The collection of the late artist Carlo Pittore at a storage unit at Fort Andross Mill in 2019. Ben McCanna / Portland Press Herald file photo
Over 60 artists have provided art for a silent auction for the Union of Maine Visual Artists’ 50th year gala. The event includes a costume party and art auction and runs from 6-11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, at Merrymeeting Hall, 27 Main St., Bowdoinham. The featured artists hail from Saco to Harpswell to Blue Hill and across the Brunswick and Midcoast communities.
“The Carlo Pittore Costume Ball and Art Auction” will celebrate community and camaraderie in the spirit of Carlo Pittore, the force behind the founding of the UMVA in 1975. Pittore’s studio was in Bowdoinham, and many of the other founding members were from the Brunswick area. The band BookHead SweetTooth from Belfast will supply the music. A pot luck of nibbles plus wine and beer will be available. This fundraiser will finance and support a much-needed, new website to bring tools for UMVA members to connect and support one another. Sponsors include Rising Tide Brewery, Maine Gallery + Studio Guide and WERU Community Radio. Suggested donations range from $10–$50 at the door.
“It’s wonderful to see artists from all over the state participating in this art party fundraiser,” said Joanne Tarlin, board member and vice president of UMVA, in a prepared release. “We hope to help connect artists to each other to help develop exhibits and professional connections statewide. …
“It’s also a great boon for art collectors to have a chance to bid on pieces from well-known artists like Abby Shahn, Carol Page and Robert Shetterly, whose work has been shown around the country, as well as the work of those who are not as well known and are up and coming Maine artists.”
Pittore is the subject of the film “CARLO … and his Merry Band of Artists,” which was produced by Richard Kane as part of the UMVA Maine Masters project and premiered at the Maine International Film Festival. The film will be screened on Aug. 1 and 4 at NOMAD in Fort Andross, 14 Main St, Brunswick, as part of the gala activities. Viewers can also catch it on Aug. 8 at the Lincoln Theatre in Damariscotta. Watch the trailer at vimeo.com/kanelewis/carlotrailer2023.
UMVA is a nonprofit 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, ARRT! Artists’ Rapid Response Team and the New England Emmy Award-nominated Maine Masters Project. Visit theumva.org for more information.
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