Friday, May 3rd
10 - 11am via Zoom

If all goes as planned, the state legislature will adjourn mid-April. Join CAM and our statewide cultural advocacy peers in a report-out on what worked, what didn’t, and how to prepare as a united sector for the November elections.

Friday, May 17th (Register)
Friday, June 21st (Register)
Friday, July 12th (Register)
10 - 11am via Zoom

The past four years have seen a surge of energy and dialogue around diversifying boards, teams, and audiences. For many cultural organizations, however, concrete steps to drive progress and honor a commitment to equity and inclusion still feel unclear.

Inspired by our April 2024 conversation with Dr. Idella Glenn, join CAM and your peers statewide for a series of informal conversations rooted in giving ourselves grace while holding ourselves accountable, and helping ourselves do better by knowing better.

These convenings are an open invitation to discuss your efforts to transform your cultural organization into a truly representative and responsive entity that cultivates belonging for all in your region.

Our goal is to develop strategies and build intercultural competencies, foster empathy, create inclusive spaces, and meaningfully impact community vibrancy, safety, and well-being throughout our state.

Friday, June 7th
10 - 11am via Zoom

Details coming soon!

Diversity & Inclusion in 2024

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The past four years have seen a surge of energy and dialogue around diversifying boards, teams, and audiences. For many cultural organizations, however, concrete steps to drive progress and honor a commitment to equity and inclusion still feel unclear.

Join us for a one-hour conversation with Dr. Idella Glenn, Vice President of Equity, Inclusion, and Community Impact at the University of Southern Maine, as we discuss efforts that have the potential to transform cultural institutions into truly representative and responsive entities that celebrate, serve, and engage diverse communities. Dr. Glenn will share strategies that cultural organizations can implement in 2024 to foster empathy, create inclusive spaces, and meaningfully impact community well-being.

Cultural Advocacy Day 2024
Hall of Flags, Maine State House

Together with partners Maine Archives & Museums, Maine Preservation, Maine Library Association, Picture Maine, Maine Humanities Council, and New England Museum Association, cultural advocates from around the state filled the hall of flags.

Performances:
Halcyon String Quartet
Liz Rhaney

Presenters:
Marty Pottenger of Art At Work
Daniel Sipe and Reed McLean of Lights Out Gallery.

Thank you to our sponsors at Northeast Bank, Maine Community Foundation, and Androscoggin Bank!

How to be a Cultural Advocate in 2024

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Jennifer Wilson, Director of Programming & Advocacy for the New England Museum Association, helped us kick off Cultural Heritage Week 2024 with a one-hour conversation about building confidence as a public speaker and using your voice and story to start (or straighten) your relationship with legislators. We also highlighted how to sustain momentum: advocacy is often a long-term endeavor, and maintaining motivation and momentum can be challenging!

The Benefits of Partnership & Collaboration

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Providing spaces and programs that cultivate community is rewarding, but is not easy work. At times, the demands of fundraising, programming, and operations can feel daunting and lonely, more so in the era of unprecedented and multifaceted crises.

Join the Cultural Alliance of Maine and the Maine Arts Commission in a discussion about collaboration. By working together, cultural organizations can sustain operations, encourage greater audience participation and awareness, and foster a sense of belonging that will be essential for Maine's resilient future.

All Hall Call!

View Recording & Resources for Civic Halls

Attention statewide civic hall stewards! Join a peer-to-peer conversation about the challenges, opportunities, and future of preserving and enlivening Maine's network of rural community cultural spaces.

This conversation is a continuation and expansion of the Maine Civic Halls Initiative.

Drawing on the expertise of historians, government officials, community leaders, business owners, economists, and active grangers, and citing original research, Greenhorns produced a report on the current status of civic halls of Hancock and Washington counties. Read the report here.

How did culture do in the legislative session?

With the first session of the 131st legislature coming to a close, join CAM as we discuss wins, losses, and TBDs for cultural policy in Augusta this year and look ahead to our goals for the second session, which begins in January 2024.

