WHO WE ARE (and how we hope to do this)
We are artists on a mission to build a multidisciplinary, multigenerational, equity & environmentally conscious, and affordable live/work community for Maine artists. We are looking into several ownership models that prioritize attainability and collaboration. Using community feedback from Maine Artists at large during our planning process, as well as training programs in cohousing and cooperative development, the workgroup will ultimately decide what serves our common goals best and develop a unique structure over time. A location list is being developed through the workgroup's internal research and we will use community feedback mechanisms to pursue a narrower list of options. It's important to note that we hope to create a replicable model so that after the first village is established, there is opportunity and a framework to build similar villages.
ABOUT THE WORKGROUP
Siri Beckman
A printmaker with an MFA in Printmaking and Book Arts, Beckman makes her living with teaching, sales of her prints, and a picture framing business in Deer Isle where she lived for many years. Now living in Bath, she is part of a cooperative artist studio space in downtown. Siri lived in Heartwood Cohousing in Bayfield, Colorado in the early 2000s where she gained crucial experience in the philosophy and daily workings of living in a cohousing community.
Sam Bennett-Williams
Born on a commune in Missouri, Sam then grew up in a co-living household in Columbia. He has a background in physics and currently works as a data analyst. He's a creative writer with a self-published sci-fi novel and more in the works! He moved to Maine in 2016 with his dog after which he fell for this beautiful state and met his wife!
Brooke Buldoc
A local creator specializing in illustration, painting, digital art and storytelling, Brooke's goal as an artist is to share and create stories that give LGBTQ and BIPOC experiences visibility. She was born and raised in Portland and loves to support local projects that celebrate diversity and build community.
Karolyn Greenstreet
A multidisciplinary artist and community arts organizer, Karolyn works in a variety of media including painting, digital collage, installation, video, performance, and social practice. After many years working in the restaurant industry, she now does freelance design, communications, and arts programming for nonprofits, artists, and small businesses. She holds her BFA from School of Visual Arts and her MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts.
Peter Haller
A retired teacher and painter/mixed-media artist currently based in Woolwich, Peter has held a vision of a creative, multigenerational, and diverse live/work community of artists for many years. He holds a BFA from Portland School of Art (now MECAD), class of 1980. After a full teaching career in Connecticut, he returned to Maine in 2017 to build creative community in a place he always adored. He currently lives and works out of his Woolwich farmhouse, a stone's throw away from the Kennebec River.
Hale Linnet
A Maine-based figurative painter and sculptor who creates socially conscious work, much of Hale's art confronts what it means to exist in a body within a society that creates hierarchies of bodies.
Hale currently lives in Old Orchard Beach and works out of their studio at Space538 in Portland. They also teach trauma-informed yoga to teens in local high schools.
Brooke Taylor Parkin
A designer/illustrator who draws her sensibilities from the world around her, Brooke has been drawing for as long as she can remember. She brings sustainable housing development experience from Colorado in the early 2000s. She likes to spend as much time as possible with her dog, Beckett. She is also a Registered Maine Guide and a stand-up paddle board fanatic (Beckett joins). Other interests: saltwater, good books, adventuring, good friends and more.
Chris White
A two-week casual labor gig for Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art in 1972, where he eventually oversaw a large renovation project, led Chris to 50 years of supporting roles in arts administration: AMCA Assistant & Acting Director; O'Farrell Gallery Assistant Director; C.W. White Gallery owner (helped launch Portland's First Friday Art Walk); private collector's curator 2005-2019. He's been a studio assistant to artists including Ken Noland. He's also done audio engineering, lyric writing, event production, & organizational support for musicians, including his wife, Barbara Truex.
CURRENT ADVISORS
Desiree Nicole Lester
Born and raised in Portland, Desi's work is rooted in collective process, meditation and artist advocacy as well as podcasting, movement building, and art making as a form of healing. Desi's interest in artist cohousing stems from a desire to create inclusive community systems that honor the contributions and work of fellow artists.
Shri Verrill
Midcoast Maine-based Owner of Sunrise Ecologic and Co-founder of Alliance for Economic Democracy, Shri is skilled in resilience planning, grant writing, project management, and restoration ecology with a Master's in Biology. Passionate about ecological consciousness, she advocates for a democratic economy and local community & wealth building. Her art practice is mixed media based: acrylic, oil, watercolor, and embroidery/appliqué. She embraces Somatic therapy and conservation landscaping. Her healing gardens exhibit her holistic approach to community and nature.
Do you have skills and passions that could help?
Maine Artists Cohousing is developing a list of satellite volunteers and will also form a larger advisory circle by 2025