WATERVILLE — Common Street Arts will host a collection of prints by artists from Maine and Aomori, Japan, virtually, from May 18 through July 18 at the Hathaway Creative Center.
The traveling exhibition is part of Maine-Aomori Printmaking Society, a cultural exchange program sharing art and artists between Maine and Aomori. The MAPS initiative is celebrating five years of collaborative exhibitions and artist exchanges. MAPS will be on view virtually through Common Street Arts’ social media channels, including Facebook and Instagram. Common Street Arts will provide associated virtual programming through its Afterschool Art Club Facebook series and provide additional video content to share the exhibition with viewers. There will also be opportunities to purchase prints through the Maine Aomori Printmaking Society.
Since 2015, curators Jeff Badger and Jiro Ono have coordinated the exchange of ten prints each year from artists in Maine and Aomori. The prints have been exhibited in Maine and Japan and now the collection numbers over a hundred works. The prints exchanged in 2019-20 will make up the Waterville exhibit. The same collection was shown at the Aomori Arts Pavilion in Japan during the Citizen Culture Days in October 2019.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with MAPS and look forward to showcasing this beautiful collection of prints,” said Patricia King, vice president of Waterville Creates. “It’s a wonderful partnership and we are so pleased to be able to serve as a virtual venue.”
The official relationship between Maine and Aomori has been in place for over 20 years, but the connection between the two states goes back to the wreck of a ship from Bath off the Japanese coast in 1889, resulting in a daring rescue of American sailors by Japanese villagers. In addition to MAPS, Friends of Aomori – the all-volunteer non-profit that supports the partnership – also supports high-school exchange programs, educational workshops and events, and economic development opportunities.
“The MAPS print collection has grown into a beautiful representation of the diversity and excellence in printmaking that can be found in both Maine and Aomori,” said Badger. “Our goal is to exhibit this dynamic and growing collection all over the State of Maine. We are proud to partner with Common Street Arts to share the work with the people of Waterville and neighboring communities.”
The MAPS 2020 collection features work by Lydia Badger, Stephen Burt, Susan Groce, David Harmon, Mary Hart, Emiko Kamada, Hitoshi Kikuchi, Osamu Kitamura, Michiko Kusakabe, Tadashi Saito, Hiroshi Takehana, Kiyohiro Toriyabe, Raegan Russell, Allison Derby Hildreth, Pilar Nadal, Noriyuki Ota, Lisa Pixley, Deloris A. White, David Wolfe, Tamiko Yamaya and Tuya Yasuta.
PHOTO: Michiko Kusakabe, “Grape Hunting,” 2019, Woodblock print. (Submitted photo)
