EVENT DESCRIPTION

The Abbe Museum is excited to announce the premiere of its Dawnland Festival of Arts and Ideas on July 12-14, 2024, at the College of the Atlantic (COA). This unique multi-day event is an evolution of our popular Abbe Museum Indian Market (AMIM) and Native American Festival that featured invitation-only Native arts markets and performances. The Dawnland Festival of Arts & Ideas includes those elements but will also spotlight conversations by Wabanaki and other Indigenous leaders on some of the biggest questions of our time, including climate, democracy, and food systems.

“Native arts and cultures cannot be separated from Native ways of knowing. The Dawnland Festival of Arts & Ideas continues to celebrate the Native creative economy on Wabanaki homelands while lifting up Indigenous thought leadership vital to the conversation on a healthy planet and society for us all.”

Betsy Richards (Cherokee), Executive Director & Senior Partner with Wabanaki Nations

The Festival will be free to the public and is being supported by the Henry Luce Foundation and the Maine Office of Tourism, along with a partnership with College of the Atlantic. Among the speakers will be attorney and author Sherri Mitchell (Penobscot), James Beard Award-winning Chef Sherry Pocknett (Mashpee Wampanoag), and Native rights attorney Michael-Corey F. Hinton (Passamaquoddy). Musician Firefly the Hybrid (Penobscot) will also take the stage for a one-of-a-kind performance during the weekend. More than 50 leading Native American artists from across the U.S. and Canada will share artwork ranging from ash baskets, beadwork, textiles, painting, fashion, and pottery representing the breadth and excellence of Indigenous art.

Known for its stunning coastal beauty and vibrant cultural scene, Bar Harbor is a significant place to the Tribal Nations of the Wabanaki Confederacy (Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot): a site of exchange and waterways that connected all of the Nations together. For many visitors, this will be an opportunity to engage Wabanaki thought leaders and artists – alongside their national counterparts for a weekend of inquiry, creativity, and celebration. We will communicate more details about the Dawnland Festival of Arts & Ideas, including presenter, performer, and vendor profiles, on our website in the coming weeks!

The Dawnland Festival of Arts & Ideas is FREE and open to the public.

This event is supported in part by grants from the Maine Office of Tourism and the Henry Luce Foundation along with a partnership with College of the Atlantic.