Art Van – Art in Maine

The Maine Art Collective, 157 Middle Street, Portland, Maine

October 2, 5-8 pm First Friday: Art Van Comes to Portland

October 3 & 4 pm Maine Craft Weekend: Make a Free Decoupage Sea Shell

October 2, 5-8 pm First Friday:

The Art Van Comes to Portland, Visit the Van and meet those who Inspire!

During 1st Friday, October 2, 2026, the Art Van Program will be at 157 Middle St. Portland to welcome people at their van. Visit them in the Maine Art Collective Gallery and in their Art Van. This is to announce the beginning of programming in the Portland areas. In addition to Art Van staff, Maine Art Collective Artists will be on hand to talk about art and share in refreshments.
We look forward to seeing you on First Friday.

For 44 weeks each year, in a colorful 15-passenger van ArtVan’s Art Therapist and Therapeutic Program Manager, together with a Program Assistant and Creative Support Staff, visit youth in neighborhoods, schools, and/or local community centers where they live. Each week they carefully plan art therapy sessions to explore emotional, social, and cultural issues through the art making process. ArtVan empowers youth to safely manage emotional expression and engage in the larger community.

An art therapy response from one of our program team members 💙
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During a recent program supervision, our team reflected on relationships with participants through art. Bowdoin intern Ariana created this piece based on an interaction with a young participant who initially kept his distance, choosing not to join the group.
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Instead of pushing, Ariana simply sat beside him. With time, patience, and quiet presence, he began to open up. Soon they were talking, creating art, and connecting.
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In her artwork, the blue lines represent the walls many of our participants build to protect themselves, while the yellow circle symbolizes the steady presence of staff working to build trust. One of the biggest lessons from this reflection: trust isn't rushed—it grows by showing up, again and again.

"I hope to continue building trust with this boy and other participants, and this reflection helped me better understand just how important that trust really is."

@artvanprogram

August 14An art therapy response from one of our program team members 💙 . During a recent program supervision, our team reflected on relationships with participants through art. Bowdoin intern Ariana created this piece based on an interaction with a young participant who initially kept his distance, choosing not to join the group. . Instead of pushing, Ariana simply sat beside him. With time, patience, and quiet presence, he began to open up. Soon they were talking, creating art, and connecting. . In her artwork, the blue lines represent the walls many of our participants build to protect themselves, while the yellow circle symbolizes the steady presence of staff working to build trust. One of the biggest lessons from this reflection: trust isn’t rushed—it grows by showing up, again and again. “I hope to continue building trust with this boy and other participants, and this reflection helped me better understand just how important that trust really is.”

How do you quantify healing?
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ArtVan is focused on process farm more than it is on outcomes, but we are always asked to provide indicators of success for our program. Healing isn't always linear and can't always be captured in a single moment, but our work with Bates student Lane Foushée, who focused his senior thesis on “How the Efficacy of Mobile Art Programs Positively Impact Emotional Health and Well-being in Under-Resourced Areas."
brings validation to what we've always seen and felt in our program - art therapy heals, and our mobile model is critical to the participants we serve.
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Lane joined ArtVan's programs and through observation and participant reflection and self-evaluation was able to gather this quantifying data. His findings strengthen what we've known all along - art therapy heals and our mobile model is critical to the communities we serve.

@artvanprogram

August 21How do you quantify healing? . ArtVan is focused on process farm more than it is on outcomes, but we are always asked to provide indicators of success for our program. Healing isn’t always linear and can’t always be captured in a single moment, but our work with Bates student Lane Foushée, who focused his senior thesis on “How the Efficacy of Mobile Art Programs Positively Impact Emotional Health and Well-being in Under-Resourced Areas.” brings validation to what we’ve always seen and felt in our program – art therapy heals, and our mobile model is critical to the participants we serve. . Lane joined ArtVan’s programs and through observation and participant reflection and self-evaluation was able to gather this quantifying data. His findings strengthen what we’ve known all along – art therapy heals and our mobile model is critical to the communities we serve.

@artvanprogram

For more information: Https://www.artvanprogram.org

Decoupage Shell Workshop by Jo Eaton

October 3 and 4, 2 pm and 3:30 pm both days

Create your own oyster shell ornament free! Oyster shells are ready with a wide assortment of napkins to choose from as you decoupage your own ornament. Shells will be prepared with a ring already attached for hanging or you may choose one without a ring. Enjoy the magical process of layering special glue and the lightness of a tissue paper design onto your shell.

Damp shells that will dry crystal clear! Join in the Magic!

The upper left is an oyster shell which is the free shell that can be a shell or an ornament, the lower shell is a sea clam shell. An assortment of additional shells will be available from $2 to $8.

Looking forward to seeing you on Maine Craft Weekend at the Maine Art Collective.

Happy Fall!

Jo Eaton

No Repeats Fiberworks, member Maine Art Collective

Category: Art Van

Stepping into Fall at