The arts agency for the cities of Lewiston and Auburn, Maine
Learn MoreCALLING ALL VISUAL ARTISTS – ARTWALK LEWISTON/AUBURN
Lamey Wellehan Gallery – Artwalk L/A
Artwalk L/A August is now accepting submissions!
DEADLINE: SUNDAY, AUGUST 10TH, 2014 FRIDAY ARTWALK: AUGUST 29TH, 2014 5:00 – 8:30 P.M.
L/A Arts is committed to supporting the work of local artists, and in July came close to it’s goal – Artwalk Drive to Sell 10 Pieces! 6 pieces in L/A Arts’ galleries were sold in July, and we are furthering our campaign to get patrons to “Enjoy it at Artwalk, Enjoy it Forever – Purchase L/A Artwork today!”
Artwork from the July Artwalk is still for sale at: http://www.artwalklewistonauburn.com/artist-gallery
Remember, there is NO commission for L/A Arts for sold pieces in its galleries, so get the exposure, and the sale you deserve! Submit at: http://www.artwalklewistonauburn.com/
For more information contact L/A Arts at: 207-782-7228 or email: [email protected] Come walk with us in August!
Find us on Facebook or visit our websites:
Ongoing Exhibits:
Special Exhibit with Creative Trails
L/A Arts (221 Lisbon Street) July 17th through August 15th:
Creative Trails an innovative, experiential community support program for adults with intellectual uniqueness. The organization offers art, agriculture, horsemanship, and experiential outdoor, music and culinary art programs to create a meaningful day. Creative Trails has 5 locations spread through Southern and Central Maine.www.creativetrails.org
Special Exhibit with Local Artist Frank O. Gross, Jr.:
Argo Marketing Gallery Space (64 Lisbon Street)
L/A Arts is proud to include local artist Frank O. Gross Jr. as part of July Artwalk. Frank is a lifelong resident of Lisbon. Born in 1926, Frank and his wife, Helena, have raised six children and owned a construction company. After building houses in the Lisbon area for nearly forty years, he retired in 1989 and rekindled his childhood love of sketching. Soon he tried his hand at oil painting and took to it like a duck to water. His favorite subjects are historical black and white photographs of the local area, which he renders in beautiful color. Frank uses the faces of family members and friends as models for his paintings and often you’ll find his own likeness on canvas as well. His works have been featured in newspapers and magazines, and many of his pieces are on view at the Marion T. Morse Center in Lisbon Falls and at the Harraseeket Inn conference rooms in Freeport. A replica of one of his paintings hangs as a mural on the Downeast Oil building on Main Street as a tribute to his significant artistic contributions to the town of Lisbon. His work will be displayed at the Argo Marketing Gallery Space (64 Lisbon Street)as part of Artwalk July.
L/A Arts would like to thank the 2014 Artwalk Sponsors for making this year possible!
Underwriting Sponsor:
Additional Sponsors:
L/A ARTS ANNOUNCES NEW TREE GRID SCULPTURE INITIATIVE
June, 2014
L/A Arts/The Fay Slover Fund at The Boston Foundation
NEW TREE GRID
PUBLIC ART SCULPTURE INITIATIVE &
FIRST MAJOR CORPORATE DONATION
Artist rendition of Hewitt sculpture in downtown Lewiston
LEWISTON – L/A Arts is pleased to announce its newest initiative, a public art sculpture project entitled the New Tree Grid. It is also excited to announce the first corporate donation in support of the project, in the amount of $2,500 from Time Warner Cable to jumpstart the fundraising effort. “We’re happy to partner with L/A Arts in support of its new sculpture initiative which makes a proud statement for the area while bringing enjoyment to the public,” said Paul Schonewolf, area vice president of operations with Time Warner Cable. “Time Warner Cable is honored to be part of the Lewiston-Auburn community,” he added. This initiative facilitates the installation of two major art sculptures in downtown Lewiston, created by nationally recognized artists with direct connections to L/A. These pieces will begin a larger place-making initiative in the area, as the eventual goal of the New Tree Grid will be the installation of a series of public sculptures along an artwalk connecting the Twin Cities. For this initial phase, a sculpture by L/A native and artist Charlie Hewitt will be installed on a vacant lot in downtown Lewiston, the site of a fire in the spring of 2013 which destroyed the buildings which stood there. The work will capture and celebrate the area’s rich heritage and culture, and further the revitalization of Maine’s second largest city.
