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Andy Lilienthal is the owner and director of Camp Winnebago in Fayette and a member of the board of trustees of the Portland Museum of Art.
Through art we have the opportunity to see the world through someone else’s eyes and gain insight into their life, history and experiences, which may be fundamentally different from our own.
Access to art – to be up close and personal, to see it with your own eyes – is uneven and traditionally reserved for wealthy people.
But that is changing.
The Portland Museum of Art is proud to be part of the Maine Art Museum Trail, a 350-mile tour of the state that connects nine amazing museums and more than 80,000 works of art. From the Linda G. and Donald N. Zillman Art Museum in Bangor to the Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Mainers are never far from a world-class museum – at least by Maine standards.
At the Portland Museum of Art, our mission is “Art for All.” What does that mean? It means we are committed to offering programs that provide opportunities for new artists and break new ground.
“Jeremy Frey: Woven,” for example, is the first major retrospective of a Wabanaki artist in an art museum in the United States and a groundbreaking exhibition of contemporary and indigenous art. With more than 50 baskets made from natural materials such as black ash and marigold, “Woven” presents a comprehensive body of work that spans a career spanning more than two decades.
These works are complex, fascinating and expressive, highlighting Frey’s extraordinary skill and rich creative output that honors and transforms one of the oldest art forms.
And in October, the Portland Museum of Art will present “As We Are,” a dynamic snapshot of contemporary art featuring 14 emerging artists with ties to Maine. Among those artists is photographer Maya Tihtiyas Attean, who grew up on the Alnabe Menahan, the Penobscot Nation’s reservation, and currently works in Portland.
Attean uses photography to create artworks that reflect her heritage, resilience and culture and, like all of her colleagues in this exhibition, has participated in Maine’s extensive artist residency program.
In 2023, both Attean and ceramicist Jenny Ibsen were artist residencies at the Hewnoaks Artist Colony in Lovell, while painter Meg Hahn was one of the residency jurors for a year. Two years earlier, sculptor Brian Smith visited Hewnoaks; and Hahn himself is also a former residency student, having been there the same year as painter Tessa Greene O’Brien.
These overlaps are evident throughout the upcoming exhibition. From exhibiting at the Rockland Center for Maine Contemporary Art to participating and teaching at the Maine College of Art and Design, it will be as difficult to find a part of Maine’s artistic heritage not on display in “As We Are” as it would be difficult to list it all.
Groundbreaking exhibitions are part of making art accessible to all, but that alone is not enough. Every third Thursday of the month, admission to the Portland Museum of Art is free and hours are extended: it stays open until 8 p.m. and features musicians, food trucks, artists and more.
The museum also offers free admission to concerts, special events and activities on Fridays from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. And thanks to the generosity of Susie Konkel, admission is always free for anyone under 21.
The Portland Museum of Art believes that the price of admission should never be a barrier that prevents someone from exploring a new world of art.
And it is this commitment that has led the Museum to develop a long-term strategic vision for the future that will ensure we can continue to bring art to the people of Maine while creating a welcoming, community-focused space.
The PMA Blueprint lays out that vision and includes the expansion of our Portland campus. Through a long, transparent process and with a lot of stakeholder feedback, we have developed an ambitious and groundbreaking plan.
The expansion will allow the museum to expand its collection, create an accessible public space for the Maine community, and increase access to art for people who have not always had the opportunity to enjoy it.
With support from Portland City Council, the museum’s expansion plans are moving forward, but much work remains to be done.
The Portland Museum of Art has changed considerably since its founding in 1882. So has Portland and Maine.
We hope this change will bring greater access to art, a greater appreciation for new artists and new art forms, more exhibitions that are closer to the people of Maine, and a community space that welcomes all people and finds joy in seeing the world through another’s eyes.
