Past Exhibitions and Events | 2017

Matting and Framing Workshop at MAC

MAC Center for the Arts, 158 Main Street, Newport is starting off the New Year with a sensational tutorial you won’t want to miss.  Sending your artwork out to be matted can be expensive, so why not learn how to mat artwork yourself?  Come to the MAC, Saturday, January 27, 10-12:30 and learn how to professionally mat and frame your artwork.  MAC supplies the materials for a nominal charge and artist, Mary Brenner, will demonstrate this hands-on workshop developing the technique of matting your own artwork. Please bring your favorite photo or artwork and a suitable frame that measures up to 4” larger than the actual artwork to be framed. The class is limited to 15 registrants 16 years and older. Preregistration is required. Deadline for registration is January 20th.  Forms can be obtained online or at the MAC Center for the Arts.  For more information, please visit www.maccenterforthearts.com or call 802-334-1966.

MAC Center for the Arts held its Second Annual Centerpiece workshop with participants overflowing on the Gallery’s two levels. All agess and abilities enjoyed this creative venture as a benefit of the MAC Education Department series. Up next Matting Workshop, January 27, 10-2.

Photo credit Nancy Nash (Parental release forms were signed). From left to right; Emerson Royer, Madeline McGilvry, Liberty Russell.

MAC Center for the Arts – Special Edition Exhibition thru January 5, 2018

Newport. Just when you thought all the excitement from MAC’s Tenth Anniversary was over…. STOP THE PRESS…there is a Special Edition Exhibition that will run through January 5, 2018. TWO exhibitions running simultaneously and with exceptional synchronicity.

The exhibition spans two full rooms in the Lower Gallery.  The front room chronicles the journey of MAC from inception to fruition, highlighting the major milestones along the way.  From ribbon cutting with the Governor to traveling exhibitions to unique vernissages and performances that have built the Memphremagog Arts Collaborative into the flagship venue that it is today, it is a display of museum quality. Curated by MAC Founder, Jim McKimm, this archive was nurtured by Victoria Mathiesen and is a delightful diary of preserving the Arts in the Northeast Kingdom.

In the second room, the fashion-forward collection of QNEK Productions costumes.  The works of costume designers, Linda Bussiere, Carol Woodard, Lisa Foster, Susan-Lynn Johns, Carol Castle, Judy Castonguay, and Delia Leimer line the room with color, fabric, whimsey, imagination and brilliance for the company that has become a local legend in the NEK.  After 25 years of stellar stage craft, QNEK retired and while the costume exhibition is a mere thumbnail of the shows, many are unaware that a flood in August 2017 destroyed the entire 50 years of inventory amassed by Leimer’s company. The few remaining items are all that is left.

So, take time through the hustle and bustle of the holiday season to stop in and enjoy the history, the creativity and the significant landmarks in our community that herald the positivity of all that surrounds the ARTS. This exhibition is free and open to the public.
For more information, please visit www.maccenterforthearts.com or call 802-334-1966.

MAC Center for the Arts IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Evergreen Centerpiece Family Workshop at MAC Center for the Arts

Newport.  Thinking abo ut decorating for the holidays? Wondering how to make new memories and Fun-lore to pass down to generations?  We have the perfect unique experience to satisfy both!  December 16th from 10:00-11:00 a.m., MAC Center for the Arts welcomes you to celebrate the holidays by creating a beautiful seasonal centerpiece made of local evergreens and festive materials.  This is an activity for family members, friends and neighbors, so come with a parent or uncle, child or best friend. 

Instructor, Annie Holdridge will be back again this year to conduct the workshop in the MAC lower gallery. Last season the sold-out workshop was so successful that the MAC has decided to make it an annual holiday event.  Workshop is limited to 25 participants and has a nominal fee of $5.00 per participant, ages 9-99yrs.  Register early and reserve your space soon! 

After you have finished creating your masterpiece, take time to browse through our upstairs gallery and select from an astonishing array of extraordinary pieces of arts and crafts, music and books, jewelry and furniture; the distinctive collection is matchless and supports shopping local.

For more information, visit www.maccenterforthearts.com or call the MAC at 802-334-1966., or stop by the MAC and pick up a registration form.  Or email pattyos@earthlink.net. MAC Center for the Arts, a registered 501(c)3 charitable organization, supports Vermont’s Creative Economy.

