UMVA Dark Skies Exhibit: Yearlong Effort Yields Impressive Results
The recent UMVA Dark Skies exhibition, in partnership with Belfast’s Waterfall Arts and Dark Sky Maine, was by all measures a tremendous success.
Not only did the exhibit gather a sizable crowd of roughly 240 people at the opening, and 800 visitors overall during its six-week run; it also gave UMVA a healthy dose of exposure in media, ranging from newspapers such as The Portland Press Herald; community websites, such as New England Living; and local TV stations, such as News Center Maine in Portland.
Amy Tingle, Program Director at Waterfall Arts, commented that it was a wonderful melding of art and science. In the last week of the exhibit, WABI Bangor News visited Dark Skies and spoke to Katherine Dervereux, Waterfall Arts Marketing Manager, who said: “There’s a lot of folks who visited for just the science aspect of the show and they’ve left with a greater appreciation for art and then of course those who come looking for really awesome art to look at, they’ve learned more about the science of dark skies. So, it’s really cool to see that crossbreeding of interests and passions.”
Complimentary Dark Skies programming included guest speakers such as Nancy Hathaway of Dark Sky Maine; Elizabeth Dickerson of the popular Maine Aurora Borealis Watch Facebook group; a presentation by John Meader of Northern Sky Planetarium with Serena Sanborn of Waterville Creates, about the need to preserve and cherish dark skies and reduce light pollution, for the health of the ecosystem; and Wilfred Buck, a hybrid documentary film that follows the life of a charismatic and irreverent Cree elder who overcame a harrowing history by reclaiming ancestral star knowledge and ceremony, shown at the Belfast Public Library.
Over a year of planning went into the exhibition and related events. It all began at a brainstorming session of possible 2025 exhibition themes that was held at a Midcoast/Downeast chapter meeting. Fortuitously, Arlene Jurewicz-Leighton had just come from a Dark Skies meeting, and suggested the Dark Skies theme. It immediately appealed to Liv Kristin Robinson (with many decades of co-curating and organizing art exhibitions in Midcoast Maine) and Emily Sabino, a more recent active organizer of exhibitions at UMVA and beyond.
After several meetings, the goals of the show became clear: 1) to create a professionally curated, well-attended exhibition that gets UMVA and its artists into the news, 2) to provide an opportunity for emerging UMVA artists to exhibit alongside well-known artists, and 3) to raise awareness of the necessity of nighttime darkness and reducing light pollution.
To accomplish these goals, the organizers set out to do the following: 1) organize a juried call, open to all UMVA members state-wide, to submit dark sky–themed work, 2) invite several well-known Maine artists, including Katherine Bradford, Jane Dahmen, Frances Hynes, and Linden Frederick, among others, whose dark skies-themed work could expand the range of the show’s appeal among art enthusiasts, and 3) partner with Waterfall Arts, Dark Sky Maine, and other popular environmental groups, for increased interest from media outlets.
Arlene’s background in both science and local activism in Dark Skies initiatives was invaluable in providing connections with many in the Dark Skies community, including Nancy Hathaway (Executive Director of Dark Sky Maine), who assisted in the jurying process and was the official “Dark Skies” consultant for the project. Arlene also secured the necessary funding to bring the presenters and programs to Waterfall Arts and the Belfast Free Library.
The exhibit and programming, along with excellent publicity efforts by UMVA’s own Ann Tracy and the Waterfall Arts staff, resulted in an impressive amount of media attention for UMVA, the artists, and the Dark Skies cause. And equally important, the experience fostered a growing bond of affection and appreciation among all who were involved in organizing the project.