who could not finish the tour because he was so focused on his work. We simply allowed him to remain in his artistic space and collected him at the end of the tour. Many students commented on how they were amazed that a Bangor museum had a Picasso! “How many kids can go home today and say they saw a Picasso?” one student marveled. My reply was, “Twelve!” And that is because of the funding provided through this program. The afternoon was spent learning about various watercolor techniques and talking about art. After lunch we took a short walk to a local artist, Andrea Hand’s studio. She shared with us the joys and challenges of being a full time artist and answered questions from our students. This experience provided students with hands on activities and critical learning that would not have been other wise gained. I can not express in words the powerful experience we had, but instead offer a heart felt thank you.

Warm Wishes,
Marcy Soucy; GT Consultant for the Hermon School District


There are limited funds left to fund student travel for your school. Please visit our website for full details of the Ticket to Ride program.

Meet the 2012 Felllowship Awardees

The Maine Arts Commission today announced the recipients of the 2012 Artists’ Fellowship Awards – one of the nation's highest awards for individual artists made by a state arts agency. The four recipients will each receive a $13,000 grant award.
This year’s four Fellows are Allen Lowe from South Portland (performing/media arts), Claire Guyton from Lewiston (literary arts), Morrigan McCarthy from Portland (visual arts) and Richard Stanley from Southwest Harbor (traditional arts).

The fellowships reward artistic excellence, advance the careers of Maine artists and promote public awareness regarding the eminence of the creative sector in Maine. The awards are made on the sole basis of artistic excellence. Each year four Fellows are selected by expert panelists who reside outside of Maine. This year approximately 200 applications were received and one recipient was chosen for each of the following categories: performing/media arts, literary arts, visual arts and traditional arts.
Allen Lowe, from South Portland, is the Maine Arts Commission’s 2012 Media and Performing Arts Fellow. He is a composer, musician, author and music historian. He plays saxophone and guitar, and has recorded with some of the major figures in Jazz, including: Julius Hemphill, Marc Ribot, Roswell Rudd, Don Byron, Doc Cheatham, and David Murray among others. He has also produced a series of historical projects on American Popular Song, Jazz, and the Blues.

“I have an ambivalent attitude toward tradition because a lot of people in the jazz world have used it as a weapon to slow the progress of the music or to work a specific aesthetic and political agenda,” Said Lowe. “On the other hand, a lack of historical awareness, which I see in local audiences, is just as problematic – it tends to lead to musical in-breeding, to the exclusion of those whose work is not immediately accessible. I can and have functioned without one, but if I had one hope for my future in Maine it would be, quite simply, for an audience.”
Claire Guyton, from Lewiston, is the Maine Arts Commission’s 2012 Literary Arts Fellow. She is a freelance writer and editor. She serves as the co-editor of “The Writing Life” section of Hunger Mountain literary journal, where she started and now anchors “Another Loose Sally,” a blog on writers and writing; introduced journal contributor interviews that she produces as a regular feature; and edits and writes other articles and essays. She earned her MFA at Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) in 2009.

“I work full-time as a short story writer and as an editor and regular contributor at the literary journal Hunger Mountain,” explained Guyton. “But it’s been almost a year since anyone has actually paid me for any of that work.
This grant came along literally the same week I was frantically reading and re-reading the (very few) want ads and wondering what part-time job I might be able to pick up. As the days pass and I actually begin to believe I've been given this astonishing gift of support, I feel mainly three things: gratitude, validation, and the freedom to put away the want ads and do my job.”
Morrigan McCarthy, from Portland, is the Maine Arts Commission’s 2012 Visual Arts Fellow. She is a documentarian, writer and multimedia producer specializing in long-term projects. She is a graduate of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Portland, Maine where she studied photography and audio production. She also holds a BA from Connecticut College in English Literature. She was selected to attend the Eddie Adams Workshop in 2007 where she won an award for outstanding work. McCarthy is a firm believer in the power of storytelling through art and her work has been seen in publications as diverse as The New York Times, Broadway World, Salt Magazine and Port City Life.

