MISSION
Connecting regional arts, culture and heritage through advocacy,
education, promotion and celebration.
Our region includes twelve communities
in Midcoast Maine: Brunswick, Harpswell, Topsham, Bowdoin, Bowdoinham,
Richmond, Bath, West Bath, Phippsburg, Woolwich, Arrowsic, and Georgetown.
The Five Rivers Arts Alliance depends on your kind donations. Please donate online by clicking the button below or call our offices for more information.
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July 10 ArtWalk in downtown Brunswick and Topsham. 5-8 pm. Check out the new exhibits!
Join us for the July 10 ArtWalk in downtown Brunswick and Topsham. 25 exhibits and studios are open at 5-8 pm.
 Several new shows with very diverse subjects will be holding opening receptions. Visit “Modern Obsession,” sculpture evoking the natural world, by Tom Chapin at Coleman Burke Gallery. Compare this with “You are Here,” an experiment in mapping places real, imaginary, internal and external, on view at Spindleworks. Find “Maine Farms at Work" at Frontier Café and “Memories of the Coast” at Bayview Gallery. Points of View Gallery opens an assemblage show and Gallery Framing shows “Hometown Scenes.” Artists and employees at Little Dog Coffee Shop offer up a group exhibit and reception. And take in a sneak preview (and chance to bid) on Maine State Music Theatre’s Silent Auction items at Senter Place.
ArtWalks happen in Brunswick and Topsham every 2nd Friday May — November, so mark your calendars. And on July 17, Bath’s 3rd Friday ArtWalk & Drive will be held, 5-8pm. Add dinner in town and an Après Art event to make a night of it.
Season sponsor: Waterfront Maine
Image: Wall hanging by Susan Elliot, Floorcloth Studio
Pecha Kucha Brunswick, June 15 at Frontier Cafe was a great night. Mark your calendar for August 3.
Pecha Kucha Brunswick is a fast-paced showcase of art and ideas. We had a capacity croud on June 15 and will hold another Pecha Kuch Night on August 3, also at 6pm at Frontier. To participate, find guidelines at http://www.fiveriversartsalliance.org/opportunities/opportunities.aspx
June 15 Presenters were:
- Michele Stapleton-photography
- Ed McCartan-painting
- Lynette Breton-furniture
- Carolyn Judson-sculpture & drawing
- Nathan Broaddus-photography
- Jamie Silvestri-ArtVan Program
- Rebecca McNulty-puppetry & drawing
- Howard Hatch-furniture
- Dennis Stein-photography
- Patty Olds-fiber art
Pecha Kucha is sponsored by Five Rivers Arts Alliance. For more information, check back or call 207-798-6964..
May 4: Email Marketing for Artists
Keith Sprio emphasized relationship building and maintaining as the key to successful email marketing. In good times and in bad, friends want to do business with friends.
April 6, 6pm at Frontier Cafe Cinema & Gallery:
Copyright for Artists & Making Your Pitch: Public Relations and Online Arts Calendars
- Maine Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (http://www.mainevla.org):
Maine Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts sponsored a presentation on copyright and intellectual property issues for artists by Charles P. Bacall, a partner at Verrill Dana, LLP, Attorneys at Law. Maine Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts is a newly organized entity dedicated to "helping Maine's creative economy embrace it's intellectual property."
- Darrell Bulmer, Maine Arts Commission: Making Your Pitch: PR basics
- Five Rivers Arts Alliance: Online Arts Calendars: A Free and Powerful Marketing Opportunity
Artists E-Speak: March 16, 6pm, Frontier Cafe: recap
Three local artists and web designers shared their experiences and tips on March 16th:
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Bob Santerre is co-owner of Arrowsic Island Pottery. He showed participants his website and extensive online store (template by HobbyHen: http://www.hobbyhen.net/) http://www.arrowsicislandpottery.com/
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Patty Olds is creator of Seven Scrolls and www.makeasimplewebsite.com. Take a look at this website for easy and inexpensive ways to create a template website, with e-commerce options!! Patty is an artist and has also worked as an arts administrator. She has been designing simple websites for 5 years. http://www.sevenscrolls.com/
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Alana Post is a Maine-based, freelance web/graphic designer. Alana showed participants simple ways to use social networking tools to show work online. These included Portfolio services such as Carbonmade Pages (www.carbonmade.com), picoplog (http://daubau.it/picoplog/), a simple photoblog that can be used to show paintings, orther visual art, pixelpost (http://www.pixelpost.org/). Wordpress (http://wordpress.org/)is a popularblog/publishing platform/content management system often used as a website. Alana discussed inexpensive ways to create a website and incorporate e-commerce without a large investment of money. http://portfolio.alanapost.net/, www.alanapost.net
- If you missed this panel, go to the artists websites listed above for more info.