Guests

Representative Ambureen Rana - House District #21 (part of Bangor)

Representative Mana Abdi - House District #95 (part of Lewiston)

Peter Merrill - Chair of the Maine State Cultural Affairs Council

Ticket Pricing: Balancing Accessibility & Sustainability

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Ticket pricing is a perennial head-scratcher for many cultural organizations. Finding the sweet spot between what a potential audience member could pay, would pay, and should pay is no easy task, and is compounded by the organization's duty to ensure a sustainable revenue stream.

In Maine, where disparities in financial capacity are heightened in the summer seasons, how can we encourage generosity while welcoming all community members regardless of their financial capacity?

Guests & ticket models:

Mark Rubin Mad Horse Theater, Portland”Pay What You Decide” ticket model

Sarah S. P. McCarthy Bangor Symphony OrchestraDeeply discounted first-time season subscriptions

Robin Caissie Northern Stage, White River Junction (Vermont)Access for All ticket for EBT card holders (supported by bank Community Reinvestment Act funds)

Culture Work & Burnout

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Culture —in virtual, masked or socially distanced forms— has been a much-needed salve over the past three tumultuous years, offering moments of levity, inspiration and even simply a distraction from the pandemic and its stresses. Within our field, however, many culture workers have been facing stress and burnout with increasing demands on their time and resources. Across Maine, we're seeing high turnover among culture workers and too few tools to help address their mental health needs.

Guests:

Genius Black, social innovator, entrepreneur, and musical artist

Vicky Smith, Portland Public Library

Activating Historic Collections & Challenging Dominant Narratives

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How can collecting institutions use their historic materials to engage the public in moving beyond dominant narratives in Maine storytelling?

Guest Artist:

Buff Cat

Speakers:

Libby Bischof, Executive Director, Osher Map Library

Rachel Ferrante, Executive Director, Maine Museum of Innovation, Learning & Labor

Jaime DeSimone, Chief Curator, Farnsworth Art Museum

CAM Convening with Governor Janet Mills

CAM and the cultural community had the opportunity to ask the Governor directly about cultural policy and funding opportunities, and to her thoughts on how our state can support culture, and how culture can support our state.

A Look at the Maine Arts Commission's New Strategic Plan

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Join Maine Arts Commission staff members as they dig deeper into the four focus areas of MAC’s recently approved five-year strategic plan: Service, Connecting, Funding, and Advancement towards the future.

David Greenham, Executive Director

Sheila Jans, Regional Development Director

Khristina Kurasz, Director of Special Projects

Danielle Moriarty, Program Director

Martha Piscuskas, Program Director

Protecting Access to Information

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What are the wider implications of restricting access to information? How can culture workers in Maine respond to efforts to influence collections and narratives?

Guests:

Lori Fisher, Maine State Librarian

The Culture of Science in Maine

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How can we foster deeper connections between western science, indigenous knowledge, and culture in Maine?

Guests:

tish carr, Executive Director/Program Manager, Wabanaki Youth in Science

Kate Dickerson, Executive Director, Maine Discovery Museum

Merrilee Schoen, artist

Tapping the Benefits of Historic Preservation

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Adding a district or building to the Historic Register can yield significant economic and social benefits to Maine communities, cultural organizations, affordable housing stock, and creative districts. Learn how historic designation happens, how it supports revitalization efforts, and the latest news about legislation currently being discussed in Augusta that would significantly expand and strengthen the state historic tax credit.

Guest Artist:

Samuel James

Speakers:

Anne Ball, Maine Downtown Center

Sarah Hansen, Greater Portland Landmarks

Tara Kelly, Maine Preservation goes here

How can culture foster conversations around our most pressing issues?

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Culture is uniquely poised to hold space for communities to process the changes and challenges that affect us all, and many Maine cultural organizations strive to create programming that speaks directly to their communities. Bangor’s Penobscot Theatre Company joined us to share their process navigating the creation of hyper local theater.

