Clementine Hunter (1886/1887–1988), Playing Cards, 1970, oil on canvas board, 18 x 24 inches. Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York. Gift of Mildred Hart Bailey/Clementine Hunter Art Trust, 1996.1.2. Photo by Gavin Ashworth.
Weave through the many unfolding stories of American Folk Art!
In connection with American Perspectives, we invite visitors of all ages to celebrate Black History Month by exploring the exhibition and engaging in family-friendly activities throughout the day.
Everyone age 21 and under is always free to visit the PMA through the generosity of Susie Konkel. Sign up for the Susie Konkel Pass here!
Family Day Schedule of Activities:
10 a.m.–5 p.m. Family Relax & Color in the Lower Ground Floor. Unwind and re-center with coloring pages of fun quilt designs.
10:30 a.m.–1 p.m. Join Christina Bechstein from Love Lab Studio to build a mini quilt inspired by those shown in American Perspectives.
11–11:45 a.m. Family Tour of American Perspectives: celebrate Black History Month with a kid-centered, interactive guided tour through the exhibition with Rachel Abimerhi and Shira Stonehill, Master of Arts in Teaching candidates at MECA&D.
12:30 p.m.–3 p.m. Show off your design skills and decorate a T-shirt or tote bag with Jordan Carey from Loquat.
1–1:45 p.m. Family Tour of American Perspectives: celebrate Black History Month with a kid-centered, interactive guided tour through the exhibition with Rachel Abimerhi and Shira Stonehill, Master of Arts in Teaching candidates at MECA&D.
2–3:15 Free Film: Watch a kid's series that highlights films that share the joy, resilience, and complexity of being Black and young, NYICFF Kid Flicks: Celebrating Black Stories.
2:30–5 p.m. Explore poetry through this interactive session with Portland Poet Laureate Maya Williams.
Schedule Translations:
Meet our artists and educators
Christina Bechstein is the Lead Director of Love Lab Studio, a children’s art studio located in the West End of Portland. She has a background in textiles, sculpture and public art from studies at Cranbrook Academy of Art, Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture and Weimar Jena Akademie and has experience with collaborative leadership work as a facilitator, consultant and supporter of folks in the fields of creativity, teaching and service/public engagement.
Joran Carey is a Bermudian designer and artist based in Portland, Maine. In January 2020, Carey launched Loquat (@loquatshop), a fashion and lifestyle brand focused on empowering marginalized people. The loquat plum was first brought to Bermuda by the British and symbolizes displacement, migration, and community for Carey. The sentiments representing the Bermuda Loquat's story inform the brand's sense of community, collaboration, and storytelling.
Maya Williams (ey/they/she) is a Black multiracial nonbinary suicide survivor who is currently the seventh poet laureate of Portland, Maine. May 2023 marks the release of their debut poetry collection, Judas & Suicide, via Game Over Books. October 2023 marks the release of their second poetry collection, Refused a Second Date, via Harbor Editions. They were one of three artists of color selected to represent Maine in The Kennedy Center's Arts Across America series in 2020 and were listed as one of The Advocate's Champions of Pride in 2022. She is currently an Ashley Bryan Fellow through the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance. You can follow more of eir work at mayawilliamspoet.com
Rachel Abimerhi (she/they) is an artist and educator from the greater Boston area currently based in Portland, ME. Growing up in a multicultural home, Rachel spent much of her childhood between the Middle East and in the States where her family now resides in Massachusetts. As an Artist, much of her work explores themes of home and belonging, and the impact on the places we leave behind. After receiving her BFA in Photography from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2017, Rachel began working as an after-school visual arts teacher for Middle School in Rhode Island. She is currently pursuing her Master of Art in Teaching at Maine College of Art and Design. She approaches art-making as meditative and expressive, and through lots of trial and error. Her hope is that children find the visual arts as a safe haven to be as expressive and free as they'd like.
Shira Stonehill is an abstract painter and teaching artist from greater Boston. Shira earned her Fine Art degree at Columbia College Chicago and is currently a Masters of Arts in Teaching Candidate at MECA&D. She has experience building arts integrated curricula and leading artmaking workshops in a variety of settings and loves learning and teaching about contemporary art and artists.
