In conjunction with Re|Sounding, now on view, join Maine Maritime Museum this spring and summer for an artist workshop and lecture series. Each month from May through August, we are hosting a different contributing artist for a unique learning experience, each examining art as a tool for exploring histories, and uncovering how historical and cultural contexts can influence art. The four mediums explored throughout this workshop series are painting, oral storytelling, assemblage, and poetry.
Inspired by Bundlehouse FS No. 12 (Garvey Aight), currently on view in Re|Sounding at the Maine Maritime Museum, this hands-on workshop invites participants to design and create their own commemorative medals inspired by Marcus Garvey's UNIA Redemption Medal. Garvey's medal symbolized leadership, self-determination, and the collective pursuit of freedom, offering recognition to those committed to building stronger communities.
Using a variety of accessible materials, participants will create a medal honoring someone who embodies the spirit of freedom-making. This may be a family member, community leader, ancestor, historical figure, or an unsung individual whose courage, resilience, generosity, or vision has positively shaped the lives of others. Participants are also encouraged to consider lesser-known individuals whose contributions have enriched Maine's maritime history and traditions, expanding our understanding of who is remembered and why.
The workshop begins with a brief introduction to Marcus Garvey's UNIA Redemption Medal and its relationship to Bundlehouse FS No. 12 (Garvey Aight), followed by a discussion about the role of symbols, monuments, and acts of recognition in preserving collective memory. Through making, conversation, and storytelling, participants will reflect on the people whose contributions often remain overlooked while imagining new forms of commemoration rooted in care, resilience, and community.
No previous art-making experience is necessary. All materials will be provided.
Workshop attendees are also welcome to come early for a lecture from Nyugen from 1:00–2:00 pm. Museum admission is included with registration.
Choose a cost that is appropriate and works for you.
Photo: Erica MacLean
Nyugen E. Smith is an artist living and working in Jersey City, NJ. His work addresses Black cultural identity. Guided by the metaphorical roots of this colonial legacy, Nyugen is interested in the dynamic interplay between various thematic nodes, including architecture, language, performance, ritual, trauma, DNA memory, climate change, and migration.Central to his practice is an emphasis on the utilization of pre-existing materials, the body, and play, within the art-making process.
Nyugen holds a BA, Fine Art from Seton Hall University and an MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His work has been presented at the Museum of Latin American Art, Peréz Art Museum, Museum of Cultural History, Norway, Frist Art Museum, Blanton Museum, Newark Museum, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, among others. Nyugen is the recipient of the Creative Capital Award, Leonore Annenberg Performing and Visual Arts Fund, Franklin Furnace Fund, Dr. Doris Derby Award, New Jersey State Council on the Arts grant, and Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant.
Exhibit Contributions
Bundlehouse: FS Mini No. 12 (Garvey Aight)
Spirit Carriers
Working in the museum's historic blacksmith shop to forge a custom stand for the Bundlehouse sculpture