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Family Day: Sense of Place

  • Portland Museum of Art 7 Congress Square Portland, ME, 04101 United States (map)

Join us for a day of programming connected to our newest exhibition, As We Are. 

Each of the 14 artists featured in this exhibition has ties to Maine, so we’ll use our senses to explore the places around us, through art-making activities with local artists, exploration of the galleries, and connecting with others.  

Program Schedule

Join MECAD graduate students Madeline Gaffey and Ella-Mae Spinali in a collage-making activity exploring “a sense of place.” Using materials like tissue paper, colored pencils, and gemstones, participants will create artwork inspired by ideas of home—whether it’s a favorite park, the ocean, or their cozy couch. 

Plus, Free Family Day Film 

noon to 1:25 p.m. | In this animated adaptation of Ted Hughes' Cold War fable, The Iron Giant is about a giant alien robot (Vin Diesel) crash-lands near the small town of Rockwell, Maine, in 1957. Exploring the area, a local 9-year-old boy, Hogarth, discovers the robot, and soon forms an unlikely friendship with him. When a paranoid government agent, Kent Mansley, becomes determined to destroy the robot, Hogarth and beatnik Dean McCoppin (Harry Connick Jr.) must do what they can to save the misunderstood machine. 

Meet our Artists

 Madeline Gaffey and Ella-Mae Spinali are earning their graduate degree in art education from the Maine College of Art & Design. Madeline earned her BFA in Painting from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2016. Her studio practice includes a variety of printmaking techniques inspired by her love for the ocean. Madeline spends her time sailing and running long distances along the water and she feels most at home when she’s with her family, especially her three little nieces. Ella-Mae earned her BFA in Textile & Fashion Design from the Maine College of Art & Design in 2024. Her practice is primarily centered around weaving but she enjoys all aspects of textile design and everything fashion has to offer. In her free time, she likes to bake cookies and carrot cake, drink tea, and watch her favorite cozy movies. For her, food, family, and friends is her idea of home.  


Free with museum admission; All workshops taking place in the Great Hall are free.