You are invited to attend an opening reception which is doubling as a fundraising exhibition on Friday, August 28st at 200 Middle Street in Portland.  The opening reception runs from 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm and includes a long list of artists whose work will be part of the event.  The Middle Street space is temporary and has been generously donated by East Brown Cow Real Estate. All proceeds from the donated works will go toward the construction and associated costs of the new space.

Currently, DUNES is located at 251 Congress Street at the bottom of Munjoy Hill.  It has been located there for the past four years.

The new space referred to above  is at 144 Fore Street.  It is a much larger and permanent space that was previously a warehouse.  The new space will include the gallery alongside Dunes Forum, a reading room, bookshop and design focused project space.

Forum is intended to be an “everyday destination” for ideas, conversation, discovery and education.  It is also intended as an “alternative to the increasingly fragmented ways we encounter culture and one another.”  The name Forum is a tribute to the experimental 1930s California arts and discourse publication associated with Pauline Schindler and the radical creative communities of the Oceano Dunes according to the press release received this morning from Boru O’Brien-O’Connell, an artist and owner of DUNES.

Forum will carry a curated selection of art, design, architecture, fiction, and poetry titles alongside out-of-print and rare books, rotating design objects and editions.  As with Dunes’ original space, a core section will be selected by exhibiting artists – titles that inform, influence or sit in conversation with their work.

The vision is ambitious and so is the work ahead.  The building is still  a raw shell, with no plumbing and very limited power.  This blogger remembers the extensive rennovations that Boru conducted in order to bring the 251 Congress Street space up to speed for its use as an art gallery.

DUNES is raising $90,000 to close the remaining gap in funding fhe build-out.  If the project resonares with you, DUNES would be grateful if you would consider making a tax-deductible contribution.  Gifts of any size will help bring us closer o opening the doors of this mission driven space.  Sharing the project with someone who might connect with it would also mean a great deal!

The Congress Street property had at one time been owned by Alice Dunn, founder of Portland Architectural Salvage.  It’s maintenance had allegedly been lax in exchange for low rents for the small businesses occupying the space.

For background information on DUNES and its owner, please visit post herein dated April 17,2022.