Posts By Christian MilNeil
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The Arts
The Maine Academy of Modern Music
October 5, 2012 / / Last week I posted the "Be In Love" music video that the Maine Academy of Modern Music (MAMM) had produced for its “Playing for Change, Playing for Maine” benefit. A couple of days later I had a chance to chat about the video, and learn more about the organization, with Jeff Shaw, MAMM's founder and executive director: LWP: Tell me about MAMM and what you guys do.
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The Arts
Welcome, Freshmen
October 1, 2012 / / Late last week, this striking new mural appeared at the corner of Preble Street and Cumberland Avenue, a block off of Monument Square. The building is being renovated to become the Preble Street Resource Center's new Joe Kreisler Teen Shelter.
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The Arts
"Be In Love" with Portland's Music Community
September 30, 2012 / / Last week in Portland, local musicians and music venues participated in the 2nd annual "Playing for Change, Playing for Maine" benefit, just one of hundreds of similar events that happened worldwide to benefit music education programs for kids. To celebrate the event, the Maine Academy of Modern Music, which embraces the Playing for Change mission through the rock camps and music lessons it runs for kids across the state, got a bunch of Portland's musicians, producers, and filmmakers together to collaborate on this gorgeous and inspiring video performance: This video demonstrates, in a really lovely way, the mutual support and collaboration that's possible in Portland's small but tightly-knit music community (which, in this case as with many others, often overlaps and collaborates with our visual arts community, our filmmaking community, our nonprofit and social justice communities.
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Living In Portland
Where Maine's Coast Got Rugged
September 25, 2012 / / Today, the Portland Museum of Art will opened a major new acquisition to the public. Winslow Homer's studio on Prouts Neck in Scarborough is a landmark of Maine visual arts — and, because of Homer's own paintings, this site also represents an iconic piece of Maine's coastline.
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Living In Portland
Happy Park(ing) Day!
September 21, 2012 / / Parking lots might be the antithesis of a creative economy: the side-effects of suburban blight in places that are too dull or dangerous for anyone to want to walk around on foot. Portland owes its vibrancy to the fact that didn't follow the example of other cities, which "solved" their parking problems by tearing down their downtown areas and replacing them with vast parking lots.
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Working in Portland
Mayor Brennan Aims for Portland to be "Known for Innovation and Enterprise."
September 19, 2012 / / Our city is already well-regarded for our arts and cultural institutions and our spectacular natural environment. But quality of life requires more than that — our city also needs to be a place where people can earn a comfortable living and enjoy the opportunities of a growing economy.
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Living In Portland
Meet Your Farmers
September 12, 2012 / / Lately my wife and I have been enjoying a sublime sandwich for our lunches (and occasional dinners): sourdough bread, spread generously with mayonnaise, and filled with fresh lettuce and a whole sliced tomato from the Portland Farmers' Market. The market's food offerings are near their fullest for the next few weeks: there are still lots of summer-season crops like cucumbers, tomatoes, salad greens, and a few peaches, but there are also bushels of fall crops coming in, including squashes, broccoli, and apples (if you're visiting from out of town, you'll find the market on Wednesdays in Monument Square 'till 2 pm and on Saturdays in Deering Oaks until noon).
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The Arts
First Friday Agenda
September 7, 2012 / / The September First Fridays draw unusually large crowds, especially when it's warm and sunny out, as it is today. The sidewalks will be packed with gallery-goers and performers and craftspeople selling their wares, in addition to hundreds of Maine College of Art students newly returned from their summer breaks.