
The countdown to the unveiling of the new PMA begins at 6 p.m. on February 3 with Lights Across Congress, a special event that will bring together more than 20 community organizations, businesses, and supporters to present a massive 130-foot-wide cinematic projection on the museum’s façade, promising to be the Maine arts event of the year.
Lights Across Congress will serve as a public countdown to the reopening of the PMA, and at the end of the projection the museum will open its doors and welcome visitors to the entirely new and reimagined PMA, for free.
Lights Across Congress will include one of the largest multidimensional projections in Portland’s history, made possible through generous support from Unum as well as through partnerships with Headlight AV, p3, and the City of Portland. To celebrate the reopening of the museum, the projection will light up the façade of the PMA with an exciting and colorful animated sequence that people will remember for years to come. With support from the city of Portland and to provide as many viewing angles as possible, Free Street at Congress Street will be closed to traffic on the evening of February 3.
Many more community partners will be involved—including ice sculptors, food trucks, and the Friends of Congress Square Park—to make Lights Across Congress a festive winter carnival environment and a true party to mark the reopening of the PMA.
Lights Across Congress is a moment of celebration for the Portland Museum of Art, as well as an opportunity to showcase the economic and social power of Maine’s arts and culture for a wide array of organizations, community partners, and businesses. From leading corporations such as UNUM to creative agencies such as p3 and The VIA Agency, and from community organizations such as Creative Portland to state agencies such as the Maine Office of Tourism, Lights Across Congress and the reopening of the PMA provides a moment for the city of Portland and the state of Maine to rally around the arts.
Dowling Walsh Gallery in Rockland is featuring “IDK,” an exhibition of paintings by Tollef Runquist that explores the intersection of personal reflection, archetypes, fantasy and play. Runquist’s paintings combine images and symbols drawn from lived experience, emotional landscapes and cultural influences, creating an intuitive dialogue between imagery and meaning. “My work explores a space where […]
Meetinghouse Arts in Freeport is presenting a full schedule of fall exhibitions and performances, including a members show, a collaborative exhibition by longtime artist friends Tim Sample and Linda Rowell-Kelley and several concerts. The gallery’s fall members exhibition, “Nature’s Palette: Art Inspired by the Season,” will remain on view through Oct. 18. Featuring paintings, drawings, […]
Local Color Gallery in Belfast will feature printmaker, collage artist and sculptor Jeff Wahlstrom from Oct. 19 to Nov. 22. An Art Walk reception will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Oct. 23, with an artist talk at 5 p.m. Based in Bangor, Wahlstrom creates block prints and watercolor collages inspired by the natural […]
Women Eco Artists Dialog (WEAD), based in Berkeley, California, is accepting submissions for its 2027 members exhibition, “Prototyping Futures of Making: Water, Data, and Living Systems.” The exhibition will explore the relationships among water, data, ecological systems and emerging technologies, asking how artists can engage with living systems as sites of collaboration, construction and consequence. […]
Triangle Gallery in Rockland is presenting three exhibitions through Oct. 31, including an extended solo exhibition by Carter Wentworth, a group fiber arts show and a fall exhibition of work by gallery artists. Wentworth’s “Sound of Rain Crossing the Lake” will remain on view in the upstairs gallery through the end of October. “Interwoven,” a […]
Waterfall Arts in Belfast will present “Found in Translation,” a mixed-media exhibition featuring Maine artists Deborah Jellison, JoAnne Houlsen and John LeBlanc, from Oct. 23 to Nov. 28. An opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 23. The exhibition brings together three artist friends whose work explores familiar Maine landscapes, objects […]
Courthouse Gallery Fine Art in Ellsworth is presenting “Form Meets Surface,” an exhibition highlighting porcelain ceramics by potter Mark Bell and collaborative works created with painter William Irvine. The artists, both established in their respective fields, have worked together since 2015 to create porcelain vases and plates that combine Bell’s ceramic forms with Irvine’s painted […]
Barn Gallery in Ogunquit concluded its 2026 exhibition season Oct. 12, but the venue will continue to welcome visitors for two performances in the 19th annual Elizabeth Dunaway Burnham Piano Festival. Pianist, composer and vocalist Zahili Zamora will return to Ogunquit with her Afro Cuban Jazz Trio for a performance from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. […]
The Brunswick Guild Fine Craft Show will return to the historic Fort Andross Mill in Brunswick on Oct. 24 and 25, celebrating its 10th season with work by 40 juried Maine craft artists. Presented by Shop Maine Craft, the indoor show will feature basketry, ceramics, decorative and wearable fiber art, furniture, glass, jewelry, mixed media, […]
Receive news and information about Maine artists and events delivered right to your inbox.