This blog post is part of our ‘The Francis is turning five!’ celebrations…
As we mentioned, this month is not just a celebration of our hotel and spa, it’s a celebration of the community around us that we are proud to be a part of. We’re so grateful to the following five businesses for all the work they do in Portland, and we want to make sure you know about them so you can help to share their stories.
- Indigo Arts Alliance is the first and only arts and cultural institution in Maine dedicated to cultivating the artistic development of people of African descent. Founded in 2018 by Marcia and Daniel Minter, Indigo Arts Alliance offers artists of color from across the globe a residency that brings with it a paid stipend, travel, housing and state-of-the-art studio space. In addition, IAA provides public programming that bring our community in close contact with creative processes and practices that broaden cultural awareness. In 2020 we first collaborated with IAA on a temporary public art installation called “Counting From Thirteen” that was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. Since then, we have continued to work with them on several projects and are proud to be corporate sponsors of the organization.
- Mayo Street Arts is a community-focused performance and live events venue in East Bayside, celebrating multicultural and international cultures with music, dance and puppet theater. MSA’s mission is to strengthen its neighborhood and community by providing a vibrant, safe, and inspiring center for the arts, and to engage neighborhood youths of diverse cultural communities in quality learning experiences in the visual, performing and literary arts. We are proud to be corporate sponsors of their organization and to provide a place to stay for many of their performers when they visit Portland.
- Maine Inside Out is a non-profit that collaborates with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people to create original theater, performed inside and outside of correctional facilities as a catalyst for social change. Since 2009, the organization has facilitated theater workshops within Maine’s juvenile correctional facility, Long Creek Youth Development Center, and has since expanded programming to include a greater focus on reintegration and community building outside of facilities. MIO is committed to dismantling all forms of oppression and building a movement for transformative justice in our communities. We’re proud to be corporate sponsors of MIO and to have been involved in some of their Open Mic events over the years.
- Creative Portland is the city of Portland’s non-profit arts agency, and their mission is to support the creative economy through the arts by providing essential resources, fostering partnerships and promoting our city’s artistic talents and cultural assets. Their work helps to sustain and nurture the diverse and exceptional local talent we have here in Portland, including visual artists, performing artists, writers and creatives. We are proud to participate in their signature program, the First Friday Art Walk, each month which was designed to promote interest in Portland’s art community with non-exclusivity and easy access, thereby strengthening our arts and community through diversity and celebration.
- Full Plates Full Potential is a non-profit on a mission to end child hunger in Maine by partnering with schools and communities to create sustainable systems change through investment and advocacy. Their work focuses on increasing participation in school breakfast, afterschool meals, and summer meal programs. Through advocacy, technical assistance, and their FEED KID Grants, they work directly with schools across the state to help them feed more kids. The Spa at The Francis has long been a partner of Full Plates Full Potential and $2 of every deep tissue massage booked is donated to the FEED KIDS campaign.
Image Credits:
Image 1 + Cover Image: Henry Ametti
Image 2: Sean Alonzo Harris
Image 3: Mayo Street Arts
Image 5: Full Plates Full Potential