Past Exhibits at the Abbe Museum
Indians & Rusticators: Wabanakis & Summer Visitors on Mt. Desert Island 1840s-1920s
July 8, 2011 through December 29, 2012
Winner of a 2012 Leadership in History Award
Indians and Rusticators: Wabanakis and Summer Visitors on Mount
Desert Island 1840s-1920s highlights the role that Mount Desert Island played in the cultural and economic survival of Wabanakis (the collective name for Maliseet, Micmac, Passamaquoddy and Penobscot Indians). Offering a focused look at the seasonal interactions of Wabanakis and summer rusticators (summer residents from the large urban areas of the Northeast), it will profile various personalities, especially the iconic
Penobscot Indian showman Frank “Big Thunder” Loring, whose
unforgettable presence on Mount Desert Island spanned 60 years of the Rusticator Era. The stories told and research presented is the work of
Bunny McBride, MA and Dr. Harald Prins, highly regarded scholars and authors of Wabanaki history. They are serving as guest curators for the project. Click here for more info >
Image courtesy of the Maine
Historic Preservation Commission
Transcending Traditions: The Next Generation and Maine Indian Basketry
May 24 through December 29, 2012
Image courtesy of the Hudson Museum
Transcending Traditions features five contemporary Maine Indian basketmakers representing the next generation: Jeremy Frey, Ganessa Bryant, Sarah Sockbeson, George Neptune and Eric “Otter” Bacon. This project explores the new directions that these innovative artists are taking the tradition in the face of environmental and economic challenges.
Visit the online catalog for Transcending Traditions >
This exhibit was created as a collaboration between the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance and the Hudson Museum, supported by a grant
from the National Museum of the American Indian's Indigenous Contemporary Arts Program.
Learn more about the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance.
Learn more about the Hudson Museum.
2012 Waponahki Student Art Show
April 20 through October 22, 2012
A collaboration of Maine Indian Education and the Abbe Museum.
The Waponahki Student Art Show brings together a wonderful variety of art created by Passamaquoddy and Penobscot students from early childhood education through high school. Using a wide array of media, these young artists incorporate traditional beliefs and values with the modern, multi-cultural world around them.
Special thanks to K.A. McDonald Custom Picture Framing, Bar Harbor
Twisted Path II: Contemporary Native American Art Informed by Tradition
October 21, 2011 through May 2012
An invitational contemporary art show featuring Native artists from the Northeast.
Rick Hunt, Abenaki, Guest Curator
Featured Artists:
Rhonda Besaw,
Abenaki, Beadwork website
George Neptune,
Passamaquoddy, Basketry
Max Romero,
Mi'kmaq & Laguna/Taos Pueblo, Installation
Leon Sockbeson,
Passamaquoddy, Couture
Sarah Sockbeson,
Penobscot, Painting & Basketry
Learn more about the exhibit and the artists >
Made possible in part by:
and the Fisher Charitable Foundation
2011 Waponahki Student Art Show
April 21 through October 11, 2011
A collaboration of Maine Indian Education and the Abbe Museum.
The Waponahki Student Art Show brings together a wonderful variety of art created by Passamaquoddy and Penobscot students from early childhood education through high school. Using a wide array of media, these young artists incorporate traditional beliefs and values with the modern, multi-cultural world around them.
Special thanks to K.A. McDonald Custom Picture Framing, Bar Harbor.
Visit the online 2011 Waponahki Student Art Show >
In the Words of Our Friends
2011-2012
The Abbe Museum collects, preserves, and interprets artifacts made by Wabanaki people. Some are thousands of years old, and others were created by artists this year. These items inspire our staff, visitors, and volunteers, and often excite people to want to learn more. Engagement and passion for the mission of the Abbe, and the art and culture of Wabanaki people has brought the Museum many friends.
In the Words of Our Friends features an item, or collection of items, that have inspired our volunteers, trustees, and friends. In their words, each person explains why they are inspired by the Abbe and the artifacts on display. We will rotate new artifacts into the case every couple of months. If you’re interested in participating, ask how at the front desk.
Objects of Our Affection
September 2009 through October 2011
We all know that museums are the caretakers of a wide variety of objects, archives, and art. This exhibit looks at how museums care for their collections, and protect them from the affects of agents of deterioration such as light, humidity, fire and pests. At the same time, museum staff must balance the needs of an object with the educational mission of the museum. At the end of the day, however, the museum staff love their collections and are tasked with protecting them from the myriad threats they face.
Air Pollution, Pests, Water Damage, Light, Mechanical Damage, Fire, Patina, Humidity and Temperature.
Would you like to learn more about how you can care for your collections?
Follow these links for lists of additional resources:
Headline News: Wabanaki Sovereignty in the 21st Century
February 26, 2010 through May 27, 2011
Headline News: Wabanaki Sovereignty in the 21st Century is a ground breaking exhibit inspired by news headlines of the past twenty years. Through a combination of actual news headlines and first person voice of Wabanaki leaders, the exhibit explores eight topics frequently covered in the news.