We want to thank you for your support of Five Rivers-through your participation in our activities, personal generosity, or both. Our programs connect artists and communities and, in doing so, strengthen both.
We encourage creativity, lifelong learning, and participation in uplifting cultural practices. We help preserve and celebrate our very special region, from our rural communities to our vibrant downtowns. We demonstrate the dynamism of the creative sector and serve as engines for local economic vitality. We hope we can count on your support for our Annual Appeal.
It is now even easier to become a member of Five Rivers Arts Alliance and support your local arts by using the online donation and membership options on our website. As 2008 draws to a close, we reflect on our successes and look forward to greater accomplishments; yet we are also mindful of the economic challenges that lie ahead for all of us. With purse strings so tight, your contribution matters more than ever. Memberships and small donations add up, and we hope that you will take a moment, open your wallet, and help FRAA end 2008 in the black.
Can we count on your help? Your generosity will be acknowledged on our website and in our printed materials. More important, through a gift to the Five Rivers Arts Alliance, you can take satisfaction in sustaining culture and community. Image: Five Rivers T-Shirts at Family Arts Festival. Photo by Keith Spiro.
Arts Downtown & All Around ushered in the holiday season on December 12, 13 and 14, 2008.
There is still time to see exhibits and contact artists! Check complete listings here.
PDF of brochure with maps, click here.
Write us an email and tell us about your favorite part of Arts Downtown & All Around this year. Click here.
The three-day showcased regional artists in Richmond, Bowdoinham, Topsham, Brunswick, Harpswell, Bath and West Bath. Sponsored by Five Rivers Arts Alliance, the 11th annual ADAA features photography, pastels, paintings, sculpture, furniture, fiber arts, fine crafts, jewelry, and ceramics; music, dance and theater performances; and more than 100 different artists.
Image: "Before and After," collage by Robin Brooks.
Five Rivers Arts Alliance announces Membership Drive and online membership
Board co-chair Kathryn Durgin-Leighton announced our new membership drive this fall, with the goal of signing up 110 new members by January 2009:
“Five Rivers Arts Alliance provides and promotes arts and cultural experiences across our region that contribute significantly to our quality of life. I want people to know that their membership makes a difference in their community and that support is important to our continued success.”
This summer, the Five Rivers board initiated plans for the campaign including new member benefits and incentives. They approved a new calendar year membership and initiated online membership payment option.
Membership is an important source of financial support year-round free arts events and programs for people of all ages.
“We just held our 12th Annual Family Arts Festival on the Brunswick Town Mall and it’s a great example of our mission in action,” says Durgin-Leighton. “We strive to strengthen our communities through the arts. Five Rivers encourages creativity, lifelong learning, and participation in the arts. We celebrate our sense of place in rural communities and vibrant downtowns and we want to help strengthen the economic health and impact of our creative sector.”
In addition to supporting the organization’s mission, membership in Five Rivers Arts Alliance includes benefits and visibility-for members who are artists, organizations, or businesses. These benefits include participation in Five Rivers' events, event listings in Artscape, free listing in Online Cultural Directory, and more. New benefits will include a “Member Profile” on the Five Rivers homepage for individuals, businesses and organizations. And the first 30 new members to sign up will receive a gift certificate ($5 value) at a local coffee shop or eatery.
Five Rivers is offering a new online payment option for membership. Details can be found at "membership" on this site. Membership information can also be requested at (207) 798-6864.
Meet board members at upcoming 2nd Friday ArtWalk Nov.14 in Brunswick & Topsham, and at the region-wide Arts Downtown & All Around, Dec 12-14. For more information, contact us at (207) 798-6964.
Photo: T-Shirts at Family Arts Festival. Photo by Keith Sprio.
Family Arts Festival September 20 on Brunswick Town Mall
Check back for more photos of this year's Family Arts Festival. We had a great day with perfect fall weather, fabulous music, attentive artists and volunteers!
