PMA Staff News January 16, 2020

PMA Staff News – January 16, 2020

Staff Announcements

Muntather Alsawad has accepted the position of Full-Time Gallery Officer. Under the general supervision of Faiz Mohammad, Director of Protection Services, and Protection Services Supervisors, Muntather is responsible for ensuring the security and safety of the Portland Museum of Art’s personnel and visitors, the museum’s collection, and the physical plant. Congratulations Muntather!

Reminders

• Monday, January 20 is a holiday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The museum and its offices will be completely closed.

• Please note, the last day for booking the Lord Conference Room (LCR) is January 24, 2020. After this date, the LCR will be converted into an office for the incoming Human Resources Director when that person is hired. Please contact Nathan Richardson, Human Resources Assistant, with any questions.

• 2019 staff self-assessments and 360 feedback are open and due back to supervisors by Friday, January 24. Please contact Human Resources (nrichardson@portlandmuseum.org) with any questions.

Opportunities

Jaime DeSimone, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art, will be offering a talk on Carrie Moyer & Sheila Pepe: Tabernacles for Trying Times for staff next Wednesday, January 22 at 8:45 a.m. in the Osher Foundation Auditorium. This will be a great opportunity to learn about the show in preparation for it’s opening, so that we can all speak from a more informed place with visitors and the community and help them to engage more fully with the exhibition. Please join us!

And, don’t forget the staff tour of Carrie Moyer and Sheila Pepe: Tabernacles for Trying Times! The tour will take place in the exhibition on Wednesday, February 5 and will be broken into two segments. Security Review with Erin Damon at 8:30 a.m., Content Review with Jaime DeSimone at 9 a.m. Details about this tour and exhibitions can be found on the exhibitions schedule Outlook calendar. If you would like to add this tour to your own calendar, you can invite yourself from the exhibitions schedule calendar.

Dream Action Factory takes over Tabernacles this spring

The tabernacle, or “tent of meeting,” is traditionally a dwelling or residence for diverse cultures around the world. This spring, artists Sheila Pepe and Carrie Moyer reimagine the tabernacle with vibrant color and abstract forms, shifting the exhibition space into a social platform. In a series of weekly happenings from March 5 through June 4, this 21st-century tabernacle becomes Dream Action Factory—a place where artists, scholars, makers, performers, students, and social organizations delve into a wide variety of topics from crocheting to community organizing. In a moment of division in our society, this program series challenges us to come together with renewed urgency. Over the course of the series, make time and space for dialogue and for finding, among our many threads of identity, our common social fabric.

This program series takes place on Thursday evenings from March 5 through June 4th, and will be free with admission, unless otherwise noted, and always free for Members. We have confirmation from the following organizations and collaborators, who will be hosting programs as part of the series: 

• The Chart with Jenna Crowder and Julian Langevin

• Maggie Muth of Stitch Hive – crochet open house

• Evenings for Educators with Portland Public School District

• Cynthia Baker, Professor of Religious Studies, Bates College

• MaineTransNet

• Bates Dance Festival

• Slow Art Day

• Casco Bay High School

• Author Nancy Princenthal

• ACLU

• Nelson Social Justice Fund Lecture with Richard Meyer, Carrie Moyer and Sheila Pepe

• Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center

• Portland Public Library

• University of Southern Maine

• Candy’s Queer Space

• Artist Hope Rovelto

The Learning and Interpretation and Communications teams are working hard to finalize logistics and publish a more comprehensive schedule in the coming weeks. Please reach out if you have any additional questions. Much more to come soon! Christian Adame, Peggy L. Osher Director of Learning and Interpretation

Smoke Free Campus Policy

A reminder that the PMA has a “Smoke Free Campus” policy. This means that smoking or use of any other tobacco products is not permitted in any museum building or on any museum grounds (including the Winslow Homer Studio and its surrounding grounds), in any parking facility on museum grounds, or in any vehicle on museum property. The MaineHealth parking lot (located just up the stairs from the loading dock/PMA parking lot, between the Children’s Museum and Dogfish Grill) is also a smoke free environment. Please help the PMA to be a good neighbor and do not smoke in the MaineHealth parking lot. 

The Smoke Free Campus policy applies to everyone, including PMA contractors. Thank you!

Staff Creative Happenings

Reminder: Staff are always welcome to send Jen Graves (Executive Administrator in the Director’s Office) announcements regarding your creative activities—such as exhibitions you are in, concerts, etc.—so that they can be shared with your fellow staff! Simply email Jen Graves at officeofthedirector@portlandmuseum.org and include as much detail as possible (location, dates, and more), as well as links to any online information. Contact with questions: Jen Graves

Positions Posted

Open positions at the PMA are always posted here: https://www.portlandmuseum.org/about/employment.