EASTPORT, ME.- Presenting the work of the Parish Maps Project, initiated in the late 1980s by the organization, Common Ground, of England, the Tides Institute and Museum of Art, located in Eastport, Maine, will host Common Ground co-founder, Sue Clifford, in Eastport, Maine, for a 5-day residency from August 9 – 14, 2009. This event marks the first time that Common Ground will present their innovative program that champions local distinctiveness, “The Parish Maps Project”, in the United States.

In addition, Ms. Clifford will take part in a panel discussion, Public Art and Sense of Place, with noted writer, art critic and activist, Lucy Lippard; internationally known British walking artist, Hamish Fulton; and Canadian artist and arts educator, Ron Shuebrook. The panel discussion, Public Art and Sense of Place, is scheduled for Thursday, August 13 at 7:00 p.m. at the Music/Band Room of Shead High School, 89 High Street, Eastport, Maine. This event is free and open to the public. Reservations for seating for the panel presentation are recommended by contacting the Institute at (207) 853-4047 or by email: tides@tidesinstitute.org.

Parish Maps: England to America, Building a Sense of Place through the Work of Common Ground is a week-long series of workshops and special panel presentation that will engage local communities in the history, process and subsequent creation of their own Parish/Community maps. During the community workshops, Clifford will present the work of Common Ground and their Parish Maps Project. A Parish Map is created by a community (or parish in the UK) to demonstrate what people value in it - wild life, history, work, landmarks, buildings, people, and festivals. A map may take many forms and does not need to be cartographically correct, but illustrates local distinctive activities and features—a focus on the everyday things that make a place significant and different from the next.

The public is invited to attend the free community workshops presented by Clifford on Parish Maps scheduled for:

• Lubec: Sunday, Aug. 9, 2:00 pm at Lubec Memorial Library, 55 Water Street

• Calais: Monday, Aug. 10, 7:00 pm at The Holmestead, 527 Main Street

• St. Andrews, New Brunswick: Tuesday, Aug. 11, 7:00 pm at Kingsbrae Gardens, 220 King Street

• Pembroke: Wednesday, Aug. 12, 1:00 pm at Pembroke Elementary, Route 1

• Dennysville: Friday, Aug. 14, 7:00 pm at Lincoln Memorial Library, King Street

Common Ground is internationally recognized for playing a unique role in the arts and environmental fields. Established in the early 1980s and distinguished by the linking of nature with culture, their work focuses upon the positive investment people can make in their own localities—championing popular democratic involvement, and inspiring celebration as a starting point for action to improve the quality of our everyday places. The Parish Maps Project is about bringing awareness to what is valued in a locality, recognizing features that combine to make it different and distinct from another place. This multi-community focused project will serve to re-establish and increase community pride through recognition of the everyday. This project builds on the private and public investment in the arts and culture that is, in large part, reshaping this downeast region’s concept of itself.

Also, in conjunction with Ms. Clifford's visit, the Tides Institute will host a display of Parish Maps created in England as visual inspiration and documentation. In addition, a limited edition letterset poster, designed and printed by David Wolfe of Portland, Maine, has been created as part of the Hand Line Press series of posters produced by the Tides Institute & Museum to celebrate this event. The edition numbers 250 and will be available for sale to fund future programs.

Ms. Clifford’s week-long residency and workshops, as well as the panel discussion Public Art and Sense of Place, are made possible through a grant by the Maine Arts Commission through a competitive award Celebrating 30 Years of the Percent for Art program in Maine, with additional funding provided by the Tides Institute and Museum of Art. The Tides Institute was of one of five recipients awarded through this one-time statewide program.