Thank you to everyone who helped make the festival possible.
Five Rivers Arts Alliance Annual Meeting July 18 in Bath
Five Rivers Arts Alliance Annual Meeting was held Friday, July 18 at 7pm, at the Gazebo at Library Park, Bath.
Crossroads for Community Arts:
Strategies for Success on the Road Ahead
Conference participants,
please return your evaluations to have your input heard and included in planning for the future. Download PDF evaluation here. Word version of evaluation is also available. Download Word version of evaluation here.
Many thanks to all who contriubuted to a successful “Crossroads for Community Arts: Strategies for Success on the Road Ahead" conference on Thursday, October 18, 2007 in downtown Lewiston. Co-sponsored by Maine Arts Commission and Five Rivers Arts Alliance, it was made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to Five Rivers Arts Alliance. Conference hosts are L/A Arts, Franco American Heritage Center and Lewiston Public Library.
Anne Katz, Founder and Executive Director of Arts Wisconsin gave the keynote.
One hundred and ten Community arts leaders attended the conference and learned from 30 professionals from across Maine and the nation. From Fort Kent to Eastport to South Berwick, individuals came to the Franco-American Heritage Center and the Lewiston Puiblic Library for an engaging, thought-provoking day.
Anne Katz, Founder and Executive Director of Arts Wisconsin gave the Keynote: : “A Voice for Change: The Power of Arts on the Statewide Level.”
Here are links from Anne Katz at Arts Wisconsin:
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Additional content from Crossroads Conference:
For Powerpoint or PDF version or Reed Berkowitz's presentation " Five Essentials of Successful Community Arts Websites," go to the "Opportunities" page of this site. Look to this page of Five Rivers Arts Alliance website to report developments-next steps outgrowths of the Crossroads Conference.
Thank yous
Steering committee, Presenters, Support staff of the Franco, L/A Arts and the Library, Participants-networking and input from other conference attendees israted as a prime benefit of the conference! Restaruants: Fuel, DaVinci's, Gritty's
Thanks to sponsors  
And hosts
  
Family Arts Festival is a success!
What a great day. Find more more photos on Family Arts Festival page.
Cultural Directory now online
Our online Cultural Directory is now live! Listings are a benefit of membership. Fill out form at http://www.fiveriversartsalliance.org/directory/directory.aspx. Each listing includes contact info, hours open, 100 word description, an image of your artwork, place of business, or organization. The directory is made possible, in part, by frants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Maine Community Foundation.
Our programs rely on community support
Find out how you and your business can support Five Rivers programs and gain valuable visibility with a sponsorship. Click here for Sponsorship rates for Five Rivers programs. Call Five Rivers Arts Alliance at 798-6964 for more information.
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July 1-Aug. 8. Bowdoin International Music Festival. Concerts Daily.
This year’s festival honors 200th anniversaries for Haydn and Mendelssohn. For a complete schedule, visit www.bowdoinfestival.org or call (207) 725-3895, or here.
July 1 and 8, 7pm. Music on the Mall
This event
begins with Little Tonto, at the gazebo on the Town Mall, Maine St, Brunswick. Free. http://www.brunswickdowntown.com/eventsdetailsfp.aspx?cID=1026&s=382
July 2. 5-7pm. Opening reception for Frances Pratt Caswell of Brunswick
Hometown Scenes Paintings of Brunswick and beyond. The show includes paintings in oil and watercolor, with scenes of Bowdoin College, downtown Brunswick, the Androscoggin River as well as other well-known local areas. Meet the artist at Gallery Framing, 12 Pleasant St, Brunswick. Contact: 729-9108.
