What Next?
From Executive Director Dinah Minot
It's June, and although the weather is beautiful, our moods are gloomy.
Sadly, we've just learned of the death of our beloved community leader, Burundian native Alain Nahimana, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center, a loyal partner and collaborator with Creative Portland over the past few years, including the 2019 Burundian Drum & Dance Festival, Hear Here, and the curation of local artists currently on exhibit at IWC.
Everything seems to be uncertain. There's a lot of rage out there and for good reason. How can we try to find peace together? Despite the state of the world, it's usually my favorite time of year.
Finding gratitude helps to ease our daily worries. Perhaps we need to pause and take it one step at a time. Maybe it's time to be proactive and engage in things that we can control - stick your fingers in the dirt and try to get grounded. Plant your vegetable garden, planters & pots. The local nurseries claim that sales are up 400% from last year. We all want to see new growth. We are grateful for the morning sounds of songbirds and the smell of lilacs. We are anticipating the slow opening of businesses in Maine this week. Nobody knows what things will be like in the Fall, but we're all learning that we must be flexible. We have no choice. We may not feel physically secure 'til we get a vaccine.
Digital platforms are the new norm. In addition to accessing visual art virtual exhibitions listed in our virtual events calendar, featuring anchor orgs such as
PMA
,
Cove Street Art
s
and
ICA
, you can also access
Rad Plaid listings
(for local music streamlining),
Maine Open Online
(for local shops and businesses),
MWPA
,
Telling Room
&
Speedwell Projects
(for author readings, talks and podcasts with local writers),
Mumbai to Maine
(cooking),
Staycation options
, and art,
dance & drum virtual classes
.
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We will be launching a second cycle of the
Portland Artist Relief Fund
in September. In the meantime, we are promoting ongoing activities throughout the arts community and trying to develop ideas to create opportunities for artists and to help sustain the local creative community. Some of the testimonies below illustrate the impact and gratitude expressed by artists who have already received $500 stipends from the Relief Fund's first cycle of awards. Many thanks to all the donors for your generous contributions.
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A Musician
Thank you so much! I really appreciate this stipend, and it means a lot to know that the broader Portland community came together to support the fund so vigorously. Thanks from the bottom of my heart for all your work helping to keep us all afloat and connected, and I hope you're all doing all right wherever these weird times may find you.
A Painter:
Please accept my most sincere gratitude for this grant. It will help me to offset the costs of maintaining my studio while my workshops are on hold temporarily. I appreciate all that you do on behalf of artists in Portland. We are so lucky to have your support. I will absolutely pay this generosity forward.
A Photographer:
We live in a place of great compassion, resilience and innovation so I know that we will rise up above this. The support of folks like yourselves allows someone like me to continue to put art out into the world and just even pay for my gas and means to do it!
A Printmaker:
Many artists like myself operate with little or no financial back-up for our practice. This Emergency fund is very helpful to enable us to stay afloat and get through to a time when we can get back on our feet. I love living and working in Portland and will continue to be part of our vibrant arts community.
A Gallery Director:
It is incredibly meaningful to have financial help extended during this difficult time, and I am so grateful to you for providing this assistance for me, and for many other artists. My sincere belief is that the Artist Relief Fund will help get me through to the other side of the coronavirus pandemic, helping me take steps that will allow me to remain a part of the Portland arts community. Receiving this grant has helped blunt some of the fear and dislocation that comes with having opportunities and employment in the arts disappear over a short period of time. It will help me get through financially, and it also reminds me that I am part of a supportive, generous, and helpful community of creative people.
A Teacher (musician):
Thank you all so very much for this grant. It will make such a difference in the coming months. Since I applied for this grant over a month ago, I've had many more gigs cancelled than I even reported to you and for the time being, I'm not booking any new gigs because I'm not confident that concerts or festivals will be possible for at least a year. We're all adapting to try and find alternate revenue sources, but the fall and winter are looking pretty lean. This $500 is almost a whole month's rent for me, or more than a month's worth of groceries for me and my partner. This grant does help dispel some of the anxiety that's omnipresent for all gig workers right now.
