Firefly the Hybrid, center, one of this year’s grant recipients, created an immersive light display for his April 2022 concert at Mayo Street Arts in Portland. The musician was joined onstage by fellow Penobscot artists Donna Decontie-Brown, left, and Ana Rapp. Photo courtesy of Mayo Street Arts

A drummer from Rwanda, an Arabic calligrapher and a Ukrainian folk painter are among the nine artists who were awarded $1,000 grants this month from a Mayo Street Arts program that supports Maine immigrants who practice art forms from their countries of origin.

This is the third year the Portland arts center has awarded grants through its Traditional Arts Network program, which also provides professional development to artists who have just arrived in Maine by connecting them to other artists and supplying resources like rehearsal and performance space, free of charge.

Yuliia Derkach with one of her paintings. She paints in the Ukrainian folk style of painting, called “Petrykivsky” painting. Photo courtesy of Yullia Derkach

Yuliia Derkach, who lives in Auburn with her husband and daughter, works in a dental clinic and paints in her free time. With the money she received, she will be able to frame her Ukrainian folk art paintings.

“This was my first application,” Derkach said. “The process was very easy and clear. I am happy and excited to have the funding.”

Mayo Street Executive Director Ian Bannon said the program’s definition of traditional arts is broad.

“There’s no way to name it in a single sentence, but folk and traditional arts are rooted in and reflective of the communities from which they grow,” Bannon said. “Those communities are self-defined, and these art forms are a means of identification with communities. They are constantly changing as they serve the life of that community, they are passed down typically through families and social bonds and interactions.”

Applications for the grants have increased over time, from eight in 2022, the program’s first year, to 24 this year – an indication that word is spreading.

Mayo Street Arts is a community and arts center with a gallery, studio, teaching spaces and a stage located in Portland’s East Bayside neighborhood – the most ethnically diverse and densely populated square mile in all of Maine. Though puppetry often takes center stage at Mayo Street, its leaders have put work into expanding its focus on traditional art.

“New Mainer artists have arrived bearing absolutely astounding cultural and artistic heritage from their countries of origin, but don’t necessarily know where they could go to practice that here,” Bannon said. “We aren’t really educating them as much as trying to help them tap into systems that exist here in Maine and eliminating barriers to access that they might encounter as they reestablish themselves as creative individuals here.”

Guinean drummer Namory Keita performs at the Traditional Arts Network gathering at Mayo Street Arts in 2021. Photo by Lin Worry, courtesy of Mayo Street Arts

Mayo Street held its first Traditional Arts Network gathering in December of 2021. About 40 artists showed up and discussed obstacles they faced in Maine as immigrants, like finding child care or jobs, and hardships they experienced in continuing to pursue their art.

“What we see when people come together is an identification with each other as kindred spirits, as creatives, and we see these beautiful moments that happen,” Bannon said. “In both of our gatherings that we’ve held, one artist has been performing, and another artist has just sprung to their feet and started to dance – these joyful exuberant outbursts.”

In 2020, founder and then-executive director of Mayo Street, Blainor McGough, and Kathleen Mundell, director of Cultural Resources, a nonprofit that supports local culture in communities, wrote a proposal for the Traditional Arts Network Fund to the National Endowment for the Arts. Mundell said that was essential to getting the network up and running.

Artist Maurice Habimfura is a dancer and drummer from Rwanda. He came to the U.S. in 2014 and connected with Mayo Street Arts in 2015. He received a $1,000 grant from the fund last year, and it helped his group find rehearsal space and new materials for their performances.

Agnes Mukakalisa, left, and Maurice Habimfura perform a traditional Rwandan song. Mukakalisa is a 2024 recipient of a TAN Fund award, and Habimfura received an award in 2023. Photo by Tim Greenway

“Mayo Street is a place where immigrants can find refuge. It’s a place where we get hope. Life in America as immigrants, it’s chaos,” he said. “In that chaos, we go to Mayo Street to escape.”

Habimfura referenced how Mayo Street provides free rehearsal space to artists who need it, and how they do not charge money for many of their services to new Mainers.

“When you call Mayo Street, they’re like, ‘Come, talk. Let’s see what is available so we can help you,’ ” he said. “It’s huge.”

Clarisse Karasira is a traditional artist from Rwanda who works with Mayo Street. She bases her songs around Rwandan traditional music mixed with modern music, and her songs focus on messages of peace, unity and love. She began singing professionally in 2018 and came to Saco in 2021. It was then that Mayo Street Arts helped her launch her album, “Bakundwa.”

With the grant money she received last year, she prepared an album launch with a concert. Mayo Street helped her to secure a free venue for the concert and let her sell tickets through its website. It also provided staff on the day of her concert to help with ushering and safety.

“I am indebted to their dedication and selflessness towards my music and the music of other talented people,” she said. “Especially those from immigrant communities.”

She called the album release and concert a dream project.

“They are always there for me, they are always there for artists,” she said. “Wherever I go to perform, I see one of the team there to support. They are really passionate about art.”

“I don’t have much to give them back, but they help us and help me personally to grow,” Habimfura said. “They know what artists have to do to flourish.”

2024 TRADITIONAL ARTS NETWORK FUND RECIPIENTS

Anges Mukakalisa: Teaching children Rwandan drumming to preserve cultural heritage.
Clarisse Karasira: Recording an album of Rwandan and African traditional songs.
Gloire Ilonde Eale Bolele: Creating a series of artworks to promote cultural dialogue around Congolese Urban Arts.
Firefly The Hybrid: Creating a music video for the song “River,” celebrating the Penobscot River and calling attention to pollution and other issues it faces.
Kifah Abdulla: Conducting a series of public workshops on Arabic calligraphy.
Oga Suya LLC: Growing a Nigerian barbecue business.
Orson Horchler: Recording some of the 400 traditional Albanian songs gathered by folklorist and accordionist Ylli Brekofca.
Veeva Banga: Teaching a blend of traditional and contemporary dance to young students from Congo, Tanzania and Zande.
Yuliia Derkach: Preparing a series of Ukrainian folk art paintings for an arts festival.