Raise the Roof

Lights Out Gallery’s mission is to connect artists and their circles to a broader community. We show emerging and established artists alongside one another to encourage conversation, collaboration, and camaraderie.

The importance of the “Raise the Roof" capital campaign to the entire mission of Lights Out Gallery, and to the community arts center we are creating cannot be stressed enough. Even before the actual purchase of the building, the Lights Out crew has been hard at work creating video interviews of over 75 artists in Maine, making connections with artists, art lovers, and supporters, and building excitement over a community centered at this location and with this enterprise. With overwhelming volunteer support, we have fixed the foundation and set the stage for the next phases of the project. With foundational support, we are close to completing the beautiful and inspiring dance studio, which will be open for use soon.

We are currently threatened existentially by the state of our roof, now composed more of rust than metal. Our crew and volunteers have spent many hours slathering the roof with sealant, an effective but ultimately futile labor to stave off leaks until the winter, allowing us to hold this very special fundraising event of “Little Sparks” with the blessings of the fire department and the code enforcement office. We have been granted temporary occupancy for the duration of the show, and viewers can be assured that the artwork is safe. However, this is a temporary victory.

We need our roof replaced in order to continue this important work. It is critical to the survival of this building complex and to the eventual full granting of occupancy that the roof be completed, even before the replacement of windows, the building of new ADA-compliant bathrooms, and all of the other projected improvements which we have outlined in our plan.

Donations of time, expertise, and money by interested parties have taken us this far, combined with our own maniacal drive and talents. We can’t fix the roof with these assets alone. It will take a significant push to complete this vital next step so that we can continue our work – for Lights Out Gallery, and for the entire Western Maine community – to create a lasting, vibrant living center for artistic expression and ongoing economic growth for the area.

Please commit to being a part of this exciting new chapter in the story of Western Maine by supporting this campaign! We thank you.