Nat May, guest curator for the 2018 Portland Museum of Art Biennial
Nat May, guest curator for the 2018 Portland Museum of Art Biennial

The Portland Museum of Art is pleased to announce that Nat May is the guest curator for the 2018 Portland Museum of Art Biennial. Nat draws from a deep familiarity with Maine’s contemporary arts landscape through his 13 years as Executive Director of SPACE Gallery, one of the state’s leading venues for contemporary, emerging, and unconventional artists, and will bring together work from living artists with connections to the state for the exhibition. The Biennial opens on January 26, 2018.

“From our earliest conversations, Nat has impressed the staff at the PMA with the depth of his thoughtfulness and his commitment to being inclusive. His research is meticulous, his eye is keen, and his curiosity is unbounded. We are so honored to work with him,” says Deputy Director and Robert and Elizabeth Nanovic Chief Curator Jessica May (no relation), who curated the 2013 PMA Biennial.

A Cape Elizabeth native, Nat was a founding member of the Bakery Photo Collective and has also served as a Board member at Creative Portland and Portland Arts and Culture Alliance. Since 2014, he has served as a founding member of Common Field, a nationwide network of contemporary, experimental, and noncommercial visual art spaces, and as a founding Board member at Hewnoaks Artist Colony in Lovell, Maine.

“I am flattered by the invitation to work with the Portland Museum of Art on the 2018 Biennial,” says May. “The Maine arts community is rich and varied, and there are so many talented artists to consider. I am thrilled to have this new opportunity to invite conversation about contemporary art.”

The PMA’s Judy and Leonard Lauder Director Mark Bessire adds: “Through my time at the PMA, working with the city and community in Portland, and my work on the Board of Advisors at SPACE Gallery, I’ve gotten to know Nat well and admire the way he approaches art. I can’t wait to see what he does with the Biennial—it’s going to be something truly special.” For more information, please contact:
Graeme Kennedy
Director of Marketing & Public Relations
gkennedy@portlandmuseum.org
207.699.4887