Jen Shepard, Executive Director

Jonathan Berry, Artistic Director

Larrance Fingerhut, Maine based composer

Andrew Eninger, LA based playwright

Culture x Outdoor Recreation in Community Development

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Culture and the Outdoors are central to life in Maine. How do these two sectors intersect in community development initiatives across the state?

Guest Artist

Kal Sugatski, Violist, Vigorous Tenderness

Special Guests

Don Cyr, Association culturelle et historique du Mont-Carmel

Kristina Cannon, Main Street Skowhegan

Miranda Rico, More Women+ Surf

Mike Smith, Outdoor Sport Institute

Elections + Culture (Part 2)

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It’s time to start building relationships with our elected officials - how do we begin?

Guest Artist

Daniel Quintanilla, filmmaker

Special Guests

Safiya Khalid, politician and activist, former Lewiston City Councilor

Brian Hubbell, Senior Policy Advisor at the Office of Policy Innovation & the Future; former State Rep for Lamoine/Bar Harbor/Mt Desert, 2012-2020

David Webster, Former State Representative, Freeport/Part of Pownal, 2004-2012

Elections + Culture (Part 1)

Guest Artists

Maya Williams, poet

Stuart Kestenbaum, poet

Special Guests

Mary Alice Scott, Public Affairs Manager for the Maine Association of Nonprofits

Ekhlas Ahmed, Founder and Executive Creative Director, Chance to Advance

Evan Murray, Civic Engagement Director from the Maine League of Women Voters

Wage Inflation: How Do We Respond?

Guest Artist

Daniel Minter, artist and co-founder of Indigo Arts Alliance

Special Guests

Brian Hinrichs, Executive Director, Bangor Symphony Orchestra

Amanda Rector, State Economist for Maine

Gabriela Alcalde, Executive Director, Sewall Foundation

In collaboration with MANP Connects

On the Verge of Maine’s Summer Season: Cultural Tourism Success and Sustainability

Guest Artist

Gibson Fay-LeBlanc, poet and Executive Director, Maine Writers & Publishers

Special Guests

Abbe Levin, Cultural Tourism Coordinator for the Maine Office of Tourism

Matthew Lewis, member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Sipayik, and Wabanaki Program and Operations Director at Four Directions Development Corporation.

Cheryl Hargrove, president of Hargrove International

Advancing Racial Equity in Maine’s Cultural Sector

Guest Artist

Julie Bouwsma, Maine State Poet Laureate

Special Guests

Alexandra James, dancer/choreographer, Bates Dance Festival

Jill Sawyer, Deputy Director, Abbe Museum

Caitlin Strokosch, President & CEO, National Performance Network

What We’ve Learned from the Pandemic about a Seat at the Table

Guest Artist

Sara Trunzo, singer/songwriter

Special Guests

Anita Stewart, Executive & Artistic Director, Portland Stage

Carson Elrod, co-founder, Be an #ArtsHero

Coalition Building: What, Why, How

Guest Artist

Samaa Abdurraqib, poet and Associate Director of the Maine Humanities Council

Special Guests

Genius Black, founding co-director, Black Owned Maine, artist, and music producer

Gabriel Mason Perkins, Maine Trails Coalition, founding board member and Executive Director of Inland Woods + Trails

Nat May, Cultural Alliance of Maine, Onion Foundation, SPACE Gallery; co-founder of the Bakery Photo Collective, Hewnoaks, and Common Field, a national coalition of contemporary arts organizations and organizers.

Gathering in the time of COVID: Challenges & Solutions, Grief & Healing

Guest Artist

Maya Williams, Portland Poet Laureate

Advocacy 101

Special Guests

Alison Soucy, the Chief Operating Officer and Director of Government Affairs & Communications for the Maine Tourism Association

Erik Jorgensen, Senior Director of Government Relations and Communications at the Maine State Housing Authority

Sarah Skillin Woodard, the Deputy Director of the Maine Democracy Collaborative