Maine College of Art has many opportunities for its alumni. There are cost-saving benefits, MECA-only residency opportunities, alumni exhibitions, and preferred access to a variety of resources.
MECA degree-holding alumni are eligible for a suite of benefits including the following:
- 30% discount on MECA Continuing Studies classes
- Discounts on homeowners and auto insurance through Liberty Mutual Insurance
Company - Access to MECA-only residency opportunities
- Borrowing privileges at the Joanne Waxman Library
- Eligibility for alumni biennial exhibitions
- Inclusion in MECA’s alumni directory
- MECA email account
- Access to Career Resource Center
- Consideration for a half tuition matching scholarship at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture
Grant
Belvedere Fund for Professional Development
Alumni working in the field of crafts who hold a BFA degree and have graduated within the last ten years are eligible to apply. Grants of up to $1,500 will be awarded through a competitive review process.
Residencies
Baie Ste Marie Artist & Family Residency
New Edinburgh, Nova Scotia CANADA
The family of Barbara Rita Jenny (MFA'02) established the MECA Baie Ste Marie Artist & Family Residency in 2008. Located in New Edinburgh, Nova Scotia, the Baie Ste Marie Residency is open to Maine College of Art alumni, current faculty and staff. This residency is not only distinguished by its incomparable location on the rugged Atlantic Coast of Canada, but because residents may bring their families to stay in the large house on site.
Stephen Pace House Residency
Stonington, Maine
Artist Stephen Pace and his wife, Palmina, gave their Indian Point home and studio overlooking Stonington Harbor to Maine College of Art in 2007 to be used as an artist residency and gallery. We are pleased to be able to offer Maine College of Art alumni, faculty and staff residency opportunities during the spring, summer and fall months at the Pace House.
MFA Alumni Residency
The MFA Alumni Residency is designed to bring a small group of alumni back to Maine each summer. Running congruent to the MFA Summer Intensive, alumni return to the MECA studios for 5 weeks to engage in an intensive on campus experience.
Two great resources for finding opportunities:
MECA strives to keep alumni apprised of opportunities for fellowships and grants. Follow the links below for resources, grants and fellowship opportunities.
Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
Alliance for Artist Communities
Biennial
The MECA Alumni Biennial takes place in September in the ICA at MECA every other year. This themed exhibition is curated by three distinguished jurors and features the work of three to five BFA and MFA alumni.
MECA Painters: 10 Years Later
Each January, Maine College of Art organizes an exhibition of work by alumni who graduated with a painting degree 10 years ago.
Print Project
Annual on-campus printmaking weekend open to all degree-holding alumni with printmaking experience
Holiday Sale
Annual sale of affordable handmade gifts, held in the Porteous Building.
Then & Now
A juried exhibition at Rose Contemporary featuring the work of students and alumni investigating furniture in all mediums or working sculpturally with wood, held in conjunction with the 2012 Furniture Society Conference hosted at Maine College of Art.
For 37 years, from 1974 to 2011, MECA held an art auction to raise funds for the College. Indeed, MECA hosted the first charity art auction in the State of Maine. While the format and venue changed over the years, the annual event was by all accounts fun and festive, raised significant funds for MECA and provided a way for artists to contribute. In recent years, however, three factors converged that prompted us to examine if an auction is the most effective way to showcase artists and raise funds.
First, between 2007 and 2011
- Overall sales decreased by $32,000
- Over 50% of the art sold below 60% of the stated artist's fair market value
- Only 17% of the art sold at or above the stated artist's fair market value
These trends caused several artists to question what impact selling their art in anauction format has on their career.
Second, many of these artists, including many MECA alumni, conveyed their sentiments to the College and declined to continue participating.
Third, the College launched a new initiative called Artists at Work that ensures a MECA education and the continued support we offer our alumni provides the skills, opportunities and experiences needed to make a living as an artist. This is directly linked to the College's mission to educate students "to transform aspirations and values into a creative practice that serves as the foundation for a lifelong pursuit of personal and professional goals."
Therefore, after many conversations with alumni, local artists, and gallery owners, we decided to end the Art Auction and develop a new event that ensures art will be sold at its fair market value and that the artists will receive 50% of the sales (unless they choose to make a full donation to the college).
The College is not making a broad statement on art auctions, rather we are making a specific statement that as educators we feel an obligation to only provide opportunities for artists to receive full value for their work and to host events that support that goal.
Our Inaugural Art Sale is being planned for Summer 2013 in one more locations and perhaps over a series of weeks. As a former Auction contributor in the last three years, you will be invited to participate. We will be sharing more details in the next few weeks.
Thank you again for supporting Maine College of Art, our mission to continue to educate the next generation of artists and the values we all share about the importance of artists in our communities.