Life Forms: Grow exhibition opening reception
2025-01-23 18:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Art Gallery, 5 University Way, Gorham, ME, 04038, United States
Life Forms is a sculpture collective of twelve artists and an experiment in artistic community building. Through a series of exhibitions over four years (2023-2027), each in a different location and featuring a different subset of artists, the group aims to deepen relationships with each other, discover new connections through their creative work, and share in conversation with the public.

The University of Southern Maine Art Gallery has the pleasure of hosting the third exhibition, Life Forms: Grow, featuring Jackie Brown, Leah Gauthier, Elaine K. Ng, and Ashley Page. Running from January 16 – February 15, 2025, the works in this exhibition span a wide range of interpretations around the word “grow”, from the growth of biological life as well as that of knowledge across cultures, to shape-shifting materials that blur the real and the imagined; forging resiliency amidst massive change; and the vulnerability, grace, and complexities of the Black experience.

This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be available.

Mapping Memory and History: A Dialogue between Billy Gérard Frank's Palimpsest and Indigo: Entanglements
2025-02-07 17:30 - 19:30 | Hannaford Hall — Abromson Community Education Center, 88 Bedford St, Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Mapping Memory and History: A Dialogue between Billy Gérard Frank’s Palimpsest and Indigo: Entanglements
Please join the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education at the University of Southern Maine for our annual DiMatteo Lecture–an evening lecture, film screening, and discussion with acclaimed artist and filmmaker Billy Gérard Frank. Frank will discuss his Indigo: Entanglements series of paintings and screen his 2022 Venice Biennale short film, Palimpsest: Tales Spun from the Sea and Memory (the film’s New England premiere).
RESCHEDULE TO FRIDAY, February 7th, 2025, 5:30pm-7:30pm
Reception: 5:30-6pm
Lecture, Film Screening, and Q and A: 6pm-7:30pm
Hannaford Hall (Abromson Center), University of Southern Maine (Portland)
Support for this event is generously co-sponsored by Indigo Art Alliance and Moss Galleries.
Frank’s Indigo: Entanglements series is a new and ongoing body of works (multimedia painting incorporating silkscreen, vintage African fabric, newsprint, acrylic, etc.) interrogating the unmitigated drama and tragedy of New World Slavery and Trans-Atlantic slave trade. The Osher Map Library has recently acquired Indigo: Entanglements, No. 6, for their permanent collection, a complex multimedia painting that engages with Maine’s role in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, via maps, documents, and other archival imagery.
Palimpsest: Tales Spun From Sea And Memories narrates overlaying tales; fragments of a life and man: Quobna Ottobah Cugoano, born in the Gold Coast (Ghana) in the Fante village of Agimaque. Cugoano was one the most radical and central African British opponents to have actively engaged in the ﬁght against slavery in the eighteenth century, England. His book Thoughts and Sentiments On The Evil Of Slavery, published in England after he gained his freedom, is one of the most direct criticisms of slavery by a writer of African descent. You can watch the trailer here.
Billy Gérard Frank, born in Grenada, West Indies, is a multimedia artist and filmmaker. His research-driven practices mine personal issues related to race, exile, memory, global politics, and post-colonial and queer decoloniality. Frank challenges conventional narratives and creates counter-histories through his work, which has been showcased in solo and group exhibitions at institutions such as the Brooklyn Museum (2020) and the Butler Institute of American Art. His art is also part of several private collections and institutions, such as the National Academy Museum of Fine Arts and Design, Farnsworth Art Museum, Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education, among others. Frank represented Grenada at the 59th La Biennale di Venezia (2022) and was also part of the collective representing the island at the 58th La Biennale di Venezia (2019), and (2024) Smithsonian Design Triennial. He is a 2024 Creative Capital Awardee and has received numerous grants, including the Ford Foundation Grant for his 2022 La Biennale project.
The Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education is delighted to welcome Billy Gérard Frank as our inaugural Peggy L. Osher Visiting Artist Fellow in the spring of 2025.

