Plan your day
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. | Read & Relax space for families in the Lower Ground Floor. Unwind and re-center within this space with some fun family-friendly books.
10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. | Learning about map making and path finding while building some geometric landscapes with visual artist Mihku Paul (Maliseet).
11:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. | Walk around with educator and basket weaver Erica Menard (Penobscot) for a kid-centered, interactive tour of the Jeremy Frey: Woven exhibition.
12:00 p.m. to 1:40 p.m. | Head on down to the auditorium to watch a free screening of The Princess Bride (1987), part of our PMA Film Series: “Jeremy Selects.”
12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Join Wabanaki and As We Are artist Maya Tihtiyas Attean (Penobscot) for a paper weaving activity.
Meet our artists and educators
Mihku Paul is a Wolastoqeyik artist and writer born and raised on the Penobscot river. She is an enrolled member of Kingsclear First Nations, N.B. Canada and received both an Indigenous education from her traditional grandfather and a formal education in white schools. Mihku holds a BA and MFA, with study in human development, communication creative writing. She has worked more than two decades in Portland Public schools, presenting Waponahki culture and history for curriculum enrichment. Mihku also participated in the creation of the new Wab Studies Redux for Portland schools.
Erica Menard is a traditional Penobscot basket maker. As a young child, she observed her grandmother, Philomene Saulis Nelson, preparing materials for her ash and sweetgrass baskets. She loved the vibrant colors she dyed her ash; her color combinations were stunning! When Erica was in college, she asked her to teach me how to make baskets, but it was not meant to be at that time. It wasn’t until Erica’s late 40s that she had the unique and unexpected opportunity to apprentice with mentor and cousin, Theresa Secord. As part of her apprenticeship, she had the opportunity to use her grandmother's molds and could feel her guiding presence. Erica continues her family's traditional art form is an honor and privilege. She is also mentoring my daughter and granddaughter so other generations of basket weavers will continue the ancestral tradition.
Maya Tihtiyas Attean is a Wabanaki artist, living and working in Portland, Maine. She grew up on Alnabe Menahan, the Penobscot Nation Reservation. Her work has evolved to use photography as a way of creating art that reflects her ancestry, resiliency, and culture. Her experience growing up on a reservation then migrating to living in a city has given her a unique perspective of two worlds that merge together through marrying techniques of multiple cultures within her work. She earned her BFA with honors in Photography in May of 2023 from Maine College of Art & Design. She continues to make images that seek to explore the intersection of the earth and those that live on it through the lens of time, trauma, and connection.