First Friday Art Walk

Join Portland Public Library for First Friday Art Walk from 5:00-7:00pm. This month, we celebrate the opening of Washed Away presented by the Union of Maine Visual Arts in the Lewis Gallery and an exhibit by Side x Side in the Camden National Bank Community Gallery.

Washed Away 
Presented by the Union of Maine Visual Arts (UMVA)

The UMVA is an arts organization deeply rooted in Maine Artists working together to build community through collaborations and strengthening each other’s work with group exhibitions, art events and collaborative creating.

In January of 2024, Mainers saw first-hand, more than ever before, the sea rising up and washing away waterfronts, shorelines and places we have known and loved for lifetimes. Wind and water dragged the remnants off to sea. 

Similarly, disruptions to our long-held beliefs, faiths, and individual rights have been pummeled by the powerful, exposing us to new levels of vulnerability. Our very sense of what is true has been thrown into doubt. 

This exhibition is an opportunity for the large membership of UMVA from all across Maine to both mirror and comment on what is happening in these historic times—what is “washed away” for us because of the physical and political storms that are felt throughout our communities; with changing land use, jobs, housing, businesses and even the right to make personal choices. 

We also asked the artists: 'In the wake of this year’s events, what saved you?' Some of our artists explore the emotional changes of stormy times within our communities as well as in the world in which we share a common future. While others show us how they overcame some of the events of the past year.

Have a look at what they share with us in this amazing exhibition.

This UMVA 'Call to Art' has received an enormous outpouring of exceptional artwork from members across Maine. We cannot display them all, but we will be showing a video during the exhibition that will loop through all the submissions continuously so that viewers have the opportunity to experience the breadth of interest and talent in Maine.

This exhibition has been curated by Carl Little—poet, author, journalist, lecturer, and art curator. He will be present at the opening on May 2 as well as on First Friday, June 6th, at which time he will give a gallery talk about the show.

UMVA gratefully acknowledges our Washed Away Show Sponsor: Green Clean Maine

Side x Side Exhibit

Side x Side will host an exhibit about their work, history, and current projects downstairs in PPL’s Camden National Bank Community Gallery from April 11–June 6, 2025.

Side x Side is a Portland, Maine-based nonprofit organization that empowers youth through the arts by working side by side with teachers, artists, and students to strengthen academic achievement, cultivate creativity, and build community.

For the past ten years, Side x Side has provided public schools and communities with research-based teaching and learning strategies delivered through its arts-integrated programs. Its interdisciplinary framework revitalizes teaching and learning through student engagement, community involvement, and equitable academic opportunities.

An opening reception will be held on Friday, May 2, 4:30–6pm which will include a display of papier-mâché salmon sculptures created by third graders at Rowe Elementary School. Integrated with a Wabanaki Studies unit called “Take Me to the River,” this arts-integrated Side x Side program included an in-depth exploration of local rivers and waterways and highlighted the importance of flora and fauna in indigenous communities. Students learned about the Presumpscot River in their own backyard, and the profound impact of dams on migratory species of fish, the ecological makeup of the surrounding area, and the people who live there. Focusing on Atlantic salmon, students learned and drew about their reproductive life cycle, and then used papier-mâché and paint to create salmon sculptures.