SPACE is a nonprofit organization that supports contemporary arts projects, champions artists, and encourages an open exchange of ideas. Founded in 2002, SPACE promotes the arts and humanities through advocacy, programming, commissioning, statewide grantmaking, resource-sharing, and community collaboration. Operating within its home venue, extending its reach with public art and programming initiatives, and engaging statewide through its visual art regranting program, SPACE participates within international professional and artistic networks and hosts an artist residency program. SPACE is home to thirty-one below-market art studios, Maine's largest community printmaking shop, and an artist residency program. Grounded in the belief that vital communities are activated by experimentation, conversation, and camaraderie, SPACE engages a wide audience with provocative arts programming and category-defying events, collaborating with original thinkers and inviting the public to participate in the ongoing pursuit of adventurous ideas.
As a bustling arts programming center and a 24/7 studio building and artist residency, SPACE has a considerable energy footprint. With the support of an FCI Catalyst Grant, SPACE Gallery will achieve three major environmental energy use goals for its facility: installing a solar array and battery system to offset building energy usage, upgrading lighting systems, and addressing energy issues related to the historic windows of the 1907 Durant Block Building. SPACE will also collaborate with Barba + Wheelock Architects to develop a comprehensive plan for upgrading the historic windows. This six-month assessment will explore the implications of historic preservation and prepare detailed schematics to ensure the windows meet modern energy efficiency standards. SPACE will also be installing a 10kW solar system on the building's roof to further offset energy use, significantly reducing its carbon footprint.
Banner: Window installation by Justin Levesque with view of Pickwick Independent Press. Image courtesy Joel Tsui. Above: Window installation by Chris Myers as part of For Freedoms 50 States Project, with flag by Demian Dinéyazhi' (Diné/Navajo). Image courtesy Justin Levesque.