July 2-5. Heritage Days in Bath
The region’s premier 4th of July celebration. Beginning with Sunrise Rotary Chicken BBQ Thursday evening, there is something for everyone all weekend long: Patten Library Book Sale on Friday; Art in the Park, Craft Show, Saturday and Sunday. Concerts, parades, midway all weekend; Fireworks 9:15 on Sunday. Downtown Bath. http://bathheritagedays.com/schedule/
Sun, July 5, 6:30pm. Bowdoinham Summer Concert Series at Mailly Waterfront Park, Sunday eves through August. Free. http://www.bowdoinham.com/files/2009concertseriesfinalweb.jpg
Through July 11,“CRAZY FOR YOU” at Maine State Music Theatre. Enjoy the NEW George Gershwin Musical Comedy. Contact: 725-8769, www.msmt.org
July 5-20. Maine Ten Show at Bailey Island Library Hall.. A group of Midcoast artists who paint together will hold its first show of the season on July 5-20. Join us for an all-day opening reception on July 5, with refreshments. Members include: Sylvia Dyer, Shirley Lewis, Vivian Wixom, Claire Vigneau, Mary Truesdell, Jane Dorr, Marianne Rice, Susan Rayfield, Lynn Koenig, Marj DeRenzo, and Norma Spinney. Contact: Susan Rayfield 729-1851.
Fri., July 10, 2nd FRIDAY ARTWALK. Many new exhibits in downtown Brunswick and Topsham. 25 studios and exhibits to explore for a night of art. Contact: 798-6964, www.fiveriversartsalliance.org
July 10-26 “Wonder of the World” by David Lindsay-Abaire. A Professional Ensemble Production at The Theater Project.
Nothing will prepare you for the dirty little secret Cass discovers in her husband's sweater drawer. It is so shocking that our heroine has no choice but to flee to the honeymoon capital of the world in a frantic search for the life she thinks she missed out on. For mature audiences. 14 School St, Brunswick. Thurs: 7:30pm; Fri & Sat: 8 pm; Sun: 5pm (No performance Sun Jul 12) Tix: Pay-What-You-Want, suggested price: $18. 729-8584, http://www.theaterproject.com/Theater_Project/Home.html.
July 17, 5-8pm. 3rd Friday ArtWalk & Drive in Historic Bath. Look for complete listings soon at http://www.fiveriversartsalliance.org/events/artwalk3rdfriday.aspx
CLASSES
Print-In! - Be a part of the Slow Cloth Movement!
July 11, 2009 from 9AM-4PM in Brunswick, Maine
There is no previous experience required to enjoy this fun, one day, hands-on workshop. We will print on fabric with textile paints employing everyday objects and objects from the natural world. These techniques can also be used to print on paper.Discover your own originality when creating quick printing blocks using simple, easy to access materials. The cost of $110.00 includes some supplies and a healthy lunch. The instructors for this first Print-In are Stephanie Green Levy and Mary Allen Chaisson. For more information and to receive a registration form please email slevy@gwi.net or apstudio@gwi.net.
Full Circle Dance classes and dance camps
Visit the website for a complete summer schedule. In addition to regular classes, we are offering 2 weeks of summer camps, July 6-10 & August 24-28. Don’t miss this chance to work with the best teachers in New England! Students can attend camp a whole or a half day. Contact: www.fullcircledancestudio.com.
Isabelle’s Summer Workshops in Fort Andross: Welding for Beginners and 2-d and 3-d Collage. Beginning in mid-July. Contact Isabelle Pelissier, 666-3479, auzelit@gmail.com
Still room in BOWDOIN SUMMER ART CAMP. THE THEATER PROJECT THEATER CAMPS, DANCE CAMP and others. For details and links, look below in this column.
Through Nov 29. NET WORTH: The Rise and Fall of Maine's Fin Fisheries. Follow stories of those participating in the fin fisheries; their rise, fall and evolution.
Through models, photographs and plans, this exhibit will establish ‘portraits’ of Maine fishing vessel types, onshore and offshore, sail and power. Maine Maritime Museum, 243 Washington St, Bath. Contact: http://www.mainemaritimemuseum.org,
(207) 443-1316.
On View: BAYVIEW GALLERY, 58 Maine St, Brunswick.
"Spring Exhibit: Bayview Gallery Artists" and THE ALCOVE, a new addition to the gallery, introducing work by local artists including Allison Shutts, ceramics; Catherine Worthington, textile art; Patricia Boissevain, jewelry; Mark Irving, woodturning; Susan Mills, fiber; Susan Hazzard, hand-painted silk; and Richard Garrigus, oil painting collage. The Alcove also features limited edition and open edition prints by Andrew Wyeth and other distinguished New England artists. Contact: 729.5500, www.bayviewgallery.com/  Image: Red Evening Bay by Susan Mills at Bayview Gallery.
