Dear Editor:

Committed partnerships are powerful engines of achievement. Wiscasset and the Maine Art Gallery have had such a partnership for 65 years, providing historic arts programming to our region. This is why voters should vote no on the town’s non-binding referendum Question 1 and record their opposition to selling the Red Brick Schoolhouse that risks jeopardizing an unprecedented record of success.

After all, this commitment to partnership was renewed by the voters in November 2021 by their super-majority endorsement to extend the gallery lease to 20 years and declaring their intent to work together to attract grants for building preservation. In the months since then the gallery has been awarded $25,000 in grants for restoration and improvements to the 1807 landmark in reliance on the town’s lease extension. A vote YES on Question 52 will leverage this support.

Now is a time when the Maine arts community statewide is flourishing and attracting residents, seasonals and tourists to choose where to live, invest and visit.  The Maine Art Gallery has participated in this boom, garnering praise in press reviews and broadcast news for its support of Wiscasset student artists and its anniversary celebration of founding artists and their contemporary successors.

For the Prettiest Village in Maine with a proud legacy in history and culture, there is no better way to reap the benefits of the Maine Art lifestyle and to build for the future than to reinforce Wiscasset’s arts heritage derived from its cooperative partnership with the Maine Art Gallery, 65 years and counting.

Richard Riese

Wiscasset