CONVENTION + VISITORS BUREAU /
21
Happenin’ Arts SCENE
Greater Portland has a thriving arts community with the cultural offerings
you’d expect to find in a much larger urban area; even in the coldest months, our
arts scene never hibernates.
Photo: Bob Delaney, First Friday Art Walk
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LOCAL TIP
Catch live music in bars and pubs
throughout the Old Port
and free outdoor concerts in
the summer months in
downtown parks and squares.
(See page 31 for dates)
On the first Friday of each month in
Portland, and the third Friday in
Freeport, sidewalks overflow with art
lovers. Artist studios and galleries open
their doors to the public for the evening,
inviting casual art fans and aficionados
to peruse the diverse selection ranging
from traditional seascapes painted in
watercolor to hanging installations
constructed from repurposed cardboard
and found objects.
Outside, small crowds gather around a
busking guitarist or trio of belly dancers.
Local crafters chat with passersby over
tables of their work — handmade jewelry,
screen-printed tees, a stack of notebooks
made from album covers. The monthly
Art Walks are a popular facet of the
region’s diverse art scene. But on any
given day, art to suit a variety of tastes
can readily be found.
Open year-round, the Portland Museum
of Art exhibits classic European art by
Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir,
and Claude Monet. Other museum
collections tell the story of Maine’s
own artistic history through the works
of Andrew Wyeth, Winslow Homer, and
contemporary artists like John Bisbee.
Curated galleries showcase and sell
works on canvas, crafted in glass, or
carved from wood.
Sophisticated art-seekers can look to
professional theatrical performances
from Portland Stage and to Portland
Ovations, the arts organization that
supplies Maine with cultural classics
like string quartets and The Joffrey
Ballet. Portland Ovations also brings
innovative performances to town,
including dance company MOMIX and
the choreographed percussion of STOMP,
as well as rockin’ musical theater like
"Rock of Ages.” The well-regarded
Portland Symphony Orchestra regularly
fills Merrill Auditorium with orchestral
sounds, fromMahler’s Fifth Symphony
to Paul Hindemith’s “Mathis der Maler.”
And the PSO POPS! performances have
been known to aptly take on the music of
Madonna, Elvis Presley, and The Beatles.
When the weather is warm and the
foot traffic high, art takes to the streets
with South Portland’s Art in the Park,
Freeport’s Fall in the Village Art Festival,
and the WCSH 6 Sidewalk Art Festival,
featuring the work of hundreds of artists
fromMaine and the entire eastern
seaboard.
