Blue Wrap Project Runway Retrospective

From Partners for World Health

July 5–September 16 2024

In 2011, Partners for World Health (PWH) devised an innovative and creative way to repurpose discarded Surgical Blue Wrap and build awareness about the organization’s work at the same time.

Fashion designers and other artists were invited to create spectacular and unique fashions using this special polypropylene material used in the sterilization of surgical instruments—and from there, Blue Wrap Project Runway was born! This exhibit offers a retrospective view of gowns and galas created over the years.

---

#OurStoryIsOne

July 5–September 16 2024

#OurStoryIsOne is a global art movement that commemorates Baha’i women who were killed for their religious identity. This is also a personal story for Maine resident, local activist, and artist Parivash Rohani. This exhibition seeks to highlight how local women’s stories can become global symbols of standing up for justice and equality.

From “Baha’i Mainer honors rights of women with #OurStoryIsOne,” an Amjambo Africa profile, published September 7, 2023:

In 1979, the year Islamic revolutionaries overthrew the Shah of Iran, Parivash Rohani fled her homeland for India, where she met her husband Nassar, was declared stateless when she tried to renew her passport, became a refugee, and briefly moved to California and then to Maine, where she has lived since the 1980s. Her flight from Iran was insisted on by her parents and propelled by persecution and violence because of her religion, which is Baha’i. This year marks the 40th anniversary of an event that took place when Rohani was already in India, but which has haunted her throughout her life—the execution of 10 young Baha’i women by hanging directed by the Iranian government. The victims were friends and fellow students of Rohani’s at the university, and to this day she suffers from the trauma associated with their brutal deaths. She remembers hearing the names of the victims read over the radio when she was on her honeymoon in 1983, and how she screamed when she recognized the names. Before she fled Iran, her own house was burned to the ground along with the homes of 500 other Baha’i followers. Her parents also received direct threats because Rohani was studying at the university.

I vividly remember that winter night when we were awakened by loud banging. My father opened the door to find a young man informing him that a mob of fanatical individuals was setting Baha’i homes on fire. Concerned for my safety as a young girl, he urged my father to take me to a safe place before our house was engulfed in flames. In haste, he left to alert other families with young daughters to do the same. Left with no choice, my parents had to quickly find a solution. Since they couldn’t trust taking me to another Baha’i home, they decided it was best for me to join my cousin in a college dormitory where I would be secure. That evening, my father came to pick me up and deliver the devastating news that our house had been reduced to ashes, forcing us to relocate. (written by Parivash)

Parivash and Nasser both fled to India, where they found an embrace of religious diversity. India has since become a global center for Baha’i followers and houses the iconic Lotus temple in Delhi. Though ironically, with the rise of aggressive Hindu nationalism, it is today a place that can be unsafe for Muslims and Christians. It is precisely the possibility for religious persecution and suppression of women’s rights everywhere that gave inspiration to the title of this exhibition, Our Story is One.

The exhibition name points beyond a specific instance of religious persecution, to draw attention to women of all religions and backgrounds who face opposition for their very identities. In the past few years in Iran, a movement protesting restrictions on women’s dress and mobility has coalesced around the slogan “Zan Zindagi Azadi” or Women, Life, Freedom. Spurred on by the death of Mahsa Amini, this protest movement has brought people of varying genders, religions, and ethnic backgrounds together to support freedom and life for all. #OurStoryIsOne echoes this protest movement by remembering the lives of earlier women who have fought for a similar cause.

From Ireland and India to Kuwait and Australia, Baha’i followers in diaspora and allies have produced artwork and organized performances this year to signal a shared honoring of women who stand up against oppressive systems and governments, even in the direst circumstances.

This exhibit is composed of local artwork produced and curated by Parivash and Nasser Rohani, who live in Portland. Entitled “The Darkness: Shadows of Ignorance, Fanaticism, and Prejudice,” his collection serves as a heartfelt tribute to the 10 women in Shiraz. This local art showcases how our corner of the Northeast is connected to global histories.

Iranian exiles in Maine share with many immigrants and refugees a connection to a homeland that has been complicated by a modern political turn toward religious nationalism—a way of being patriotic that asserts only members of one religious (and often ethnic) group are worthy of full citizenship and rights.

Acts of creative remembrance like this seek to channel frustration at political injustices towards celebrating the beauty of life, especially of those whose full humanity has not been respected. If justice cannot be achieved everywhere, resilience in oppression can take root in efforts throughout the world. Local women’s stories can become global symbols of standing up for justice and equality.

-Dr. Claire Robison, Assistant Professor of Religion and Asian Studies, Bowdoin College

Kandapara Brothel: Invited In
Tangail, Bangladesh
Presented by Partners for World Health
March 8 – September 16, 2024

Kandapara Brothel: Invited In is part of an extended exhibit offered in partnership with the Portland Public Library to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the founding of Partners for World Health. (PWH)  

 Founded in 2009 by Elizabeth McLellan, PWH works to improve health care and reduce environmental impact by collecting surplus medical equipment and supplies and distributing them to communities in need globally and locally. Additionally, PWH sends teams of US medical professionals to developing countries to provide education, training, and direct care to those in need.  

