The Camden Public Library and the Jonathan Frost Gallery in Rockland are pleased to announce a joint effort, a large art show titled “People on the Move: A Human Crisis, Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and the Internally Displaced.” There will be an Artists’ talk at the Camden Public Library on Sunday, February 11 at 2pm.  Titi De Baccarat, Orson Horchler, Veronica Kaluta, and Wendy Newbold Patterson will talk about their work and what moved them to do it.

At this moment, across the world, over 65 million people are living away from their homes, driven out by political repression, war, famine, and environmental devastation.  A small number of these people, overcoming enormous obstacles, and against all odds, have found their way to Maine.  This show is intended to raise awareness of the global human crisis as well as increase understanding of why the face of Maine has changed in the last decade.  Some of the artists are recently displaced persons themselves; others are not.  All twenty-six participating artists have shown, in their work, what moves them about this global human crisis.  The subjects of five of the portraits come from the same family of refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, now living in Knox County.

About half the work will be on display at the Camden Public Library, about half at the Jonathan Frost Gallery.  Show dates in both locations are Friday, February 2, through Tuesday, February 27.

The artwork, both two- and three-dimensional, varies widely.  It includes portraits; scenes of fleeing refugees; scenes of repression and brutality; symbolic evocations of displacement, detainment, and death; and symbolic evocations of the ideals of ethnic and political harmony.  The show celebrates the faces and voices of immigrants in our community, allying itself with the theme of the Camden Conference, “New World Disorder and America’s Future.”

The show will be open for viewing at both locations during their normal hours.  The library is open 9 to 6 on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; 9 to 9 on Tuesday and Thursday; and 1 to 5 on Sunday.  The Jonathan Frost Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 to 5.

Participating artists are Lois Anne, Susan Beebe, Christopher Cart, Gregory Chilenski, Clarity, Titi De Baccarat, Alan Fishman, Jonathan Frost, Nancy Glassman, Lucy Goulet, Nan Haid, Orson Horchler, Carol Inouye, Mwandja Kaluta, Salima Kaluta, Veronica Kaluta, Renate Klein, Jeannette Martin, Joan McGill, Cynthia McGuirl, James Murdock, Wendy Newbold Patterson, Robinsunne, Emeline Russell, Marjorie Strauss, and Hannah Wells.

The Camden Public Library is located at 55 Main Street, Camden.  Visit the library on Facebook, Instagram, or online at librarycamden.org. The Jonathan Frost Gallery is located at the corner of Main Street and Park Drive in Rockland.  The phone number is 207-596-0800.