MAC Center for the Arts IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TEN ON MAIN

Newport.   Saturday, December 2, 5-7 pm, Memphremagog Arts Collaborative celebrates their Tenth Anniversary with Ten On Main.  Music provided by Janice Luce and Thurmond Knight, cellist as well as Paula Graveline and Linda Schneck, this elegant and historic ceremony will highlight the past ten years from concept to fruition.  An exhibit in the downstairs gallery will chronicle the journey and will be on display in concert with the QNEK Costume Exhibit commemorating the theatre company’s 25th Anniversary and Final Season.
While it only seems like yesterday, it is a decade since the doors first opened for the Memphremagog Arts Collaborative – now recognized as MAC Center for the Arts.

The vision for the collaborative was none other than Jim McKimm’s.  Soon to be retired organist at St Mark’s Episcopal Church, Jim is a man of many talents -he is a “visionary”. His quest to establish an Arts Organization in the Northeast Kingdom started in 2007 with GOT ART hosted at Hebard Building.  The original charter group of trail blazers included Ann Volatile, Betsy Sylvester, Tim Daley, Lynn Leimer, Susan-Lynn Johns and Jim McKimm.  The initial ribbon cutting ceremony with Governor Jim Douglas and his wife was held November 17, 2007 along with a plethora of dignitaries and guests. The MAC has moved three times since conception and has settled into their present 2,000 square foot “home” at 158 Main Street nestled between the Dusit Thai and Madame A’s Panoply.
Many folks thought it couldn’t be done; an Arts Organization in rural Vermont, how would it survive? Survive it did and continues to flourish due to the strong devotion of its members and essence of COLLABORATION. Serendipity of sustainable grants, largesse of local businesses and generosity of the community at large keeps MAC viable.  MAC is the only non-profit Art Gallery with no employees and is totally run by volunteers.  Their commitment, dedication and talents are what keeps the Vermont Arts Economy thriving on rural Main Street for the past decade.

The MAC has seen many transitions over the years, as well as establishing signature events like Art in Bloom and scholarships for graduating Seniors.  The present Board of Directors includes President, Isobel Marks; Vice President, Lynn Leimer-Flint; Secretary, Janice Luce; Treasurer, Jennifer Hopkins; Patty Oliver-Smith, Manfred Rieder and Dr. Bill Peck – Directors. The distinct hallmarks of MAC are the unique talents that are on display; the workshops that nourish the artistic soul; and the philanthropic work that sustains a community committed to making a difference in the Arts. Our mission statement: The MAC exists to nurture our community’s understanding, appreciation and support of the arts, cultural heritage and humanities.

Join us for this truly extraordinary gala, Wine and Cheese, beautiful music and stellar Silent Auction and a fete of Ten on Main. Tickets are required and limited. For tickets and more information, please visit MAC at 158 Main Street, Newport; call 802-334-1966; or visit the website www.maccenterforthearts.com .

MAC Center for the Arts IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MAC Center for the Arts Hosts Halloween Mask Making Workshop

Newport.  Join us at MAC Center for the Arts, 158 Main Street, Newport and let your imagination run wild creating wild, scary, gorgeous, funny and all around wonderful Halloween Masks.  Come have fun and create your own special disguise on Saturday October 28th from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. in our downstairs gallery.
Open to students ages 9 – 14 yrs. Workshop is limited to 15 participants. Pre-registration is recommended. $2.00 per participant to cover supplies.  For more information, visit www.maccenterforthearts.com or call 802-334-1966.

MAC Center for the Arts IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MAC to Host Extraordinary Photography Exhibit –
The People of Chhattisgarh, India’s Crown Jewels

Newport.  The MAC Center for the Arts, 158 Main Street, Newport will host an extraordinary photography exhibit entitled The People of Chhattisgarh, India’s Crown Jewels.  Opening reception is Friday, October 6 from 5-7 pm in our downstairs gallery with a special presentation by photographer, Steve Malshuk at 5:30 pm.  The exhibit will run October 7 – November 4, 2017 and is free and open to the public.

World renowned photographer, Steve Malshuk, returns to MAC after another photographic journey, this time to India, where he visited Chhattisgarh – one of central India’s larger states.  The exhibit has already been seen on the west coast, but as a member of MAC and an Orleans native, we are very pleased to present his work again; a complete contrast to last season’s exhibit detailing his Antarctic Journey.

