Drawn to Maine Media College + Workshops
Exploring Rockland, Maine and the tremendous impact it left on photography for half a century.
By Stephanie Visciglia, Content Advancement Specialist
My role at the PMA is all about telling stories. Whether it’s through writing, interviews with artists, or videos and photographs, being able to share unique moments is my favorite part of the job. This means occasionally traveling to capture the story, so when I had the opportunity to venture to Maine Media Workshops + College in Rockport, Maine for the exhibition Drawn to the Light, to say I was excited is an understatement.
As a photography major in college, the medium holds a special place in my heart. After I graduated, I interned at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where I met and created art with some of my photography mentors like David Hilliard and Connie Imboden. Places like FAWC and Maine Media are sources of inspiration for artists, writers, and makers because they create community. They offer spaces for creatives to come together to learn and grow from each other.
This was my first time traveling to Rockport to visit Maine Media Workshops + College, and I know it won’t be the last. I visited before the busy summer workshop season and the air was full of anticipation and excitement. I met Elizabeth Greenberg, Provost at Maine Media, outside the Haas Building to tour the campus.
Elizabeth & Howard Greenberg
Throughout the day, I met staff and faculty; some were installing a gallery show on campus, some were at their desks at work, and some were making art. Howard Greenberg, Chair of the MFA Program at Maine Media, joined Elizabeth and I to have lunch in the Dining Hall on campus. When I asked him about a memorable moment during his time at Maine Media, without hesitation, he said that it was the recent accreditation of the master's program. It involved decades of persistent hard work that both he and Elizabeth were heavily involved in. I could feel the passion and care of this wonderful place through everyone I met that day.
I got to sit in on one of Elizabeth’s last classes of the semester. The photography class was a group of six students presenting their finals, which consisted of their portfolio, professional website, business card, and resume. This class reflected what my final seminar classes looked like in my undergraduate program, which brought me right back to being a student. In this moment, I was learning right alongside them.
When I said goodbye to the class and Elizabeth, I took some time to walk around the campus by myself to take photographs before making the two-hour long drive back home. I found myself with fresh inspiration as I used my camera to document this beautiful landscape before the quiet gets filled with conversations of friends getting to know one another, the shutters of multiple cameras at work, and faculty guiding their students.
The legacy of the over 1,700 faculty lives on in the students that they have taught and the art they have made. After experiencing the exhibition and going to the place that has had such a remarkable impact on the field of photography, I can see why people from all over the world travel to Rockland, Maine, to find inspiration and make art together.