Thank you so, so much
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With First Friday on hold, visit our
Virtual Events Calendar
to stay socially connected while physically apart. Arts organizations, artists of all genres, and music venues promoting virtual happenings, please send us your listings!
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Creative Portland
Ongoing
All the Great Trees
pays tribute to the wonders of trees, their hidden meanings, and our personal relationships. The online exhibition features Nineteen emerging and professional artists from the Greater Portland Region. All artwork is for sale. In-person viewings at 84 Free Street are available by appointment. Image:
Girls in the Willow
by Kat Miller.
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State Theater
June 2nd, 8:00pm
Join musician/songwriter Benjamin Lazar Davis and Lake Street Dive’s Bridget Kearney on the
State Theater's Facebook Live
for a virtual concert that supports the local venue.
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Portland Ovations
Thursday June 4, 7:00-8:00pm
An exciting,
interactive event
anticipating the wonderful experiences on Ovations' horizon. The free event features exclusive live performances and conversations with Ovations' Executive + Artistic Director Aimée M. Petrin and Ovations staff.
RSVP
to receive the stream link.
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Portland Stage Company
Thursday, June 11, 7:00pm
Join PSC for
What Comes Next
by Jonathan Spector, directed by Cait Robinson, read live by professional actors. The play is part of their
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EMERSON WHITNEY DISCUSSES THEIR MEMOIR HEAVEN
Thursday, June 25th, 7:00pm
Can we escape the discussion of causality? Is the story of our body just ours? With extraordinary emotional force, Whitney sways between theory and memory in order to explore these brazen questions and write
this unforgettable book
. The discussion is hosted via zoom,
RSVP
to receive the link to stream.
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Richard Boyd Art Gallery
June 2 - June 30
A trained commercial and fine artist living in Blue Hill, Maine, Randy Eckard's career as a fine artist working exclusively with watercolors spans more than three decades. View his
solo exhibition online
starting June 2nd.
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Center for Maine Contemporary Art
Through August 15
Curated by Donna McNeil,
Lush, Hush
ranges from lavish and complexly layered renderings to the starkly reductive. The virtual exhibition of Maine artists is available on the
CMCA site
.
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The
Resource Page
on Creative Portland's website highlights arts resources pertaining to Covid-19, including multilingual resources and grant opportunities for
artists and art organizations.
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DEADLINE: Thursday, June 4
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New England Foundation for the Arts
Visit New England Foundation for the Art's
grant page
to see numerous upcoming deadlines for artist grants.
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Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce
As part of their 'Back to Business Maine' initiative, the Chamber of Commerce created
a toolkit
with best practices, marketing ideas, and tips for planning a successful reopening.
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Portland Buy Local
Portland Buy Local
created flexible infographics for our business community so customers have recognizable, cohesive guidelines as they return to businesses.
Pre-order today
!
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HOW TO ASK FOR
MONEY IN TOUGH TIMES
Maine Arts Commission & MANP
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PPP LOAN FORGIVENESS RESOURCES
Americans for the Arts
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Thank you for your wonderful work on behalf of the arts and cultural communities in Greater Portland!
We raise a toast to all three of you who have worked tirelessly to make a positive difference in our lives. We wish you luck in your future endeavors!
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RIP Alain Nahimana. We will miss you brother!
We are devastated to hear of the unexpected death of Alain Nahimana,
Co-Founder & Executive Director of the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center,
on May 31, a true community champion and brother.
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The Nation is ablaze. We stand with the minority communities that continually face systemic oppression and violence. Together, we must educate ourselves to end racism and injustice.
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The
New York Times
published a shocking list on Memorial Day acknowledging the human toll of 100,000 Americans in the past three months who died of complications related to Covid-19.
The extensive list
, including beloved Mainers, only captured 1% of those who died nationwide, along with a one-liner about each person.
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THIS IS US.
We send our thoughts and prayers to those of you - in our neck of the woods - who have lost family and friends to this terrible disease.
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VOLUNTEER & INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
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