(Portland, ME) The Union of Maine Visual Artists (UMVA) will host a 50 year anniversary gala on August 3, 2024 6:00 to 11:00 pm with the theme “Express Yourself” at Merrymeeting Community Center, located at 27 Main Street in Bowdoinham.
“The Carlo Pittore Costume Party and Art Auction” celebrates community and camaraderie in the spirit of Carlo Pittore, the force behind the founding of the UMVA in 1975, and whose studio was in Bowdoinham.
The event will include a pot luck of snacks, and wine and beer will also be available. BookHead SweetTooth from Belfast will provide the music. This fundraiser will finance and support a much needed new website to bring tools for UMVA members to connect and support one another. Participating artists include those who are well-known — Abby Shahn, Gail Page, David Dewey, Robert Shetterly and David Estey — as well as some of Maine’s finest up-and-coming artists.
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- “The Sleepwalker” by Abby Shan
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- “Pemaquid Light Full Moon” by David Dewey
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- “Meditation” by Gail Page
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- “Stop in Egypt” by Robert Shetterly
Sponsors include Rising Tide Brewery, Maine Gallery + Studio Guide and WERU Community Radio. Suggested donations range from $10-$50 at the door.
Pittore, the subject of the film CARLO … and his Merry Band of Artists, produced by Richard Kane as part of the UMVA Maine Masters project, will premiere at the Maine International Film Festival (MIFF) mid-July (TBA). Other screenings include August 1 and 4 as part of the gala activities at NOMAD in Fort Andross in Brunswick, and August 8 at the Lincoln Theatre in Damariscotta. The movie trailer can be seen here.
About the UMVA
The UMVA, founded in 1975, is a non-profit organization that promotes and advocates for the visual arts, artists, and all arts supporters. As artist advocates, the UMVA initiated and saw enacted into state law the Maine Percent for Art Program (requiring a percentage of funds for state buildings to include art) and the Artist’s Estate Tax Law (allowing art work to be used to pay artists estate taxes). Other programs and projects supported by UMVA include: The Maine Arts Journal, an online, quarterly publication; ARRT! Artists’ Rapid Response Team, a collaboration of artists & progressive groups making art to create positive change; Lumen ARRT!!, a group creating large-scale video projections in public spaces to give a visual voice to progressive non-profits; and the New England Emmy award-nominated Maine Masters Project, a video series of 19 compelling profiles of some of Maine’s most distinguished and often less recognized artists. There are currently two chapters: Portland and Midcoast. More information is available at www.TheUMVA.org.
