Artists

BEAUTIFUL
INSIDE MY HEAD FOREVER.
My mother gave me two unique gifts—the tools, at age four, to sew, and the disregard for a ready-made pattern. She filled my head with empowering mantras and encouraged me to trust in the world I was creating in my mind.

My work is an expression of the spiritual bliss I find in creating. Deeply inspired by nature and the touch of the human hand, I find beauty in the infinite vibrating palette of flowers, sensory satisfaction in natural cycles, reusing materials from the Earth, and in the muscular memory in my own hands. Tuning into the natural rhythm of the Earth’s cycles, it is my goal to bring a healing flow through the opening of our collective mind toward a culture that sees beauty in the flaws of our humanness and in the process of making beautiful things by hand.

https://www.darthbrookz.com/

BIDDEFORD COMMUNITY GARDENS, led by Biddeford resident Holly Culloton, is devoted to building and sustaining a vibrant, healthy, and equitable community through the creation of safe green spaces where residents can grow food in a supportive and educational environment. The spaces created are not just gardens, they are meeting places where the diverse population and cultures in Biddeford come together to exchange knowledge and share experiences.

Our green spaces and educational programs support the use of agriculture; and urban/suburban micro-farm entrepreneurship to address issues of hunger and food insecurity in the local community.

Hi, I’m Jess. I help people make the world they imagine through transformative experiences in creative community. As an artist, educator and community builder, I have always been drawn to creation as pedagogy which, as an act of transformation, helps us better understand ourselves and each other. My current work includes leading Engine, a creative economy non-profit organization in Biddeford, ME, curating public art and residency programs, and exploring embodiment practices for radical welcome and hospitality. I am always looking to connect with other humans for accompaniment in this work – drop me a line.

https://www.jessicabmuise.com/

Julie K. Gray is a Maine-based interdisciplinary artist. She earned her BFA in Photography from Rhode Island School of Design in 2005 and has since earned her MFA in Studio Art from Maine College of Art in 2012. Gray has exhibited widely in New England and has also exhibited in NYC, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, Florida and Canada.

Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @juliekgray
http://www.juliekgray.com/

Biography
Kifah Abdulla is an artist, poet, writer, teacher, performer, environmental and social activist. Born and raised in Baghdad, Iraq. He teaches the art of Arabic calligraphy in contemporary art at Maine College of Art “MECA/CS”, former member of Portland Public Art Committee “PPAC”.
Abdulla is involved in many cultural and artistic projects, he has exhibited in many galleries in Maine and Portland such as MECA, Lewis Gallery, Creative Portland Art gallery, Harlow Gallery, etc. Art + Conversion, Colby Museum of Art, Printmaking/Graphics workshop, Haystack Craft School, Co-curator migration Experience at UMVA Art Gallery, Making Migration Visible, ICA at MECA, Voices From The Heart Of Maine “Portland Public Library”, Poets and Paintings Project at PMA by curator Marcie Griswold. Abdulla’s work was featured in the Portland Press Herald, ArtMaine 2020 Annual Guide, Citizen of this world “The Forecaster newspaper”, The Space Of Freedom “MECA magazine”, and Poetry In Action “The Portland Phoenix”.
Kifah has published two books, a poetry book “Dead Still Dream” and a memoir “Mountains Without Peaks”. He is a board member at “Portland Squash Community” and visiting board member at “Long Creek Youth Development Center”.