NEW TREE GRID PARTNERS: L/A Arts, Cities of Lewiston & Auburn, Androscoggin Valley of Governments (AVCOG), Lewiston/Auburn Economic Growth Council (LAEGC), the Androscoggin Valley Chamber of Commerce, Community Concepts, Bates College, and Senator Susan Collins office.
For more information on this unique project, including how to become a sponsor, please contact:
L/A Arts Executive Director Joshua Vink at [email protected]
Artist Charlie Hewitt overseeing his work in studio
Artist Bio:
CHARLIE HEWITT, (www.charliehewitt.com) formally a New York City based artist, painter, printmaker and sculptor – moved to Portland, Maine in 2004 to accompany his exhibitions of sculpture and painting at the FarnsworthMuseum, (Rockland, Maine) as well as his print retrospective at the Bates College Museum of Art (LewistonMaine). Hewitt returned to Maine, his native state, following a long association with the Vinalhaven Press where he created prints for publisher Pat Nick. Charlie continues to exhibit in New York City as well as at regional venues. His work can be found in the collections of: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum, The Brooklyn Museum, and The Fogg Art Museum as well as the following collections in Maine: The Portland Museum of Art, The Farnsworth Art Museum, and the museums at Bowdoin and Colby Colleges. His most recent sculpture project, Urban Rattle, is currently installed on The High Line in New York City’s Chelsea district. He is represented by Jim Kempner Fine Arts, New YorkNY.
ARTS IN EDUCATION – MAINE WRITES 2014 OPEN MIC EVENT – BATES COLLEGE
2014 L/A ARTS MAINE WRITES OPEN MIC CELEBRATION
TUESDAY, MARCH 18TH
OLIN ARTS CENTER, BATES COLLEGE
Please note: This program is not open to the general public.
L/A Arts is pleased to announce that all eleven classes from Lewiston and Auburn public schools participating in Arts in Education program Maine Writes will come together for an “Open Mic” celebration. This is the culminating event for this program, which began in November 2013 at four Lewiston (Farwell, Geiger, and Montello Elementary, and LewistonMiddle School) and two Auburn schools (SherwoodHeights, Edward Little High School). Classroom residencies took place over the course of a ten-week (twenty-class) program, taught by an L/A Arts professional poetry teaching artist partnered with a public school classroom teacher. Afterward, an across district poetry slam tournament took place, some of the winners of which went on to compete in Global Writes invitational competitions with schools from New York City. All of the poetry slam tournaments took place live via teleconferencing between schools. The two winning teams for their respective competitions were: Farwell Elementary School & Edward Little High School, the former of which won the Maine based district wide tournament, while they and the latter won their Global Writes competitions.
During this “Open Mic” event, interested students will have their names drawn to get up and perform their pieces in front of the approximately 200 students and 15 teachers who participated in the program. In addition, awards will be given out, and guest performances will take place.
L/A Arts program Maine Writes enhances student literacy skills, understanding of the poetic form, and builds community through the study of poetry. The work applies student learning through the composition and performance of originally written poems. These pieces are based on themes inspired by the poetry students have studied, and topics from their lives and community that have importance to them.
Edward Little High School Student LaJaal Anguba reciting her poem
(Photo by J. Hyland)
The program is supported by the reception of four grants: Maine Arts Commission – SMART, National Endowment for the Arts – Art Works, Quimby Family Foundation, and The Betterment Fund. Maine Writes is taking place with support from two partnering New York City based arts in education organizations, Global Writes (http://globalwrites.org) and Dreamyard Project (www.dreamyard.com). During the 2012-13 school year, these two organizations invited L/A Arts and the Lewiston/Auburn Public Schools to establish Maine Writes, joining their community of districts from across the country in arts in education sharing opportunities through innovative technologies.
This program is made possible by the following additional supporting funders:
The Lewiston Public Schools, The Davis Family Foundation, The George and Helen Ladd Foundation, Mechanics Savings Bank, Center Street Dental.
For more information contact:
Joshua Vink, Executive Director, LAArts: [email protected]
L/A Arts 221 Lisbon Street, LewistonMaine04240
Arts in Education – 2nd Annual Maine Writes Poetry Slam Competition – February, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
2014 L/A ARTS MAINE WRITES POETRY RESIDENCIES/SLAM
L/A District Wide, Global Writes Slam Competitions:
L/A Schools vs. New York City, San Francisco
Lewiston vs. Auburn Schools
Live Via Teleconferencing
Location: Geiger & Farwell Elementary School Libraries,
Lewiston Regional Technical Center (Judging Site)
Schedule: Attached and below in body of email.
