Artscape calendar deadline for June issue is Friday, May 9
Add your calendar listings at:Click Here
2nd Friday Art Walk May 9 in Brunswick & Topsham 
Twenty four art sites open their doors for a spring evening of art on May 9. Sites are open 5-8pm in Brunswick and Topsham and are within walking distance of one another. Galleries, artist studios, restaurants and businesses join in to celebrate spring and the creativity of area artists. Enjoy receptions at many locations and performances round out the evening. Listings here!
New sites include: a group photography exhibit by Merry-Meeting Art Association on view at the Border Trust Business Center and Artifacts/Gilders Studio, next door to Maine Fiberarts in Topsham. In Brunswick, Weaver Michael Patterson opens his Pleasant St. studio, Kim Moody, Christine DeTroy and Theresa Hossenlopp join the Fort Andross open Studio curcuit.
VSA Arts Maine opens its Gallery at Park Row with “Selections” a group exhibit of six artists. The Art Walk also offers a chance to see Bowdoin College student works in several venues, including “Community Housing Designs” at McLellan Hall, and a collaborative project with Woodside School 5th grade students, on view at Frontier Cafe, Cinema and Gallery and additional photography exhibits in Fort Andross. Kat Logan and Jim Loney perform for an art opening at Little Dog Coffee Shop. Après Art offerings include “Steel Magnolias” at The Theater Project, “Animations Festival” of short films at Bowdoin College’s Visual Arts Center and a jazz trio at Sweet Leaves Tea House.
Volunteer opportunities at Five Rivers Arts Alliance
We need your talents! Five Rivers Arts Alliance is growing and we need your skills and your help. Share your creativity, get your name out there, meet artists, members and the community and help support Five Rivers programs. Volunteer needs:
- Photographers-we need great photos of the Art Walks, artists and summer arts events for website, Artscape and other publicity. If you can photo a few sites this Friday, May 9, call or email us right away! (1hour-or more)
- Writers & researchers for Artscape. (several hours)
- Website updates: we need help with weekly website updating. (Project is 2 or more hours weekly; we can work out a schedule that works for you)
- Publicity: help with poster and brochure distribution in your community
- Family Arts Festival planning
Call 798-6964 or email us at info@fiveriversartsalliance.org for more info.
Strategies for Success Workshop offered for Community Arts Leaders in Bangor, May 14
Take advantage of upcoming free workshop Bangor, designed for arts leaders who seek to strengthen their work and their organizations. "Marketing/Emarketing," with Maren Brown, will be offered at University of Maine Museum of Art, Bangor on May 14.
Forty attendees joined Craig Dreeszen on April 16 at teh Portland Public Library for "Getting a Bang Out of your Board" workshop.
- Workshops are offered in conjunction with the Maine Arts Commission’s ArtME sessions.
- They are a response to needs identified by October 2007 Crossroads for Community Arts Conference.
- Workshops are free and open to all.
- Pre-registration is required; send an email with contact info to info@fiveriversartsalliance.org, (subject line: ArtME workshop) or call Five Rivers Arts Alliance at 207-798-6964.
- These workshops are co-sponsored by Five Rivers Arts Alliance, Maine Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.
- Additional information about the ArtME Workshops can be found at mainearts.maine.gov.
May 14, 9am–1pm: Marketing/E-Marketing for Maine arts leaders
Marketing is the most important tool to build awareness of your programs and services and can help you to reach new audiences and cultivate loyalty in those you already serve. This 4-hour workshop will introduce you to the fundamentals of marketing with an emphasis on e-marketing tools and trends. Learn basic marketing concepts, such as the "4 Ps" of marketing (product, place, promotion, price), understand your audience better, and think about how to build participation in your programs. Emphasis will be placed on E-Marketing tools everyone in the arts can use: websites, listservs, e-newsletters and social networking. University of Maine Museum of Art, 40 Harlow Street, Bangor
Maren Brown, M.B.A . has over 20 years of experience in the field of arts management, primarily in museums (art, history and science museums) and higher education. She is the founder of the Western Massachusetts Arts Alliance and serves as the Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Department of Education Arts Education Advisory Board. She is the Director of Director of the Arts Extension Service at U. Mass Amherst.