The India photographic venture took Steve and seven other photographers to an area where there are no Taj Mahals or dramatic scenery. The local populace was the reason for the trip. Hours were spent driving on dirt or incredibly crowded roads to walk, observe and photograph four of the approximately 700 Indian tribes. It was a journey where Steve had people asking him if they could take his picture by pointing at him and then at their cellphones. Malshuk states, “Neither landscape nor architecture, no matter how memorable or stunning, just doesn’t do that. In fact, how often on any travel has some unknown person asked to photograph you?”

Come enjoy a vacation to another land of wonder and awe via the exquisite lens of Malshuk’s masterwork.  For more information, visit www.maccenterforthearts.com or call 802-334-1966.  MAC is a registered 501(c)3 charitable organization and supports Vermont’s Creative Economy.

PLEIN AIR EXHIBIT – Waters of Life: Farms, Rivers & Ponds Art Reception Opens on September 9th at the MAC Center for the Arts

Strip cropping is arranged on cropland across the general slope so that equal widths of grass strips are alternated with annually tilled cropped strip. Grassed waterways are generally planted to perennial grass in annual crop fields and are constructed to convey runoff from low spots where concentrated flow areas where ephemeral and gully erosion control is needed. Artists and community members will learn about these local field The MAC Center for the Arts and the Memphremagog Watershed Association will host an art exhibit featuring farms and waters of the Memphremagog Watershed. Resident artists and visiting artists at all levels are painting at many sites around the Northeast Kingdom through the NEK Plein Air painting group to document today’s landscapes that contribute to tomorrow’s history. Painting sites include views of local waters and views of soil and water conservation practices at four farms that are working with the Orleans County Conservation District.

 This exciting art project includes highlighting strip cropping and grassed waterway in corn fields, grazing and laneways in pastures, and Riparian Forest buffers conservation practices that reduce soil erosion by water; increase infiltration and available soil water; and improve habitat, water quality, visual quality of the landscape and farm community relations.

based conservation efforts and all the participating farmers will receive a framed print of one of the paintings.

To become a member, an artist simply needs to join our meetup.com group at https://www.meetup.com/Plein-Air-Northeast-Kingdom/ to receive notices of our planned paint-out meetups. For more information about the exhibit, visit www.maccenterforthearts.com  and please join us at 158 Main Street Newport on Friday September 9th from 5 – 7 pm for our opening reception. The exhibit will run from September 9th through the 30th.  This is a FREE event and open to the public.

MAC Center for the Arts IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MAC premieres The DESERT SUITE: CD Release Event

Newport.  MAC Center for the Arts proudly presents a Premiere Event, at their 158 Main Street Downstairs Gallery on Saturday, August 19 from 5-7 pm.  Ben and Janice Luce will celebrate the release of their new CD, The Desert Suite. This CD features music composed by Ben Luce over many years while wandering the New Mexico canyonlands with a guitar. At 5:30, there will be a multimedia presentation about the breathtaking New Mexico landscape that inspired the music, along with corresponding excerpts of sweeping soundscapes from the CD. The presentation will also provide information about the creation of the music itself and the process of producing and marketing CDs in this digital age. New Mexico style food will enhance the ambiance of the Southwestern evening. This is a free event and open to the public. Autographed CDs will be available for purchase at the event; however, if you are unable to join in the live presentation, The Desert Suite is available online via links posted at www.benjaniceluce.com For more information, please visit www.maccenterforthearts.com or call 802-334-1966.

MAC Center for the Arts IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Newport.  The Seventh Annual Art in Bloom will open on August 4 at MAC Center for the Arts, 158 Main Street, Newport with a reception beginning at 5 pm.  Working in concert are the members of the Four Seasons Garden Club and MAC Center for the Arts exquisitely tailoring the annual fundraiser where nature meets art.  August 4 is a ticketed event to benefit both organizations.

This year’s fabulous door prizes are certainly worth the price of admission. A summertime favorite, Art In Bloom boasts over 20 floral arrangements that glean their inspiration from the magnificent artwork currently on display in the MAC Gallery.  Interpretation and unique creativity provide this festival of insouciant charm and patrons can enjoy these displays through Saturday August 6; open to the public.

