Maine College of Art & Design is pleased to announce its participation in the 2025 Envision Resilience Midcoast Maine Challenge! Envision Resilience’s place-based, multi-university design studio partners with university students and community leaders to develop creative solutions to face rising sea levels and challenges related to housing, stormwater management, coastal infrastructure, habitats, and ecology. The challenge aligns with Envision Resilience’s mission to foster the next generation of planners, leaders, and design professionals. The 2025 program emphasizes supporting local industries, arts, and innovation.
This year’s focus is on Bath and Harpswell, Maine. Participating institutions include Maine College of Art & Design (MECA&D), the University of Maine Augusta’s architecture program, Northeastern University College of the Arts, the University of Virginia School of Architecture, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning.
Faculty leads from these universities met onsite in Bath and Harpswell this summer for a three-day workshop with community partners. This laid the groundwork for the fall semester, during which students will research, identify, and propose innovative, community-driven designs that address climate change and strengthen local resilience.
A key component of the program involves local art partnerships that unite artists and designers to bridge the gap between climate science and community dialogue through creative expression. This year, students and faculty from MECA&D will collaborate with local creators and participating universities to produce visual, performative, and experiential works that make the impacts of climate change and the opportunities for resilience accessible to all. The Public Art Studio course, a course requirement for the Public Engagement Minor offered through the Sculpture Department, will celebrate, communicate, and inspire design strategies that promote stewardship of place, material reuse, and clean energy futures.
“I am pleased that Maine College of Art & Design will take part in the 2025 Envision Resilience Midcoast Maine Challenge,” said Paul Gebhardt, Dean of Undergraduate Studies at MECA&D. “At the intersection of ecology, science, and community, art becomes a vehicle for transformation—especially here in Maine, where the climate is ever present, and we must respond creatively and collectively. We are excited to be both a partner and a bridge—connecting art and design programs, universities, local collaborators, and the wider public in meaningful work.”
In addition to student programming, Envision Resilience will collaborate with MECA&D alum Brian Smith MFA ’20, to showcase the design work through a series of exhibitions and public events.
Find more information about the 2025 Envision Resilience Midcoast Maine Challenge.