PACA kicks off an all new series of Creative Conversations on March 17 with “YOUR TURN!”.

All Creative Conversations take place at SPACE Gallery, 538 Congress Street, Portland, www.space538.org.
Doors open at 6:30, program from 7 to 9 pm.

YOUR TURN! is a Creative Conversations comment box, moderated by Jessica Tomlinson.  This an open-forum discussion with members of PACA, the newly minted Creative Portland Corporation, City of Portland representatives, local press and the music and gallery communities. Come to this informal roundtable for answers to your questions or to voice your concerns about the future of the Arts in Portland. There are a few different avenues you can take to contribute to the conversation: during the discussion; submit an email anytime up until the day of the event with your question or comment to info@portlandarts.org, include the subject line “Your Turn”; or fill out a comment card anonymously and drop it in the comment box provided at the beginning of the night. Come be a part of setting the Arts agenda for years to come.

Future Creative Conversations:

April 13 – The Arts in our Communities.  This program will highlight several projects that are currently engaging diverse communities in Portland through the arts.  Panelists will discuss programs in Public Art, individual initiatives, and Art at Work, a national venture to improve municipal government through strategic art-making projects with city employees and elected politicians.  This program will be moderated by Marty Pottenger, PACA board member and Arts & Equity Director for the city of Portland, www.artatworkproject.us.

May 19 – Cool Ideas!  This evening, PACA invites several arts leaders in the community to discuss recently developed projects that have made Portland a more exciting, interesting, and creative place to be.

When: Tuesday, December 22nd from 4-5pm
Where: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, 561 Congress Street

The meeting will provide an opportunity for anyone interested in the project to learn more about initial design concepts, offer suggestions and ask questions of the design and development team.

Questions or comments may be directed to:
Greg Payne, Development Officer at 553-7780 x211 or gpayne@avestahousing.org

This meeting is to discuss the development of the proposed low income housing development project on Oak Street. Who should attend? Anyone, including artists and business people, interested in supporting artist live/work units. Have your voice heard – attend!

Board Secretary Virginia Rose commented, “With so many new venues across Portland, we are hoping to make travel between downtown and Munjoy Hill easier, and bring more art walk participants across the Franklin Artery in style.”

The trolley will run, free of charge, making stops along the following route: Longfellow Square, Congress Square, Monument Square, Washington Avenue & Congress Street, India Street & Middle Street, Exchange Street & Middle Street. For more information about Portland Discovery Land & Sea Tours, see their website: www.portlanddiscovery.com.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

In the 2008-09 fiscal year, PACA received $10,000 from the Maine Arts Commission for building capacity in Maine’s cultural communities and $4,000 for the Public Art Lecture Series. The Davis Family Foundation granted PACA $7,500 for the First Friday Art Walk, and the City of Portland contributed $5,000 for general operating support.

Board president Alice Kornhauser commented, “We are deeply gratified to have such substantial support from public, private and non-profit sectors for programs like First Friday Art Walk that contribute so much to the quality of life in Portland, not to mention over $250,000 a year to the local economy.”

PACA’s four newly-appointed board members include: Peter Bass (President of Random Orbit, Inc. a progressive real estate development company and member of the Developers Collaborative), Ezekiel Callanan (co-founder and Executive Director of Maine Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts), Amanda Flanagan (Account Executive, gBritt PR), and Marty Pottenger (Director, Arts & Equity Initiative, City of Portland and Executive Director, Terra Moto Inc.).

About Portland Arts and Cultural Alliance (PACA):
Founded in 1985 and designated as the City of Portland, Maine’s local arts agency in 1997, PACA’s core programs include First Friday Art Walk and Creative Conversations. PACA also provides support to the City of Portland’s Public Art Committee as well as the newly established Maine Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. PACA was the facilitating agency for Portland’s participation in the Maine Arts Commission’s Discovery Research and “Arts and Economic Prosperity” national survey through Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America.

The Public Art Event Series

As the Maine Arts Commission’s Percent for Art program enters its 30th year, the agency is celebrating the program’s transformative power by sponsoring a series of public art events that take place throughout the state in 2009.

The Public Art Event Series is designed to foster discussions about public art in Maine. National and international experts and public artists will spark conversation by challenging preconceived notions about what public art is today as they share their artistic methods and practices.

