You did it!

Your donations and support helped us acquire our new space! This isn't the end of our capital campaign or construction needs, but we've jumped the largest hurdle and we have new keys thanks to you!   Now we can start planning for our grand opening and the first set of simultaneous exhibitions (yep, two galleries) You are of course invited and we are delighted to have you at  Home and Place + Looking at You this spring.

Thank you!  Thank you to those who gave very generously according to what you could afford.  Thank you to the visionaries that gave a lot!  Most of all, thank you for digging deep and believing in us.  We won't let you down.  We have had time to reflect, dream and plan.  We promise extraordinary thoughtful exhibitions, events, and collaborations this year and in the years to come. There is so much in the works to share!

- Denise Froehlich, Dir. MMPA

387 Commercial Street, Suite E
Portland, Maine 04101

A NEW HOME... 2026 Is an exciting 16h year for MMPA!  

A NEW HOME... 2026 Is an exciting 16h year for MMPA!  

MMPA has a home!

Our online store is open during this transition and shipping is free in the US. This is a fantastic way to help.

Join our mailing list for more details

A JAMES R. SALOMON MEMORIAL PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT

Of Home + Place

JUNE 5 - AUGUST 1, 2026

Opening Reception: Friday, June 5, 5-8pm

TALKS: Home and Place panel, Friday, JUNE 26, 5-8pm
        Looking at You panel, Friday, JULY 24, 5-8M

(All dates subject to slight shift - construction)

Peter Shellenberger
Jon Pelletier
Todd Watts
 Keily Anderson Staley
 Jeffery C. Becton
 James Mullen
 Cole Caswell
 Lin Lisberger
 Jodi Colella
 Gary Green
 Barry Morse
 Justin Kirchoff
Chris Schiavo
 Jim Nickelson
Suzanne Theodora White
 Jean Noon
Eugene Cole
 Emily Belz
 Megan Jones
 Joan Fitzsimmons

Home is not merely a structure; it is a fabric woven from the landscapes we inhabit and the roots we decide to put down. My own path- shaped by the tidal marshes of Connecticut on Long Island sound and the rugged permanence of Maine - has been a lifelong study of place-making. From designing spaces to managing properties, I have always looked for the point where conservation, stewardship and personal history converge. In this exhibition, Conservation, longing, nostalgia, alter ego, experience of place, the subconscious experience, time, peace + war, domesticated animals, the romanticism of the woods, echo and syphoning through experience, mans relationship to landscape, site specificity, home as theatre, inheritance, designing the landscape, time before the abyss, and the moon are just some of the topics covered in this exhibition.

Of Home and Place is born from this shared language of looking. It is presented in the memory of James R. Salomon (1963 -2024), a distinguished photographer whose thirty - year career was defined by a sensitive eye for the intersection of architecture and light. A graduate of the School of Visual Arts, Jamie possessed a rare ability to capture the soul of a home. Whether photographing major magazines or documenting the Maine woods and waters he loved, his work was always and act of deep observation.

The artists gathered here join Jamie and me in a vital inquiry: What does it mean to belong to a place or have a home? We are grateful to the Salomon family for their generous sponsorship of this exhibition. It is an honor to celebrate Jamie’s legacy through a dialogue that invites us all to consider where we are rooted, and why it matters.  - Denise Froehlich, Dir. MMPA

Sense of place is the sixth sense, an internal compass and map made by memory and spacial perception together. The desire to go home that is a desire to be whole, to know where you are, to be the point of intersection of all the lines drawn through all the stars, to be the constellation-maker and the center of the world, that center called love. To awaken from sleep, to rest from awakening, to tame the animal, to let the soul go wild, to shelter in darkness and blaze with light, to cease to speak and be perfectly understood. - Rebecca Solnit