 PWH brought its first medical mission to Bangladesh in 2012, and in 2017 expanded its impact in the region through a partnership with the Rotary Club of Dhaka Pathfinders. It was then that PWH was invited to visit the Kandapara brothel in Tangail to provide healthcare in support of the women and children living there. This relationship continues to this day.  

 In 2018, award-winning documentarian and photographer, David Wright, traveled to Kandapara with PWH. This exhibit represents a selection of the images he captured when he was “invited in” to the brothel.  

In this exhibit, the Bakery Photographic Collective commemorates a quarter century of visual storytelling and image making.

From the nostalgic black-and-white classics to the vibrant and contemporary captures, each photograph unveils a unique narrative, showcasing the artistry and passion that have defined our journey. Explore the diverse themes, styles, and emotions that have shaped our visual odyssey as a photographic collective.

Celebrate this milestone with us, as we honor the essence of storytelling through the lens, marking 25 years of preserving memories, emotions, and the beauty of the world around us. Join us for an immersive experience that transcends time and invites you to relive, reminisce, and revel in the power of photography and community.

TENSION: Climate + Environment
Responses to the impact of climate change on our daily experience.
Presented by USM Center for the Book
March 1 – April 20, 2024

Vanishing Birds by Sarah Harvey

Photos of the Year
Presented by Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
January 12 – February 17, 2024

FALMOUTH, ME – MARCH 2: Abel Celestino of the Baxter Seagulls reacts after making a basket during their final season game against Pine Tree Academy. (Staff photo by Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)

Beauty comes in many forms. A diver suspended in midair. A flock of pigeons rising in the snow. The stillness of a lobster boat and a man and dog on a paddleboard in calm ocean waters at sunset. Portland Press Herald photographers uncover unexpected beauty every day. They show us the profound beauty of connection. The tenderness of a loving husband and his wife, who is in hospice, celebrating their anniversary. The resilience of families who have traveled from a world away trying to make a new home in a strange land together. The collective grief of a community experiencing enormous loss after an act of previously unimaginable violence. It is a great privilege to photograph the people and stories of Maine. Here is some of our best work from 2023.

Why We Make Comics:
Reflections on Storytelling
October 6 – December 30, 2023
Portland Public Library Lewis Gallery 

Comic Books and Graphic Novels have become one of the most popular formats in the literary world. Known for their lively and visual content, the books are widely read among kids, teens and adults. Many people read them, and if they aren’t reading them, they are wondering why everyone else is! But what are Graphic Novels? Are they different from Comic Books? What compels authors and artists to tell stories using this sequential visual art form? Portland Public Library has asked 4 comic artists and graphic novelists to create a life-sized exhibit to explore what comics mean to them through their own personal connection to this art form and the journey they’ve taken to become practitioners of this powerful and exciting genre.

Isabella Rotman, Caroline Hu, Liz Prince and Mel Gilman, the artists featured in this exhibit, are some of the finest professionals in the field. Each artist rose to the challenge and created a short, autobiographical comic specifically for this exhibit. With Why We Make Comics, Portland Public Library hopes to both educate patrons who might be curious about reading a Graphic Novel or Comic Book for the first time and to celebrate this genre with those already engaging with it.

We have created a zine from the artists’ works—available in French, Spanish and Portuguese—to accompany the exhibit.

Viewfinder
July 28th – September 23, 2023

Curated by artists Ashley Page and Meg Hahn, this exhibition each draws inspiration from our constructed world, natural environment, and social structures by transmuting their daily experiences into playful new perspectives. Through various creative processes that include painting, sculpture, photography, and interdisciplinary practices, these artists use the mundane human experience as a point of departure, to create work that displays optimistic truths and transportive new worlds. Viewfinder is an invitation to step into the creative process and experience the world through the artists’ lens that merges worlds, identities, cultures, environments, truths, and more. Our hope is for viewers to leave with a renewed sense of what is possible.

Sustenance
May 5 – July 15, 2023

Sustenance is both a verb (to sustain) and a noun. The history of the word stems from the latin to hold up, to bear; and the French to support, aid, in the context of a means of living. Portland Public Library and Side x Side announce an exhibit exploring the theme of sustenance. SUSTENANCE, on view in the Library’s Lewis Gallery May 5-July 15, 2023, is curated by local artist Lin Lisberger, and Bates College professor Myron M. Beasley. The exhibit will showcase work from local and out-of-state artists with a focus on three elements: food, water, and containers. “Portland Public Library is thrilled to be hosting this exhibit around the accessible and relatable theme of sustenance”, said Rachael Harkness, gallery manager at Portland Public Library. “We are looking forward to the conversations this exhibit starts in our community.” The exhibit will be an invitation to ponder the concept of sustenance, particularly given the recent lived realities of the COVID-19 global pandemic and the increased awareness of inequality in opportunity, race, income, and food security. Lisberger and Beasley state, “At the core of our curatorial interest is the belief that an exhibit should have the highest quality work that encourages viewers to ask questions about how and why the artists felt compelled to make that work, and how art itself sustains us.”

