DAWNLAND FESTIVAL OF ARTS & IDEAS - JULY 12 & 13, 2025
The Abbe Museum’s Dawnland Festival of Arts and Ideas will return on July 12 & 13, 2025, at the College of the Atlantic (COA). This unique multi-day event is an evolution of our popular Abbe Museum Indian Market (AMIM) and Native American Festival that featured invitation-only Native arts markets and performances. The Dawnland Festival of Arts & Ideas includES those elements but also spotlights conversations by Wabanaki and other Indigenous leaders on some of the biggest questions of our time, including climate, democracy, and food systems.
“Native arts and cultures cannot be separated from Native ways of knowing. The Dawnland Festival of Arts & Ideas continues to celebrate the Native creative economy on Wabanaki homelands while lifting up Indigenous thought leadership vital to the conversation on a healthy planet and society for us all.”
Betsy Richards (Cherokee), Executive Director & Senior Partner with Wabanaki Nations
2025 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
SATURDAY, JULY 12, 2025
College of the Atlantic | Bar Harbor, Maine
9:00 am - 4:00 pm - Market Open
2:00 - 5:00 pm - Panels
SUNDAY, JULY 13, 2024
College of the Atlantic | Bar Harbor, Maine
9:00 am - 4:00 pm - Market Open
2:00 - 5:00 pm - Panels
FESTIVAL 2024 - PHOTO GALLERY
FESTIVAL 2024 - VIDEOS (RECORDED PANELS)
Videos from our recorded festival panels are being processed. Please check again soon. Thank you!
FESTIVAL PRESS & TOOLKIT
OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE (PDF - DOWNLOAD HERE)
11 x 17 POSTER (PDF - DOWNLOAD HERE)
8.5x11 FLYER (PDF - DOWNLOAD HERE)
FACEBOOK IMAGE (DOWNLOAD HERE)
INSTAGRAM SQUARE IMAGE (DOWNLOAD HERE)
Need a file? Graphic Designer: Thierry H. Bonneville (BC – Agency) thb@bonnevilleconsulting.com | (207) 433.0212
THE DAWNLAND FESTIVAL IS ORGANIZED BY THE ABBE MUSEUM
The Abbe’s mission is to illuminate and advance greater understanding of and support for Wabanaki Nations’ heritage, living cultures, and homelands. At the core of our work are decolonizing museum practices including: collaboration with Tribal communities; privileging Native perspectives, voice, and values; a focus on dialogue; inclusion of the full measure of history; and ensuring truth-telling. This is also reflected in the Museum’s governance structure that includes a Wabanaki-majority Board and a Tribally-appointed Advisory Council, resulting in a tremendous institutional power shift. This commitment allows the museum to amplify the art, cultures, histories, and contemporary lives of Wabanaki peoples in ways that serve Tribal communities and activate audiences. Through the Wabanaki Council and community consultation, we work with Wabanaki Tribal Nations to share authority for the interpretation of their living cultures and history, privileging Native voice.
The Abbe was founded in 1928 as a small trailside museum at Sieur de Monts Spring in Lafayette National Park (today Acadia National Park) with a focus on the archaeology of the Wabanaki Nations. The Abbe soon expanded its scope to include Wabanaki material culture and now features a substantial contemporary art collection. In 2001, the Museum expanded to the downtown Bar Harbor location, creating a 17,000-square-foot museum with spacious exhibition galleries, a research lab, and state-of-the-art collections storage. In 2013, the Abbe Museum became the only Smithsonian Affiliate in Maine and contributes to global conversations through work with the International Coalition for the Sites of Conscience. Learn More | Support
