Eastport Arts Center will host a special gathering from 2-5 pm, Saturday, August 13, to celebrate the lives of Jean Wilhelm and Joyce Weber, whose artistic passions joined at the Arts Center. Cake, fruit, wine and coffee will be offered, and there will be time for all to honor each of the ‘J.W.’s’. Community members are invited to come tell a favorite Joyce or Jean story, or if unable to attend, to please send their story by email or post to chris@eastportartscenter.org, or P.O. Box 153, Eastport, ME 04631.
Joyce Weber was instrumental in creating the now vibrant arts scene in Eastport, helping to establish the Eastport Gallery and, in turn, the Eastport Arts Center. She arrived in the city with her husband and family in 1983, and after hosting a series of life drawing sessions and meeting visual artists of many disciplines, saw the potential for a gallery. She continued to cultivate the arts throughout her lifetime. With a focus on interdisciplinary collaboration and the help of many community members, the Eastport Arts Center and constituent groups that exist today formed in large part due to her efforts.
While teaching at Goucher, Jean Wilhelm enjoyed traveling to Maine, and exploring the many small towns and islands along Maine’s coast. Reading in a magazine about Todd House Bed and Breakfast in the city of Eastport, she decided to visit for a few days. While there Jean visited the local theater, and knew she had found her home.
By 2002 Jean had moved to Eastport to a house she had built. She became extremely active with the Eastport Arts Center and with Stage East, eventually becoming a board member.
With her knowledge and love of theatre, Jean helped move the Eastport Arts Center operation to its current location on Washington Street. She designed and implemented its theater and other facilities, and directed several plays for Stage East. The last play she directed was “The Glass Menagerie,” by Tennessee Williams, in 2013.
Eastport Arts Center is at 36 Washington Street, Eastport and eastportartscenter.org, and is handicapped-accessible. EAC abides by State of Maine CDC COVID guidelines. Additionally, at this time, the EAC recommends that people wear masks when in our building.
The work of Eastport Arts Center is funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.