PRESQUE ISLE — The artwork of University of Maine at Presque Isle alumni comprises the very first show to go on display in the newly relocated Reed Fine Art Gallery. “Now and Then: Honoring the Legacy of the Arts at UMPI” features 18 Fine Art Program alumni.
The new 2,000-square-foot gallery space, on the second floor of the Center for Innovative Learning, opened Monday. A special celebration to “unveil” the new space to the community and rededicate the gallery is planned Friday, Sept. 18, from 6-8 p.m., during Homecoming Weekend. The exhibit will also be part of the First Friday Art Walks Sept. 4 and Oct. 2.
The alumni exhibition will run from Aug. 31 through Oct. 3. “Now and Then” features two pieces of artwork done by each artist. The “Then” piece is a work the artist completed as an UMPI student, and the “Now” piece is an item completed recently.
“Often, students, or even the general public, assume getting an art degree creates a challenging future,” Reed Gallery Director Heather Sincavage said. ”This exhibit looks to dispel that misconception and show off how our alumni are ‘making it’ as self-sustaining artists, designers, educators, business owners, and leaders.”
The exhibition features graduates from four generations of the arts program, which Professor Emeritus Clifton Boudman started in 1968. Honoring the four generations the Reed Gallery has created four-limited edition designs of the exhibition postcard. Art enthusiasts can collect all four cards, which feature the work of Mirandah Akeley, Class of 2014; Carol Ayoob, Class of 1994; Ken Lund, Class of 1999; and Carol St. Pierre, Class of 1988.
Artists featured are Mirandah Akeley, Kirsten Arndt, Carol Ayoob, Karrie Brawn, Jessica Carpenter, Brian Farley, Heather Harvell, C. Ann Kittredge, Jim Laroque, Ken Lund, Mark Lusardi, Heather Nunez Olmstead, Lulu Pelletier, Andrea Peterson, Cortney Arndt Rector, Jeff Rector, Jme Smith and Carol St. Pierre.
“It is our alumni and all that they have accomplished that make it possible for the arts on this campus to grow,” Sincavage said. “They are the inspiration for what our students can accomplish in our program.”
The public is encouraged to come out on the First Fridays; the events are free and light refreshments will be served. The rededication celebration on Sept. 18 will include music, refreshments and a ribbon-cutting.
The Reed Fine Art Gallery is open Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.For more information, contact Sincavage at 768-9442 or heather.sincavage@umpi.edu.
