Category: News/Updates

Friends of Aomori President, Lynda McCann-Olson, recently published an article in the Maine Arts Journal Spring 2026 issue, titled “Student Interest Leads to Passion”. Lynda explores her journey to becoming involved with Friends of Aomori through the Hashi program several years ago. Whether you are an art educator or an art enthusiast, we hope that by reading about Lynda’s experience with Hashi and becoming a Friends of Aomori board member will energize you to engage with our organization!

Join Friends of Aomori at the Portland Public Library on Friday, May 1, in the Camden National Bank Community Gallery and Rines Auditorium from 5:15pm-6:45pm.

Enjoy a celebration of over 30 years of the Maine-Aomori Sister State relationship, including an exhibition of Hashi prints from Aomori and Maine, remarks, cultural activities and information on related area events.

For more information on this free event, please see the Portland Public Library event page.

For over 30 years, the partnership between Maine and Aomori, Japan has connected people through cultural exchange, education, business, and friendship. Friends of Aomori is looking for new volunteers who want to help keep this unique international relationship strong. Whether you’re interested in Japanese culture, international exchange, visual art, food, community events, or just meeting new people, there’s a place for you.

Friends of Aomori Info Meeting
Wednesday, March 25
7:00 – 8:00 pm EDT
Google Meet video call link: https://lnkd.in/gRWkK4Wy

Join the information session to learn:
– What the Maine-Aomori sister state relationship is all about
– How Friends of Aomori supports exchanges, events, and programs
– Easy ways you can get involved as a volunteer

No prior experience or Japanese language required – just curiosity and enthusiasm.

Hashi-Maine 2025, a show of student-created block prints exchanged between Maine and Aomori Japan, is now on view at the Greely Center for the Arts, connected to Greely High School, in Cumberland Center, Maine. An opening reception was held on Thursday, September 18th, 2025 and the show will be open to the public until Wednesday October 22nd, 2025. For questions and open hours, please contact the Greely Center for the Arts.

We hope that you will take the opportunity to view the student work and spread the word about this fantastic partnership between Maine and Aomori!

On July 29th, 20205, the Portland Sea Dogs baseball team partnered with Friends of Aomori for a fantastic night of fundraising, celebration, and baseball.

Japan Night was also an opportunity to celebrate the long history between Maine and Japan through the sport of baseball that was introduced to Japan by Gorham, Maine native Horace Wilson in the late nineteenth century. There are many sources that dive into this history, and we encourage you to research them!

As a fundraiser for Friends of Aomori, the Sea Dogs auctioned off Masataka Yoshida’s game-worn Scooby Doo jersey from his rehab appearance with the Sea Dogs on July 6^th. (SeaDogs, July 17, 2025). The auction was a great success and raised over $1,000 for Friends and we are very thankful for this donation, the support from game attendees, and for this fantastic collaboration with the Sea Dogs.

Below is a photo of the donation presentation at the final Sea Dogs home game of the season, to Friends of Aomori from the auction of Masataka Yoshida’s (Red Sox dedicated hitter) July 6th, game-worn Scooby-Doo shirt.  Pictured, from left to right: Reo Miyake, from the Portland restaurant Aomori (opening this holiday season in East Bayside); Vera King, Bath-Tsugau Sister City Exchange; Lynda McCann-Olson, President, Friends of Aomori; and Chris Cameron, Sea Dogs Vice-President of Communications & Fan Engagement.

Below is a group of enthusiastic supporters of Japan’s love for baseball and Sea Dogs’ generosity towards Friends of Aomori. 

We look forward to another Japan Night at the Sea Dogs in the 2026 season, and we hope to see you there!

Instructors: Lynda McCann-Olson (President of Friends of Aomori and former art educator) and a guest teaching artist.