The sense of place, as the phrase suggests, does indeed emerge from the senses. The land, and even the spirit of the place, can be experienced kinetically, or kinesthetically, as well as visually. If one has been raised in a place, its textures and sensations, its smells and sounds, are recalled as they felt to a child’s, adolescent’s, adult’s body. Even if ones history there is short, a place can still be felt as an extension of the body, especially the walking body, passing through and becoming part of the landscape. - Lucy Lippard

The Woods are my personal reflections on the meaning of landscape. I do not relate to landscape with a grand sense of romanticism. In this landscape I have ventured into the forest, the unknown, to discover that not only is it a place of both fear and fantasy, but that its very history embodies all of that. I have walked as long as I can remember. My Father would gather me, and my siblings, and we would walk for miles. We would walk to our grandparents' home. In summers, we walked in the Michigan woods, searching for evidence of past histories. When I walk, I dream. I don't start with that intent. I just want to move, but my mind moves with my body. It moves in time to places of memory and imagination. My early landscape work began with a walk in the woods. As an artist-in-residence at the Weir Farm National Historic Site I took daily walks in the surrounding woods.  Imagination came into play, both then and now, with imagined creatures and events in the extreme. While lost near twilight, I conjured everything, Bambi, deer ticks, sudden sounds weren’t necessarily animals. Some of the fantasy was Disneyesque, some was extremely frightening. I wasn’t always sure of how based in reality it was. In Poland I visited Bialoweiza, one of the last remaining bits of primeval, European Forest. This speaks to the history of the woods in Europe (and other places). The woods are rife with histories of oppression and execution. They were often places of escape from such. While there I was also introduced to the traditional cut-paper art of Wycinanki.

My series, The Woods, was inspired by my experience of frequently being lost therein. It invited new formal challenges. Breaking from the traditional small photographic rectangle, I chose to respond to the immense scale of the woods and its seemingly infinite depth by augmenting the scale of my medium. I projected negatives onto mural-sized paper that I pinned to a moveable wall and then developed in an oversized sink with sponges. I then collaged the pieces together, with regard to the movement and dynamics of line. I treated the prints in a looser, more painterly fashion by collaging and cutting negatives, selectively bleaching and toning the images, and adding inks, often recreating the act of gestural drawing that I saw performed by the winter landscape. Currently I am also incorporating photograms, handcrafted birds, bits of yarn, yard debris, informed by Wycinanki and my imaginative landscape. In this body of work, I have attempted to recreate the experience of an environment through the use of abstraction, line, and scale , inviting the viewer into a disorienting space. It may be a place of discomfort, an abstraction of reality, an other reality. I am interested in creating landscapes that confer, or imply their own meaning, their own world. - Joan Fitzsimmons

Thank you to the applicants of this exhibition. The work sent to us was so extraordinary and we realized immediately that the idea of home and Place is a poignant and timely topic in our culture. We Have decided to open our new location with the reception and exhibition- a celebration of MMPA’s new Home too! Please forgive us for the delays and have patience with us while we finalize our arrangements + Dates. Join our mailing list, Linked in or instagram for updates.

Looking at You

JUNE 5 - AUGUST 1, 2026

Opening Reception: Friday, June 5, 5-8pm
Talks:  Looking at You panel + Book reading, Friday, July 24, 5-8M

(All dates subject to slight shift - construction)

Kevin Brusie
Arlene Collins
Denise Laurinaitis
Jack Montgomery
Barbara Peacock
Jan Pieter van Voorst van Beest
Richard Wexler
Bret Woodard
Clay Atkinson

This exhibit entitled  Looking at You presents a compelling exploration of street photography, emphasizing its instinctual, unpremeditated, reactive, and spontaneous nature. This form of photography captures fleeting moments—chance encounters and random events—that together weave visual narratives reflecting the human condition. While these characteristics define street photography, the exhibit reveals that it transcends this definition, showcasing the unique perspectives and approaches of eight distinct photographers.

Drawing inspiration from Edward Steichen’s reflections on the “Family of Man” exhibit, this exhibition highlights a dynamic interaction between the viewer and the photographed subjects. Steichen observed that audiences often felt a connection, as if the people in the pictures were looking back at them, creating a profound sense of recognition and participation. Similarly, street photography frequently captures moments that verge on portraiture, fostering a silent dialogue between photographer, subject, and viewer.

