Public Engagement
The Public Engagement student exhibition Art & Audubon: Collaboration in Conservation opens on Friday, . . .”
The Public Engagement student exhibition Art & Audubon: Collaboration in Conservation opens on Friday, October 27, 5–7pm at the Gisland Farm in Falmouth.Read More
Sarah Milkowski-Dahlgren '17
Public Engagement Fellow Sarah Milkowski-Dahlgren '17 has been selected to receive the Maine Campus Compact . . .”
Public Engagement Fellow Sarah Milkowski-Dahlgren ’17 has been selected to receive the Maine Campus Compact Student Heart and Soul Award at their 15th annual awards ceremony, hosted at the Hall of Flags at the Maine State House in Augusta. Maine Campus Compact recognizes six undergraduate students who have been actively involved in . . .Read More
Sara Inacio '17
MECA has played a major role in shaping me as an artist. ”
In 2015, Sara Inacio was awarded a Professional Development and Entrepreneurship Grant, which helps BFA, MFA, and MAT students to advance their studio and professional skills by accessing opportunities and experiences beyond the MECA classroom. She is using her funds to participate in a project conducted by Braddock Tiles, a community . . .Read More
Chloe Beaven ’15 and Caitlin Ervin ’16
Chloe Beaven ’15 and Caitlin Ervin ’16 were selected as Public Engagement Fellows in 2014‐2015, . . .”
Chloe Beaven ’15 and Caitlin Ervin ’16 were selected as Public Engagement Fellows in 2014‐2015, supported by a grant from the Ladd Foundation. They received a financial scholarship and academic credit to design and lead projects that built relationships between MECA and the community as part of their Public Engagement Minors. . . .Read More
Maggie Muth ’11
There was a hum of light conversation and the sharing of supplies— just like in the MECA studios during . . .”
Thanks to her husband’s career, Maggie Muth has traveled far and wide. After residing in Shanghai, they recently lived in Moldova, the poorest country in Europe, sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, where art programming was nonexistent in the village schools. To make art affordable and accessible for every student, Maggie started . . .Read More
Chloe Beaven '15
At MECA, Chloe utilized her public engagement minor to leverage leadership positions on campus.”
Chloe transferred to MECA for the Public Engagement minor after studying Anthropology and Visual Arts at the University of British Columbia. During her time at MECA she has utilized her public engagement minor to leverage leadership positions on campus, in the community, and around the globe. She partnered with Waynflete School and Seeds . . .Read More
Hannah Merchant '13
Growing and making food and documenting the act with photography was a powerful experience.”
The “Grow Cart” was created by Hannah Merchant ’13, who majored in Woodworking and Furniture Design with a Minor in Public Engagement. This mobile farm stand was designed in partnership with Cultivating Community for her Public Engagement Capstone project. The Grow Cart is used to deliver local organic produce and . . .Read More
MECA Students Embrace Real-World Projects
What happens to history when stories are lost? And what is the artist’s role in saving and sharing stories? . . .”
What happens to history when stories are lost? And what is the artist’s role in saving and sharing stories? Students in Documentary Storytelling, a class taught by MECA Adjunct Instructor of Foundation Matt Frassica, worked through these questions while learning techniques for storytelling, narrative, and engagement in a partnership . . .Read More
Elizabeth A. Jabar, Director of Public Engagement
Elizabeth A. Jabar wrote “If You Want Creative Solutions, Start with Creative Partnerships” for Maine . . .”
Elizabeth A. Jabar wrote “If You Want Creative Solutions, Start with Creative Partnerships” for Maine Audubon’s Habitat Winter 2018 issue. Read the entirety of her article here via PDF. Elizabeth serves as Chair of the Printmaking Program at MECA, where she is also Associate Dean and Director of Public Engagement. She is a . . .Read More
Kelly McConnell, Director of Art Education Outreach, Associate Professor
I never anticipated how much my college students would love going to a place that felt like a home and a . . .”
Article originally published in The Cedars Magazine. Local Art Students and Seniors at The Cedars Fore a Connection Through Art “Where can I be an aging artist?” “Where can I be true to myself” Kelly McConnell, an artist-educator at MECA, found herself pondering these questions while observing an Opening Minds . . .Read More
Faculty Elizabeth Jabar & Colleen Kinsella
Utilizing collaborative artmaking as a tool for equity, social justice and public action.”
Two faculty members, Elizabeth Jabar, Assistant Dean, Director of Public Engagement & Program Chair of Printmaking, and Colleen Kinsella, Printmaking Instructor & Printmaking Studio Technician, recently were interviewed for their art collective Future Mothers on CSArt: Maine. “What / who is currently inspiring you locally?” . . .Read More
Elizabeth Jabar
I am convinced that this pedagogy and socially engaged art practice are the core to art education.”
ON THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM From my very first Public Engagement course I witnessed my students experience deep learning when they were given the opportunity to apply their creative imagination and skills in a real world context. Through this work students grapple with an expansive set of social, cultural, political and . . .Read More
Paul Gebhardt ʼ96
Artists have so much to offer the world. Their creative approach is needed in all of our cultural, economic . . .”
What drives your need for/belief in service and public engagement? I am most interested in that intersection between a creative action and a social need. I am curious about how art can bring awareness, challenge an assumption, open a discourse about a difficult topic—like poverty or food security—and solve a practical problem. I am . . .Read More
