BAR HARBOR — The Abbe Museum has brand new exhibits — including two new featured shows — opening on May 27.
“We’re extremely excited to be presenting two new contemporary art exhibitions: In the Shadow of the Eagle and Mi’kmaw Tepgunsejig – 13 Moons Full Suite by Jordan Bennett. These two shows mark the beginning of an exhibition calendar that will bring an exciting new exhibit to the Abbe every season. The Museum is recommitting to its devotion of showcasing contemporary Wabanaki art and ancestral belongings in ways that put Wabanaki voices at the forefront,” states Dr. Aaron Miller, the Abbe Museum’s Luce Curator of Exhibits & Collections.
New featured shows include In the Shadow of the Eagle, (May to October 2026), timed to coincide with the moment where the United States marks 250 years since its founding. This contemporary art exhibit aims to share a greater understanding of Wabanaki Nations’ place within the ongoing national narrative. Using the Semiquincentennial and Wabanaki involvement in the Revolutionary War as a jumping off point, In the Shadow of the Eagle focuses on themes such as military service, treaties and self-governance. The exhibition features new artworks by leading Wabanaki artists such as James E. Francis, Sr. and Geo Neptune, alongside important historical belongings, a Wabanaki Veterans’ interactive kiosk and loans of work by key Native artists such as G. Peter Jemison and Marie Watt from outside the Dawnlands. Support from the Terra Foundation for American Art was critical in staging the monumental show.
The second special exhibition features the dynamic print series 13 Moons by Jordan Bennett (Mi’kmaq). Working at the confluence of contemporary and tradition, Bennett’s signature style brings vibrant color and form to his two-dimensional work. Mi’kmaw Tepgunsejig: 13 Moons Full Suite (May to October) showcases Bennett’s visual examination of the Mi’kmaq lunar calendar. The print series shares the gallery with complementary works by other Mi’kmaq artists from the past and present — many of them focused on the quillwork from which Bennett draws inspiration. Support of the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation was key in making Bennett’s show a reality.
The Abbe’s 2025 season opening also includes the 24th annual Waponahki Student Art Show, a collaboration with Maine Indian Education and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Border Towns which brings together a wonderful variety of K-12 art created by Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Maliseet, and Mi’kmaq students, and a refresh of our permanent exhibition People of the First Light that feature rarely seen works from our collections, and pop up exhibitions from our three Wabanaki Curatorial Fellows Lynn Mitchell (Passamaquoddy), Emma Soctomah (Passamaquoddy) and Danikah Chartier (Mi’kmaq).
For more information about the Abbe’s 2025 season, new exhibits and calendar of events, go to abbemuseum.org, email the Abbe staff at info@abbemuseum.org or call 207-288-3519.
The Abbe is a museum of Wabanaki art, history and culture, with the mission to illuminate and advance greater understanding of and support for Wabanaki Nations’ heritage, living cultures and homelands.