Who Are They? Oxford Hills Region Part 2

Cafe Nomad Community Gallery

This blog post is the second in a series that aims to bring awareness to you about the many visual and performing art venues and educational opportunities in the Oxford Hills. The Oxford Hills Region of Maine is a perfect setting for the arts as it is centrally located where the rolling foothills of the White Mountains and beautiful lakes regions intersect. Located 45 miles north of Portland, 35 miles east of New Hampshire, and 20 miles west of Lewiston-Auburn, the region hosts multiple year-round opportunities for learners of all ages and a thriving arts community. The Oxford Hills School District (SAD17) is Maine’s largest school district in geographic area, with nine community schools, a regional middle school, a comprehensive high school and the Streaked Mountain School, an alternative school for high school students. The Oxford Hills include the towns of Buckfield, Harrison, Hartford, Hebron, Mechanic Falls, Norway, Otisfield, Oxford, Paris, Poland, Sumner, Waterford and West Paris. A great big THANKS to Diana Arcadipone for writing this series of posts.

Located at the intersection of 450 Main Street and Pikes Hill in Norway, Maine, Cafe Nomad is a cornerstone of the community. Upon entering the cafe, patrons are immediately greeted with the Community Gallery wall.  Here monthly exhibitions host a variety of two-dimensional works from artists all over the USA, but primarily Maine. It is the policy of the cafe owner, Scott Berk, to foster inclusivity, highlight the work of local practitioners and also introduce artists “from away” to the cafe community. It is very important to Berk that learning be emphasized with the work that graces his walls and that the local community be introduced to work that they might not be familiar with. “It’s for artists to learn from each other and inform our customers of what is happening in contemporary art”.

Don Best “Loon”

The Community Gallery hosts artists who work in paint, paper, textiles, collage, mosaic, stained glass, encaustic, carved wood relief, photography, printmaking and whatever else can hang on a two-dimensional wall. All are welcome! In addition to the changing exhibitions of the community gallery wall, the back room of the cafe is dedicated to the owners’ permanent collection and works for sale. Celebrated artist Norman Laliberte is included as well as graphic designers Nathan Felde, Luba Lukova, local wood carver Matt Burke and stained glass artist and art teacher Susan Moccia.

Om Devi’s Show

Every year, the cafe hosts a “Mothers Day” show where local artists are invited to show one piece of artwork. This group show hangs for the month of May and it celebrates our mother’s and daughters all over the world. The Mother’s Day show is planned to coincide with the one Sunday of the year that the cafe is open!

For the remainder of 2018, the following exhibitions are scheduled: April; Virginia Virginia Valdes’ Graphic Design Students, Oxford Hills Technical School, May; Mother’s Day Show, June; Lourdes Rubio Quilts, July; Don Best Wood Sculpture, August; Scott Vlaun Photographs,  September; Group Printmaking Show, October; Pam Chodosh Fabric Collages, November; William Janelle Wood Reliefs, December; Kenneth Schweizer Paintings and Drawings.

Scott Vlaun “Big Gloves”

Exhibitions are coordinated on a monthly basis and scheduled up to one year in advance. Artists are invited to send one or two photos of their work and a request to be put on the exhibition calendar to cafenomad@gmail.com. And/or if you are interested in curating a small group exhibition, we invite group proposals too. The amount of wall space is about 20 linear feet. Cafe Nomad is open Mondays through Thursdays from 7 am – 4 pm, Fridays from 7 am – 9 pm and Saturdays from 8 am – 3 pm. Closed Sundays cafenomad@gmail.com or cafenomad.com or facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cafenomad/