ARRT! Update – Summer 2025

ARRT! (The Artists’ Rapid Response Team!) works with progressive groups and organizations throughout Maine, providing images that can help to distill and clarify their important messages about issues that matter to people in Maine and the world beyond our borders. ARRT! is a project of the Union of Maine Visual Artists (UMVA), a members’ organization of artists helping artists.

 

As 2025 unfolds, Americans are hitting the streets, engaging with our communities, and making our voices heard. ARRT! is providing support for artists, activists, and concerned community members, sharing our skills and a safe place for many to work together on issues they are passionate about.

Collaboration is key and we find joy in the process. For many in these troubling times, our ARRT! sessions are a respite from the tensions as we laugh, combine ideas, and experiment with color, design, words, and images.

The gallery below allows a glimpse of ARRTists and community members at work at the Merrymeeting Grange Hall in Bowdoinham this spring (click to see full image):

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More banners, placards, and props created this spring plus snapshots of ARRT! work in action throughout the state (click to see full image):

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The gallery below displays images of ARRT! work in New York City ad boxes:

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Join us for the next gathering of ARRT! on 8 September in Bowdoinham. We gather from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. at Merrymeeting Grange Hall, 27 Main Street. The Bowdoinham Historical Society are our hosts and the sign out front says “Merrymeeting Books.” (We potluck lunch and provide coffee.) Email mayersnatasha@gmail.com for more info or if you plan on coming.

The Artists’ Rapid Response Team (ARRT!) is a project of the Union of Maine Visual Artists (UMVA). ARRT! is grateful for the support of the UMVA and a donor-advised fund of the Maine Community Foundation. UMVA members and others are always welcome to join in, and ARRT! is always on the lookout for organizations in need of our services. Check out our website and our Facebook page for updates! Visit our website to see hundreds of the banners, signs, and props we’ve made over the past twelve years.