Maine Humanities Council
Home of the Harriet P. Henry Center for the Book

 

Through October 2008 ~~~ Hinckley

“Some Homes,” a new exhibit at the L.C. Bates Museum in Hinckley, Maine, will stimulate thinking about the meaning of Home through contemporary art and historical context. The project goal is to promote discussion, knowledge, and interpretation that focuses on the experience of Home, specifically Maine homes and the related philosophy of home at Good Will-Hinckley. The exhibit runs from May through October. Accompanying events include a lecture by Earle Shettleworth on domestic architecture in Maine, a panel with artists and representatives from Waterville Main Street and the Margaret Chase Smith Library, and a film screening at Railroad Square Cinema. For details on these events, please call the museum at (207) 238-4250.

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Through October 2008 ~~~ Peaks Island

The artifacts on display in Found Treasures, the 2008 exhibit at the Fifth Maine Regiment Museum (located at 45 Seashore Avenue), were “rescued” from the island transfer station or unearthed from basements and attics. They include diaries, documents from island businesses, and an 1879 bible full of mementoes from the life of its owner. Each grouping of artifacts will be connected by provenance or theme, and accompanied by interpretive text. The exhibit is on view from June through October 2008. To learn more, contact the museum at (207) 766-5514 or visit www.fifthmainemuseum.org.

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Through October 2008 ~~~ Vinalhaven

The Bodwell Granite Company Store operated on the island of Vinalhaven from 1858 until 1919. The Vinalhaven Historical Society maintains an extensive collection of receipts, correspondence, payroll tickets, and other documents from the store, as well as glass plate negatives of images of quarry operations, workers, and managers. Based on census, payroll, and union records, the historical society has built a database of quarry workers employed by Bodwell. In addition, an exhibit that examines the influence of the Bodwell Granite Company and their company store on the history and economy of Vinalhaven through the lives of ten representative workers is on view during the museum’s 2008 summer season, from June through October. For more information, please call (207) 863-4410 or visit the aforementioned website.

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October 30, 2008 ~~~ Lewiston

To celebrate of the 200th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, the Lewiston Public Library will host a reading and discussion series on the book Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5 Billion-Year History of the Human Body by Neil Shubin. Dr. Ronald E. Barry, Jr., visiting professor of biology at Bates College, will facilitate the series, which runs for five consecutive Thursday evenings beginning September 4. A public screening of the film “Flock of Dodos: the Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus” on October 30 will conclude this series on the history of and controversy around evolutionary science. For more details, contact the library at (207) 513-3119.

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November 1, 2008 ~~~ Portland

The Victoria Mansion’s half-day symposium on the architecture of the 1850s will close a year-long celebration of the 150th anniversary of Henry Austin’s famous building, originally known as the Morse-Libby House. Four scholars will address the national and local architectural scene in the 1850s, the mid-century architecture of New Orleans hotels where Morse made his fortune, and the development of the Italian villa style, of which the Mansion is an outstanding example. The symposium was designed in consultation with James O’Gorman, author of the forthcoming Henry Austin: In Every Variety of Architectural Style. The symposium takes place at the Portland Club; admission is $25 (free to students), with AIA Continuing Education Learning Units available. To register, call (207) 772-4841.

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November 13, 2008 ~~~ Bethel

The Bethel Historical Society’s 2008 Lecture Series, “Maine History: Varied and Vivid” ends with Barry Mower of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection addressing “Androscoggin River Water Quality: Past, Present, and Future” on November 13. For details, please call (207) 824-2910 or visit www.bethelhistorical.org.

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Through November 16, 2008 ~~~ Portland

André Kertész was a leading photographer of the 20th century. “On Reading,” the exhibition of his work that appears at the Portland Museum of Art this fall (August 30 through November 16, 2008), explores the subject of reading as a basic human endeavor. A full slate of educational programs, including a teacher workshop on September 17 and the October launch of a blog about reading, will complement the exhibit and coincide with National Book Month. For dates and locations, please visit www.portlandmuseum.org/events or call (207) 775-6148.

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November 13, 2008 - January 11, 2009 ~~~ Portland

The University of New England’s Gallery of Art will hold a series of five educational programs in conjunction with the exhibition “Textiles/Translations,” which features the work of Alice Spencer. Each program will approach textiles from a different perspective: their cultures of origin, their common themes and symbols, the role of women in their creation, and their ability to inspire artists like Spencer. In addition to the general public, students from the Maine College of Art and local high schools will be encouraged to attend the exhibition and related programming. For more information, please call (207) 221-4499 or visit www.une.edu/artgallery.

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November 20, 2008 ~~~ South Portland

The South Portland Historical Society’s Evening Chats are oral history events, live at City Hall, but also aired on South Portland Community Television and archived in DVD format. Each Chat has a topic pertaining to South Portland around the time of World War II. The first two chats in the 2008 series focused on wartime housing complexes: in August, Long Creek, and in September, Red Bank. The third and final chat, on November 20, will feature a home movie filmed in the 1930s by a member of the Brawn family, owners of the Brawn Company sardine canning business. Look for details in the Historical Society’s weekly column in the South Portland Sentry (online at www.inthesentry.com), or call (207) 767-3268.

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