By
Lorraine Glowczak
If
you have been to the Windham Public Library (WPL) in the past two weeks, you
may have noticed an array of nature and candid photography gracing its walls. Some
photographs are encased in gold frames while others – silver frames. Why is this
subtle difference so important?
“Silver
frames indicate that the photographs are from photographers of the Greater
Portland area,” began Dennis Marrotte, a member and former president of the
Portland Camera Club. “The photography that you see in gold frames – they are
from photographers in our sister city – Archangel in Russia.”
As
in all artforms, there is a story involved in the “Bridges of Friendship”
photography exhibit at WPL that will continue until June 29. The tale is filled
with not only cultural exchange but is also steeped in history which gives the photography
display an interesting twist.
It
all began in the early 1980s and continued in the early 1990s when, during the
end of the Cold War, hostilities in America were growing toward Russia. To
create more peace among the two countries, a professor from Oregon State
University instigated a sister city initiative between the U.S. and Russia.
The
effort caught on and members of the Greater Portland area, including the town
of Windham, joined forces “to provide opportunities for Russians and Americans
to share time, ideas, and the best of our communities; to bring true friendship
and understanding to our peoples; and to improve the chances for world peace
through citizen diplomacy,” as stated by portlandme.gov website.
Friendship,
culture and art has continued to develop between the two cities since the
Archangel Committee of Greater Portland nonprofit organization was established
in 1988, of which Dan Glover of Westbrook lead the group as president in its
beginning years.
Glover
shared that although the towns and cities that comprise the sister city
exchange with Archangel began in the late 1980s, their roots and connections
began in WWII. “South Portland had two shipyards, building EC-2 Emergency
Cargo, also known as ‘Liberty Ships’, with Portland being one of the several
east coast ports from where Liberty Ship convoys sailed to Europe and to the
Artic Ports of Murmansk and Archangel, in Russia.”
Fast
forward to 2019, and the connections continues. Part of the success with the
Archangel Committee of Greater Portland can be contributed to the exchange of
high school students between the two cities. Glover explained that the students
from the Greater Portland area would spend one month, usually during the March
break, in an Archangel school (and vice versa). In recent years, the student
exchange has subsided. Glover is happy to announce that the exchange will be
revived – at least for one year – in 2020 as students at Westbrook High School
will do an exchange with students from Archangel.
However,
the photography exhibit exchange has remained intact since the Archangel
Committee of Greater Portland was established, creating not only an exchange of
art and culture, but that of lifelong friendships between the photographers of
the Portland Camera Club and the camera club of Archangel, the Spolokhi Club.
Marrotte
has developed many friendships and experiences over the years travelling back
and forth from his home in Westbrook to Archangel. “When the photo clubs first
began the photography exchange, everything was film and you couldn’t just send
photography at the click of a button,” Marrotte explained. “We had to
communicate via teletype and travel with photographs in hand.”
(Teletype was
used to communicate typed messages from point to point through a simple
electrical communications channel, often looking like a big typewriter, before
the days of the internet.)
Marrotte
has so many stories of his travels throughout Russia as well as the generous
and kind people he met - that could fill volumes of books – all as a result
from the love of the art of photography and the photography exchange that
developed between the two cities.
You
too, can experience a small slice of Marrotte’s (and all the photographers’)
journeys throughout the past 30 years with the “Bridges of Friendship” exhibit.
In the photographs, you will not only see art – but if you look deeply enough,
you’ll also see history, friendship – and peace.
“The
exhibit is a visual connection between the two cities,” explained Marrotte.
“Both camera clubs agreed on the title of the exhibit as it came from an essay
written by a member of the Spolokhi Camera Club after Marrotte had visited
Archangel three times. The title of that essay was also, ‘Bridges of Friendship’,
and it reflected the photographer’s experience between the two countries.”
NOTE
OF INTEREST: The Portland Camera club has been a gathering of both amateur and
professional photographers in the Southern Maine area since 1899. For more
information, peruse their website at www.portlandcameraclub.org. The camera
club in Archangel, Spolokhi, was formed in 1980 by a General Physician who left
his practice to follow his calling of photography. “Spolokhi” translates to
“Northern Lights”.
