CMCA

Summer break is almost here — and so is CMCA’s ArtCamp! We invite youth ages 8-14 to look closely, get messy, and discover new ways to engage with this captivating world. Across four unique weeks, campers will study seeds and blooms, sketch in the galleries, experiment with printmaking and sculpture, and transform movement, color, and observation into original works of art. All inspired by CMCA’s summer exhibitions! ArtCamp’s small class sizes and hands-on instruction from practicing artists help curiosity, confidence, collaboration, and self-expression to grow. Programs begin July 20. Sliding scale tuition and a limited number of scholarships available. To learn more, visit the link in our bio.

BIANCA BECK // EYES opens today, Wednesday, May 13 at CMCA! Thank you Jorge Arango for including the exhibition in Portland @pressherald ’s selection of museum shows to see this summer. “Bianca Beck (May 13-Sept. 6) will feature five new brightly colored, monumentally proportioned abstract sculptures that gesture toward the figure. ‘As the site of all experience, our bodies hold our own histories, as well as that of each other,’ explains Beck in their statement. ‘We are here because of everything that has come before, and we each have the power to impact what is to come.’”— @jsawriter Bianca Beck Stardust we breathe / Skin we shed, 2026 Papier-mâche, wood, steel wire, acrylic and oil paint, steel Courtesy of the artist, Uffner & Liu, and the Center for Maine Contemporary Art Photo: @artindexphotography Admission fee is pay-what-you-wish as we continue installing two exhibitions by Marc Swanson and Abbey Williams.

Tickets are now available for the 2026 Art Party at CMCA 🎟️ Join us Wednesday, July 8 for a summer evening of oysters, cocktails, and a movable feast as we celebrate the 10th anniversary of our iconic CMCA building + our summer exhibitions. This year’s Art Party honors the vision, dedication, and expertise of architect Toshiko Mori; contractor Jay Fischer of Cold Mountain Builders; 2016 Board Chair Charlotte Dixon; and Trustee/Building Committee Chair Jack McKenney. We also celebrate the Capital Campaign donors whose belief in the project helped transform a regional institution into a civic and cultural landmark built specifically for contemporary art in all its forms. The evening will feature four fantastic solo exhibitions by Bianca Beck, Will Sears, Marc Swanson, and Abbey Williams. It’s not too late to become a host! Host contributions directly support CMCA’s exhibitions and education programs and are tax deductible (minus cost of meal). Learn more and get your ticket at the link in our bio 😎

Thank you to all who joined us for the return of First Friday at CMCA featuring Steel Revolution! And thank you to Camden National Bank for their generous sponsorship which makes these evenings possible. This is the final week to experience our current solo exhibitions by Sachiko Akiyama and Leon Benn in person before they close Saturday, May 10.

I am feeling humbled, grateful, and frankly exhausted, a week after wrapping up an intense two-week run of tinder at CMCA. I want to extend thanks to the entire community that helped to make this unique project a reality - beginning with my primary collaborator Gabriela Acero whose brilliant mind and generous spirit constantly holds me in awe. Thank you to the amazing team of builders including longtime accomplice @bsharptooth alongside @1000ariels , @hmberta , @iammavision , @sophieannagibbings , @restlesslulu , @clioberta , and Henry Redman Thank you to @yeahthatbrentfoster for his incredibly inventive food prepared with @sipandspoonful Thank you Caila Gorniewicz for her radiant front-of-house presence. The event hinged on thoughtful material engagements including the beautiful ceramic dinnerware by @moltenmud , custom garments by @alexastark , and the inspiring music of @amystaceycurtis , and Henry Redman. Thank you to @cmcanow for generously hosting these events (@grant_wahlquist , I am forever indebted…) Finally, thank you to everyone who bravely attended, and a heartfelt shout out to the generous donors that sponsored tickets to make the event accessible. #rocklandarts #aarontstephan #contemporaryart #communitydinner #performanceart