“I'm thrilled and honored to have been selected as the Maine Arts Commission 2012 Visual Fellow. Maine has an incredible community of artists and I am constantly inspired by my friends and peers who live and produce work in this ever-changing and awe-inspiring landscape. This award will afford me the ability to delve deeper into my current project and take more time to understand and photograph the unique stories of the people I meet along the journey. I offer a huge thank you to the Maine Arts Commission and to my friends, family, mentors and teachers for all their love and support. Without them, I would never have the courage to create.”
Richard Stanley, from Southwest Harbor, is the Maine Arts Commission’s 2012 Traditional Arts Fellow. He is a builder of wooden boats who learned his skills from his father Ralph W. Stanley, who was the 1999 recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship. This is the nation’s highest form of recognition for folk and traditional artists. Richard worked for his father and eventually took over the business in 2009. He is now teaching his own apprentice and together they are working on a new 19’ Friendship-Sloop influenced open sailboat.

“I’m continuing a family tradition begun by my ancestors and lived by my father Ralph Stanley. I build a strong, sturdy, seaworthy, sea kindly, beautiful traditional wooden boat… they are beautiful to look at on land or in the water, versatile and comfortable to use.

“During my time in my father’s shop, I learned from working on lots of different boats that were built by lots of different builders: Wilbur Morse, Charles Morse, Bobby Rich, Ronald Rich, Nevins, Herreshoff, Bob Direktor, Raymond Bunker, Hinckley and Farnham Butler, as well as my father. I learned how they did things – how they put things together, what worked and what didn’t. From each job, I’d incorporate what I learned into my new work. Even sanding bottoms you get a sense of different hull shapes: you can see what works and doesn’t, what looks good and what doesn’t.”
For a comprehensive look at all of this year’s individual artist grantees, visit www.MaineArts.com.

Juice Conference Update

Once again the Juice Conference has sneaked up on us and is right around the corner. This amazing conference blends technology, arts & culture, living green, community development, entrepreneurship and so much more. It is what you make of it as a participant.

For those wishing to participate, there is still time to take advantage of the early bird registration, or to enter one of the many competitions. The latest Juice update is below:

1--Early-bird pricing for the Juice Conference (a savings of $50 on a two-day conference pass) ends at midnight this Saturday, October 15. Participants who register prior to midnight on October 15 may attend both days of the conference for $175. After October 15, two-day passes may be purchased for $225. Ticket registration is available 24/7 at www.juiceconference.org

2--The Juice $150,000 Business Pitch Contest application deadline ends this Saturday, October 15 at midnight. Act soon–only 100 entrants may participate (first come, first served)! Registration is available at www.juiceconference.org

3--Entries for the Juice Film Contest must be completed by this Saturday, October 15 at midnight. The Juice Film Contest theme is tied to the Conference theme, ‘Celebrating Risk’. Filmmakers, how do you visualize risk? What does a life look like when risk is celebrated? Where does risk lead us? To enter the contest, visit www.juiceconference.org

4--More Video!
Visit the Juice Conference site for the latest information available. This just in: a video tale of risk from the Love, The Bus trio: Tyler, Corey and Seth at http://www.juiceconference.org

5--Two-Day Conference Schedule
All keynote speakers are listed on the website with the 22 sessions and six workshops coming soon. The full schedule will be ready next week for the website and program, at which time all registrants will receive an e-mail invitation to visit the website and choose their sessions. Stay tuned!

Free Travel and Price Reduction to Idea Swap!

The Maine Arts Commission is offering a deal on attending the Tenth Annual New England Idea Swap. The Maine Arts Commission will be providing shuttle service between Augusta, Portland and the conference. The agency also offering 25 percent off the registration price (down to $37.50 from $50) for Mainers using the service. Seating is limited so reserve your place now. This offer ends when the shuttle is at capacity.

The event will take place in Worcester, Massachusetts on Wednesday, November 2 (9:30am – 3:30pm). It will be an opportunity for nonprofit presenting organizations to network, share project ideas and build partnerships. The Idea Swap is hosted by the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) and connects directly to possible funding from the NEFA Expeditions grant program. Snacks and lunch are provided as part of the conference.

To reserve you place at the conference and on the shuttle contact:
Kerstin Gilg, Maine Arts Commission
207/287.6719 (kerstin.gilg@maine.gov)
(Do not register online, if you register online you will NOT get the discount)

People in the northern part of the state may want to consider traveling to Portland or Augusta the night before.