Come gaze upon the distinctive presentations on both levels of the gallery with the Art in Bloom in the main gallery (August 4-6) and the summer exhibition – Preserving the Beauty of Our Waters in the lower gallery (thru September 6). You will not be disappointed.

MAC Center for the Arts and Four Seasons Garden Club are non-profit 501 (c  ) 3.  For tickets or more information, please call 802 334 1966 or visit the web – www.maccenterforthearts.com and/or fourseasonsgardenclub.org

MAC Center for the Arts IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Newport.  The MAC Center for the Arts, 158 Main Street, Newport, presents a collaborative exhibition to celebrate both the Tenth Anniversaries of Memphremagog Watershed Association and the MAC Center for the Arts.  The unique exhibition on display in the Downstairs Gallery runs June 24- September 5. This is free and open to the public.
The exhibit, Memphremagog Watershed Association – Preserving the Beauty of Our Waters will open on June 24 at 5 pm with a presentation by Louise Abbott, author and photographer whose second volume, Memphrémagog: An Illustrated History (volume 2) will be published later this summer. All proceeds from this beautiful book will benefit the Watershed Association. 

Louise Abbott, is a Canadian non-fiction writer, photographer, and filmmaker living in Quebec‘s Eastern Townships. She graduated from McGill University in 1972, and is a featured writer and photographer, with works appearing in: the Montreal Gazette, The Globe and Mail, The Canadian Encyclopedia, Canadian Heritage and Photo Life. Abbott received the 2002 Canadian Journalism Foundation Greg Clark Internship Award, and in the same year the Professional Writers Association of Canada‘s Norman Kucharsky Award for Cultural and Artistic Journalism. Her first book, The Coast Way: A Portrait of the English on the Lower North Shore of the St. Lawrence, was a finalist for the 1989 QSPELL Award (Quebec Society for the Promotion of English-Language Literature, now the Quebec Writers’ Federation).  In 2014, her documentary, Nunaaluk: A Forgotten Story, won the inaugural Jasper Short Film Festival Best Film by an Established Filmmaker award.

The Memphremagog Watershed Association (MWA) was formed in 2007 with a mission to promote public awareness of the Memphremagog Watershed and protect its unique ecosystem. The Memphremagog Watershed Association has worked closely with partners in the basin to implement many of the strategies laid out in the 2012 Basin 17 tactical basin plan, hosting watershed workshops, installing buffer plantings and rain gardens, selling rain barrels, lake and river clean-ups, hosting educational boat rides for adults and schools, providing scholarships for High School graduates who intend to study in an environmental field, and establishing a Vermont Invasive Species program for Lake Memphremagog.

Since its inception, MWA has had an active board of directors who have supported these activities on a voluntary basis. The Association has managed grants for illicit discharge and detection studies and storm water master planning, and board members have taken the lead in coordinating communication between hired consultants and municipalities in the watershed with successful results. MWA has coordinated with the City of Newport and Orleans County Conservation district on several grants and has been the lead organization on a long standing LaRosa volunteer water quality monitoring program. The LaRosa Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Analytical Services Partnerships, established 2003, has helped watershed associations and monitoring groups across the state of Vermont implement new and/or ongoing surface water monitoring projects for waters in need of water quality assessment by helping to alleviate the financial burden of laboratory analysis costs. This testing allows citizens to get out and see their streams and rivers firsthand, learn about water quality issues, and use water testing to identify where impacts are present.

Members of MAC will exhibit new work in a variety of media using the lake and environment as inspiration in concert with informational materials and photographs on the important preservation work of the Watershed Association. MAC Center for the Arts, a registered 501(c)3 charitable organization, supports Vermont’s Creative Economy through the sale of our member’s work at our 4,000-square foot Main Street gallery. In addition to our gallery store and seasonal opening receptions, we offer a full calendar of special events, performances, visiting and original exhibits, classes and workshops. All are open to the public and most are free to attend. The MAC exists to nurture our community’s understanding, appreciation and support of the arts, cultural heritage and humanities.

For more information, please visit www.maccenterforthearts.com or call 802-334-1966.

Photo Copyright 2017 Karen Lippens – Lake Memphremagog
Headshot – Louise Abbott courtesy photo

MAC Center for the Arts IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HELD OVER BY POPULAR DEMAND

The Recycle into Spring II Exhibit at the MAC Center for the Arts, 158 Main Street Newport VT is extending the run of the current exhibit due to popular demand. The Exhibit will run until June 3, 5:00 pm. For more information, please visit MAC Center for the Arts or call 802 334 1966.