Pre-registration is required; send an email with contact info to info@fiveriversartsalliance.org, (subject line: ArtME workshop) or call Five Rivers Arts Alliance at 207-798-6964. Please pre-register by 5pm, May 1, 2008. These workshops are co-sponsored by Five Rivers Arts Alliance, Maine Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Arts Nights at the Library celebrates the local!
Sorry, May 7 Arts Night at the Library, "The Ultimate Bowdoinham Meal" in Bowdoinham has been rescheduled for October 2008.
Are you and yours experiencing Cabin Fever? Don't worry! Winter is nearing its close; the clocks are about to change, and spring is right around the corner. Five Rivers Arts Alliance has some great suggestions for you to get out of the house and back into the world.
Visit local farms for Maple Sugar Sunday and spring happenings like lambing, or just pull on some old mud boots and take a walk outside - check out the reverse side of this publication for a list of healthy hikes to get your blood flowing. Dance! Head to the Downeast Dance Festival March 28-29 in Topsham. Take a look at our list of dance, art and craft classes and get your creative juices flowing, or learn new facts and perspectives by participating at the Midcoast Community Read. View your windows in a whole new way after seeing the group art show “Taking Panes” in Richmond. For details about these activities and more, read on.Photo: Richard Lee with windows from Taking Panes exhibition. Photo by Christine Macchi, Courtesy of Maine Fiberarts
Annual Appeal for Five Rivers Arts Alliance
December 2007
Dear members and friends,
It’s hard to believe that as we write this letter, we are planning our tenth annual Arts Downtown & All Around open studio, exhibit and performance event. Since 1998 this event has grown from a small gathering in downtown Brunswick to a weekend-long regional celebration of art and creativity featuring work by more than 400 artists, at 60 venues all across our region. The growth and strength of Five Rivers Arts Alliance parallels this event.
This year has been an important one that builds on our past successes and addresses needs of our communities, the artists, cultural nonprofits and creative businesses that reside here. We cannot do this work alone and we ask for your support by making a tax-deductible financial contribution to Five Rivers Arts Alliance.
Memberships and donations are important to our success; supporting our programs and helping us strengthen our communities by connecting arts, culture and heritage through advocacy, education, promotion and celebration.
Specifically, your contributions supports arts programming open to all:
- Art Walks-Evening gallery & studio tours; in Bath on Third Fridays four months of the year; in Brunswick and Topsham on 2nd Fridays seven moths of the year.
- Arts Nights at the Library-Last year we explored “Stories of the Five Rivers” as our theme at four area libraries – Bowdoinham, Topsham, Brunswick, and Bath
- Family Arts Festival-performance, art workshops, and demonstrations for all ages on the Brunswick Town Mall.
- Arts Downtown & All Around-December 7, 8, & 9, 2007. Meet artists in their studios, at group shows and galleries across the region and enjoy great performances.
This year we developed and implemented several new programs:
- Artscape, published six times a year; each issue profiles an artist, arts, cultural and heritage events, and explores one of one of our communities with a driving tour. Distributed locally, to visitors centers and as an insert in The Times Record.
- Online Cultural Directory-celebrating and promoting our region’s artists, performers, cultural sites and presenters. Find it at www.fiveriversartsalliance.org/directory/
- Crossroads for Community Arts Conference brought together community arts groups like Five Rivers from across the state to improve skills, develop plans for improved advocacy of the arts. Five Rivers co-sponsored with the Maine Arts Commission.
Most of these programs are offered at no cost. They enrich our lives, our sense of place and promote our artists, cultural institutions and history. We hope you will support these efforts with your creativity, time and financial support. We welcome your ideas and your involvement. As we enter our tenth year, we continue to grow and promote the arts in our region; we recognize the continued importance of our members and our business sponsors. It is because of your financial support that we are able to put our vision into action.
Thank you for helping us to keep the arts alive and accessible to all!