Classes
SUMMER ART CAMPS FOR KIDS: THEATER, DANCE ART, WRITING Sign up now:
THE THEATER PROJECT: Using these stories as a vehicle to introduce theater games and basic acting techniques, we will work together, as a group, to create our own version of these classics. At the end of the week, family and friends will be invited to watch the results of our work.
“Where The Wild Things Are,” For 6 - 8 year olds: June 29th - July 3rd, 9:00 - 12:00. $150
“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,”July 6th - July 10th, 9:00 - 12:00, $150.
“Arabian Night” July - 13th - July 31st, 9:00 - 3:00, $600. Culminates in 3 shows: July 31st, Aug. 1 & 2. This summer, we will bring as many of the Arabian Night stories to the stage as possible. There were 1001, so we’ll do our best. Contact: 729-8584, http://www.theaterproject.com/The_Theater_Project/education/Entries/2009/4/14_summer_camps_2009.html
07/06-07/31 | Bowdoin Summer Art Camp | In its 13th year, camp offers a variety of classes for youth ages 5-15. For PDF of classes, click here. Contact: 725-3421, artcamp@bowdoin.eduhttp://www.bowdoin.edu/news/archives/1bowdoincampus/001260.shtml,
FULL CIRCLE DANCE STUDIO SUMMER 2009
1. DANCE CAMP: Week One: June 29-July 3 9am to 4pm. Can do a whole or half day.
Everything Hip-Hop and more! Ages 10-16 Includes Hip-Hop, Break Dance, Popping, Whacking, Step, Graffiti, proper stretching, writing dance resumes, preparing for auditions, stage presence & more!
2. DANCE CAMP: Week two: August 24-28 - 9am to 4pm. Can do whole or half day
Mornings: Jazz, Lyrical, Ballet. Afternoon: Includes condensed variation of Hip-Hop, Break Dance, Popping, Whacking, Step, Graffiti, writing dance resumes, preparing for auditions, stage presence & more! Contact: Call 841-3265 or cajon1984@yahoo.com, http://www.fullcircledancestudio.com/
July; dates vary | SONGWRITING FOR KIDS, FICTION WRITING FOR KIDS, and POETRY WRITING FOR KIDS (grades 3-5) with Josephine Cameron Bowdoin College, Brunswick. 725-4696. www.songwritingforkids.com
FULL CIRCLE DANCE STUDIO CLASSES, Full Circle was voted 2008 “Best of the Best” Dance Studio in Midcoast Maine! Our new schedule is out and can be found at www.fullcircledancestudio.com. Just a reminder- anyone can try any NEW class the first week for only $5. If you bring a friend and they sign up for the trimester after trying a class, you will get an additional discount! June Dance Recital: June 27th 3pm Crooker Theater in Brunswick. Dress rehearsal is on June 26th from 5-9pm. All students are encouraged by not required to participate in the recital. Contact: http://www.fullcircledancestudio.com/, 841-3265 or cajon1984@yahoo.com
ONGOING | SATURDAY WORKSHOPS AT MAINE ART GLASS Beginners welcome! 1-3:30pm.$45/CLASS. Casses on most Saturdays and Ongoing 8-week classes. Contact: Maine Art Glass Studio, 51 Main Street, Lisbon Falls,Contact: (207) 353-6700, 1-888-781-6700, www.maineartglass.com
ONGOING | AUTHENTIC MOVEMENT/CONTEMPLATIVE DANCE sessions at Bath Dance Works, 72 Front St. in Bath on two Saturday mornings per month. All sessions run from 10:00-1:00. This is an improvisational movement form also known as Contemplative Dance, Tao of the Body and Essential Movement, pioneered by Mary Whitehouse in the 1970s. Requested donation is $10. FMI contact Kay Mann at 725-9997 or dancingfewl@pobox.com.
ONGOING | ADVENTURES AT HUSE AT NEW TIME | Saturday Adventures at Huse offers free family activities to anyone in the midcoast area the first and third Saturdays of the month. This season, the activities will be held at a new time: 1 to 3pm. Contact: www.adventuresathuse.com or call 386-5151.
ONGOING | Halcyon Yarns | offers classes infelting, dyeing, weaving, spinning, knitting. Fiber workshops for the beginner and the accomplished artist. Contact: 442-7909, www.halcyonyarn.com/.
More classes and listings at: http://www.fiveriversartsalliance.org/artscape/calendar.aspx
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