On Thursday, Feb. 9, SPACE welcomes Peggy Orenstein, author of The New York Times Bestseller, “Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches From the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture.” Peggy will lead a book talk and solutions for raising healthy, happy and hardy girls.

“A must-read for any parent trying to stay sane in a media saturated world.”
—Rachel Simmons, Author of “Odd Girl Out” and “The Curse of the Good Girl”

“Orenstein has done parents the great favor of having this important debate with herself on paper and in public; she has fashioned an argument with its seams showing and its pockets turned inside out, and this makes her book far more interesting, and more useful.”—Annie Paul, The New York Times Book Review

Read The New York Times book review for “Cinderella Ate My Daughter.”

Sponsored by Hardy Girls Healthy Women, The Telling Room, USM Women & Gender Studies Program, Add Verb Productions and Longfellow Books.

For more information on Peggy Orenstein: www.peggyorenstein.com

Mitchell spoke to Hilary Bassett, Executive Director of Greater Portland Landmarks

MR: Your organization is a strong advocate for the preservation and revitalization of historic buildings, neighborhoods and landscapes. Portland would not be the same without these assets. GPL also promotes preservation as a form of sustainability by encouraging the adaptive reuse of buildings. This seems like a wise way to harness change for the better.

HB: A great example of preservation and adaptive use, both as a sustainable strategy in itself, and that also incorporates energy efficiency and green approaches is the revitalization of the former Baxter Library building at 619 Congress Street into corporate headquarters for the VIA Agency. The building originally served as the Portland Public Library, built in 1888, a gift to the city from philanthropist James Phinney Baxter. Francis H. Fassett designed the building using many of the classic characteristics of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture. What works so well is that VIA has kept the architectural integrity of the building, and added its own personality, with creative interior partitions that allow the historic architecture to shine through and commissioned art that responds to the space. Portland architects Scott Simons and David Lloyd were instrumental in the transformation, as was VIA’s visionary CEO John Coleman. Greater Portland Landmarks recognized this project with an Honor Award in 2010.

I hear from so many people who visit Portland or who chose to move here that the city’s authentic historic architecture is part of the reason they come and stay. We have an opportunity here to capitalize on our unique built assets and great neighborhoods. People can feel the difference in the scale and quality of our built environment, even if they can’t express it in words. This also applies to our public green spaces like the Eastern Promenade and Deering Oaks.

MR: Also, Portland has not experienced explosive growth or scare like urban renewal in quite sometime. Thus, when opportunities do come along, they are heavily scrutinized – and may be with good reason. From GPL’s perspective, how can one of these opportunities best become a landmark of the present and the future.

HB: While it seems like a long time ago, Portland recently experienced an intensive period of potential growth along the waterfront, and I expect that such growth will return. Landmarks has always been interested in the part of the city which features the great Commercial Street warehouses, the Old Port, and the gateway to the city from the harbor. These historic buildings reflected a sense of pride and high aspirations for the city – at the time they were the best in contemporary architecture. Our vision is that the waterfront area defines the city from the sea. The areas there that are yet to be developed deserve great architecture that creatively reflects the identity and personality of our city – including its human scale, pedestrian friendliness, and amazing seaport setting. New buildings that express quality in their design, materials, and aspirations will be the landmarks of the future.

Mitchell Rasor is a musician, writer, and artist. He is also the Principal and founder of MRLD Landscape Architecture + Urbanism, an interdisciplinary design studio. Mitchell holds degrees from Oberlin College and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

Photo by Jessica Pierce

Many thanks to all who came out to our New Year’s Eve extravaganza, ICING. It was a perfectly festive way to end SPACE’s stellar year.

We had large scale art installations from John Sundling, Colin Sullivan-Stevens, Alicia Eggert, and Mike Fleming; Turkish and Middle Eastern music by Okbari; Galen Richmond’s one-man electronic orchestra (Computer at Sea); Dilly Dilly’s lovely acoustic set; the Meiklejohn brothers’ midnight countdown topped off by Shirley Temple and David Bowie; and Sean Mewshaw’s invigorating instructional videos, starring some super talented SPACE staff (yes, there IS breakdancing). Check out ICING photos here, provided by Jessica Pierce.

Our fabulous food was provided by:
13th Cookie // Bar Lola // El Rayo Taqueria // Pai Men Miyake // Tulips Cupcakery // Sweet Marguerites // Verbena

Our curated wine list was compiled by Food Coma TV’s Joe Ricchio.

And a big thank you to our sponsors and Host Committee:
Coffee By Design // David Wood Clothiers // Might & Main // Shout House // The Portland Phoenix // The Contemporaries at the Portland Museum of Art

Annie Leahy & Mike Carey
Cyrus & Patty Hagge
Chelsea & Noah DeLorme
Bree LaCasse & Chris Moore
Marcie & Andrew Griswold
Sara Corbett & Mike Paterniti
Gibson & Reneé Fay-Leblanc
Paul & Dodo Stevens
Jessica Tomlinson & Henry Wolyniec
Rob Gould
Sean Wilkinson & Megan Carey
Alice & Dick Spencer
Chris Corbett & Manny Morgan
Don & Louise Tuski
Wooly & Hoddy Hildreth
Andy Graham & Anne Riesenberg
Emily & Duncan Bruce
Sean Mewshaw & Desi Van Til

Thank you all for your continued support of SPACE Gallery’s mission to present contemporary, unconventional, and emerging arts, artists and ideas. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Our First Friday event, The Alternative Gift Market, is modeled after other Alternative Gift Fairs around the county, which promote the idea of giving back to your community, whether local or global. We are excited to have ten amazing organizations on board for this event:

The Telling Room, a local non-profit whose mission is to build confidence, strengthen literacy skills, and provide real audiences for young writers ages 6-18.