BIANCA BECK CMCA is proud to announce Bianca Beck’s first institutional solo exhibition, opening to the public on May 13th with a reception celebrating all of our summer exhibitions on Saturday, May 23rd, from 3 - 5 pm. Bianca Beck is well-known for works that refuse the distinction between painting and sculpture, creating abstract forms that gesture towards the figure in papier-mâché that become three-dimensional supports for expressive marks. Covered in DayGlo pink and purple, acid green, shimmering cerulean, and jewel-toned blue, the combined force of their shapes and colors generates an intense, steely joy, suggesting hybrid descendants of Paul Klee, Joan Mitchell, and Keith Haring. Featuring five new works that loom over the viewer like benign sentinels or beloved offspring grown miraculously large, this exhibition opens a new chapter in Beck’s exploration of kinship, dissent, hybridity, and the plurality of selfhood. Read more about it on our website! - Bianca Beck Not yet titled, 2026 (detail) Papier-mâché, wood, steel wire, and acrylic and oil paint 118 x 75 x 10 inches Courtesy of the artist, Uffner & Liu, and the Center for Maine Contemporary Art (Photo: Art Archival / Joel Tsui) - @novabeck @uffnerliu @artarchival

Happy First Friday of the season to one and all! CMCA is *free* from 4 - 7 pm this evening with live music by @gsasteelrevolution . We also hear whispers that Leon Benn will be in the house if anyone would like to hear from him about his incredible show the Violet Hour. Summer’s almost here—are you ready?

PRESS: SACHIKO AKIYAMA Many thanks to Jessica Shearer and the whole team at Boston Art Review for naming Sachiko Akiyama’s “You Were Always the Ocean” one of ten spring exhibitions to see. Catch it before it closes on May 10th (Leon Benn’s “The Violet Hour” too!). “While it’s nearing the end of its run, sculptor Sachiko Akiyama’s solo exhibition at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art—‘You Were Always the Ocean’—is worth a last-minute jaunt north. Comprised of five new sculptures—each featuring at least one female form—the show manages to conjure a world of its own, one that turns on the axis of This heart, this sea (2026), a large floor piece that spans a wide swath of the space. With a gleaming, handwoven net of golden thread wending its way through the wake of what could easily be perceived as a funerary vessel, the boat, much as the show itself, points viewers to consider what awaits us beyond expected horizons.” - @woodchip47 @tessagreeneobrien @bostonartreview @jessryanshearer

MAY EDUCATION EVENTS Shape poems, still lifes, and sardines! CMCA’s education team has some spectacular events planned for you in May. Visit our website for more information at the #linkinbio!

FIRST FRIDAYS ARE BACK! Join us this Friday, May 1st, from 4 - 7 pm for the kickoff of our summer and fall First Friday events. We’re thrilled to welcome back @gsasteelrevolution to get the season started right. As always, First Fridays at CMCA are ✨free ✨.

FIRST FRIDAY INCOMING! Very excited to kick off inaugural First Friday celebration on May 1st from 4 - 7 pm. Enjoy free admission to our current exhibitions, live music by Steel Revolution from 4 - 6 pm in the courtyard, and an impromptu walkthroughs of Leon Benn’s “The Violet Hour” with the artist. As always, admission to First Fridays is free! - Leon Benn Fairy Godmother’s Soil Microbial Disruption, 2025 Oil, oil stick, and acrylic paint on canvas 57 x 43 inches Courtesy of the artist and David B. Smith Gallery 📸: @artindexphotography

APRIL VACATION WEEK ARTLAB FOR ALL Free. Drop-in. All ages. April 20 - 23 (Monday - Thursday) 10AM - 12PM We had a great first day of Time Travel: Making for the Future with @willucastings ! There are three more chances to make a time capsule with us in response to Leon Benn’s speculative futures in The Violet Hour. Learn more by following the link in bio. This program is presented in partnership with RSU13 Adult and Community Education through the generous support of the Anonimo Foundation.