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Here we are standing strong, 15 years later.
As the City's arts agency, we cast a wide net to support local artists from diverse backgrounds and artistic disciplines. We have built and curated a welcoming public space at 84 Free Street for convening and for sharing resources. Of course, an artist-driven arts center is still a dream! In 2008, when Creative Portland set out to attract 10,000 creatives, 2 Degrees Portland and First Friday Art Walk were the two main popular programs. Although the population didn’t actually increase until the immigrants and asylum seekers arrived in droves, or later, when the pandemic triggered urban displacement and migration to Maine, in 2016, our focus changed to nurture and support the artists here in Portland. Since then, we've created programs to showcase and elevate individual practices, with a directive to cultivate patronage. Students that had previously moved out of state after college have started coming back home. Hiring “boomerangs” is now a top priority and an economic development initiative, reinforced by organizations like LIVE WORK MAINE. We focus our efforts on sustainability, yet we realize our scope is limited. It is time for us to expand our reach.
Affordable housing for artists and for underserved populations is still a need and an ongoing challenge. Creative Portland is at the center of arts advocacy for creating opportunities and initiatives to sustain the local arts ecosystem. As a “Federal Captain” representing Maine at American for the Arts, On a recent Fly-In to Washington DC, Ekhlas Ahmed (Cultural Alliance of Maine) and I were trained to lobby our legislative leaders to vote for Biden’s budget recommendations for the NEA and the NEH, as well as other funding sources available through the Department of Defense. Mission accomplished in 2023, but the fight is ongoing and arts advocacy is crucial for future budget consideration. Right here in Maine, the needle hasn’t moved much in terms of increased funding for the Maine Arts Commission. We thank David Greenham, former Executive Director, who tried hard to affect change to boost the Governor's ARTS & HUMANITIES budget, still folded into the tourism and hospitality industries, and still without a heritage industry sector identification.
Let's make that happen, Maine.
On a very local level, in the Portland “Arts District”, Friends of Congress Square Park is doing a great job of programming summer nights in the square, but many buildings in the arts district are vacant with LEASE signs and brown paper storefronts. Gone are two favorite coffee shops including Coffee By Design on Congress Street and Starbucks (a former homeless hangout) in the Hay building. Thankfully, Speckled Ax is still serving it up daily til 3pm. Although Maine Craft Portland will be (sadly) closing their doors on Congress Street, SPACE and Mechanics Hall are holding on strong with excellent programming and engagement, and the PMA is showing its muscle with their 100 million capital campaign for their proposed campus expansion plan. Imagine a world class architectural wonder like we've never seen before in the heart of Portland! Will Historic Preservation have the final influence on the city council or will the recent OP Ed in the Press Herald have an impact on their votes? Fingers crossed for a healthy outcome for the PMA! The construction of USM’s performing arts center, also a hefty budget, is gearing up for construction, and a completed strategic plan and rebranding campaign supported by VIA ad agency for Maine College of Art & Design has revealed a new sign and a new storefront on Elm with student work for sale. This decade will reveal the impact of all these expansion efforts. Let's hope that the Field of Dreams motto, “Build it and they will come” works out.
Meanwhile, inch by inch and step by step, we welcome new public art to Portland. We are especially proud of the community partnerships that have garnered new public art by Clint Fulkerson, funded by Tom Watson’s development at The Armature, 52 Hanover Street in the Bayside. Facilitated and project-managed by Creative Portland, the Armature Wall humanizes the built environment and enhances the Bayside neighborhood, where the Portland artist himself once lived. New public art created by local artists is quite rare in Portland, with the exception of “Luminous Arbor” by Aaron T. Stephan in Woodfords Corner and the Hopeful neon sign, a private commission, created by Charlie Hewitt across the street on the rooftop of Speedwell Projects. A few other projects have also been managed by the Portland Public Art Committee, in addition to the maintenance of their existing collection, and of course the Creative Bus Shelter Initiative has transformed the public art landscape with “add-ons” to existing bus shelters along METRO’s routes, on and off the peninsula. It is our intention to expand the bus shelter program with a special marketing initiative to tell stories about the existing art installations and the artists who created them. Creative Portland hopes to be invited to apply for an NEA Arts Here grant to fund the installation of artistic images and wraparound reproductions on the actual moving buses that lead to the art-centric bus stop destinations.
Enjoy the self-uploaded January event listings, thanks to Bobbie and Holly, who curate and publish a robust wheel of resources in our newsletter, app and website! Use the FREE Creative Portland app to plan ahead. Click on the event images for more information. We'll be back with the Monday Morning Drop By program on Feb 5th with special grant opportunities and information provided by Maine Arts Commission.
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!
DONATIONS are graciously received and tax-deductible online! THANK YOU!
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