Encounters ran in August 2023. We're sorry you missed us.
We have more exciting things on the horizon so please follow our social channels for updates.
Mysterious visitors have come to Portland, Maine from another world... or time… or dimension… we’re really not sure. Come encounter this otherworldly collection of interactive art pieces and learn more about these visitors.
Pop up exhibit has ended.
Encounters is a pop up interactive immersive art experience that happened in the East Bayside neighborhood of Portland in August 2023. A cross between a theme park and an art gallery, Encounters immersed and engaged audiences in new ways with unique and interactive otherworldly art.
Over 6,000 sq feet of gallery space with interactive experiences, floor to ceiling projection art, tech art, sculptures, paintings and more to explore. Special events are planned throughout the month. Including craft activities for kids and a fashion show for adults. Every Saturday night we will feature different live performers and DJ’s.
Encounters ran in August of 2023 and has ended. No tickets are being sold at this time.
Maine Synth Club Jam Session
Maine Studio Works, 170 Anderson St. Portland, ME
Wednesday, August 30th - 2023
7PM to 9PM
Thank you to everyone who came out it was a blast
Cosmic keyboards and synthesizer experiments are coming to Encounters. Join us for an evening with the Maine Synth Club as they perform a cosmic jam session in our gallery space.
7pm to 9pm on Wednesday August 30th, 2023.
Donations to the Synth Club members are greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Firefly The Hybrid
Maine Studio Works, 170 Anderson St. Portland, ME
NEW DATE - August 25th at 8PM
Firefly seeks to illuminate the beauty and healing power of his ancient indigenous culture through music, visuals and creativity. As a member of the Penobscot Nation, Firefly is helping to place Indigenous people in a modern context. Firefly will attempt communication with the otherworldly beings fusing ancient traditions and modern technology to reach out across the cosmos.
im2.Earth
Maine Studio Works, 170 Anderson St. Portland, ME
Saturday, August 26
2PM daytime show and 7PM show times | Admission begins 1PM and 6PM
im2.Earth is the off planet performance duet known for productions like SNAFU 2.0 and have decades of experience creating playful theater. im2.Earth pushes the boundaries of serious gravity, and is proud to announce their latest production, Ru12? Prepare to be transported into a world where imagination and reality intertwine in an extraordinary spectacle of sight, sound, and emotion that will leave you questioning the very fabric of reality,
At im2.Earth, we believe that theater is more than just entertainment, it is a powerful medium that allows us to present parodies, perceptions and paradoxes that spark conversations. In Ru12? we communicate with the Other. On landing, you will witness shapeshifting performers who seamlessly transition from one form to another, blurring the lines between human and creature like the enigmatic spike creature—a mesmerizing entity that blends elegance and danger. Watch in awe as the performers manipulate space and time, experience awe-inspiring shadow play, where light and darkness merge to create ethereal and mystical shapes that dance before your eyes. This physical and visual storytelling creates an immersive experience like no other as you witness mind-bending illusions, gravity-defying optical juggling, and humorous interactions that will take you to the outer limits.
Join us for an unforgettable event of wonder and exploration as im2.Earth presents Ru12? Buckle yourself in, put your trays up, and prepare to be amazed, inspired, and transported to a realm where the impossible becomes possible.
Melody Figments by Maria Finkelmeier of MF Dynamics
Maine Studio Works, 170 Anderson St. Portland, ME
Saturday, August 5
7PM and 9PM show times | Admission begins 6PM and 8PM
Guest DJ Set from 10PM to Midnight
Join Maria Finkelmeier of MF dynamics for an immersive musical experience as she attempts to make contact at ENCOUNTERS Portland and will take you on a sonic journey into other worlds.
Named a “one-woman dynamo” by the Boston Globe, Maria Finkelmeier is a percussionist, composer, and new media artist. Blending acoustic and electronic expression, her original music is rooted in avant garde exploratory principles, yet influenced by minimalistic repetition and relentless electronic dance music hooks.
Her Melody Figments performance on marimba builds bridges between what we hear and what we see by generating transcendent visual webs with each musical movement. The 3D webs are created live, using motion capture and gaming technology, aiming to express and preserve a moment in time; the moment in time in which the audience, performer, technology, and sound become one.
Viva the Sensation
Maine Studio Works, 170 Anderson St. Portland, ME
Saturday, August 19
7PM and 9PM show times | Admission begins 6PM and 8PM
VIVA The Sensation is a singer, actor, model, bandleader, dancer, activist, and producer. Her otherworldly performances are electrifying and unpredictable raves from an Afrofuturist dream. At Encounters Portland the Indigo Arts Alliance AIR races to interpret a possible message originating from beyond the Vega star system, using thumping electronica dance beats and the siren song of a better world.
The Sensation will answer the call from beyond with her one-of-a-kind live show, enlisting dancers, spicy lollipop edm covers, and her dipped pacifier pop hits from the forthcoming album, “Hot GLAMN.” These new original compositions are made possible by VIVA’s patron community at Patreon.com/seevivasing, the Maine Arts Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts. The performances are open to carbon and non-carbon based life forms over 16 years old (accompanied by a guardian).
