COMMUNITY PROGRAMS
OUT Maine Weekend
In 2019, Haystack partnered with OUT Maine to launch our first dedicated program for LGBTQ+ high school students from throughout the State of Maine. 2022 welcomed back this wonderful program for its second iteration.
The goal of the Haystack Out Maine Weekend was to empower and inspire young people to see themselves in their fullest capacity and model an open and out life in the arts. The program expanded our commitment to supporting young people in our community by partnering with a peer organization whose work we greatly admired. As a not-for-profit organization, OUT Maine “works toward welcoming and affirming Maine for all rural young people of diverse sexual orientations, gender expressions, and gender identities. In partnership with allies and families, OUT Maine supports, educates, and empowers these youth in their journey from adolescence to adulthood.” We could not have been more pleased to collaborate together towards this common goal.
Modeled on Haystack’s long-standing programs for teens, this pilot provided an immersive three-day experience where junior and senior high school students participated in workshops in a safe and supportive environment, working alongside nationally recognized artists from the LGBTQ+ community.
In the evenings faculty gave presentations about their work, openly shared their experience of being out during their careers, and facilitated discussion groups with students.
The 2022 OUT Maine Weekend was generously supported by the Maine Community Foundation and many individual donors. We are immensely proud of this partnership, which we hope will play a role in building a strong and inclusive community in Maine and beyond.
The Haystack Out Maine Weekend will take place again in the fall of 2024.
“That weekend at Haystack has received more visibility around these issues than I’ve ever seen. I am hoping that this is a call to action for arts communities to help inspire the potential of LGBTQ youth in all kinds of media: art, music, theater. Anything that helps them find their self-expression, to find their possibility, and to find their voice.”
2022 OUT Maine Faculty:
BLACKSMITHING
Rachel David (She/Her)
FIBER
Steven E. Frost (They / Them)
CERAMICS
George Bowes (He/Him)
GRAPHICS
Hope Rovelto (She/Her/They/Them)
METALS
Rebekah Frank (She/Her)
WOOD
Sylvie Rosenthal (She/They)