Maine Women Pioneers III was co-curated by Anne B. Zill, Gael May McKibben and Andres A. Verzosa. This exhibition was the third on this subject in the history of this Art Gallery, striving for national impact in defining pioneering Maine women artists of our age.

The series – Vanguard, Homage, Worldview and Dirigo – had four distinct conceptual frameworks.

• Vanguard featured avant-garde, experimental and innovative works by nine Maine artists who offer insights into the future using mixed media, conceptual installation, performance and video elements.  The artists featured were:  Susan Bickford, Diana Cherbuliez, Amy Stacey Curtis, Alicia Eggert, Lauren Fensterstock, Lihua Lei, Julie Poitras Santos, Carrie Scanga, and Ling-Wen Tsai.
   
• Homage highlighted veteran artists who are powerful examples of career and lifelong originators of creative accomplishment, ahead of the curve without resting on their laurels.  
   
• Worldview focused upon the work of artists who are connected to their world–who create and are inspired by ethics, emotions and existential, holistic themes, as activists, healers and visionaries.
   
• Dirigo presented artists embodying Maine’s motto, I lead, whose works exhibit iconoclastic individualism and breaks with preconceived norms and traditions, expanding their mediums into pioneering terrains.

A series of educational programs was designed to utilize some of Maine’s enormously talented art professionals – gallerists, educators, entrepreneurs, media experts and writers. The Quimby Family Foundation generously provided the Maine Women Pioneers III with a lead grant.  Donald Sussman also made an early contribution.  We remain enormously grateful to these and other contributors.