Yoga in the Gallery
2025-02-12 18:00 - 19:00 | Art Gallery, 5 University Way, Gorham, ME, 04038, United States
Yoga in the Gallery returns!
Join us for a mindful evening surrounded by the work in our newest exhibition, Life Forms.
All levels welcome. A limited number of mats are available on a first-come first-serve basis.

Life Forms: Grow Artist Conversation via Zoom
2025-02-13 18:00 - 19:00 | https://maine.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_AduswXeUS0-p_Ei4RZc2kQ#/registration
Join us for an online conversation with the artists of our current exhibition: Life Forms: Grow.
Join us virtually on Thursday, February 13th for an evening of conversation with artists Jackie Brown, Leah Gauthier, Elaine K. Ng, and Ashley Page, from our Life Forms: Grow exhibition. The artists will talk with Director of Art Exhibitions Kat Zagaria Buckley on the meaning of growth and its relation to play, community, and how envisioning alternative pasts, presents, and futures contributes to becoming.

Due to inclement weather, the discussion will be held via Zoom. Please register for the online conversation HERE.
Don’t miss Life Forms: Grow at the Art Gallery, on display through February 15.

Our Favorite Things: Gallery Exhibition
2025-03-05 10:00 - 16:00, 2025-03-06 10:00 - 16:00, 2025-03-07 10:00 - 16:00, 2025-03-08 10:00 - 16:00, 2025-03-11 10:00 - 16:00, 2025-03-12 10:00 - 16:00, 2025-03-13 10:00 - 16:00, 2025-03-14 10:00 - 16:00 and 13 more dates | Osher Map Library — Glickman Family Library, 314 Forest Ave, Portland, ME, 04101, United States
Our Favorite Things: A Special Selection of Items from the Collection Chosen by Staff and Friends
This gallery exhibition highlights a special selection of items from the collection chosen by the OML staff and friends. It will be on view to the public from February 28, 2025 through April 22, 2025.

Walk-ins are welcome or set up a Gallery Appointment for a guided tour! Please note, on Saturdays we close at 2 PM.

"Reverberations" Juried Student Exhibition
2025-03-06 18:00 - 20:00 | Art Gallery, 5 University Way, Gorham, ME, 04038, United States
Open to students across all majors at the University, the Juried Student Exhibition fosters student preparation for professional art settings and processes, provides feedback from art professionals in the community, and exposes student artwork to a wide range of viewers.
2025’s theme is reverberations. Reverberations can look like an echo, a representation of a catalyst. Interpretation of the theme for artworks submitted is encouraged as each artist sees fit. The theme is a loose one; submitted work need not adhere. Rather, it is meant to spur your creativity.
This show opens on March 6, 2025 with an exhibition opening reception and awards ceremony, and will run through March 29. The awards ceremony will begin at 6:30 pm.
This event is free and open to the public.

Yoga in the Gallery
2025-03-12 18:00 - 19:00 | Art Gallery, 5 University Way, Gorham, ME, 04038, United States
Join us in the University of Southern Maine Art Gallery for an instructor-led yoga session, open to participants of all levels. A limited number of yoga mats are available on a first-come, first-served basis – we encourage you to bring your own.

Roople Unia will be leading this upcoming “Yoga in the Gallery” session. Roople is a neurologist in the Brunswick area and a 200 hour trained Yoga instructor. Roople leads deep, relaxing yoga sessions and we’re super happy she is willing to support this.

Please note: participants are required to sign health waivers in order to engage in this event for the protection of campus facilities and our instructors. This event is free and open to the public. Relax, spread out in our gallery space, and breathe!

This USM Gorham campus event is co-presented by the Recovery Oriented Campus Center and SKY@USM.