Sincerely,
Kathy Durgin Leighton
Five Rivers Board Chair
Arts Downtown & All Around is December 7, 8 & 9, 2007
Where can you find work by more than 400 artists on display, for sale and in performance this season? At Arts Downtown & All Around, December 7, 8, and 9 in Bath, Brunswick and surrounding communities where 60 studios, galleries and performance venues welcome you!
Artists prepare their studios and work for the event each year; all that is missing is you.
Now celebrating its 10th year, Arts Downtown & All Around begins Friday evening December 7 with artist receptions and performances from 5-8 p.m. across the region. Visit receptions held in Harpswell, Bowdoinham, Topsham, Bath, Brunswick, Arrowsic, and in Richmond where the new Royall Gallery celebrates its grand opening from 5-8p.m. Show and sale hours continue Saturday 10a.m.-5p.m. and Sunday 12 noon-4p.m. Discover and support local performers, artists, craftspeople and businesses. The event is presented by Five Rivers Arts Alliance with support from event sponsors
Exhibit space for local artists has been generously donated by Waterfront Maine (Fort Andross) and downtown businesses.
Performances are part of the weekend with many opportunities on Friday alone. Dance performances kick off the Friday event schedule with Moving Spirit and Gemini Dance performances in Brunswick. Discover the new jazz quartet-The Happenstance Quartet at Maine Sound Stage, take in the holiday parable “A Christmas Carol: The Musical” by Midcoast Youth Theater, Topsham (all weekend long), or go trolley caroling in Bath on Friday night. “To Warm a Winter’s Night” is a solstice celebration at The Chocolate Church in Bath Saturday evening and many additional performances are offered.
A detailed map and program is available online at fiveriversartsalliance.org and will be at galleries, libraries and coffee shops throughout the region prior to the event. Look for this program as an insert in The Times Record on Thursday, December 6.
Complete program with listings of art exhibits and performancesand maps will be available at galleries throughout the greater Bath-Brunswick region and on the web at www.fiveriversartsalliance.org. For more information contact Five Rivers Arts Alliance at (207) 798-6964, or by email at info@fiveriversartsalliance.org
Images: "Into the Woods," by Robin Brooks, on view Dec 7 - 9 at Fort Andross Group Show,12 Maine St., Brunswick. "Looking Toward White Head," by Holly Brooks, on view at Mae's Cafe, 160 Centre St., 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:
- 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.
- Conference wrap-up session at day's end included input from more than participants. Notes from wrap up will be posted soon on this website.
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.
Artscape Fall 2007
Fall is a new start for kindergarteners and collegians. Let it be for all of us.
Take time to explore and learn. Apple orchards are open for “pick your own” and a trip along Merrymeeting Bay to visit art sites offers the glorious sight of Canada geese, heading south. Learn about woodworking in Harpswell, ghost stories of Bath, theater production in Brunswick, and smelt shack racing in Bowdoinham. Haven't you always wondered how to race a smelt shack? Find out at Celebrate Bowdoinham.
Join in on the Merrymeeting Arts Center’s Grand Opening on September 8. Don’t miss the October 14 ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Bowdoin College Art Museum’s inspiring makeover. And plan to come back; the museum is adding Thursday evening hours and the college’s cultural offerings are bountiful.
Make a date for the Family Arts Festival on September 22 on the Brunswick Town Mall. Bring your kids, bring your folks, roll up your sleeves and put your dancing shoes on for art making and fun! Thirty artists share their talents! This year includes an invitation to artists to “paint the town,” alter on-the-spot photographs, create a 3-D collage, and that’s just for starters. Find out more at www.fiveriversartsalliance.org.
Artscape is published by the Five Rivers Arts Alliance with support from The Maine Community Foundation, Davis Family Foundation, Midcoast Council for Business Development & Planning, Town of Brunswick, Town of Bowdoinham, Our Advertisers & Our Members.
Support Artscape with your sponsorship - find out more.
Artscape-Fall 2007 - PDF back
August '07 Artscape - PDF front
August '07 Artscape - PDF back
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.
