Storefront Exhibit Juneteenth opens June 19

Untitled drawing based on Roy DeCarava’s 1963 photograph “Mississippi Freedom Marcher” from the series “The Test”, 8′ x 15′, Mixed-media on cardboard, 2019 by Hi Tiger. Shown here as part of the exhibition From Ancient Africa to Contemporary America at Maine Center for Electronic Music in 2019.

Engine in partnership with Maine Center for Electronic Music (MCEM) will present an exhibition by Portland based installation artist Hi Tiger. The lead and founding artist of MCEM, Hi Tiger’s work in drawing, painting, sculpture and video extends from their experience of being a descendant of freed slaves. The exhibition The Slave Liberation Project is being presented on Juneteenth (observed on June 19, 1865), the approximate day that the last slaves were told in Texas that they were free according to the Emancipation Proclamation which went into effect two and a half years earlier on January 1, 1863. The show features work from The Test, a series of large scale portraits on cardboard that refer to the “paper bag test” from a time when you could be no darker than one to gain access or be considered beautiful. Interspersed throughout the portraits are miniature human cut-outs that represent the bodies once packed into slave ships, bodies that are here reimagined as free.

As part of Biddeford’s June 19th Friday Art Walk, Hi Tiger will take up residency in the space with live DJ set where visitors can enter the space 10 at a time where Hi Tiger will be playing House, Hip-Hop and R&B. The exhibition will otherwise be fully visible from outside the space offering an opportunity to engage from the sidewalk or street.

This exhibition was made possible with generous support from Maine Arts Commission, Maine Humanities Council and the Haymarket People’s Fund.

For more information, visit Maine Center for Electronic Music or Hi Tiger.

What people are saying about Engine...

Partnering with UNE, Engine has offered professional level gallery and classroom experiences for undergraduate and local students enrolled in arts classes as well as a venue to see art by both regionally and nationally recognized artists.
Stephen Burt
University of New England
Engine is and has been a focal point of downtown Biddeford for many years for so many artists and creative spirits. It is a go-to for me: a retreat, a destination, a source for connection and ideas and community.
Laura Dunn
Artist
Engine is a wonderful place to work surrounded by wonderful people who have infused so much love and light into the downtown of Biddeford. I cannot imagine a bright future in the town without this wonderful organization.
Savanna Pettengill
Artist & Arts Teacher
Engine fuels the creativity of our city, making it the hub for youth and adults alike to feed their spirits, expand their skills, and create a better future for all of us.
Stephanie Edwards
Community Action Committee