L/A Arts is pleased to announce the second year of Maine Writes poetry residencies and slam tournament is taking place six Lewiston/Auburn schools. Eleven Arts in Education residencies are currently taking place at four Lewiston (Farwell, Geiger, and Montello Elementary, and Lewiston Middle School) and two Auburn schools (Sherwood Heights, Edward Little High School). These classroom workshops have taken place over the course of a ten week (20 class) program, and are team taught by an L/A Arts professional poetry teaching artist partnered with a Lewiston/Auburn public school classroom teacher. During the work, students are studying the poetic literary form, and applying their understanding by writing and performing their own original pieces. The students have written and will be presenting original poems based on themes inspired by the poetic artwork they have studied, and topics from their lives and community that have importance to them. All participating students will receive a special commendation for their work.
Students are preparing to compete in a district-wide and/or global writes slam competition live via videoconferencing. Edward Little High School will compete against high school teams from Yonkers, San Francisco and the Bronx, NYC to jumpstart the competition in early February. The elementary and middle school classes will participate in a Lewiston/Auburn district wide competition, the winners of which will go on to the Global Writes invitational finals with schools from San Francisco and New York. In a spirit of celebratory competitiveness, 5 students from each competing class (chosen by their peers and teachers) will perform their poems, which will be adjudicated by a panel of adults and students for the merit of its poetic and performance quality.
In November of 2013, administrators and teaching teams from the Lewiston/Auburn Public Schools and L/A Arts met and planned an integrative poetry and English Language Arts curriculum that is aligned with Maine State Learning Results and Common Core Standards. At this introductory professional development workshop, planning with NYC partners took place around the overall scope and expectations of Maine Writes, and arts in education practices in the classroom. When residencies began, the teaching team took these plans into their instruction in the classroom. In addition, they continue to meet once a week (45 minutes) over the course of the program to reflect on the effectiveness of lessons, codify practices, and measure classroom learning goals.
Maine Writes will take place with support from two New York City based arts in education organizations, Global Writes (http://globalwrites.org) and Dreamyard Project (www.dreamyard.com). During the 2012-13 school year, these two organizations invited the Lewiston Public Schools and L/A Arts to establish Maine Writes, joining their community of schools from across the country (Chicago, San Francisco, Yonkers, etc…) in arts in education sharing opportunities through innovative technologies.
For more information contact: Joshua Vink, Interim Executive Director, LAArts: [email protected]
L/A Arts 221 Lisbon Street, Lewiston Maine 04240
ph. (207) 782-7228 fax (207)782-8192 www.laarts.org
2014 Maine Writes Poetry Slam Schedule:
I
nvitational Global Writes Competition:
Thursday, February 6th 1:30 pm – Edward Little HS participating – @Lewiston Regional Technical Center – Room v217
Maine – L/A District Wide Competition:
Monday, February 10th: First Round Elementary School Competition – @LRTC, Geiger, Farwell
Tuesday, February 11th: First & Semifinal Rounds Elementary School Competition – @LRTC, Geiger, Farwell
Wednesday, February 12th: Elementary School Finals – @LRTC, Geiger, Farwell
Middle School Competition – @Lewiston Middle School Auditorium
Global Writes Invitational Competition: Finals
Week of February 24th: Global Writes Finals TBD – Winning Maine elementary and middle schools competing – @LRTC
This program is provided to the Lewiston Auburn schools from the following foundational/public/private funders:
The Lewiston Public Schools, Mechanic Savings Bank, George and Helen Ladd Foundation, the Betterment Fund, the Lewiston Public Schools, Dreamyard Project, Global Writes, and The Davis Family Foundation.
Artist Bios:
John Holdridge (Geiger Elementary School) is an educator and teaching artists working in the field of creative literacy and language development. He divides his work time between leading creative writing and reading workshops for Pre K-12 students and professional development sessions for their teachers. He is the owner and lead consultant of John Holdridge Consulting as well as a senior associate with the ArtsLiteracy Project at Brown University.
