The Union of Maine Visual Artists (UMVA) presents a unique exhibition of work dealing with change from both environmental and personal perspectives as constant change impacts the world as we know it, or used to know it, at the Portland Public Library, 5 Monument Square, in downtown Portland, from 2 May to 28 June 2025. Noted art curator, critic, and author, Carl Little, recipient of the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award in art writing by the Rabkin Foundation, juried the show. The show is sponsored by Green Clean Maine.
Janice L. Moore, Unmoored: My Mother’s Boathouse.
Over 100 artists responded in a variety of media including painting, photography, mixed media, video, digital works, and 3D work. Of the sixty artists chosen for this exhibit, notable names include Kimberly Callas, Kenny Cole, Rebecca Goodale, Nina Jerome, Lin Lisberger, Lesia Sochor, Barbara Sullivan, Anita Clearfield, and Nora Tryon.
Mildred Bachrach, Gimme Shelter, mixed media, 30 x 40 in.
Last winter, a combination of rising temperatures in the Gulf of Maine combined with king tides and powerful storms had a profound effect on many Mainers. Most scientists agree that severe weather and warming sea waters are the result of our current climate emergency. We saw iconic structures, docks, homes, and businesses devastated by the storms. During the run of the show, UMVA will feature a gallery talk by Little, as well as a talk by a representative of a local science nonprofit that focuses on climate change in Maine.
Eva Goetz, Walking Melting Mountains, 22 x 40 in.
The Union of Maine Visual Artists, UMVA, founded in 1975, is a non-profit organization that promotes and advocates for the visual arts, artists, and all arts supporters. It is a statewide arts network connecting Maine artists. As artist advocates, the UMVA initiated and saw enacted into state law the Maine Percent for Art Program (requiring a percentage of funds for state buildings to include art) and the Artist’s Estate Tax Law (allowing artwork to be used to pay artists’ estate taxes).
Other programs and projects supported by UMVA include: The Maine Arts Journal, an online, quarterly publication that features essays by and about artists, interviews, UMVA member submissions, poetry, UMVA updates about its current projects, local chapters, and more; ARRT! Artists’ Rapid Response Team, a collaboration of artists and progressive groups making art to create positive change; Lumen ARRT!!, a group creating large-scale video projections in public spaces to give a visual voice to progressive non-profits; and the New England Emmy Award-nominated Maine Masters Project, a video series of nineteen compelling profiles of some of Maine’s most distinguished and often less recognized artists. There are currently two chapters: Portland and Midcoast. More information here.
Dave Wade, Surf Maelstrom.