The Arts

CULTURE AND THE ARTS

Southern Midcoast Maine boasts an extraordinary number of artists and craftspeople, galleries, antique dealers, studios, festivals, theater, music, museums and history.  Explore downtown arts scenes, scenic peninsulas and side trips along river roads, to find out of the way art studios, community festivals, historic towns and new landscapes to capture your imagination as they do the artists who live and create here. 

Search our Events section for a complete list of what is happening in the arts, or call Five Rivers Arts Alliance, your resource for in-depth information about arts, culture, and heritage, at (207) 798-6964. 

Friday Night Art Walks

Friday Night Art Walks are back, starting in May, 2007.  Spend a relaxing evening strolling down the scenic streets of Bath and Brunswick and explore the galleries, shops, and studios of local artists.  Discover new works by fiberartists, painters, jewelers, woodworkers, sculptures and more! 

Brunswick and Topsham hold Second Friday Artwalks, on the second Friday of the month, from 5 - 8 p.m., May to December.

Bath holds Third Friday Artwalks each month, on the third Friday of the month, 5:00 - 7:30 p.m., June to December. 

Downtown Art and Cultural Venues

Brunswick’s Maine Street links Bowdoin College at one end to Fort Andross and the Androscoggin River at the other.  The Bowdoin College Art Museum reopens in fall 2007 after major renovations.  The college offers student and premiere performances and speakers throughout the academic year. In the summer Maine State Music Theatre brings Broadway to Brunswick with four fully staged professional musicals at the college’s historic Pickard Theater.  Also on campus each summer, Bowdoin International Music Festival runs a world-class music school with two artists’ concert series and the Gamper Festival of Contemporary Music.

From the college, a walk downtown takes you past the stately homes of Park Row and the Mall, our town green.  You can find jewelry designed and forged right in town, and galleries that feature pottery, fiber, craft and fine arts. 

The Theater Project offers performances and classes in an intimate community theater.  Fort Andross anchors Maine Street’s northern end.  The renovated 19th century woolen mill is home to antique and flea markets, artists’ studios, fine woodworkers, and more.

Across the Androscoggin River stands the landmark Bowdoin Mill in Topsham.  Just up the street is Maine Fiberarts, your link to fiber artists in the state, offering a tour map and list of gallery shows by the state’s finest fiber artists.  Topsham’s Orion Performing Arts Center hosts performances by local and national acts.

Bath, the City of Ships, is also home to a lively arts and cultural community.   The Chocolate Church Arts Center brings American and international musicians to its renovated theater and hosts fine arts exhibitions in its gallery. Bath’s downtown offers galleries, antique shops, artists and dance studios. 

Art On the road

We hope you have time to take a trip off the highway.  You will find summer art galleries, studios and views that inspire. Here woodworkers create furniture in traditional, rustic and contemporary styles.  Boat builders, potters, quilters, papermakers, jewelers, painters and photographers create and sell their work in studios and shops across the region .  Find artists and studio listings at Five Rivers Arts. 

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