Martin Steingesser is author of two books of poems, Brothers of Morning and The Thinking Heart: the Life and Loves of Etty Hillesum, both published by Deerbrook Editions (North Yarmouth, ME, 2002 and 2012). The poems have also been published in a broad spectrum, including national magazines, such as The Sun, the Humanist, The Progressive and Country Journal, the Op-Ed Page of The New York Times. As a performer, Martin has participated in the Touring Artist program of the Maine Arts Commission for the past 30 years, performing poems and stories for diverse audiences at venues around the state. Since 1981, Martin has been teaching some 50-100 workshop days a year in the Maine Arts Commission’s Artist in Residence programs and with L/A Arts, in public schools, colleges and at state arts conferences, such as the Maine Council for English Language Arts and the Maine Alliance for Arts Education. His awards include the Maine Alliance for Arts Education’s 2006 Bill Bonyun Award “for exemplified talent and professionalism as an Artist and contributions to arts education. He is Portland, Maine’s first Poet Laureate (2009-11).
Maria Fico and John Ellrodt, Co-Presidents of Global Writes, have spent over forty years working in the schools and classrooms of New York and other cities. As teachers, as district staff and as technology specialists, they have designed and implemented countless projects and programs to explore the ways that new and emerging technologies enhance and extend education. In 1998 they created Bronx Writes, a performance poetry program, centering on writing workshops with resident teaching artists, and the use of videoconferencing to share student work. Through close partnership with DreamYard, a Bronx-based arts organization, the program grew from four schools to nearly thirty, and from six classrooms to over fifty. Global Writes was formed in 2005 expressly to bring the Bronx Writes concept to other cities, to further develop the model, and to begin to build a global community of student poets. Over the last few years, John, Maria and Global Writes have been recipients of three separate grants from the US Department of Education. The Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination program has funded startup of new Global Writes partnerships in Chicago, with Young Chicago Authors and Chicago Public Schools, and, most recently, in San Francisco, with Performing Arts Workshop and San Francisco Unified School District. Data gathered from these and earlier studies have underscored the positive academic, social and emotional impact of the Global Writes model, and just how valuable it is to bring young people together to learn the power and beauty of the written and spoken word.
L/A Arts Maine Writes Poetry Slam Competitions – February 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
2014 L/A ARTS MAINE WRITES POETRY RESIDENCIES/SLAM
L/A District Wide, Global Writes Slam Competitions:
L/A Schools vs. New York City, San Francisco
Lewiston vs. Auburn Schools
Live Via Teleconferencing
Location: Geiger & Farwell Elementary School Libraries,
Lewiston Regional Technical Center (Judging Site)
Schedule: Attached and below in body of email.
L/A Arts is pleased to announce the second year of Maine Writes poetry residencies and slam tournament is taking place six Lewiston/Auburn schools. Eleven Arts in Education residencies are currently taking place at four Lewiston (Farwell, Geiger, and Montello Elementary, and Lewiston Middle School) and two Auburn schools (Sherwood Heights, Edward Little High School). These classroom workshops have taken place over the course of a ten week (20 class) program, and are team taught by an L/A Arts professional poetry teaching artist partnered with a Lewiston/Auburn public school classroom teacher. During the work, students are studying the poetic literary form, and applying their understanding by writing and performing their own original pieces. The students have written and will be presenting original poems based on themes inspired by the poetic artwork they have studied, and topics from their lives and community that have importance to them. All participating students will receive a special commendation for their work.
Students are preparing to compete in a district-wide and/or global writes slam competition live via videoconferencing. Edward Little High School will compete against high school teams from Yonkers, San Francisco and the Bronx, NYC to jumpstart the competition in early February. The elementary and middle school classes will participate in a Lewiston/Auburn district wide competition, the winners of which will go on to the Global Writes invitational finals with schools from San Francisco and New York. In a spirit of celebratory competitiveness, 5 students from each competing class (chosen by their peers and teachers) will perform their poems, which will be adjudicated by a panel of adults and students for the merit of its poetic and performance quality.
In November of 2013, administrators and teaching teams from the Lewiston/Auburn Public Schools and L/A Arts met and planned an integrative poetry and English Language Arts curriculum that is aligned with Maine State Learning Results and Common Core Standards. At this introductory professional development workshop, planning with NYC partners took place around the overall scope and expectations of Maine Writes, and arts in education practices in the classroom. When residencies began, the teaching team took these plans into their instruction in the classroom. In addition, they continue to meet once a week (45 minutes) over the course of the program to reflect on the effectiveness of lessons, codify practices, and measure classroom learning goals.