Press Release
MAC Center for the Arts – Crazy Fun T-Shirt Workshop
Newport, VT 

The MAC Center for the Arts will hold a Crazy Fun T-shirt Workshop, June 3 from 10-11:00 a.m. at the MAC, 158 Main Street, Newport in the downstairs Gallery.  This workshop is for young people 10-13 years old and is limited to 15 participants.  Registration forms can be picked up at the MAC or MAC Website, www.maccenterforthearts.com or call 802-334-1966. Registration Deadline is May 25.   Each participant should bring a pre-washed 100% white cotton tee shirt, all other items will be provided. Be sure to register early to save your spot.  THIS IS A FREE EVENT, so come and explore your creativity.

PRESS RELEASE

MAC Center for the Arts – Le Junque du Jour Sale – April 1st
Newport.  Just when you think you’ve had enough of winter, MAC Center for the Arts comes to the rescue with a unique event…Le Junque due Jour Sale on April 1st. April Fool’s Day will be replete with FUN for shoppers of all ages when you show up to our very FIRST indoor yard sale. No kidding.
Come one, come all to 158 Main Street, Saturday, April 1, 10-3 (no early birds please) to a Festival of Junque (junk). We want all the Cabin Fever bargain hunters to come to our downstairs gallery and get busy SHOPPING.  There are one of a kind items including four antique sewing tables, 2 weathered spindle back chairs, vintage wood rolling office chair, hand painted end table, a Roland electric digital piano, display racks, 3 drafting tables, small bookshelf, coveted Glass Hurricane lamps, signed artwork, windchimes, vintage pottery.  Going on a trip, we’ve got luggage. Need a chapeau? We’ve got hats or if you’re not into that kind of hat, how about a lampshade? There are art supplies, jewelry, books, new items, gently loved items, a plethora of collectibles. Everything is priced to sell or make an offer because EVERYTHING MUST GO!!  
There’s no Fool like an Old Fool and we aren’t Fooling around…there just might be some Fool’s gold waiting for you.  All proceeds benefit the MAC Center for the Arts and the continuing arts programming. For more information, please visit our website, www.maccenterforthearts.com or call 332-1966. MAC is a 501(c) (3) non-profit.

Here’s a bunch of FOOL’s getting ready for April 1st Junque Sale….hurry in before they scoop up all the goodies.

PRESS RELEASE

ACT 1 Announces First Workshop Date of 2017

Newport. The MAC Center for the Arts in partnership with ACT 1, the Northeast Kingdom’s Premiere Theater Academy, is thrilled to announce plans for 2017.

Saturday, January 21, 2017 will debut Once Upon a Time: Peter Pan for 5 to 8 year olds’, a half day of theater learning and fun.

Surprise your theater lover this holiday season with an experience they won’t soon forget at our local arts collaborative in downtown Newport, Vermont. Get them excited for the new year with a new activity the entire family will remember for years to come.

From 12:30PM to 4:30PM on January 21st, students will be led through exploratory activities to learn about all aspects of storytelling culminating in a short performance for family and friends at 4:00PM.

Once Upon a Time: Peter Pan will teach participants about learning music and movement for the stage in addition to creating costume pieces and decorating the space to reflect Neverland as they imagine it. Character work will be a major theme throughout the afternoon as the students learn the roles of “Lost Boys” and “Pirates” bringing their unique personalities to the performance as an ensemble.

Local middle school performers will act as “Show Captains” borrowed from the term “Dance Captains” in the theater business and will lead the little ones through their show.

Cost for the afternoon is $25 for one participant and $40 for a pair. Registration includes water, materials and an ACT 1 t-shirt in addition to professional training. All are welcome, no experience required- just love of creativity is what your child needs to have a memorable afternoon.

To register for the January 21st event, please stop by or call the MAC Center for the Arts. All questions regarding the day of the event should be directed to ACT 1 at nekacademy@gmail.com or Lynn Leimer at macartspr@yahoo.com.

ACT 1 Registration Form

Stop by the MAC Center for registration and receive a certificate to pop under the tree or present on New Year’s Eve to your little ones. Space is limited to 20 participants.

For more information and registration, visit www.maccenterforthearts.com or call 802-334-1966.