ARRT! Update – Summer 2026

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.

ARRT! and LumenARRT! joined forces with NoFlockforSoPo to oppose South Portland’s contract with Flock Safety, an Atlanta-based company that contracts with law enforcement agencies and collects data from surveillance cameras in communities. Local residents and activists were concerned about what data was collected and who it was shared with. Activists protested on street corners and social media, many using ARRT! signs, arrows, and placards to inform residents of the existence and placements of the hidden cameras. City Councilors were deluged with questions from local residents and demands to end the contract. After a series of packed meetings, the councilors voted on 11 June to remove the cameras and cancel the contract. We applaud a job well done!

ARRT!ists were in residence this past May in Pembroke, Maine. Ten members painted non-stop for days in Reversing Hall, with volunteers and homeschoolers supporting the efforts of Greenhorns. The huge 12-by-18-foot banner depicting Cobscook Bay’s abundant life will hang permanently in the Reversing Hall. It was used by Greenhorns and the Downeast Salmon Federation as a backdrop for a free concert with the Mallett Brothers Band, The Milk and Honey Rebellion, and The Midnight Riders in Machias at Bad Little Falls Park. The concert was the culmination of the For All the Fish event, which was “a day of music, conversation, and action celebrating Downeast Maine’s wild rivers, coastal ecosystems, and fisheries, while shining a light on the growing concerns surrounding industrial salmon net-pen farming and its impacts on Maine’s coastal waters.”

Large cut out fish forms were made by Greenhorns. ARRT! and community members thoroughly enjoyed painting them. These were used at the concert and will hang on their Route One motel and other locations.

For All the Fish included a teach-in at the Downeast Salmon Federation Hatchery, where ARRTists and community members created yard signs reflecting the concerns and information provided by expert speakers. Reproduced below are some of the yard signs created at the hatchery:

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To their delight, attendees left with yard signs to post in their communities, expanding the reach of the teach-in.

ARRT! has been working for months to provide fish placards, many inscribed with the Passamaquoddy names of the fish for the Fifth Annual Pennamaquan Alewife Festival! 

We were grateful for the opportunity to be involved with the creative and educational projects of the amazing Greenhorns, to experience the majesty of the Cobscook Bay region, and to connect with sincere people doing good work for all of us.

In June ARRT! produced some amazing work! Activist artists came fired up to report on successful campaigns and to work together on some new initiatives.

The proposed Amazon warehouse in Gorham has residents organizing in opposition. Among other negative impacts, the huge structure would endanger the fragile wetlands and create a traffic nightmare for the community. The yard signs below were painted during the June session:

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Multifaith Justice Maine is organizing a celebration of the multi-faith community as a statewide movement that brings together people from across the spectrum of belief and traditions to work together to create a more just and loving world. Part of their focus is countering the white Christian nationalist movement by strengthening and celebrating the beauty and presence of the multifaith community.

Three Rivers Land Trust promotes getting outdoors, driven by their mission: “We build reciprocal relationships to land through conservation, recreation, and education.”

ARRT! worked with many other groups fighting for local and statewide issues this spring. CMP rate hikes were a project ARRTists and activists worked to highlight. Some street theater included a tug-of-war as well, which was depicted in an ARRT! banner.

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Citizens throughout Maine continue to rally in support of immigrant rights and the illegal tactics of ICE.

Activists from the town of Sanford joined ARRT! to bring to light their concerns about waste water facility plans and a future data center in their community.

When ARRT! contributes to highlighting issues and gets picked up by local media, we know we’re on the right path.

Join us for the next gathering of ARRT! on 20 September in Bowdoinham. We gather from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Merrymeeting Grange Hall, 27 Main Street. The Bowdoinham Historical Society is our host, 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 welcome to join in and ARRT! is always on the lookout for organizations in need of our services. Check out our website and our Instagram and Facebook pages for updates! Visit our website to see hundreds of the banners, signs, and props we’ve made over the past twelve years.