Saco Museum Juried Biennial Exhibition.

(Saco, ME) The Saco Museum is pleased to announce the debut of the 2010 Mill-ennial, a new, juried biennial exhibition of local contemporary art. Sixty-one works by 39 artists connected to Saco, Biddeford, and Old Orchard Beach were selected by juror Frederick Lynch and will be on view throughout the exhibition. The exhibition is on view at the Saco Museum, with featured works presented at North Dam Mill in Biddeford, from April 3 through June 13, 2010.

(Image: "Saco Mills" by Kathy Angel Lee)

(Image: "Rocky Hill Road" by Laura Lee Dobson)

Artists awards were announced at the opening reception for the 2010 Mill-ennial exhibition at the Saco on Friday, April 2. Artist’s awards included a juror’s award of merit and three purchase prize or prizes, enabling works from the exhibition to enter the collection of the Saco Museum. The juror’s awarded, selected by exhibition juror Frederick Lynch, went to Omer Gagnon of Dayton for his wood, metal, and found-object sculpture Carasoul of War. Purchase prizes, selected by the Collections Committee of the Dyer Library and Saco Museum, went to Pat Campbell of Saco for her relief sculpture Mandala II, made of rice paper and reed; to Laura Lee Dobson of Saco for her black-and-white photograph Rocky Hill Road; and to Kathy Angel Lee of Old Orchard Beach for her art quilt entitled Saco Mills. All of the winning artists’ work is on view at the Saco Museum through June 13.

(Image: Detail of "What I Saw on the Glacier" by Celeste Roberge)

The Mill-ennial was conceived by the Saco Museum as an ongoing series of exhibitions showcasing new work by living artists connected to Saco, Biddeford, and Old Orchard Beach. The works on display present a full range of artistic media, from traditional painting and photography to assemblage sculpture. Two large-scale installations by Biddeford native Celeste Roberge—whose sculptures are in the collections of the Portland Museum of Art, the DeCordova Museum, and Runnymede Sculpture Garden, among other public collections—are among the works installed at North Dam Mill. The mill’s “Project Space,” a 6,000 square foot industrial room with 11-foot ceilings, provides an apt setting for Roberge’s multi-media pieces, which explore issues of environmental fragility and sustainability. Whimsical and provocative carvings by George Hughes of Saco are also displayed in the Project Space.

(Image: "Carasoul of War" by Omer Gagnon)

Following is the complete list of Mill-ennial artists, including those whose work is displayed at the Project Space and the Saco Museum:

Susan Amons • Nick Anagnostis • Susan Barnes • Wendy Barrett • Melissa Bear • Peter T. Bennett • Christy Bergland • Pat Campbell • Donna L. Caron • Michele A. Caron • Sara Chadbourne • Sally Orth Chandler • Tammy Charles • Laura Lee Dobson • Laura Dunn • Rachael Eastman • Gayle Fitzpatrick • Tanya Fletcher • Omer Gagnon • Sarah Gorham • Rick Green • George Hughes • Pamela Johnson • Kathy Angel Lee • Diann L. Libby • Anna Low • Robin Puleio • Deborah Randall • Cheryl Rau • Kelly Sue Rioux • Celeste Roberge • Meryl Ruth • Nancy Bell Scott • Noel Squires • William T. Stewart • Nora Tryon • B. Andrew Valliere • Anastasia Weigle • Diane Bowie Zaitlin

The juror for the 2010 Mill-ennial is Frederick Lynch, a nationally renowned painter and resident of Saco. Lynch received his BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and his Master's of Education degree from Westfield State College in Westfield, Mass. He has taught at the University of Southern Maine, Colby College, and the Haystack School of Crafts on Deer Isle. His work is in the collections of the Portland Museum of Art, the De Cordova Museum, and the Farnsworth Art Museum, among others. In the catalogue accompanying the exhibition, Mr. Lynch writes, “This exhibition should announce to both the general viewing public as well as the arts community, in decisive and confident statements, with color, form and shape, just how creative and energetic the arts have become in the Biddeford, Saco, and Old Orchard Beach area.” The catalogue for the 2010 Mill-ennial is available for $20 at either the Saco Museum gift shop or www.lulu.com.

(Image: "Intelligent Design" by George Hughes)

The cities on the Saco have overlapping histories of industrial and creative activity, and the Mill-ennial seeks to celebrate that history by presenting the exhibition in both a traditional museum setting and a former industrial space. Presentation of the Mill-ennial also coincides with the May 29 grand opening of the Saco Museum’s new long-term reinstallation of its permanent collection, entitled Making History: Art and Industry in the Saco River Valley. Together, these two exhibitions will convey the breadth of creative endeavors in this region from the 17th century to the present day.

(Image: Detail of "Mandala II" by Patricia Campbell)

The Dyer Library/Saco Museum is located at 371 Main Street (Route 1) in historic downtown Saco, Maine. There is free parking and the museum is handicapped accessible. Regular museum hours are: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm; Friday 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm (FREE from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm); Saturday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm; and Sunday 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm (June to December only). Regular admission is: Adults $4; Seniors & Students $3; Children (7 through 18) $2; Children 6 and under, no charge. Admission is always free to to Dyer Library/Saco Museum card holders and their guests. Group tour rate is available for groups of 8 or more, and must be scheduled in advance. For additional information, please call 283-3861, ext. 114 or visit www.dyerlibrarysacomuseum.org.

Hours for the Project Space at North Dam Mill are: Monday through Thursday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, and Friday 8:30 am to 3:30 pm.

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