Museum L-A’s award-winning exhibit catalogue and accompanying DVD are pictured.

Museum L-A catalogue captures NE top award

LEWISTON – Museum L-A’s exhibition catalogue for “Portraits and Voices: Workers of Seven Mills” has won a Publication Award from the New England Museum Association.

The catalogue won first place in the New England Museum Association 2008 competition in its category. This year there were 180 publications from 66 museums entered in 20 categories. As one of the winners of the competition, Museum L-A’s catalogue will be exhibited at the association’s annual conference in Warwick, R.I., in mid-November.

“We, at Museum L-A, were very excited to be chosen for the first place publication award, especially since it our first attempt at publishing,” said Executive Director Rachel Desgrosseilliers. “The Exhibit Committee of the museum worked very hard to create a meaningful and professional catalog – one that is a historically significant publication now and in the future.”

The catalogue includes portraits by Mark Silber of the 45 millworkers featured in the exhibit accompanied by brief biographical notes and quotes. It also features a description of the exhibit by Desgrosseilliers and profiles of the artists and historians involved in the exhibit.

A digital version of the catalog is available on DVD as well. Anyone wishing to purchase a copy of the catalog – with ($20) or without the DVD ($10) – are asked to contact Museum L-A for more information.

A special exhibit “Weaving a World: Lewiston’s Millworkers, 1920-2008” recently opened. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 35 Canal St. in the Bates Mill Complex. For more information, call 333-3881 or visit the museum’s Web site at www.museumla.org.