Experience an after-hours private tour with a curator of the Portland Museum of Art’s Peggy Bacon exhibit. The evening will be spent discussing and creatively expressing how Bacon’s satirical window into the social structures of the United States still holds relevance today, particularly in areas of gender, education, and class.
“Biting, never Bitter represents a timely and noteworthy solo presentation of Peggy Bacon’s wry observations of her social, professional, and artistic networks during the 1920s and 1930s.”
Isabella Howland (United States, 1895–1974), Peggy Bacon, undated, charcoal on laid paper, 16 1/2 x 11 9/16 inches. Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Museum purchase with support from Roger and Katherine Woodman, 1988.20. Image courtesy Petegorsky/Gipe Photo
Details
Date: Thursday, November 21, 2024
Time: 6 - 8 pm, please arrive by 6 pm
Location: Portland Museum of Art, 7 Congress Square, Portland, ME
Fee: $50* per person for seltzers, appetizers, a private tour with a PMA curator, a creative workshop, and mingling.
*As part of your held ticket purchase, the PMA offers three complimentary months added to a year-long membership. From now until November 30, 2024, the PMA will automatically extend your annual membership by three complimentary months for a total of 15 months. Use code "held" at PMA’s online membership check-out.
*As we develop different types of events, we are working on prices to make these events sustainable. If cost is a factor, we want to help. For each event, we set aside tickets just for this purpose. Please email us at hello@heldportland.com.
Cancellation policy: All sales are final and non-refundable. However, your tickets are transferable to an individual. If transferred to someone, please email us their name and email address at hello@heldportland.com.
What to expect
The topic - Human connection is at the heart of each held gathering. Our goals are always twofold: to spark meaningful connections that ultimately foster a deeply rooted community and to inspire women with a specific topic. For our November event, we’re partnering with the Portland Museum of Art (PMA) and their exhibition of Peggy Bacon's “Biting, never Bitter.”
As the PMA describes, “This compelling and witty exhibition presents an opportune moment for visitors to engage with the ideas and issues of Bacon’s time and ours through an especially sardonic artist’s perspective.” Given the current political and cultural landscape, Peggy Bacon’s exhibit couldn’t be more timely in a divisive climate dismissing women’s voices, health, and economic needs. We aim to gather and discuss Peggy Bacon’s artwork to instill hope and remind us of the power of the female voice and community.
Opening remarks - Mary Beth and Tenaya introduce Ramey Mize, the PMA’s curator behind the exhibit, and Ashleigh McKown, the PMA’s Director of Philanthropy, who have partnered with held on the event content.
Tour of Peggy Bacon’s work - Ramey and Ashleigh will take us on a private tour of the exhibit, during which we will learn about Bacon’s background, connection to Maine, and the inspiration behind her satirical caricatures.
Creative expression while surrounded by her work - Each person will have a chair that can be placed anywhere around the exhibit. From there, everyone will write down thoughts about the current climate and sketch their rendition of political imagery. Or, they can sit quietly, absorbing Bacon’s artistic voice and expression.
Displaying our creations and sharing - We’ll head to the McLellan House (part of the PMA) and display our drawings and words. Those who would like to share their thoughts are more than welcome. We’ll spend a few minutes viewing everyone’s expressions and drawings.
Mingle, eat, and drink - We’ll spend the rest of the evening mingling. Tenaya and Mary Beth will close the evening with remarks and a survey to ensure held continues to support women in providing relevant and meaningful events.
Ashleigh McKown
Ashleigh McKown is the Director of Philanthropy for the Portland Museum of Art. As Director of Philanthropy, she oversees many areas of the philanthropy department to support the museum's annual operating budget. As a team, the department stewards and cultivates growth in membership, annual giving, institutional gifts, and plans engaging donor events and public programs. Ashleigh joined the museum in 2015 and has held previous positions in donor stewardship and event planning. Previously, she was an event planner for AAA Four Diamond Property and large catering organizations. She enjoys building relationships and working with clients to create meaningful events.
Ramey Mize
Ramey is an Associate Curator of American art at the Portland Museum of Art. She specializes in art of the Americas from the nineteenth century to the present day, focusing on cultural exchange, expressions of place, and the intersections between U.S. and Indigenous art. Her curatorial practice is dedicated to expanding and reimagining the field, notably through the reinstallation project Passages in American Art (2023) and the exhibition Jeremy Frey: Woven (2024). Before joining the PMA, Mize was the Lois and Arthur Stainman Research Assistant in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s American Wing, where she supported the exhibition Winslow Homer: Crosscurrents (2022). In 2020–21, she was the Met’s Douglass Foundation Fellow and participated in the Center for Curatorial Leadership / Mellon Foundation Seminar in Curatorial Practice. Previously, she held curatorial positions at the Colby College Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Her research and curatorial work have also been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Center for Craft, the Thoma Foundation, and the Terra Foundation for American Art, among others. She holds a BA from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, an MA from the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, and a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania.