New England Regional Show
at Marblehead Arts Association

Annual Juried Open Exhibition May 3rd–May 25th
Opening Reception: Sunday, May 4th, 2:00–4:00 p.m.; Free

The Marblehead Arts Association announces the opening of the annual, juried, open New England Regional show. Artists participating are from Essex County or a member of a New England Arts organization. Inspired by New England life, beauty, and experiences, the engaging works hang throughout the gracious King Hooper Mansion, the eighteenth-century home of the MAA. The 1728 mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and features four galleries with changing monthly exhibits, a wine cellar and third floor ballroom.

Marblehead Arts Association, founded in 1922, boasts many of the region's finest artists among its current and former members. Painters Frank Benson, JOJ Frost, and Mary Bradish Titcomb, were members, as were print-makers Samuel Chamberlain, Arthur William Heintzelman, and Clare Leighton. Today the MAA has 220 artist members representing fine art, sculpture, photography, graphic arts and craft.

Judging this year's NE Regional show is Shana Dumont, the Assistant Director/Assistant Curator at Montserrat College of Art Galleries in Beverly, MA. Since 2005, she has organized many exhibits at the college including Haughticultural Drawings by Helen Meyerowitz; Ice Cream, No Regrets: Cathy McLaurin, On the Ground: Photos by Camilo Ramirez and the major group show Merging Influence: Eastern Elements in New American Art. She recently curated the exhibit It's Getting Hot in Here with Montserrat Gallery Director Leonie Bradbury. Dumont is currently working on the exhibit Many Kinds of Nothing to open this Fall in the Montserrat Gallery.

Dumont is the author of several catalogs including Merging Influence: Eastern Elements in New American Art (2007), Enlightened View: Artists Teaching on Cape Ann (2006) and Stages of Depiction: Drawings from India, 17th–19th centuries (2006). She previously worked as the Manager of Hurst Gallery in Cambridge, MA. Dumont received her MA in Art History from Boston University and BA in English and Art from Colby College, Waterville, ME.

Paint/Decorate a Birdhouse Annual Silent Auction Fundraiser

Each year the MAA has a special fundraiser in time for the Marblehead Festival of Arts. Not only does this important fundraiser help with programs, events, and lectures it also contributes to the annual scholarship fund as well as raise community awareness at the festival of the talent of our membership. We invite you to participate in this year’s fundraiser by painting a birdhouse. We hope the variety will appeal to all styles and mediums. You are also welcome to build and decorate your own as well.

The birdhouses can be picked up at the MAA. To cover the cost of the houses we are charging $8. The houses will need to be returned to the MAA no later than June 13th. We will be displaying the houses for two weeks in retail shops around town to gain excitement and exposure for the silent auction before the festival.

Painting Workshop in Umbria, Italy

MAA and Olde Ipswich Tours are collaborating to get the word out about a terrific and reasonably priced painting workshop in June 2008. Although geared toward artists there will be many activities and areas of interest to those that do not paint or will be joining an artist on this trip. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Marblehead Arts Association Student Scholarship Fund.

Workshop Dates: June 8–17, 2008

Included in the workshop:

• Full time workshop leader and guide
• 8-day painting workshop
• 8 nights’ deluxe accommodations
• 8 breakfasts, 7 dinners
• Daily Excursions, plus activities for non-painting guests
• Transportation in comfortable air-conditioned minibus

Read more about the workshop

Read Bill Cloutman’s blog from Umbria