Maine Writes will take place with support from two New York City based arts in education organizations, Global Writes (http://globalwrites.org) and Dreamyard Project (www.dreamyard.com). During the 2012-13 school year, these two organizations invited the Lewiston Public Schools and L/A Arts to establish Maine Writes, joining their community of schools from across the country (Chicago, San Francisco, Yonkers, etc…) in arts in education sharing opportunities through innovative technologies.
For more information contact: Joshua Vink, Interim Executive Director, LAArts: [email protected]
L/A Arts 221 Lisbon Street, Lewiston Maine 04240
ph. (207) 782-7228 fax (207)782-8192 www.laarts.org
2014 Maine Writes Poetry Slam Schedule:
Invitational Global Writes Competition:
Thursday, February 6th 1:30 pm – Edward Little HS participating – @Lewiston Regional Technical Center – Room v217
Maine – L/A District Wide Competition:
Monday, February 10th: First Round Elementary School Competition – @LRTC, Geiger, Farwell
Tuesday, February 11th: First & Semifinal Rounds Elementary School Competition – @LRTC, Geiger, Farwell
Wednesday, February 12th: Elementary School Finals – @LRTC, Geiger, Farwell
Middle School Competition – @Lewiston Middle School Auditorium
Global Writes Invitational Competition: Finals
Week of February 24th: Global Writes Finals TBD – Winning Maine elementary and middle schools competing – @LRTC
This program is provided to the Lewiston Auburn schools from the following supporters:
The Lewiston Public Schools, Mechanic Savings Bank, George and Helen Ladd Foundation, the Betterment Fund, the Lewiston Public Schools, Dreamyard Project, Global Writes, and The Davis Family Foundation.
Artist Bios:
John Holdridge (Geiger Elementary School) is an educator and teaching artists working in the field of creative literacy and language development. He divides his work time between leading creative writing and reading workshops for Pre K-12 students and professional development sessions for their teachers. He is the owner and lead consultant of John Holdridge Consulting as well as a senior associate with the ArtsLiteracy Project at Brown University.
Martin Steingesser is author of two books of poems, Brothers of Morning and The Thinking Heart: the Life and Loves of Etty Hillesum, both published by Deerbrook Editions (North Yarmouth, ME, 2002 and 2012). The poems have also been published in a broad spectrum, including national magazines, such as The Sun, the Humanist, The Progressive and Country Journal, the Op-Ed Page of The New York Times. As a performer, Martin has participated in the Touring Artist program of the Maine Arts Commission for the past 30 years, performing poems and stories for diverse audiences at venues around the state. Since 1981, Martin has been teaching some 50-100 workshop days a year in the Maine Arts Commission’s Artist in Residence programs and with L/A Arts, in public schools, colleges and at state arts conferences, such as the Maine Council for English Language Arts and the Maine Alliance for Arts Education. His awards include the Maine Alliance for Arts Education’s 2006 Bill Bonyun Award “for exemplified talent and professionalism as an Artist and contributions to arts education. He is Portland, Maine’s first Poet Laureate (2009-11).
Maria Fico and John Ellrodt, Co-Presidents of Global Writes, have spent over forty years working in the schools and classrooms of New York and other cities. As teachers, as district staff and as technology specialists, they have designed and implemented countless projects and programs to explore the ways that new and emerging technologies enhance and extend education. In 1998 they created Bronx Writes, a performance poetry program, centering on writing workshops with resident teaching artists, and the use of videoconferencing to share student work. Through close partnership with DreamYard, a Bronx-based arts organization, the program grew from four schools to nearly thirty, and from six classrooms to over fifty. Global Writes was formed in 2005 expressly to bring the Bronx Writes concept to other cities, to further develop the model, and to begin to build a global community of student poets. Over the last few years, John, Maria and Global Writes have been recipients of three separate grants from the US Department of Education. The Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination program has funded startup of new Global Writes partnerships in Chicago, with Young Chicago Authors and Chicago Public Schools, and, most recently, in San Francisco, with Performing Arts Workshop and San Francisco Unified School District. Data gathered from these and earlier studies have underscored the positive academic, social and emotional impact of the Global Writes model, and just how valuable it is to bring young people together to learn the power and beauty of the written and spoken word.