PRESQUE ISLE, Maine—The Aroostook Creative Network Micro-Grant Program recently awarded micro-grants up to $1,000 maximum to 29 artists who live and work in Aroostook County, Maine. 

Grantees are: Elizabeth Allen, Silver Ridge (Pottery); Bernadette Anderson, Houlton (Ink and Digital); Morgain Bailey, Presque Isle (Photography and Painting); Susan Beaulier, Ashland (Enameled Metal Jewelry); Casey Blackstone, Fort Fairfield (Sewing); Risica Caputi, Island Falls (Printmaking); Chelsea Cheney, Mapleton (Clay Sculpting); Beth Ann Cummings, Caribou (Metal and Enamel Work); Travis Cyr, Caribou (Music); Joseph Davis, Fort Kent (Native American Artwork) Elisabeth Dumond, Van Buren (Drawing and Painting); Joanna Dumond, Presque Isle (Multidiscipline); Amy Durland Faulkner, Mars Hill (Pottery); Stephanie Ferland, Portage Lake (Watercolor and Block Printing); Brianna Gerrish, Presque Isle (Ceramic Sculpting); Jennifer Holmes, Limestone (Music); Terry Kelly, Presque Isle (Chair Design and Building); Caleb Lovejoy, Fort Fairfield (Mixed Media); Sharon Mossy, Fort Fairfield (Quilting); Dylan Ouellette, Presque Isle (Ceramics); Gina Parent, Houlton (Mixed Media); Julie Plummer, Fort Fairfield (Stained Glass and Laser Engraving); Steve Plummer, Fort Fairfield (Blacksmithing); Peter Rogers, Caribou (Ceramics); Amy Schwartz, Fort Fairfield (Multiple Mediums); Sarah Smith, Houlton (Oil Painting and Drawing); Frank Sullivan, Littleton (Painting and Drawing); Diane Vo, Presque Isle (Stained Glass and Basketry); and, Heidi Welch, Madawaska (Basket Weaving).

Funding for the Aroostook Creative Network Micro-Grant Program is made possible from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment of the Arts. 

“We are very excited for artists in Aroostook County. This micro-grant program has been such a success. There was such a range of diverse artists, such as ceramicists, photographers, potters, jewelers, music, painters, and Indigenous artists,” said Sheila Jans of Madawaska, regional development director for the Maine Arts Commission. “The requests from applicants exceeded the funding we had, but we hope this program will be a catalyst for artists of all disciplines to come together as a vibrant creative network.”

The micro-grant program is administered by Wintergreen Arts Center. Applications were reviewed by a review panel of community-based artists and arts/cultural advocates from southern, central, and northern Aroostook County.