A project using art and story to illuminate, share, and advance positive community experiences throughout the Waterville area.
Sponsored by Waterville Creates and presented in partnership with multiple organizations and individuals, Together features three art exhibitions and four events during the month of April to highlight diverse aspects of community life in and around Waterville.
For months, Bruun immersed himself in the Waterville area, holding dozens of conversations, and facilitating multiple art-making workshops. With its culmination in April, Together shares models of healthy community, advances ongoing community-building initiatives, and fortifies existing relationships in Waterville and beyond. Together seeks to underscore that when it comes to community, we all belong, and we are all in it together.
Exhibitions
Together: Hearing, Holding, Healing
Ticonic Gallery
Paul J. Schupf Art Center
93 Main St., Waterville, ME
April 5 – 29, 2024
Hours: Every Day, 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM
An installation combining 27 paintings by Bruun with an audio-collage created from voices of students attending the Waterville Alternative High School. Bruun’s assemblage of paintings serve as a metaphor for people relying on one another even in brokenness, with the accompanying audio-collage offering an arc of a story on the same theme: when things fall apart, with people helping people, it can all come back together.
Together: Hearing, Holding, Healing is sponsored by Surette Real Estate, Morning Sentinel/ Kennebec Journal, Maine General Health, the City of Waterville, and Kennebec Savings Bank.
Together: Anecdotes and Inspirations
Second Floor
Paul J. Schupf Art Center
93 Main St., Waterville, ME
April 5 – 29, 2024
Hours: Every Day, 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Dozens of works created in painting and drawing workshops led by Peter Bruun over the preceding several months. The exhibition includes art by participants from workshops hosted by Educare Central Maine, Green Block & Studios, High Hopes Clubhouse, South End Teen Center, Thomas College, Waterville Area Soup Kitchen, Waterville Comprehensive Treatment Center, and others, revealing a tapestry of anecdotes and universal qualities of community experience in Waterville.
Together: Art for All
Various Locations*
Waterville, ME
April 5 – 29, 2024
Hours: Variable*
*Click this link for a listing of all the art and the locations and hours it can be seen.
An open call exhibition representing a multitude of artworks sharing two common qualities: the art has been made in the Waterville area, and it broadly speaks to themes of living, working, and playing together in the region. Drawing on submissions from area public schools, colleges, arts groups, and individual artists, the exhibition will be placed in buildings and storefronts on and around Main Street, serving as a de facto celebration of a diverse creative community.
Events
All events take place at the Paul J. Schupf Art Center 93 Main St., Waterville, ME
Together: A Celebration
Paul J. Schupf Art Center
93 Main St., Waterville, ME
Friday, April 5, 5:00 to 7:00 PM
Join us for First Friday to celebrate Together and the opening of its three exhibitions: Together: Hearing, Holding, Healing in the Ticonic Gallery; Together: Anecdotes and Inspirations on the second floor of the Paul J. Schupf Art Center; and Together: Art for All, a community-wide exhibition in and around Waterville’s Main Street.
Click this link for First Friday event information, and this link for details on all “pop-up” programs in 9 different downtown locations as part of Together: Art for All.
Model Places & Inspiring Faces
Paul J. Schupf Art Center
93 Main St., Waterville, ME
Monday, April 15, 1:00 to 4:00 PM
An afternoon of sharing and reflection inspired by the art and stories created during the Together project as a point of departure for two programs, one spotlighting Waterville’s South End neighborhood as a model for providing activities that support youth and family wellbeing, and the other exploring efforts underway to make Waterville a more welcoming and caring place for those affected by Substance Use Disorder (SUD).
The program begins with a 1:00–1:30 reception when audiences can view the Together art exhibitions while enjoying appetizers and refreshments from Wild Clover Café and Bixby Chocolates, and hands-on activities for children and their caregivers with the Children’s Discovery Museum’s Mobile Museum. This event also includes Narcan training courtesy of MaineGeneral’s Harm Reduction Program.
Arts, Smarts, and Hearts: Animating Main Street & Beyond
Paul J. Schupf Art Center
93 Main St., Waterville, ME
Friday, April 19, 3:00 to 6:00 PM
What role do the arts play in making the Waterville area a great place to work, live, and play? With increased investment and collaboration, the art and cultural sector in the Waterville area is on the rise, becoming increasingly central to the community’s identity, economy, and attractiveness. This event brings stakeholders together to explore what’s worked so far, what might happen next, and how best to keep doing it – together.
Niches, Nooks, and Needs: Celebrating Opportunity for All
Paul J. Schupf Art Center
93 Main St., Waterville, ME
Saturday, April 27, 1:00 to 4:00 PM
Through performance, sharing and conversation, we celebrate Waterville’s people and places. This culminating event opens with a reception including family activities from the Children’s Discovery Museum of Central Maine, followed by a 1:30pm program featuring collaborative dance-maker Matthew Cumbie and Together partners from Educare Central Maine, Green Block & Studios, High Hopes Clubhouse, Kennebec Valley Community College, Mid-Maine Regional Adult Community Education, South End Teen Center, Thomas College, Waterville Area Arts Society, Waterville Area Soup Kitchen, and the Waterville Comprehensive Treatment Center to celebrate education, work, and life opportunity for all in the Waterville area.