View the Headline News online exhibit >
Exhibit overview and printable exhibit text >
Aunt Lu: The Story of Princess Watahwaso
October 28, 2010 through April 4, 2011
In this exhibit you will meet Lucy Nicolar, a Penobscot performer known by her stage name, Princess Watahwaso, but affectionately referred to by everyone as Aunt Lu. Born in 1882 on Indian Island, Nicolar was a renowned performer and activist. She was also part of an important family in the Penobscot Nation. Her father, Joseph Nicolar, was author of the book, The Life and Traditions of the Red Man, her sister, Florence Nicolar Shay, was a basket maker and activist, and her nephew Charles Shay, was recently awarded the French Legion of Honor for his heroic service in WWII. The show is curated by the Penobscot Cultural and Historic Preservation Department, and the exhibit traces the legacy of Nicolar and her influence on the Penobscot community to this day. Through the story of Nicolar and her family, visitors will also learn more about the 20th century history of the Penobscot Nation.
Arthur & Nita Wood Artifacts Collection
2008-2011
In 2007, Arthur and Nita Wood of Brooklin, Maine donated a significant portion of their archaeological collection to the Abbe Museum, consisting of stone and bone tools, arrowheads, and pottery fragments. Amateur collectors for several decades, the Woods gathered up well over a thousand Native American objects from Naskeag Point.
Click here for more information on this exhibit.
2010 Waponahki Student Art Show
April 22nd, 2010 through October 11th, 2010
This annual exhibit provides Waponahki youth a chance to share their creativity and feelings with the people of Maine and beyond. Native children have a unique culture and outlook on life from which to draw inspiration and the pride in their heritage is clearly evident in the works of art that make up this exhibition. From whimsical to spiritual, simple to serious, the opportunity to be creative and to share that with the public gives these students a chance to express themselves in a way that they feel comfortable with.
As Beth Clifford, Curriculum Coordinator for Maine Indian Education affirms, "The Waponahki Student Art Show provides the students of Maine Indian Education with an opportunity unlike any other. Imagine the look on the
students' faces when they step into the Abbe Museum to see, for the first time, their own artwork framed and/or displayed as it would be in any museum setting! The sense of pride and feelings of accomplishment are beyond description…the exhibition and reception hosted by the Abbe Museum lives on in the memories of the children for many, many years."
Click here to visit the online 2010 Waponahki Student Art Show
Look Twice: The Waponahki in Image and Verse
October 2009 through April 2010
Many different types of images relating to Maine's Tribal History exist which are seldom seen except by researchers and scholars In the field. In addition, the general public is seldom given a broader cultural context in which to view them. Providing contemporary poetry, written by Mikhu Paul-Anderson from Kingsclear First Nations, will simultaneously alter and reframe the context of those images, in effect, mediating the historical gaze of a marginalized people.
The prose that accompanies each image is one method of bringing history into the present moment, supporting another possible view of that history. The connection between past and present is then strengthened, and new ways of understanding history hopefully result.
Mikhu Paul-Anderson is a Native American woman, author and curator of this exhibit and grew up in Old Town, Maine.
Blanket Stories by Marie Watt
Twisted Path: Native American Artists Walking in Two Worlds
December 4, 2008-January 5, 2010
Featuring ten contemporary Native artists, this invitational exhibition features artwork that reflects personal stories about tribal identity and balancing life in a complex world.
The title Twisted Path is based on a traditional beadwork pattern of the same name, describing a back and forth or meandering quality. It is symbolic of Native artists alternating between two cultures, striving to preserve historical and spiritual traditions while experiencing modern lifestyles and new art forms.
Artists include Watie Akins (Penobscot), Pam Cunningham (Penobscot), Nicholas Galanin (Tlingit), Rick Hunt (Abenaki), George Longfish (Seneca/Tuscarora), Teresa Marshall (Mikmaq), Lenny Novak (Abenaki), Cheryl Savageau (Abenaki), Susie Silook (Yupik/Inupiaq), and Marie Watt (Seneca).
2009 Waponahki Student Art Show
April 23 - September 30, 2009
The Abbe Museum in collaboration with Maine Indian Education is honored
to present the 2009 Waponahki Student Art Show. This marks the eighth
year of this popular annual exhibition of artworks by young Passamaquoddy and Penobscot Artists. These annual exhibitions demonstrate a strong purposeful partnership and an outstanding collaboration of two institutions devoted to promoting art education and Waponahki culture.
North by Notheast:Wabanaki, Akwesasne Mohawk and Tuscarora Traditional Arts
October 9, 2008 - September 16, 2009
For generations, Native American traditional artists in the Northeast have passed on their culture through beadwork, basketry, birchbark, and woodcarving.
Organized and curated by Kathleen Mundell, this traveling exhibition sponsored by Cultural Resources, Inc. presents these traditions through
the work and words of over thirty-five traditional artists living and working primarily in Maine and upstate New York. In the creative hands of those
who continue to practice them, these arts reflect the values and traditions
of contemporary communities with each generation recasting old forms into new expressions.
By Native Hands: Woven Treasures from the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art
July 3, 2008 – November 9, 2008
This exhibition of some 60 baskets included examples from over 40 North American tribes of bowls, burden baskets, fancy baskets, baby baskets, bags, trays, hats, miniatures, and gathering baskets.
Click here for more information on this exhibit.
2008 Wabanaki Student Art Show
April 3 – July 6, 2008
The exhibition showcases a variety of artwork by young Penobscot and Passamaquoddy students from early childhood education through the
eighth grade, as well as a number of pieces created by Penobscot and Passamaquoddy high school students.