On November 14th and 15th, Native artists will convene at the Abbe Museum in downtown Bar Harbor for a Creative Summit with the goal of developing and sustaining a community of contemporary Wabanaki artists. The summit, inspired by and designed to complement the Abbe’s current main exhibit,

Twisted Path III: Questions of Balance

, will include discussions, an open artists’ studio and a mural workshop.

Twisted Path III

artists participating in the summit include Patricia Michaels, Taos Pueblo, from Season 11 of Project Runway, and Wabanaki artists Rick Hunt, Abenaki; Gina Brooks, Maliseet; Gabriel Frey, Passamaquoddy; Shane Perley-Dutcher, Maliseet, and Vera Longtoe Sheehan, Abenaki.

Friday’s events will be discussion-based and open only to Native artists. Conversations will be geared towards Native arts in Maine, and how to create support systems for emerging Wabanaki contemporary artists. In addition to the

Twisted Path III

artists, other Wabanaki artists and Maine Indian Basketmaker’s Alliance members have been invited to participate in the discussions, with the hopes of identifying the first steps towards creating a Contemporary Native Arts Guild. By bringing together some of today’s leaders in the contemporary Native art world, the Abbe Museum hopes to generate discussions about creative placemaking, cultural tourism, and the future of contemporary Native art in Maine.

On Saturday, the Creative Summit will open to the public with free museum admission. The day will be filled with opportunities to see the artists at work. From 10:00am – 12:00pm the public is invited to observe an open artists’ studio; the artists will work together, trading materials and techniques, to create collaborative pieces. From 1:00 – 4:00pm the artists will collaborate in a mural workshop and the public is again invited to observe.

Twisted Path III

Co-Curator, Rick Hunt, Abenaki, will lead the artists in the creation of a mural that will become part of the Abbe’s permanent collection. Anyone is invited to watch the Twisted Path III artists at work during Saturday’s events.

The Creative Summit is made possible through the support of Lead Corporate Sponsor, Bar Harbor Bank and Trust with additional lead support from the Maine Arts Commission. The Abbe Museum also thanks the

Twisted Path III

exhibit sponsors: the Sharpe Family Foundation/Douglas and Ann Sharpe, Anonymous Foundation, Fisher Charitable Foundation, Hattie A. & Fred C. Lynam Trust, The First, Maine Arts Commission, MPBN, and the Bangor Daily News.

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