Contact: Executive Director Shenna Bellows, 776-5404

Augusta—On Saturday, September 8 from 2 to 5, the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine opens a new exhibit, Everyday Maine, featuring over 190 photographs from 74 Maine photographers. Curated by Bruce Brown, the exhibit features a joyous collection of Maine’s diversity across ability, economics, gender, geography, national origin, race, sexual orientation and work.

“Our goal is to show in these times in our state, there is no ‘us’ and ‘them,’ there’s ‘we,’ said Associate Director David Greenham who has work featured in the show. “We can come together in celebrating and respecting our differences.”

Curator Bruce Brown and Associate Director David Greenham recruited a very strong group of Maine  photographers to share photos for the exhibit, including Melonie Bennett, Jeffrey Becton, Tonee Harbert, Sean Alonzo Harris, Tanja Hollander, Michael Cullivan, Jocelyn Lee, Peter Ralston, Jack Montgomery, Cig Harvey and many others. The exhibit also features photographs by the late, renowned national photographers Berenice Abbot and Olive Pierce. Nearly half of the photographers in the exhibit are women.

“Part of the inspiration for this show was to have an opportunity to sense the kinds of diversity that many of us take for granted,” said Associate Director David Greenham.  “Our work at the HHRC takes us to every area of the state, and we see how our diversity plays out in so many interesting ways in our large, mostly rural state. This exhibit reveals that diversity, but also celebrates all the qualities that make Maine so great. In the end it’s a very uplifting and inspirational look at Maine.”

Everyday Maine will be on display through the end of December at the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine’s Michael Klahr Center, which is located at 46 University Drive on the campus of the University of Maine at Augusta. The Michael Klahr Center is free and open to the public Monday through Friday 8 to 4. 

Michael Klahr was a hidden child who survived the Holocaust. The Michael Klahr Center is dedicated to permanent exhibits commemorating Michael and other Holocaust survivors as well as rotating arts and culture exhibits highlighting contemporary and historical human rights issues. 

In addition to exhibit space, the Michael Klahr Center features a large classroom and a small auditorium appropriate for hosting school and community groups.  The Holocaust and Human Rights Center also provides free educational workshops to schools throughout Maine.

For more information, visit hhrcmaine.org.