MAEA Spring Art Exhibition: "Fulfillment"
2025-03-14 - 2025-04-21 | Atrium Gallery — LAC, 51 Westminster St, Lewiston, ME, 04240, United States
Fulfillment, features artwork by members of the Maine Art Education Association (MAEA), celebrating the creative talents of Maine’s dedicated art educators, demonstrating that they are not only teachers but also practicing artists in their own right. Visitors to the gallery will have the opportunity to experience firsthand the depth of talent and passion that Maine’s art teachers bring to their craft. These educators, devoted to fostering creativity in their classrooms, now take center stage to share their artistic practices in a variety of mediums. This exhibition not only showcases members’ artistic abilities but reinforces the significance of maintaining a personal artistic practice while inspiring the next generation of creators.
The Maine Art Education Association is a professional organization that promotes visual arts education in Maine. With over 200 members throughout the state, MAEA’s goals include encouraging best practices in visual arts classrooms, supporting professional development for its members, and recognizing and celebrating outstanding educators. The association is dedicated to supporting art educators and advocating for the importance of visual arts in schools and communities.
To request accessibility accommodations or ask a question, please contact Netty Provost at netty.provost@maine.edu.

Opening Reception for "Fulfillment" — MAEA Spring Art Exhibition
2025-03-14 17:30 - 19:00 | Atrium Gallery — LAC, 51 Westminster St, Lewiston, ME, 04240, United States
You are cordially invited to the opening reception for Fulfillment, an exhibition showcasing the work of Maine’s art educators! An artist talk will take place at 6:00 PM, offering insight into the artistic practices of these educators.
The reception is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
Fulfillment, features artwork by members of the Maine Art Education Association (MAEA), celebrating the creative talents of Maine’s dedicated art educators, demonstrating that they are not only teachers but also practicing artists in their own right. Visitors to the gallery will have the opportunity to experience firsthand the depth of talent and passion that Maine’s art teachers bring to their craft. These educators, devoted to fostering creativity in their classrooms, now take center stage to share their artistic practices in a variety of mediums. This exhibition not only showcases members’ artistic abilities but reinforces the significance of maintaining a personal artistic practice while inspiring the next generation of creators.
The Maine Art Education Association is a professional organization that promotes visual arts education in Maine. With over 200 members throughout the state, MAEA’s goals include encouraging best practices in visual arts classrooms, supporting professional development for its members, and recognizing and celebrating outstanding educators. The association is dedicated to supporting art educators and advocating for the importance of visual arts in schools and communities.
Fulfillment is on display at the LAC Atrium Gallery from March 14 – April 21, 2025.
To request accessibility accommodations or ask a question, please contact Netty Provost at netty.provost@maine.edu.

"Everyone Has a Story to Tell" Artist Lecture + Reception
2025-03-27 17:00 - 19:00 | University Events Room, 7th floor — Glickman Library, 314 Forest Ave, Portland, ME, 04101, United States
ARTIST LECTURE & RECEPTION:
When: Thursday, March 27th, 5 p.m. –7 p.m.; lecture starts at 5 p.m.
Where: University Events Room, 7th Floor, Glickman Library
314 Forest Ave, Portland, ME 04101
About: Lecture presented by the Kate Cheney Chappell ’83 Center for Book Arts Critique Group Members Gretchen Halpert, Cynthia Marsh, and Angel Simoneau. Free and open to the public. Join the Facebook event page and invite your community!

Join the Kate Cheney Chappell ’83 Center for Book Arts in celebration of the group exhibition, “Everyone Has a Story to Tell”. “Everyone Has a Story to Tell” is the KCCCBA Critique Group Members Exhibition on view from January 21, 2025 – April 26, 2025 in the Great Reading Room (7th Floor) of the USM Glickman Library.

A lecture will be presented by the Critique Group Members Gretchen Halpert, Cynthia Marsh, and Angel Simoneau along with a reception with refreshments and community gathering. Please join us in celebration!Free and open to the public