The images in this collection document seemingly small, everyday moments that collectively form the rich tapestry of human experience. The exact location or context is secondary to the act of witnessing and preserving these slices of time. By capturing these transient instants, photographers contribute to an ongoing historical record of life itself.

Throughout photography’s history, the human condition has remained its dominant theme. The power of the medium lies in its ability to capture people in their complexity, relationships, and environments. This exhibit invites us to look at each other and ourselves, to reflect on our shared humanity through the lens of these candid images. As Henri Cartier- Bresson famously said, “We are passive onlookers in a world that moves perpetually. Our only moment of creation is that 1/125 of a second when the shutter clicks, the signal is given, and the motion is stopped.” Looking at You encapsulates this fragile, decisive moment, inviting us to pause, observe, and connect.  - Jan Pieter van Voorst van Beest, MMPA Board member and Curator of Looking at You

A Call For Works

"CANINE" 

Deadline for Submission Tuesday, December 1, 2026

Send us an email with “CANINE SUBMISSION” in the subject line, a short bio (2–3 sentences), an artist statement (3–5 sentences about the content of the work.) an image list, and 24-48 JPGS (sized to 1500 pixels on the long edge) to CONTACT.MMPA@GMAIL.COM

CONCEPTUAL FINE ART IMAGES ONLY

SUBMIT YOUR WORK

HAVE A PORTFOLIO THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE?

Send us an email with “PORTFOLIO SUBMISSION” in the subject line, a short bio (2–3 sentences), an artist statement (3–5 sentences about the content of the work.) an image list, and 24-48 JPGS (sized to 1500 pixels on the long edge) to CONTACT.MMPA@GMAIL.COM

Please Note: A small donation to MMPA of $50 is suggested.

Every submission gets a response. Works that aren’t right for MMPA are often forwarded to curators friends in Southern Maine.

PLEASE DO NOT SEND GOOGLE DRIVE LINKS or pdf FILES. Dropbox or WE Transfer is best.

John Gintoff prints

This group of photographs was created in Polaroid’s 20” x 24” Studio in NYC, headed by John Reuter. I received grants from the Polaroid Corporation in 1985, 86 and 87 to work there. These images were somewhat preplanned as all props and materials had to be brought to the fourth floor studio in New York. (I worked there in August, and NY can get pretty hot, especially when the elevator wasn’t working.) However, once in the studio, a lot of the work became adlibbed (which was a lot of fun). I was thinking about Renaissance Sill Lives at this time which accounts for the baroque nature of this series. But Baroque with a twist. Many 20th Century references and objects are there as well. - J. G. 

Artist John Gintoff holds an MFA in Photography from Temple University, Philadelphia, PA  and grants from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts (2 times), 20” x 24” Polaroid Studio, Polaroid Corporation, NYC, NY (3 times) and the Aetna Insurance Co. Hartford, CT. Taught college and High school level photography, painting and sculpture. Work has been published and in many collections. 

John Gintoff, Dutch Suite one, two and three, From the Persian Versions Series, 1/1, 1985, Polaroid print, 24 x 20 inches, $5000. each

About the 20 x 24 Polaroid camera

Only six cameras were built between 1976 and 1978; five remain in use. Two prototypes were built first, then five cameras later. Famous artists and photographers were invited to use the cameras (by award/ grant competition) at the Polaroid studios or later by loan. The camera was built to demonstrate the quality of Polacolor II film, which the company was about to launch in 8×10 format. Our artist, John Gintoff was chosen 3 times to use the camera and had 48 hours only to create.  The work you see here is from one of those sessions.  To give perspective and context, in 2007, the camera was a rare commodity, it cost $1.750 a day to rent and the film cost $125 per exposure. It also came with a technician from Polaroid looking over your shoulder, for fear that the camera would be damaged. Despite all this, let us revel in the gorgeous images Gintoff was able to produce.   A NYT article about the camera.

