Area Arts

Finnish Music-The Maine Kantele Consort will present an afternoon of entertainment and refreshments on Saturday, April 5 at 2:00 p.m. at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School in South Paris, Maine. Refreshments will be provided by the Finnish American Heritage Society of Maine. Donations will be accepted at the door and proceeds will benefit Kantele Laulu, Inc. and our plans for the Maine Kantele Institute (to be held in July 2003). Please come and support this endeavor! For more information: kantelelaulu@aol.com or 657-6494

Arts Advocacy Day: Tuesday, March 11th was declared Arts Advocacy Day for the state of Maine by Governor John Baldacci. Art organizations, inlcuding New Gloucester's Fiddelhead Center for the Arts, from all over the state gathered at the Hall of Flags, State Capital Building in Augusta. The 3rd Annual Arts Advocacy Day, sponsored by the Maine Alliance for Arts Education played host to guest speakers, award winners, student performances and resource tables of arts education organizations and artists. Maine is one of only 4 states with no Arts position in its Department of Education.

L.D. 13 is "An Act to Establish a Visual and Performing Arts position for the Department of Education." Recent studies show there is a critical link between arts education and student success (see Critical Links, publication available at http://www.aep-arts.org/cllinkspage.htm)

Maine Learning Results legislation requires school districts to have a comprehensive plan, which includes the Visual & Performing Arts. Department of Education must provide leadership in helping teachers and administrators find the resources and answers they need to successfully implement the Learning Results. Having no Visual and Performing Arts positions results in a serious lack of services to schools. For example, the DOE's current round of regional professional development includes all content areas except VPA. For a list of your local legislators or if you have any questions, call Fiddlehead Center for the Arts at 688-2244.

2003 Portland Museum of Art Biennial: Join the Museum this Spring in honoring the 70 artists whose work was selected for the 2003 Portland Museum of Art Biennial. This ongoing exhibition series, presented in alternate years, highlights 132 works by both emerging and established artists associated with the state of Maine. Though paintings predominate the exhibition, a range of media is represented, including site-specific work, installations, photography, and sculpture. The 2003 Portland Museum of Art Biennial will be on view from April 10 through June 1, 2003.