News

After 30 weeks of immersion into learning to see and craft images with a unique and personal voice, our Professional Certificate students are ready to show the result of all their hard work. Opening first in Rockport at the Maine Media Gallery on May 30, and later in Portland at PhoPa Gallery on June 12, the 2013 Graduation Exhibition will showcase the work of Collin Howell, Sujata Khanna, Adam Pitula, and Jourdan Selkowitz. "The talent and poise of this certificate group is significant," says Certificate Program Chair Brenton Hamilton. "In genres ranging from classic street photography, lyric documentary, personal autobiography, and cultural investigation, the group has created a superb and articulate body of work."

Maine Media's Professional Certificate program is a comprehensive immersion experience in which students spend a year honing their skills and tailoring their unique personal vision. Courses focus not only on technique and craft, but also on photographic seeing, history, and the business of art. Through regular critiques, students push themselves and each other towards complete and polished portfolios. This program prepares storytellers and photographic printmakers for a wide range of careers in photography as well as for a creative life of imagemaking that can grow and evolve over a lifetime. 

We congratulate Collin, Sujata, Adam, and Jourdan on an amazing year of focus, tenacity, courage, and creativity. Your work inspired us, and we can't wait to see what you will do next.

Opening receptions for the exhibition will be held on Thursday May 30 from 6:30-8:00pm at the Maine Media Gallery at 18 Central St. Rockport, and on Wednesday June 12 from 5:00 to 8:00pm at PhoPa Gallery at 132 Washington Ave. Portland.

Maine Media Faculty & Alumni Collaborate on Farnsworth Exhibition

Running through September 1 is a new exhibition in the Farnsworth's Julia's Gallery that was produced through a collaboration of efforts by four Maine Media Faculty and Alumni. Stories of the Land and It's People is a year-long arts integration initiative that brings students from Midcoast public schools together with museum educators, professional artists, teachers and community members to tell the story of their community through art. MFA alum and Yo Pho instructor Matt Smolinsky, MFA faculty Charlotte Dixon, workstudy instructor Reid Elem, and teaching assistant Kelsey Floyd teamed up for the project, which is now reaching 240 local students in its second year. "We got involved in this collaboration so that we can offer kids not only a way to express themselves creatively, but also to offer a new approach to learning," says Matt Smolinsky. "By introducing students to photography, and by integrating it into the study of other subjects, we provide them with new skills, and more importantly, new perspectives."

Solo Exhibition for YO Alum

Talented Young Artist alum Olivia Eckerson will have her work exhibited at the Clemens Gallery of the Hingham Public Library in Hingham, MA through May 30. Her series, Envy of Innocence, is a reflection on her own childhood coming to an end, and an attempt to capture its unfettered joy. "In the summer of 2012 I felt very old. I recognized I was growing up and facing the reality of adulthood," says Eckerson."This collection of work was meant to capture the essence of childhood, when life's simple pleasures were endless. In every photograph, there is a bit of my own youth." After spending the past three summers with us here at Maine Media, Eckerson is now gearing up for her next educational leap at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. We can't wait to see where Olivia travels next with her photographic eye!

We're pleased to announce that the Governor's latest appointment to the Maine State Film Commission is our very own Film Production Manager, Tara Gardner. The Commission is a board of volunteers, appointed by the Governor, who advise the Maine Film Office, which works to expand and improve Maine's in-state production industry and help all Maine-made film and television projects succeed. "I am both honored and delighted by the Governor's invitation to join the Maine Film Commission," says Gardner. Having come to Maine Media after years working as a producer on shows like The Chris Rock Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live, Gardner brings her creative expertise and endless rockstar connections to all of our film programs. Now all Maine filmmakers will benefit from her skills. "I'm happiest when I see talented filmmakers from around the world connect, share vision, and raise the level of their art and their ability to tell stories," says Gardner. We're all excited to see the work she does to promote film and television projects here in Maine, and know the industry will be better off with her involvement.