Ever wish you could travel to Japan? This summer, you can! Join experienced travelers and
teaching artists for a virtual tour while making art and learning about Japanese culture. During this week-long art studio session, you will enjoy working with various materials while learning about Japanese design and aesthetics. Did you know a teacher from Maine introduced baseball to Japan? You will also learn about Maine’s many connections to Japan. Activities may include : sumi brush painting, gyotaku, ceramics, wabi-sabi collage, printmaking, temple building, and origami. Printmaking will be an important part of our exploration. You will have the chance to create a print for the Hashi Exchange. The 2025 exhibition of prints created by students in Aomori and Maine will be at the Greely Center for the Arts at the start of the school year.

• Grades: 2nd-5th (Fall 2025) … or permission from the instructor
• Dates: Monday, July 28- Friday, August 1st, 9am-3pm
• Fee: $325, includes materials, Mable I. Wilson School, Tuttle Rd., Art Room.

Please pack a lunch, 2 snacks, a water bottle, and gear for outside play. Minimum attendees is 12, maximum allowed is 22.
For more information or to register please see: Summer 2025 Cumberland Summer Program Catalog, Cumberland Community Education and Recreation, Cumberland, Maine

Click here to view the Friends of Aomori annual report for 2024.

Friends of Aomori and the Lewis Gallery at Portland Public Library is pleased to present a retrospective exhibition of the prints in the MAPS (Maine-Aomori Printmaking Society) for a retrospective exhibition in September of 2021. The exhibition will feature 105 prints by artists from Maine and Aomori, Japan collected and exhibited throughout the state and prefecture during the MAPS project from 20015-2020.

A full-color catalog will accompany the exhibition. Receive a copy of the catalog as a gift with your tax-deductible donation to Friends of Aomori. Please see details below.

The catalog essay reads:

MAPS – Maine-Aomori Printmaking Society – is a project born out of tragedy. On a stormy night in October of 1889 the ship Cheseborough from Bath, Maine was caught in a fierce storm and ran aground off the coast of Shariki, Japan, now a part of Aomori Prefecture. The ship was destroyed, but some of the crew were rescued and cared for by Japanese villagers. The memory of this event launched a unique and long-standing relationship between Maine and Aomori that has lasted for more than 130 years. The relationship was formalized in 1989 in an official sister state agreement, and the people of Maine and Aomori have continued to developed and enrich their communities through the power of intercultural and personal connections.  

The artistic medium of printmaking has deep roots in both Maine and Aomori. MAPS was launched by Friends of Aomori – the all-volunteer nonprofit organization that supports the relationship in Maine – as a vehicle to connect printmaking artists from both countries through exhibitions, workshops, and delegation visits. For the first five years of the project the enthusiasm and dedication for MAPS led to a robust schedule of exhibitions in communities throughout Maine and Aomori, delegation visits by artists to both countries, and a second printmaking exchange program for K-6 students.

Now at the end of its fifth year, MAPS has grown into a multi-tiered project, presenting printmaking, American and Japanese culture, and the fascinating history of the Maine-Aomori relationship to our communities, connecting artists, patrons, and exhibition venues across the sea. “Six years have passed between us, and the solid course of the relationship continues to find rewarding steps forward,” writes Jiro Ono, President and Director of Munakata Shiko Memorial Museum of Art, who manages the project in Japan, “who could have predicted the voluminous benefit at the beginning of the project?” 

At its core, MAPS is the dynamic collection of 105 prints included in this catalog, generously donated by participating artists. This collection serves as a snapshot of the state of contemporary printmaking in Maine and Aomori, and as a map for future cultural projects in our enduring relationship.  

Jeff Badger, President, Friends of Aomori
2021

MAPS is supported by the Consulate-General of Japan in Boston, the Rines Thompson Fund, the Expansion Arts Fund of Maine Community Foundation, and individual donors. MAPS is made possible by the contributions of the artists, exhibition venues and is organized and curated by Friends of Aomori, and Jiro Ono, President and Director of Munakata Shiko Memorial Museum of Art.

The MAPS retrospective exhibition will be accompanied by a 76-page, full-color catalog featuring all of the prints in the MAPS collection. Get a copy of the catalog as a gift with your tax-deductible donation of $25 or more. Donate with Paypal or credit card by clicking below now. Include your address in the note for your complimentary copy.