PORTLAND — What was once a small exhibit in the stacks at the University of Southern Maine’s Glickman Family Library has ballooned into a 1,500-square-foot space with tall ceilings and a courtyard that recently entertained nearly 500 people.

The suite on Commercial Street in the heart of the Old Port is the new home of the Maine Museum of Photographic Arts.

Museum director and curator Denise Froehlich said this spring’s move was a major win for the institution, which was established in 2010 as Maine’s only dedicated photography museum.

Prior to the move, the museum had been leasing a much smaller location on Middle Street, which Froehlich said made it harder to augment the space for the organization’s needs and to secure larger donations.

Then, last fall, the museum suffered a flood caused by a leaking water heater on the floor above.

“We lost art. We lost books. You name it, we lost it,” Froehlich said.

After closing for a few months and assessing the extent of the damages, Froehlich realized the museum needed a new space.

WHAT THE NEW HOME OFFERS

The new Commercial Street address offers the museum many upsides: It’s weather-tight, it’s bigger, it’s in one of the most visible parts of the city and, importantly, it was one of the cheapest places up for sale.

The museum purchased Suite E at 387 Commercial St. for just over $437,000, according to city tax assessor records. Froehlich said the purchase was funded via donations. The museum raised $800,000 through a capital campaign and now has its sights set on a $4 million goal.

Froehlich, the museum’s only salaried employee, receives part-time and volunteer help to run the organization, which also maintains an advisory borad.

At first, the new space was nondescript and bare.

“It was a vanilla box, which means kind of like a weathertight shell,” Froehlich said. “All the walls around just were done, but the interior, we were on the dirt floor or sand floor.” 

So Froehlich and her crew of volunteers started renovations, and within two months, they transformed the space into a chic gallery capable of promoting some of Maine’s most talented photographers. Overseeing the space’s renovation, and coordinating the many contractors and builders needed, has been a major undertaking.

“It’s like running a carnival,” Froehlich said.

Froehlich said owning the space is helping the museum to attract bigger donors. And more room means more people can attend the museum’s public programming. 

At the old 600-square-foot space on Middle Street, public events often meant playing musical chairs as crowds exceeded seating capacity.

“When we had an event, at the halfway point, I would make people who had sat down stand up, and the other people would get the chairs,” Froehlich said. “We literally couldn’t fit more than maybe 50 people into an event.”

In contrast, the museum’s opening ceremony for the new space this month hosted hundreds of guests for an electric evening.

“It just changes everything,” Froehlich said. “The venue, the location changes everything.” 

WHAT’S NEXT

The growth of the museum’s collection was a major factor prompting the move and the capital campaign, Froehlich said. 

“We haven’t yet been able to fully showcase (our collection) or utilize it as an educational tool,” she explained. “The new space will enable us to share these treasures, content and historical contexts with the public in a dedicated gallery.”

Froelich is optimistic about reaching her donation goal. The museum is in talks with major donors, although Froehlich said she could not yet share their identities. 

“My goal is that someday when I retire, I pass the baton on to a younger person who has my position — and money in the bank,” she said. 

The museum is planning two upcoming exhibits scheduled from Aug. 7 to Oct. 3.

One will include a work titled “Holy Cow,” a monograph made by Gorham photographer Melonie Bennett.

The other exhibit, “Investigations into the Metaphysical,” features 14 artists from Maine and across the U.S. and focuses on material-based work. That exhibit was inspired by Giorgio Morandi (1890–1964), an Italian artist known for his metaphysical still-life paintings, Froehlich said.

The museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is no cost to visit, but donations are welcomed.