“陽だまり / Favorite Sunny Spot” by 大里 勝正 / Katsumasa Ohsato
I’ll be traveling to Japan this October, leading a delegation of five artists to Maine’s sister state, Aomori. I serve as the President of Friends of Aomori, and this trip is a reciprocal visit after a similar residency program we put togehter for Japanese artists in Portland in 2016 as part of the Maine-Aomori Printmaking Society, a series of printmaking exchange exhibiitons. I’ll be joined by fellow artists Lydia Badger, Pilar Nadal, Lisa Pixley, and David Wolfe.
The fourth group of MAPS prints by artists from Maine, USA and Aomori, Japan will be on display at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine starting June 29th, after a successful exhibition at Waterfall Arts in Belfast, Maine from April - June. A matching collection of the same 20 prints was shown at the Aomori Arts Pavilion during the Citizen Culture Days in October 2018. After Bowdoin, this show will move to the University of Maine Fort Kent Blake Library from September 28th - Nov 2nd, with an opening reception on September 28th. This year’s series of MAPS exhibitions is sponsored by a generous grant from the Maine Community Foundation’s Expansion Arts Fund.
The 2019 series of exhibitions builds on the successful series of exchanges and exhibitions held since 2015 in both countries, now numbering twenty shows in varied locations throughout both states. MAPS is organized by Friends of Aomori, an all-volunteer non-profit that supports the Sister State relationship between Maine and Aomori, Japan.
The relationship between Maine and Aomori has been in place for 20 years, but the fascinating connection between the two states goes back to a shipwreck in 1889 (read more here: http://maine-aomori.org/about/). In addition to MAPS, Friends of Aomori supports high-school exchange programs, educational events and programming about Japan, and economic development opportunities.
The MAPS 2019 collection features prints by: Jane Banquer, Laura Dunn, Nicole Em, Hideo Kawamura, Amanda Lilleston, Nathaniel Meyer, Daniel Minter, David Morgan, Mitsumaro Ogawa, Katsuma Ohsato, Jun’ichi Okabe, Kei’ichi Okuta, Anna O’Sullivan, Shouzou Sasaki, Debbie Schmitt, Emiko Seki, Nobuko Shimazu, Satoshi Suzuki, Kei’ichi Wada, and Cornelia Walworth.
MAPS is presented by Friends of Aomori and made possible by the generous support of Maine Community Foundation and Ocean House Gallery and Frame.
