Arts and Culture

The pandemic has taken a significant toll on arts venues and on creators. But some artists also recognize the positives that have come from the forced changes in their lives — in particular, three artists whose work appears in an exhibition at the Portland Museum of Art’s current show, “Untitled, 2020: Art from Maine in a _____ Time.”

Recently, Kennebec County commissioners voted unanimously to remove a controversial statue of Supreme Court Chief Justice Melville Fuller from county property in front of the Kennebec County Courthouse.

A number of public art works have sprung up in Portland that were created to celebrate Black life and honor those who have been killed by police officers in recent years. One of those works is Ashley Page’s “In Memory of Those Taken,” which incorporates a series of portraits. Willis Ryder Arnold spoke with Page about the role of public art in a time of cultural reckoning on the issues of race and police brutality.

During the first wave of protests in Portland over the death of George Floyd, three local artists painted a memorial mural for Floyd and other victims of police violence on the brick wall of a downtown building.

In his own words, muralist Ryan Adams talks about what he hopes the image will convey, and about what it is like to be an artist of color in Maine:

In his book, "American Nations," Colin Woodard wrote about the cultural differences that have endured between parts of the U.S. throughout its history. In his new work, "Union," Woodard describes how Americans, despite those differences, came to agree on a single historical narrative that defines their country. Woodard spoke with Maine Public's Morning Edition host Irwin Gratz.

When problems arise in the world of theater, the rallying cry has long been "the show must go on," but that's just not the case for many theater companies in Maine that have cancelled their spring and summer seasons because of the spread of COVID-19. And now, sights are now set on future seasons.

The artist duo of Wade Kavanaugh and Stephen B. Nguyen have worked on public art together for the last 15 years. Most recently, they won a million-dollar public art commission for the new Washington Convention Center in Seattle.

Ice harvesting was a thriving industry in 19th century New England. Using large, jagged-toothed saws, workers would cut heavy blocks from frozen rivers, lakes and ponds, pack it in sawdust and sell it around the world. Then came electric refrigeration, and ice-cutting became all but obsolete. But there are still a few places where the tradition is carried on.