The Siddhartha School Project, a Freeport based non-profit that seeks to give the highest-quality, thoroughly modern education to students in Ladakh, India, a remote region in the high Himalayas of Northern India.

Breaking Ground is a local non-profit committed to grassroots action, sustainability, and community empowerment in Cameroon.

Portland Trails is working to create and maintain a 50-mile network of trails in Greater Portland, engage the participation of neighborhoods, schools, and the business community in trail use and land stewardship, and make Greater Portland a model for people-powered recreation and transportation.

The Birth Roots model is non-clinical, community based education and support throughout pregnancy and the first year of parenting.

Maine Sustainable Agriculture Society’s mission is to explore, develop and promote agricultural systems and practices that allow Maine farmers to retain a greater share of consumer expenditures for farm products.

Hardy Girls Healthy Women (HGHW) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the health and well being of girls and women, while creating opportunities, developing programs, and providing services that empower them.

SailMaine is a non-profit organization formed to support sailing in Maine at the grass-roots, community level, connecting people of all ages and abilities to the coast of Maine through fun and affordable sailing education, recreation, and competition.

Maine Centers for Women, Work and Community is committed to improving the economic lives of Maine women and their families, meeting women “where they are” and providing them with support, guidance, and the tools they need to take the next steps toward a more promising future.

At Konbit Sante Cap-Haitien Health Partnership, the mission is to support the development of a sustainable health care system to meet the needs of the Cap-Haitien community with maximum local direction and support. 

Saturday, December 3rd, from 12-4PM we will be reviving the lost art of letter writing. Letter Circle, a full service letter writing facility, will provide an opportunity to take a breather during the craziness of holiday shopping and do something very basic and meaningful: write a letter. With help from our friends at Papier Gourmet, who will be providing some of their beautiful letter writing accoutrement, we will simply be taking a moment to connect with friends and loved ones the old-fashioned way.

So, please join us for a holiday weekend you can feel really, really good about.

SPACE Gallery / 538 Congress St. / Portland, ME 04101
(207)828-5600 / www.space538.org

Contact: Nat May, Executive Director, 828-5600 / nat@space538.org

SPACE Gallery is pleased to announce the addition of their new venue, located in an adjacent storefront in the heart of the Portland Arts District. Formerly occupied by Mainely Frames, the space at 534 Congress Street will be renovated as an auxiliary to the main facility at 538 Congress Street. An opening is scheduled for the summer of 2011.

With the new gallery, SPACE gains a place dedicated to showing special projects, including visual installations, experimental performances, intimate events, residencies and workshops.

Executive Director Nat May said “SPACE has always been a flexible organization, offering a wide range of programming. Our biggest challenge has been finding ways for our exhibitions and events to co-exist, but that has also been our strength.” SPACE will continue to use its current gallery as it has over the last eight years. “We’re not changing how we work – we’re just increasing our capacity to do more,” May said. “We look forward to having this new gallery for those ambitious projects that don’t fit well in a performance space that requires lots of room.”

SPACE’s Board of Directors and staff are pleased about this expansion and its very strong initial donor support, and because of SPACE’s growth in recent years. The organization’s annual budget has more than doubled since 2005, despite challenging times in the national economy.

Founded in 2002, SPACE is an independent, non-profit, alternative arts venue dedicated to supporting contemporary art, artists and ideas. A presenting organization, SPACE annually programs more than 200 exhibitions, films, musical acts, readings, lectures, theater performances, and community events. As an incubator, SPACE helps emerging artists become more recognized, while making unconventional art and ideas more accessible to the general public. For more information, see www.space538.org

Deerhoof & Xiu Xiu Fall Tour 2010 from jamie stewart on Vimeo.

sep 30 – Ottawa, ON – Capital Music Hall
oct 02 – Montreal, QC – Pop Montreal
oct 03 – Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
oct 04 – Kalamazoo, MI – The Strutt
oct 05 – Bloomington, IN – Rhino’s
oct 06 – Cincinnati, OH – The Northside Tavern
oct 07 – Cleveland Heights, OH – Grog Shop
oct 08 – Buffalo, NY – Mohawk Place
oct 09 – Northampton, MA – Pearl Street
oct 10 – Boston, MA
oct 11 – Portland, ME – Space Gallery
oct 12 – Milford, CT – Daniel Street

www.xiuxiu.org
www.facebook.com/xiuxiuforlife

http://www.facebook.com/Deerhoof

Right? Get your tickets for the Deerhoof + Xiu Xiu show at SPACE on October 11 now!

Buy tickets now!