John Gintoff, Cacti, From the Persian Versions Series, 1985, Diptych/ 2 Polaroid prints, 24 x 20 inches, $10,000. 

Volunteers Wanted

Filmmaker

We need someone to film 5-10 events a year and some fundraising campaigns. This person needs to be able to work with the following platforms; LinkedIn, Squarespace, Instagram and Mailchimp.If interested, please send us a note with your qualifications to: contact.mmpa@gmail.com

Office Assistant

We need someone to help with administrative work.

Email us at contact.mmpa@gmail.com with VOLUNTEER in the subject line. Send us a resume.

Book Features

MMPA is proud to have offerings from Radius Books, MW Editions + Artist monographs and Book Arts
New titles are constantly coming in.

Clay Atkinson

This is a deeply moving and evocative piece of writing.  The soulful narrative walks us through Clay's journey from the rigid world of business through the lens of his camera into the vulnerable world of art. -S. D. Gemini

Melonie Bennett

The forthcoming book 'Holy Cow!' is a romp through 20 years of family photographs by Melonie Bennett. The black and white images in this unconventional family album were made between 1990-2011. They depict the rituals, traditions, dramas, laughter, gatherings, the dogs and the drunken exploits alongside quieter moments of reprieve—they show the rollercoaster of human life.

Holy Cow!' will be published in May 2026 and is available for pre-order:
https://gostbooks.com/products/holy-cow

MMPA is proud to exhibit the Holly Cow portfolio by co- Founder and Advisory board member, Melonie Bennett.  We will host a book signing and reading in August 7 - October 3, 2026  (All dates subject to slight shift - construction)

Artist Monographs and Book Arts

Support Maine photographers by purchasing from the MMPA Store: Books, Prints, Framed works + Secondary market finds. Selections from the exhibition are typically available for 8 weeks. Works can be borrowed, taken on trial, and paid for in installments. Our goal is to have Maine photographic work in your home, office, business or museum. We don’t care how it gets there, we just want you to revel in how wonderful our artists are, and how important they/their works can be to your collection and your life. Your purchase makes opportunities for artists + future exhibitions. Thank you for your involvement.

Secondary Market/ From the Flat files

Dan Dow

Dan Dow, Leaves, Hawaii, 1/1, n.d., Inkjet print, 17 x 22 inches, $950.

Dan Dow, Montana, Landscape with Clouds, 1/1, n.d., Inkjet print, 16 x 24 inches, $950.

Dan Dow, Autumn Leaves, 1/1, n.d., Inkjet print, 17 x 24 inches, $950.

Dan Dow, Photographer (1940-2024)

It was always difficult to get Dan Dow to talk about his own work. He was just not into promoting himself, be that to discuss his own work or even to make a lot of effort to show his work in exhibits or to get it published. He photographed and made art because that was what he did. He did not feel he needed anyone’s input or approval. After some substantial encouragement he would sometimes give in and show his work. As a longtime member of the Portland Camera Club he would show his work but had little interest in making his photographic art subject to their competitions. He did not feel art was something to compete with but he knew his photographs were good. He was a master photographer, with an Ansel Adams like advanced technique and an exceptional feeling for composition. He always knew what was in his compositions, what function every detail has. If something was in the photograph he wanted it to be there. After a long career as a fine art photographer Dan passed away in the spring of 2024. His work can be found in several collections such as the Stephen Halpert Collection at the University of New England. He did show his work in exhibitions at the Art Gallery of the University of New England and also at the Addison Woolley Gallery in Portland Maine and later in many regular exhibits with the Addison Wooley Group. His work was chosen for the 1979 and 1981 Maine Biennial exhibits while it was also, nearly annually, selected in the Maine Photo Show in Boothbay. - Jan Pieter van Voorst van Beest, Dear friend and colleague

At the Maine Museum of Photographic Arts we are privileged to be able show his work.