BANGOR, Maine — Editor's note: The video above was published March 25, 2022.
Midcoast Maine students will have the opportunity to exhibit artwork in June through a community partnership with the nonprofit organization Finding Our Voices, according to a press release from the organization.
Students ages 4 to 18 will showcase creative pieces exploring what love does and does not mean to them.
Dozens of Midcoast Maine organizations will host more than 50 works, including the Farnsworth Art Museum, the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, and businesses across Thomaston, Rockland, Rockport, and Camden, according to the release.
"Young people found their voices to an even more beautiful extent than we hoped. The voices are diverse and powerful, and much thought and conversation by all in the community is sure to result,” Patrisha McLean, president and founder of Finding Our Voices, explained in the press release.
McLean began the organization three years ago as a small photography exhibition to help break the stigma surrounding domestic abuse.
A total of 70 students have worked with a dynamic array of mediums, including painting, sculpture, anime, collage, poetry, and comic works for the upcoming exhibit.
Each student will receive an art kit provided by the Farnsworth Art Museum, the release stated.
Many Midcoast schools and youth organizations are in collaboration with the Finding Our Voices project: Camden Hills Regional High School, Hope School, South School after-school program, the Penobscot Bay YMCA, The Landing Place, Thomaston and Camden public libraries, Riley School, Sweetland School, and Children’s House Montessori, according to the release.
In late March, the Finding Our Voices organization held a photo exhibition featuring survivors of domestic violence in Maine. More than 40 women were portrayed on 20,000 posters and bookmarks on display across the state to put a face to domestic abuse.
For more information regarding the student exhibition and the Finding Our Voices organization, visit their website.
For more information on domestic violence resources and programs, visit the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence website or call the Maine Domestic Violence Helpline: 1-866-834-HELP (4357).
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