Through a juried selection process, five Maine arts organizations were funded by the Maine Arts Commission to present dynamic speakers who will make significant contributions to our notions of public art. The local arts organizations are: Tides Institute and Museum of Art in Eastport, Portland Arts and Cultural Alliance, Waterville Arts Council, SPACE Gallery in Portland and Maine College of Art.

Schedule:

May 29, 7pm
Amy Hausmann
Discusses Arts for Transit (AFT) Program
SPACE Gallery, Portland

June 5 – Oct. 31
Eighth Annual Sculpture Garden Invitational
(Conversation with the artists on August 26)
Art Gallery – University of New England, Westbrook College Campus, Portland

June 6, 6pm
Jean Shin
Discusses Celadon Remnants
SPACE Gallery, Portland

June 19, 5 – 8pm
Eco-Motion
A multi-site installation of interactive sculpture
Downtown Belfast

July 25 – Sept. 12
Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium
Watch the creation of public sculptures
SERC, Schoodic Point

Aug. 9 – 15
Sue Clifford
Parish Maps: Building a Sense of Place through the Work of Common Ground
Tides Institute and Museum of Art, Eastport

October 9, 6pm
Amy Franceschini
Discusses Futurefarmers and Free Soil
Maine College of Art, Portland

October 17, 2pm
Swoon
Discusses public installations and interventions
SPACE Gallery, Portland

November 13-14
Liz Lerman and Juice 2.0
Art, Innovation and the Built Environment, Camden

Saturday, May 30th
11:00am – 1:00pm
$5

We are having an Arts & Crafts event for all ages! Activities will include: Cartooning lessons by Ed King, painting slates from our roof, making beaded jewelry, making magnets and collages, and more! All materials included (but bring your own if you’d like!) Kids should wear clothes they can get messy.

St. Lawrence Arts Center
76 Congress St. Portland, Me.
775-5568

Join the artists for a reception including live music performed by the local group, under a cardboard sea from 5:00 to 10:00 pm. “Looking Inside” will present art in a variety of mediums from the fifteen artists who make up this unique art collective. Friday’s celebration will also be an open studio event, offering the public a unique opportunity to meet the artists and visit their studios.

The upcoming show also celebrates running with scissors’ one-year anniversary at its new location, 54 Cove Street, home of the Cove Street Art Center.  The show continues through July 31. For more information or directions, call 699-4242.

The relocation of running with scissors artist studio space to Cove Street has resulted both in an expansion of it’s fully-equipped studio concept and a revival of it’s vibrant and re-known gallery.  The 7 year old studio’s presence has also inspired owner, Jeff Ritter, to transform the entire building into the Cove Street Art Center, which, as well as being home to running with scissors and J.S. Ritter Supply for jewelers, will soon house a second gallery and artist studio space. Construction is virtually completed on the 3500 square feet Open Concepts Studios which includes studio space for most art disciplines, a gallery, and a metals and glass workshop/classroom space. Although appropriate for a variety of art disciplines, all of the studios will have natural gas feeds and ventilation and are approved for the use of soldering equipment making these studios ideally unique in Portland for both jewelers and glassmakers.

A recent Portland Press Herald article shares some information about the initiative.

Read the Full Article Here

“This is a new frontier on how to use TIF money,” said City Councilor David Marshall. “The intent is to use it for the public good, and I really believe that using TIFs for arts and cultural purposes gets to the heart of the public good.” (Portland Press Herald)

April 13 @ 7pm – Spring Networking Event with Maine VLA
Location: Constellation Art, 511 Congress Street, Portland
Doors open at 6:30pm

May 11th @ 7pm – Marketing through Technology
Location: SALT
Doors open at 6:30pm

May 19th @ 6pm – The Creative Economy: Then and Now
Location: Maine Historical Society
Doors open at 5:30pm

June 6th @ Noon-2:30pm – Workshop for Artists
Location: Space
Doors open at 11:30pm

Creative Conversations is a way to connect creative individuals: to each other, to organizations, to information, to opportunities. Sponsored by the Portland Arts & Cultural Alliance and Maine Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts in partnership with Constellation Art, this meeting focuses on providing a networking opportunity for artists and members of the creative community. Additionally, Maine VLA’s Zeke Callanan will present an overview of the support available for legal needs of artists and creative businesses. Join us for this lively event moderated by MECA’s Jessica Tomlinson. Light refreshments will be served. Don’t forget to bring your business cards!