23rd Annual Waponahki Student Art Show

This Monday, May 6th, 2024, the Abbe Museum hosted the opening reception of the 23rd annual Waponahki Student Art Show. The thirty-eight participating students – representing all of the federally recognized Tribal Nations in what we currently call Maine: Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot – and their families joined us in celebration of the beautiful works submitted to the show and the strong collaborative spirit of institutions devoted to promoting art education and Wabanaki culture in the homeland. Watercolor, crayon, pastel, and even clay and leather were employed to bring their visions to life, coloring the walls of the Abbe and welcoming the arrival of spring and summer.

Alongside valued partnerships with Maine Indian Education and the Boys and Girls Club of Border Towns,  the Abbe Museum received a Youth Empowerment Mini-Award from the Maine Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous & Tribal Populations. These funds allowed us to create systems of support for the Maliseet and Mi'kmaq Nation participants, who are regionally the farthest away from the Museum and not part of the Maine Indian Education School System (our 23-year partner on the event). In order to receive student art from these groups, the Abbe Museum has been partnering with the Boys and Girls Club of Border Towns since 2018, and support from the Permanent Commission went a long way in helping us further their involvement.

Abbe Curator of Education, Christiana Becker (Penobscot Descent) as a child with her piece for the Waponahki Student Art Show in 2007 (Left) and Giving Welcoming Remarks at the 2024 Student Art Show Opening Reception (right).

As an alumni of the Waponahki Student Art Show, I, Christiana Becker (Abbe Curator of Education), was thrilled to give a speech recognizing the young Wabanaki students, their families, and our partners. The student's artwork is inspiring, delightful, and an important part of making sure that the next generation of Wabanaki artists get to share their voices and visions with our visitors. This is a twenty-three year tradition that we hope continues for decades to come and inspires young people to pursue the arts.

We invite you to digitally view the exhibit now through the button below, and in-person when the Abbe reopens to the public on Tuesday, May 28th from 10 am - 5 pm!