The Parsonage Gallery launches its holiday season with two compelling exhibitions exploring themes of ecology, memory, and displacement. All are welcome to an opening reception, Saturday, Dec. 13, from 2 - 4 p.m., with seasonal treats. The event will feature a special reading by artist Anne Mourier from 2 - 2:30 p.m. Both exhibitions run through March 1.

In the downstairs gallery, The Parsonage partners with the Seguinland Institute to present the 1st Annual Maine Ecology & Art Residency (MEAR) Exhibition, featuring the inaugural cohort of MEAR: Alicia Ethridge, Eileen Ryan, Brian Smith, and Holden Willard. This collaboration brings together artists whose work engages deeply with ecological questions and the natural world of coastal Maine, according to The Parsonage, in a news release.

In the upstairs gallery, UK artist Louise Fago-Ruskin presents Til All is Correct, an immersive, site-specific installation set in a dark, eerie space with digital projections. Fago-Ruskin is haunted by stories of her Great Uncle Moszek, who lost his life in the Warsaw Ghetto. In this powerful work, Fago-Ruskin seeks personal renewal in family history, only to find that the past offers only partial refuge. The artist seeks to create work that speaks to the experiences of other communities caught up in "the anguish of exile, displacement and exclusion."

During the opening reception, artist Anne Mourier will deliver a 20-minute reading from her limited edition artist-book To the Land of Cockaigne. Mourier, who divides her time between New York and Venice, offers a poetic portrayal of a woman who has been endlessly iconized and defamed. Each book is contained in a handmade box with unique signed photographs.

"Mourier's interdisciplinary practice elicits powerful experiences, often employing invisible forces like scent and voice to shift what we associate with strength, power, and beauty," said The Parsonage.

The Parsonage Gallery exhibits dynamic work by a diverse slate of contemporary artists, with a special emphasis on issues of ecology and spirituality. It is directed by Dr. Aaron Rosen and is a program of Our Common Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3). The gallery will remain open 11am-sunset daily throughout the holiday season.

Special Community Event: The Town of Searsport's annual menorah lighting will take place on Sunday, December 14, at 4:30 p.m., featuring a menorah designed by Parsonage artist Aaron Margolis.