The Art in the Capitol program features work throughout the Capitol Complex and offers Maine artists an additional venue for their work. It is designed to expand the audience for Maine artists or artists working in Maine on Maine-based themes.
All Art in the Capitol exhibits are free and open to the public. Exhibitions are self-guided and may be viewed during the building hours where the exhibition is on display.
Building hours:
| Maine Arts Commission Office: | Capitol and Burton M. Cross Buildings: |
| 8:30am - 4:30pm, Mon - Fri | 8:00am - 5:00pm, Mon - Fri |
For more information about Art in the Capitol, contact Danielle Moriarty, Program Director at vog.eniam@ytrairom.elleinad
Women of Integrity is an expansive and deeply personal portrait series that honors the lives and labor of women working across Maine’s institutional and community settings. The collection pairs gestural figure studies and portraits with oral interviews recorded by each subject, raising the central question: “How do we acknowledge women’s seen, unseen, and often undercompensated labor in the workplace, communities, and families?”
Libby’s drawings seek to make that labor visible—amplifying the voices, contributions, and creative resilience of women who strengthen Maine’s communities every day.
“Drawing is where I feel most myself, and I have worked at its practice for over forty years,” Libby says. “It is cheap, accessible, and portable, instantly available as a way to absorb and really see what is around us.” In recent years, Libby has shifted to drawing with her non-dominant left hand to relieve arthritic pain and embrace a freer, more expressive style. “I now prefer its unexpected freshness; the slightly crude and less controlled marks seem stronger and more clearly the work of a human hand.”
Based in Maine, Maggie Libby is known for blending artistic practice with social history and community storytelling. Her work invites viewers to engage more deeply with questions of presence, power, and cultural memory.
An artist talk and public reception for Women of Integrity will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, June 13, 2025, at the State House Gallery. The Art in the Capitol program is an initiative of the Maine Arts Commission that brings the work of Maine artists into public view throughout the Capitol Complex. All exhibitions are free and open to the public during normal State House business hours.
Annually, the Maine Arts Commission partners with Maine College of Art & Design (MECA&D) and Maine’s two Congressional offices to highlight exemplary high school student artists. Almost one thousand Maine works of art were submitted this year to a national youth competition, the Scholastic Arts & Literary Awards, organized locally by MECA&D.
Coming from all over the state, 230 students received awards through the Scholastic competition.
The 44 works on display in the Maine Excellence in Arts Education exhibition at the Burton R. Cross Building at the Capitol Complex were selected from those Scholastics winners by a separate jury and represent the breadth of creativity of high school students from around the state. Two works, one from each Congressional district, were also selected to be displayed at the US Capitol for a year through the Congressional Art Awards program. Runners up are included in the Maine Excellence exhibition.
All these student artists thrive through the careful and dedicated mentoring of their art teachers, along with the encouragement of their friends and families. The Maine Arts Commission is honored to share this inspiring work with Capitol complex visitors. The exhibition at the Cross building will be on display March 12 – May 30, 2025.
A ceremony in Portland on March 8th, 2025, brought together these students, teachers and families to celebrate their accomplishments and encourage their continued creativity.
