Coastal Main Botanical Gardens installs two new sculptures

Indigo Arts Alliance and Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens unveiled two sculptures by Indigo Arts Alliance artists-in-residence Shane Perley-Dutcher and Anna Tsouhlarakis. The newly commissioned installations were presented as part of Deconstructing the Boundaries: The Land Fights Back, the second of a three-part collaborative multi-year series of public symposia. 

Perley-Dutcher, a silversmith artist from Wolastoqey Neqotkuk (a New Brunswick First Nation), presents Eci-Mahsosiyil/Fiddleheads (2024), an interactive installation of two arched fiddlehead ferns made from braided and woven metal emulating traditional Wabanaki woven baskets, installed in the Arbor Garden. The fiddleheads represent a vision of reciprocity, as Wolastoqey tradition dictates that an offering, such as tobacco or prayer, should be given to the fiddleheads before picking. Simultaneously, enough should be left for others, emphasizing the importance of sustaining the land for future generations. 

“Why is this a woven metal fiddlehead?” Perley-Dutcher asks. “I am using the weave because it has sustained our Indigenous livelihood since time immemorial, since the birth of our people from the Ash tree. The ash has been on the single most important trees of our people because of what it offered us. Our people have used weaving and basketry to survive” 

Tsouhlarakis, an enrolled citizen of the Navajo Nation and of Creek and Greek descent, presents The Native Guide Project: CMBG (2024), four shell middens constructed from grass, oyster shells, and granite sourced from the surrounding region installed on Cleaver Lawn. The middens, grassy mounds replicating the archaic collections of food and cultural remnants left behind by Indigenous people along the northeast coast, demonstrate a sustainable living practice and a reminder that these lands and shores have been continual gathering places for millennia. The shell walls display messages to visitors, alluding to the ongoing need for reparative justice and challenging of systems that are currently in place today. 

Tsouhlarakis, a long-time summer visitor to the Boothbay peninsula, says, “When I first started coming here, I’d never see people of color. I loved it here, but I didn’t know if I’d belong. Indigo Arts Alliance had this crazy idea to make sure we feel we belong, and it’s a beautiful thing to feel that way.” 

Both Eci-Mahsosiyil/Fiddleheads and The Native Guide Project: CMBG are installed in the Gardens to highlight Indigenous traditions and knowledge and as a reminder of why BIPOC experiences must be centered in the fight for climate justice. The Native Guide Project: CMBG will be on view until it naturally degrades, and Eci-Mahsosiyil/Fiddleheads will be installed permanently. 

About Indigo Arts Alliance 

Indigo Arts Alliance is a Portland, ME-based, Black-led organization dedicated to professional development and amplification of Black and Brown thought leadership, artistic vision, and practice. Indigo cultivates and celebrates art as a key resource for healthy communities; provides an affirming environment for creation of artwork in all media; and promotes engagement through events that bring artists’ work into discourse on social justice, culture, and community.

Indigo Arts Alliance is the only organization of its kind in northern New England. In fulfilling its mission, the organization closes the gap in representation that exists in other regional art and cultural institutions. 

Core to the mission is programming intentional engagement of artists in public conversations and through gallery talks, panel discussions, symposia, workshops, and collaborations within our community. The opportunities and events provide significant benefits for expanding visibility, representation, and opportunities for all BIPOC communities in Maine—as well as significant benefits for non-BIPOC community members to more deeply understand the lived experiences of others. 

Learn more about their programming and residencies at www.indigoartsalliance.me.

About Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens 

At nearly 325 acres, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is the largest public garden in New England. With two miles of hiking trails, 48 acres of ornamental and themed gardens featuring native plants of Maine and those suited to northern coastal conditions, nearly a mile of saltwater frontage, a children’s garden, a sensory garden, and so much more, there’s something for everyone. A true Maine experience, the Gardens is committed to connecting people to plants and nature, preserving the biodiversity of the Maine coast, and continuing to be a place accessible and welcoming to all. The mission of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is to inspire meaningful connections between people and nature and promote plant conservation through horticulture, education, and plant science. 

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is dedicated to being an inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible environment where every member of our community is valued, respected, and appreciated. We acknowledge that a society is stronger, more resilient, and more beautiful when it is diverse. We are committed to identifying and striving to eliminate barriers that, historically, have prevented the full participation of communities most impacted by inequity. 

Learn more at www.mainegardens.org.