On November 2

The shuttle will leave The Maine Arts Commission parking lot in Augusta at 6am
The shuttle will leave Portland Mall parking lot (in front of Best Buy) at 7am
The shuttle will arrive at Mechanics Hall in Worcester at 9:45am

The shuttle will leave Mechanics Hall in Worcester at 4:30pm
Arriving in Portland at 7pm and Augusta at 8pm

Best Buy in Portland
364 Maine Mall Rd
South Portland, ME 04106

Maine Arts Commission
193 State Street
Augusta ME, 04333

Mechanics Hall
321 Main Street,
Worcester, MA 01608

Maine Arts Commission Fellowship Recipient Earns National Acclaim for First Book

Award-winning nonfiction writer Maureen Stanton of Georgetown, Maine has received national attention and critical acclaim for her first book, a work of literary nonfiction, Killer Stuff and Tons of Money, which gives a behind-the-scenes look at America’s modern day peddlers and lay historians—itinerant flea market/antiques dealers. Over a span of six years, Stanton periodically “shadowed” mid-level antiques dealer, Curt Avery (a pseudonym), as he searched for historical treasures in antiques shops, at auctions, and at flea markets and antiques shows fields, including the Union, Maine Antiques Festival, the site of one chapter of the book. Avery left behind a decade of trouble in his twenties to fashion a vocation from his childhood hobby of bottle digging. Through years of “field research” at flea markets and antiques shows, working a minimum-wage auction house job, and studying obscure reference books, Avery achieved hard-won success through his passion for history and love of antiques. Readers follow Avery’s journey to tense and comical auctions, the rarified realm of fancy antiques shows, and the mayhem of flea markets, including one of the world’s largest in Brimfield, Massachusetts. Stanton interweaves the lively scenes with histories of auctions, collecting, fakes, and micro-biographies of objects people love to collect: opium bottles, Ouija boards, weathervanes, shrunken human heads, comic books, forks, chairs. Readers peer behind-the-scenes at Antiques Roadshow, learn eBay’s effects on the trade, the psychology of collecting, meet a master “forger” and an eBay wizard, who makes money buying “mistakes.”

Killer Stuff and Tons of Money was released in June 2011, and since then has received national attention. Stanton was invited on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” (Weekend Edition), and with host, Laura Sullivan, spent the morning at Washington, D.C.s famous Eastern market. Stanton was the featured guest on National Public Radio’s nationally syndicated talk show, “On Point with Tom Ashbrook” (produced by WBUR-Boston) as well as several other radio/television interviews and appearances, including Newtalk Ireland, and the Frank DeCaro show (with cohost, Chaz Bono). Critics have lauded Killer Stuff and Tons of Money, which was selected by Parade Magazine as one of six nonfiction “recommended books” in their 2011 summer reading guide.

Praise for Killer Stuff and Tons of Money:

“A treasure-trove of a book, especially for would-be antiquers.” –Kirkus Reviews

“An intoxicating read that rips away the lace curtain from the antiques biz.” –Parade Magazine

“Utterly engaging…Not since Larry McMurtry’s fictitious rogue ‘Cadillac Jack’ has there been such a charming emissary from the world of the previously owned…Killer Stuff rings as true as a 17th century bell.” –The Washington Post

“Killer Stuff and Tons of Money is a deeply researched, memorably written narrative about the world of people who buy and sell antiques as their livelihoods…For anybody who treasures superb writing, the book will please page after page.” –St. Louis Post Dispatch

“[D]ynamite…one of those books you’ll start early and won’t really be able to put down or shake till you’re finished. Stanton’s a great writer [and] she’s a great guide.” –Kenyon Review

“Stanton captures the lower and middle echelons of the [antiques] business with great skill…her diverting and wholly unpretentious book makes a fine companion for a day at the beach—or a weekend treasure hunting.” –The Wall Street Journal

Maureen Stanton received her B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and her M.F.A. from The Ohio State University. She has received a National Endowment for the Arts award, and twice was awarded the Maine Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship. She has been a fellow at the MacDowell Colony, has received a Pushcart Prize, and the Iowa Review Award in nonfiction. Her work has been widely published in literary journals and anthologies, including The Florida Review, Fourth Genre, Creative Nonfiction, The Sun, and American Literary Review, among others. Her essays have been listed as “Notable” in Best American Essays (Houghton Mifflin) in 1998, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009. She teaches part-time at the University of Missouri, and resides in Georgetown, Maine.