UMF Emery Community Arts Center opens the semester with “Spaces Places Traces” exhibit featuring New England based artists, Jan 30-Mar 12

FARMINGTON, ME  (January 22, 2026)— The University of Maine at Farmington Emery Community Arts Center is excited to present, “Spaces Places Traces,” an exhibition of mixed media artwork by ten nationally-recognized, New-England-based artists.  Curated by UMF art faculty members Ann Bartges and Jesse Potts, the exhibit runs from Friday, Jan. 30 – Thursday, March 12, 2026, in Emery’s Flex Gallery. An opening reception will be featured Jan. 30, 5-7 p.m. The events are free and open to the public.

Featured artists include: Patricia Brace, Jackie Brown, Joshua DeMello, Bethany Engstrom, Pia Paulina Guilmoth, Hilary Irons, Peter Precourt, Julie Poitras Santos, Susan L. Smith and John Umphlett.

“Spaces Places Traces” presents a thematic selection of artworks that engage artists’ interactions with specific locations and natural phenomena. Celebrating careful observation and reverie of one’s surroundings in concert with metaphorical or allegorical parallels, this show includes drawing, painting, photography, video, sculpture, ceramics and mixed media.

The artworks on view consider space and place as a point of departure to explore concepts of time, relationships between materiality and ecology, personal narratives, environmental calls to action, and our connections to the world and each other.

The Emery Flex Gallery will also feature:

“Spaces Places Traces” Gallery Talk
Friday, Feb. 27, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Please join us for a conversation in the gallery with exhibiting artists as they discuss the ideas and processes behind their artwork.

“Exploring Art with Children Through Children’s Literature: A Community Event”
Monday, March 2, 4-5 p.m.
UMF students in Dr. Kathryn Will’s Children’s Literature course present a read-aloud and activity event in the gallery featuring children’s books selected in connection with the artworks on view in the current exhibition, This event is intended for children and their caregivers. Age range Pre-K-4th grade focus.

The Emery Community Arts Center is located on Academy St. (between Main St. and High St.) in downtown Farmington. The gallery is open Monday – Saturday, 12 – 7 p.m. Closed Sundays and holidays.Please check Emery’s website for updates at https://wpsites.maine.edu/emerycommunityartscenter/

For more information contact Ann Bartges, director of UMF Emery Community Arts Center at ann.bartges@maine.edu or 207-778-7461.

More on University of Maine at Farmington

A nationally recognized regional public university, the University of Maine at Farmington is known for its commitment to teacher preparation, the creative arts, health and science, environmental studies, business and public service. Located in the heart of Maine’s four-season outdoor recreational region, UMF provides a challenging but welcoming academic community—here in Farmington and online—that prepares students for enriching professional careers, engaged citizenship and an enduring love of learning.

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EDITOR’S NOTE:

Image: https://farmington.edu/app/uploads/2026/01/RP256-018A.webp
Photo Caption: Image 1: Hilary Irons, “Culvert (Swans Island).” Oil, acrylic, and marble dust on wood panel, 24×18”, 2025
Photo Credit: Submitted Image

Image: https://farmington.edu/app/uploads/2026/01/RP256-018C.webp
Photo Caption: Patricia Brace, “In Search of the Miraculous: Jumping Ship (Fuglefjord)”, performance documentation, 2025, photo credit Jordi Plana Morales
Photo Credit: Submitted Image

Image: https://farmington.edu/app/uploads/2026/01/RP256-018B.webpPhoto Caption: Image 3: Jackie Brown, “Terraform
Series,” 2024, 3D Printed Ceramic Sculpture
Photo Credit: Submitted Image