Portland exhibit ends Sunday, Dec. 30

LEWISTON — Stacy Rodenberger, assistant director of Student and Teacher Learning at Portland Museum of Art, will be the presenter at the USM Lewiston-Auburn Senior College “Food for Thought” 11:30 luncheon on Friday, Jan. 11. She will give an hour long lecture and illustrated presentation on “The Story of Winslow Homer and the Portland Museum of Art.”

Senior College, now in its 14th year, presents the monthly 11:30 luncheon program in the Function Room 170 at USM LAC. The cost, which includes lunch, is $7 with advance reservation or $8 at the door. Reservations must be made by noon on Jan. 10 by calling 753-6510. Any late callers will be considered “at the door.”

L/A Senior College is fortunate to have such an important presentation at our monthly luncheon, especially for those who have not had the opportunity to see the magnificent exhibit, “Weatherbeaten: Winslow Homer and Maine,” closing Sunday, Dec. 30, or an opportunity to visit the Homer Studio at Prouts Neck, now closing for the winter months.

“This extraordinary Winslow Homer exhibition has been a huge success for the Portland Museum of Art and has had a significant cultural and economic impact on the city of Portland, drawing thousands of visitors from all over the country,” said PMA director Mark H.C. Bessire. He continued, “Weatherbeaten is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see a significant number of Homer’s greatest marine paintings together in one place. Many of the works in this exhibition rarely leave their home institutions, including Fox Hunt, on loan from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, which hasn’t returned to Maine since it was painted in 1893. Portland is the only venue for this show.”

Food for Thought attendees will learn about Winslow Homer’s art and hear the behind-the-scenes story of the PMA’s stewardship of the artist’s home, studio and artwork. Winslow Homer first exhibited at the Portland Society of Art in 1893, and his art has played a crucial role in the history of the museum ever since.

Rodenberger will discuss the relationship between Homer and the museum from these early beginnings, through the gift that inspired the construction of the Charles Shipman Payson Building, to the acquisition and restoration of the Winslow Homer Studio at Prouts Neck and the current exhibition, which has surpassed all record attendances for any exhibit in the history of PMA. Thousands of people came from all over, including vacationers and tourists from distant parts of the country.

Rodenberger’s role at PMA’s Department of Learning and Interpretation is connecting the museum’s collections and exhibitions to the Maine K-12 curriculum through school tours for students, innovative arts-based curriculum and professional development workshops for teachers. She has overseen the development of three arts-integrated curriculum handbooks, of which two have won Awards for Excellence from the Committee on Education of the American Association of Museums, and five resource websites for teachers and students. She has also designed and implemented numerous professional development workshops for K-12 educators.

The Museum’s Evenings for Educators series, Saturday ArtIntensives, and weeklong Summer Institutes for Teachers are important learning opportunities for teachers, especially arts specialists, throughout the region. Due to the role of Winslow Homer in the Portland Museum of Art’s collection, Rodenberger has worked with teachers of all grade levels and content areas to integrate Homer’s art into the curriculum.

In 2011, Rodenberger was named the Eastern Region Museum Education Art Educator of the Year by the National Art Education Association. This honor follows recognition as a member of the Museum Leaders: the Next Generation, Getty Leadership Institute in 2006 and as the Art Advocate of the Year awarded by the Maine Art Education Association in 2007.