Maine Arts Commission has awarded Wiscasset’s Maine Art Gallery $8,700 in support of the Commission’s goal of strengthening the state’s creative workforce. The matching grant will enable the gallery to fund more time for the organization’s part time gallery manager from December through June as well as fees for class instructors and honorariums for exhibit jurors and curators.

“We are thrilled with this grant,” said Wendy Ross, president of Maine Art Gallery’s board of trustees. “It’s a validation of the hard work by our board, staff, and volunteers in creating exciting exhibits and programs that increased outreach and visits in 2021. The grant helps us move toward our vision of making the Maine Art Gallery in Wiscasset again a premier center for the arts in Midcoast Maine.”

The stated goal of the Art Jobs Grant is to support public projects that develop opportunities and encourage employee retention. The Arts Jobs Grant is made possible through funding by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Gallery director Kerry Hadley stated that notification of the award included a video copy of the commission’s grant review session that she found extremely helpful and educational. She was gratified by some of their comments. “They said that the Maine Art Gallery is a ‘meaningful gallery’ and that ‘they obviously have set themselves up for success’ and they have ‘well-articulated plans’.”

Hadley also noted that the Maine Arts Commission Executive Director David Greenham lauded the changes that Wiscasset has undergone, and that the community is still transforming and growing.

The Maine Art Gallery is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and preservation of painting, sculpture and graphic arts through exhibitions, lectures, demonstrations, and educational programs for children and adults. The gallery opens for the 2022 season on May 7. Hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 11-4. The gallery will again offer its popular opening receptions.

More information can be found at www.maineartgallerywiscasset.org and on Facebook at Maine Art Gallery Wiscasset. The gallery is located at 15 Warren St., Wiscasset, just a 2-minute drive or an 8-minute walk from downtown Wiscasset.