FARMINGTON — The University of Maine at Farmington kicks off the 2017-18 school year with a vibrant new arts initiative that brings the creative works of emerging artists to the UMF campus, year-round.
The new UMF “Art on Campus” program exhibits the expressive work of two artists per semester in UMF’s Mantor Library. Artist talks also will be featured each semester in the Performance Space in the Emery Community Arts Center, where campus and community members engage directly with the artist, according to a news release from April Mulherin, UMF associate director for media relations.
“We are delighted to have this opportunity to bring rising artists and their creative works to our campus and community,” said Kathryn A. Foster, UMF president, according to the release. “Integrating the arts into our students’ daily lives expands their cultural experience and is one more way we can enhance the quality of their time at Farmington.”
This semester’s featured artists are Shoshannah White and Parisa Ghaderi. Their work will be on exhibit in Mantor Library through Dec. 31.
The Emery Community Arts Center will feature an artist talk by White at noon Wednesday, Sept. 13. Ghaderi will speak on her art in the center at noon Wednesday, Oct. 18, followed by a screening of her recent short films at 7 p.m.
In addition to her interior Mantor installation, White also will install a “Chattermark” mural on an exterior wall of the University’s library from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13. “Chattermark” is a street-art initiative bringing imagery of the Arctic and melting glacial ice to the streets of Maine.
An opening reception will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13, on the Mantor Library patio to celebrate White and Ghaderi’s exhibit and the unique “Chattermark” installation.
The mural at UMF is one of a series of White’s rural installations that inject images of a continally changing Polar landscape into the busy rush of daily life. The printed mural will adhere to the wall with an all-natural binder meant to disintegrate with time.
The Art on Campus program is sponsored by the UMF President’s Office and the H. King & Jean Cummings Charitable Fund of the Maine Community Foundation. All events are free and open to the public.
Artists are selected by a committee of UMF art faculty and unversity staff. A national open call has been distributed for the upcoming Spring 2018 series
For more information, email Ann Bartges, UMF assistant professor of visual arts, at ann.bartges@maine.edu or visit www2.umf.maine.edu.
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