Because the arts have the unique ability to distill complex ideas, convey emotion and pull people into a deeper discussion, there will be a June 2, 2023 (5-7pm) panel and community conversation, with a food ritual event, facilitated by performance artist Flor Cron, intermedia artist Rachel Church, performance artist and forager Rachel Alexandrou, and food writer Alana Dao. They will engage the community in a discussion about how food, art, and storytelling work together in their various art and life practices. The panelists will address a variety of social topics, such as community, identity, land, and food access, providing a foundation to think critically and conceptually about the broader ideas of art and sustenance.

This project is supported by Side x Side, The Maine Humanities Council, and the Maine Arts Commission. Support for SUSTENANCE is also provided by the American Rescue Plan Maine Project Grants, a subgranting program administered by SPACE Gallery for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Art Class: Exhibit of Student Work from the Portland Public High Schools
March 31 – April 21, 2023

Art Class features artwork from all four Portland public high schools: Portland High School, Deering High School, Casco Bay High School, and Portland Arts and Technology High School. All art students attending one of these schools were encouraged to submit work to be displayed in the show with the optional theme of “identity”. Portland Public Library is honored to be hosting this exhibition which gives students the rare opportunity to publicly display their artwork in their own community, we hope that it will encourage students to continue pursuing and creating art beyond the classroom.

Since 2009, Painting for a Purpose has supported youth-led service learning projects in the Portland Public Schools. Check out paintingforapurpose.net for more information.

Photos of the Year
Portland Press Herald / Maine Today Media
January 13 – February 17, 2023

The best photojournalists carefully observe the world. They notice the most authentic details and bring them to us in ways we are unable to forget. Photographs by themselves may not be able to change the world or stop a war, but they can pinpoint what we have in common, what’s worth our investment, our hope, our struggle and our fight. They can help us see our surroundings more clearly. They can inspire us to action. We share some of the best of the year from the photographers of the Portland Press Herald in a gallery at the Portland Public Library.

Illustrated Monsters by Monster Illustrators
Curated by Illustration Institute

In creating a monster, a dictionary is of no use.

The definition of “enormous and frightening imaginary creatures” is a wholly inadequate description of our relationship with these beings. Monsters are strangely comfortable in our lives and are culturally more nuanced and confusing to us than ever. They can be horrifying, cute, malicious, dim, powerful and pathetic.

Perhaps the disturbing aspect of monsters is that they remain a foil to our humane characteristics. Monsters in all forms help us understand the things that can happen if our better nature runs astray, help us face our fears, laugh in the face of absudity and embrace otherness with empathy.

Illustrated Monsters by Monster Illustrators provided a unique opportunity to explore a universal subject that spans cultures and informs storytelling on many levels. Each illustrator in the show showed a wealth of artistic expertise, inspiration and stories to share.

This show was curated by Illustration Institute. Thank you to The Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation and The Onion Foundation for their kind support.

Art in Captivity: Inside Out
Part of Freedom & Captivity

Portland Public Library partnered with Freedom & Captivity to create an exhibit of photographs of art created by current inmates in Maine. These photographs by Séan Alonzo Harris, Lesley MacVane and Trent Bell from inside Maine’s Correctional Facilities revealed the human necessity to create art. This exhibit was on view in the Congress Street windows at Portland Public Library from September 15 – October 15, 2021.

An outdoor opening reception was held during October’s First Friday Art Walk on October 1, 2021 from 5 – 8 pm on Congress Street with Maine Youth Justice.

Maine Youth Justice is a youth-led, nonpartisan, activist organization whose goal is to close Long Creek, Maine’s youth detention facility, and create safer and stronger communities by investing in a continuum of community-based alternatives to incarceration for youth where all of Maine’s young people can not only survive, but thrive.

The vision of youth justice is a collaborative and equitable response to harm that recognizes and builds on the strengths of individuals and community.

The Youth Justice project was funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.

MYJ will have a table with information about the campaign to close Long Creek, how to get involved in the movement to end youth incarceration and Know Your Rights posters created by Central Maine SURJ (Showing Up For Racial Justice).

Freedom & Captivity is a state-wide public humanities initiative during Fall 2021 to bring critical perspectives from the humanities to the interrogation of incarceration. Recognizing that mass incarceration is fueled by racism and profit-generating mechanisms that tear apart communities and families, the project offers opportunities for public engagement about imagining prison abolition and the redirection of resources toward community investments, the repair of racial and gender injustice, intergenerational trauma, and eldercare for the aging population in Maine’s prisons. The project, which includes art exhibitions, workshops, webinars, a podcast, research and creative production, public education materials, and linked courses taught across Maine’s campuses, aims to cultivate opportunities for imagining freedom in an abolitionist society. The project is conceived with the participation of people in Maine directly impacted by the carceral system.

MAPS: Maine Amori Printmaking Society
Curated by Jeff Badger

Critters 
Curated by Nancy Davidson and Ilana Welch

Artists Books
Curated by USM Book Arts
Boundless Possibilities 2: USM Book Arts
Click here to view the virtual gallery