In the Bedroom (2001)
Hard Tellin’… is less an attempt to define Maine, or Maine in the movies, than an opportunity to celebrate four great films that accomplish something most art should aspire to: they capture the ineffable in a place and its people at a particular moment in time. They get at something unique and a bit hard to define about us. They feel, for lack of a better word, honest.
"He gave so much time to engaging with people here. He established deep roots and connections. But he’s also an artist who brought Maine to a wider national and international conversation.” —PMA Chief Curator Shalini Le Gall in Down East Magazine
Read MoreIt’s a show you can return to often to discover new layers of this great artist’s soul. That is what makes Driskell such an original. No matter what genres or references his staggering mind and open heart are effortlessly synthesizing at any moment, the personalness of his work makes him feel intimately near and utterly one-of-a-kind.
Read More2018’s Painter and Poet: The Art of Ashley Bryan was the first major art museum exhibition in Maine for the award-winning 95-year-old artist and Little Cranberry Island resident, a pioneer of African and African American representation in the children's book medium, who has published more than 50 titles since his first collection of poems in 1967.
Read MoreCould anyone produce a body of work to rival a transformative agenda that changed the course of racial politics in American culture? Probably not. But can we see Driskell’s own art through those priorities, and understand that he walked as well as he talked? Yes, we can.
Read More“My way back into painting was to think about queer politics through figuration. At the time, it was the only way I could imagine communicating ideas that felt urgent.” -Carrie Moyer
Read MoreWith nearly sixty paintings and works on paper, the exhibition reveals the remarkable ways in which Driskell’s art refracts the broader cultural and political concerns of Black Americans during the second half of the twentieth century, from the Civil Rights movement to the aesthetics of Pan-Africanism and the Black Arts Movement, to the continuing influence of the Bible and the Black church.
Read MoreLeading up to Maine’s 200th anniversary, the PMA and the Maine Humanities Council collaborated with partners and advisors throughout the state to consider the best ways to mark the occasion. Together, we selected stories about Maine’s past and present and invited Mainers from the state’s diverse regions and backgrounds to showcase them in the exhibition Stories of Maine: An Incomplete History.
Read MoreFor years, we've heard from our members about the challenges of crossing to the museum from Congress Square Park, and we’re thrilled to share that this year, Congress Square will be redesigned to better accommodate pedestrians and to beautify the area.
Read MoreThis exhibition gives people a chance to appreciate Driskell’s personal artistic expression, and comes at a time when the community, country and world reflect on equity, representation and race.
Read MoreFor almost 30 years, the Portland Museum of Art and the Maine Art Education Association (MAEA) have collaborated to bring National Youth Art Month to Maine. This annual exhibition showcases the incredible work produced by K-12 students throughout the state, and for the first time ever, YAM 2021 is digital, bringing exciting opportunities to share the artwork of Maine’s youth with a wider audience.
Read MoreThe PMA’s new digital membership cards provide a more sustainable, convenient, and fast alternative to the traditional hard plastic member cards.
Read MoreIn this activity, consider how Village of Monhegan, Maine by Emil Bisttram uses a limited color palette to create a mood and use this knowledge to create a collage using common materials found at home.
Read MoreInspired by Ghetto Wall #2 by David Driskell, generate ideas with a poetry brainstorming activity and a visual symbolism exercise to create a found material mixed media collage that reflects your personal experiences.
Read MoreThe Secret Life of Plants (1979)
Directed by Walon Green
The Scarlet Flower (1952)
Directed by Lev Atamanov
Vertigo (1958)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Especially after the Black Lives Matter protests this summer, this is exactly what museums should be doing: educating, filling in the historical blanks, recontextualizing, sparking curiosity and conversation.
Read MorePlease join Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance and the Portland Museum of Art for ARTWORD 2021, a reading and celebration of the long, intimate relationship between poetry and visual art on Tuesday, April 13 at 7 p.m. & Wednesday, April 21 at 7 p.m.
Read MoreLooking at art can help us slow down, reflect, focus on the present, and connect. Using artwork to ground our mindfulness practice cultivates skills such as close looking and empathy, while also helping us to be more self-aware. During this digital session from March, PMA staff led a guided meditation centered on artwork in the PMA’s collection.
Read MoreThe PMA is a proud member of the Maine Art Museum Trail and participant in this important series. Museums are at a moment of reckoning. Immense social, political, and financial pressure is testing the foundations of institutions, prompting examination of history, the need for change, and the process to acknowledge, repair, and heal.
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