UMaine Farmington arts center to host 3 fall events

Aaron Wyanski Submitted photo

The Emery Community Arts Center on the University of Maine at Farmington campus plans to feature three fall events in the Emery Performance Space on Academy Street and are free and open to the public. The events are planned for Oct. 27, Nov. 2 and 10, according to a news release from Ann Bartges, director of UMF Emery Community Arts Center.

• The film “I Know a Man … Ashley Bryan” will be screened at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27.

Directed by Maine-based filmmaker Richard Kane and artist Robert Shetterly, the documentary film is a story about a 90-plus year-old artist who skipped and jumped in his heart like a child, yet was a spiritually deep creative genius.

Ashley Bryan was a poet and illustrator of 50 children’s books, and a maker of magical puppets and sea glass windows from found objects inspired by his African heritage. He lived on the remote Cranberry Islands in Maine until his death at age 98 in February. He had been using art his entire life to celebrate joy, mediate the darkness of war and racism, explore the mysteries of faith, and create loving community.

• A recital by Aaron Wyanski, UMF assistant professor of music composition, of solo piano music featuring original works along with music by Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell and Fiona Apple will begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2.

Wyanski is a composer, pianist, and educator whose work explores memory, perspective and vulnerability. His music has been commissioned by the Amaranth String Quartet, Roger Zahab, and percussionist Michael Jones, and he has been an artist-in-residence at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

An active educator, Wyanski has previously taught at The Hartt School (University of Hartford) and Sweet Briar College. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in composition from The Hartt School, a Master of Fine Arts degree from The Vermont College of Fine Arts, and a Bachelor of Music degree in jazz studies from Purchase College, State University of New York.

• The 22nd annual Animation Show of Shows is set for 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10.

This edition comprises an international collection of animated short films that deal with both the anxieties and hopes of a world faced with a seemingly endless series of existential crises. All are inventive, their tone ranges from the whimsical to the profound; their techniques, from stop-motion to hand-drawn to computer-aided.

Nine of the films are new and come from Europe, Asia and North America. The program culminates with a striking restored 4K digital remaster by the Academy Film Archive of Frederic Back’s 1987 Oscar winner, “The Man Who Planted Trees.”

The Animation Show of Shows is not rated, and some subject matter is of a mature nature and not intended for young children. For details, visit Animation Show of Shows at wpsites.maine.edu.

For more information, contact Ann Bartges, director of the UMF Emery Community Arts Center, at ann.bartges@maine.edu or 207-778-7461.