MaineBusiness.com

Portland, ME – The Maine Humanities Council, in partnership with the Portland Museum of Art and Maine’s Head Start Quality Initiative will be offering a Family Night at the Museum for families from the York County and PROP Head Start. The night will highlight the work they have done with the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) initiative, Picturing America.

Picturing America provides a collection of high-quality reproductions of American artistic masterpieces to Head Start classrooms. Along with teacher guides and web tools, these poster-sized reproductions help students and citizens of all ages understand America through its art. Materials were shipped to every Head Start program in the nation this past spring.

In May a pilot training in Southern Maine was facilitated by experienced teachers for Head Start educators how to effectively use the Picturing America tools; this fall, a second training provided by the Maine Humanities Council’s Born To Read program offered related books and tips on how to use them with children to foster further art appreciation. Families whose children experienced Picturing America at their Head Start will participate in a Family Night at the Museum at the Portland Museum of Art.

“Born to Read is delighted with the opportunity to help ensure that this national humanities initiative on arts appreciation benefits the lives of Maine Head Start children and their teachers and families,” said Denise Pendleton, Program Officer of the Maine Humanities Council’s Born to Read program. “Every good children’s book has art within its covers and we know this program will strengthen our immediate goal of promoting the pleasures of book sharing with young children.”

About the Maine Humanities Council
The Maine Humanities Council is an independent, statewide, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the people of Maine deepen their understanding of themselves, their communities, and the world. The Council works with volunteer literacy programs, educators, school systems and libraries to promote the power and pleasure of ideas through its programming; the Council also provides grants supporting projects in community history, exhibits, workshops and other areas of study. Born to Read has been active statewide since 1997, providing training, books and support to early childhood educators, volunteers, parents, and home visitors throughout the state.

About the Portland Museum of Art
The Portland Museum of Art, founded in 1882, is Maine’s oldest and largest public art institution. The Museum’s three architecturally significant buildings unite three centuries that showcase the history of American art and culture. With more than 17,000 objects, the Museum’s collection includes decorative and fine arts dating from the 18th century to the present. The heart of the Museum’s collection is the State of Maine Collection, which features works by artists such as Winslow Homer, Marsden Hartley, John Marin, Louise Nevelson, and the Wyeth family. The Museum has the largest European collection in Maine. The major European movements from Impressionism through Surrealism are represented by works by Mary Cassatt, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. In addition to exhibitions, the Museum offers a host of dynamic educational programs for all ages including family festivals, films, lectures, art classes, and musical performances.