The Maine Aomori Printmaking Society – or MAPS — is an exchange program of art and artists developed by Friends of Aomori in partnership with the Munakata Shiko Memorial Museum of Art.
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| Lisa Pixley, Untitled, woodcut, 2015 |
MAPS is a multi-stage project, beginning with an exhibition of
ten prints by ten Maine artists in the Aomori Municipal Art Pavilion during the Autumn Citizen’s Celebration in the prefecture.
ten prints by ten Maine artists in the Aomori Municipal Art Pavilion during the Autumn Citizen’s Celebration in the prefecture.
In March of 2016, Friends of Aomori and Pickwick Independent Press will host a group of four Japanese printmakers for a
week-long residency in Portland, which will coincide with a reciprocal gallery exhibition.
week-long residency in Portland, which will coincide with a reciprocal gallery exhibition.
This visit is supported by a grant
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| Colleen Kinsella, Leviathan I, Octopus |
from the Japanese Consulate in Boston to support cultural exchange between Japan and the US.
Throughout the project, both Friends of Aomori and the
Munakata Shiko Memorial Museum will build two matching collections of MAPS
prints in Maine and Japan for future exhibitions of local contemporary artists to support education about the sister-state relationship. The long term goal of MAPS is a regular exchange of art exhibitions, exchanges, and residencies between the US and Japan.
This project was initiated by Jeff Badger – Director of Tetra Projects and Friends of Aomori board member – and developed in collaboration with Jiro Ono, Director of the Munakata Shiko Memorial Museum in Aomori City.
Artists included in the premier exhibition include Judith Allen, Kyle Bryant, Clint Fulkerson, Colleen Kinsella, Lisa Pixley, Michael Marks,
Pilar Nadal, Carter Shappy, Carrie Scanga, and David Wolfe.
Pilar Nadal, Carter Shappy, Carrie Scanga, and David Wolfe.
Check the back here for updates about MAPS and other Friends of Aomori initiatives.
Friends of Aomori 