MAPS: Maine-Aomori Printmaking Society
Tetra Projects and Friends of Aomori launched the Maine-Aomori Printmaking
Society project in 2015 to expand cultural exchanges between the sister states of Maine, USA and Aomori, Japan through art exhibitions, residencies, and public presentations. Since 2015, we have successfully mounted multiple collaborative printmaking exhibitions in different locations throughout Maine
and Aomori, Japan. In addition to art exhibitions, we have delivered public
workshops, created online and print publications, and hosted five Japanese
artists-in-residence in Portland.
Since launching, MAPS has become the signature project of Friends of Aomori,
an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit, and exemplifies the organization;s mission
to support and enhance the official sister state relationship and provide
cultural and historical enrichment to the citizens of Maine and Japan.
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| Reiko Kudo, Wisteria Trellis in Snow |
The Maine-Aomori Printmaking Society project includes a a matching collection of over 60 prints by artists from Maine and Aomori. As of 2018, prints from the collection have been exhibited in the following locations:
Aomori Municipal Arts Pavilion (Aomori, Japan - 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
Space Gallery (Portland, Maine - 2016)
Patton Free Library (Bath, Maine - 2017)
Southern Maine Community College (South Portland, Maine - 2017)
Yarmouth History Center (Yarmouth, Maine - 2017)
Chase's Garage (York, Maine - 2017)
Tides Institute and Museum of Art (Eastport, Maine - 2017)
Tokiwa / Asuka Museum of History (Fujisaki, Aomori - 2017)
Hirakawa City Education Center (Hirakawa, Aomori - 2017)
Tsugaru Education Center (Tsugaru, Aomori - 2017)
Rokunohe Town Culture Hall (Rokunohe, Aomori - 2017)
Green Lion Gallery (Bath, Maine - 2018)
Arundel Farm Gallery (Arundel, Maine - 2018)
University of Maine (Orono, Maine - 2018 (upcoming)
Other organizations that have contributed to MAPS include Pickwick Independent Press, who hosted the 2016 Japanese artists-in-residence, and Ocean House Gallery and Frame, who offers in-kind framing donations for the project.
The first artist-in-residence visit was supported by a grant from the Consulate-General of Japan in Boston, which honored Friends of Aomori with the Foreign Minister's Award. The artists created work in the studios at Pickwick, visited local galleries and museums, and presented to printmaking classes at Maine College of Art. The group was be led by Jiro Ono, Director of the Munakata Shiko Memorial Museum in Aomori.
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| Colleen Kinsella, Leviathan I |
2015-16
Judith Allen, Kyle Bryant, Clint Fulkerson, Colleen Kinsella, Kazuhiko Kojima, Reiko Kudo, Michael Marks, Pilar Nadal, Mitsuo Ohsaka, Lisa Pixley, Carrie Scanga, Emiko Seki, Carter Shappy, Nobuko Shimazu, Yoshiko Takebayashi, Kouji Tazawa, Yoshimasa Tsujii, David Wolfe, Seizoh Yagihashi, and Koya Yamada.
The 2016 show also featured a display of nebuta parade floats, a handmade illustrated book about the Cheseborough by Jeff Badger, and artifacts from the collaborative picture book Hello from the Other Side of the World by Scott Nash and Toshiki Sawada.
2016-2017
Siri Beckman, Holly Berry, Meghan Brady, Quincy Brimstein, Crystal Cawley, Toshiaki Ebina, Tetsuro Hyogo, Yuko Kaneko, Reiko Kudoh, Erin Leon, Harumi Maeno, Hiroko Miura, Masumi Miyamoto, Akihiro Muroya, Yoshihiki Oyama, Christopher Patch, Barbara Putnam, Kazuko Sukekawa, Andrea Sulzer, Hiroshi Terada, Yoshimasa Tsujii, and Jeff Woodbury.
2017-2018
Jeff Badger, Lyle Castonguay, Julie Crane, Rebecca Goodale, Don Gorvett, Adriane Herman, Charlie Hewitt, Isaac Jaegerman, Junji Kimura, Mitsuo Konno, Yoshiko Takebayashi, Tatsuo Maeda, Scott Minzy, Yoshiko Munakata, Akihiro Sakamaki, Hiroko Shibutani, Sadao Tanaka, Jaime Wing, and Seizo Yagihashi.
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| Emiko Seki, Nebuta Dancer Shouts |
