Holdfast! A Seaweed Exhibition will open August 1, at 20 Winter Street in Rockland, across from CMCA and one block from the Farnsworth Art Museum. The exhibition includes a diverse group of 30 artists who live in a geographic area from Kennebunk to Eastport, and whose works will showcase seaweed as an experimental and sustainable material that resonates with Maine environmental concerns.

The exhibition will be the largest contemporary art display of its kind in Maine that is focused on seaweed, according to a news releases.

Inspired by the exhibition "The Cultures of Seaweed" at the New Bedford Whaling Museum in 2023, cocurators Ian Ellis and Celeste Roberge, are bringing together contemporary artists who work across multiple mediums and genres, including painting, watercolor, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, photography, printmaking, quilting, and installation, and who use seaweed as inspiration, material or subject matter.

With early support from the Kindling Fund administered by Space Gallery as part of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Arts’ Regional Regranting Program, the cocurators obtained additional support from Maine Arts Commission, Camden National Bank, and the Maine Seaweed Council. They continue to seek funding to cover costs of advertising, receptions, travel, installation, and documentation.

"This effort would not have been possible without first securing the venue at 20 Winter Street for this one-time exhibition thanks to Polly Saltonstall’s willingness to share her warehouse and her enthusiasm for seaweed and all things related to the oceans," said Ellis, in the release.

In addition, the curators have organized a lecture series that emphasizes creative relationships between science and art through Seaweed Talks held every Saturday at noon by guest speakers, including Jessica Muhlin, professor of marine biology at Maine Maritime Academy in Castine and Nichole Price, inaugural director of the new Center for Resilience and Economic Impact in Port Clyde.

Shep Erhart, of the Maine Seaweed Council, will speak on sustainable seaweed harvesting, and special guest Josie Iselin, author of An Ocean Garden and The Curious World of Seaweed, will present a lecture on kelp forests on Sunday August 9, at noon.

The exhibition and lectures are free and open to all.

To experience the exhibition firsthand, the public is invited to attend an opening reception during Rockland’s First Friday Art walk on August 7, from 5 to 7 p.m. The reception will be catered by Rachel Alexandrou.

Holdfast! A Seaweed Exhibition

The Warehouse, 20 Winter Street, Rockland

August 1 to September 13, 2026

Open Friday, Saturday, Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Seaweed Talks: Saturdays at Noon

Opening Reception on First Friday Art Walk August 7th from 5-7pm

For more information, or to make a donation, contact either:

Ian Ellis, Co-Curator, ellisim92@gmail.com

Celeste Roberge, Co-Curator, celeste@celesteroberge.com

Instagram: holdfastseaweedexhibition

About the co-curators:

Ian Ellis is a Portland-based sculptor. He received his B.S. in biology from the University of Maine Orono. He draws on his background in science in his studio practice, which focuses on sculpture composed of natural materials.

For the last two years he has incorporated seaweed into his work, utilizing it in its natural form as well as transforming it into bio-based materials. Ian has shown his work at 82 Parris, Fort Hall Gallery, Space Gallery, the Portland Museum of Art, and The Gulf of Maine Research Institute.

He attended the Swans Island Artist Residency in 2025, where he focused on creating an installation entirely self-supported by seaweed.

Celeste Roberge has been working with seaweed in her art practice since 2010. She had the first solo seaweed exhibitions in Maine at PhoPa Gallery in 2017 and Waterfall Arts in 2018.

She exhibited the bronze sculpture series Women of the Gulf of Maine in 2023 at Moss Galleries in Portland.

Since 2020, she has been expanding the Rising Seas(onal) Collection. Celeste was included in the groundbreaking exhibition The Cultures of Seaweed at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Her cast bronze Seaweed Zips will be exhibited at Sidle House Gallery in Freeport in Summer 2026. She is a member of the Maine Seaweed Council and has interviewed 12 seaweed artists for the MSC on-line Newsletter.

Celeste’s sculptures are in numerous permanent museum collections. For more information visit www.celesteroberge.com.