Over the next five years and beyond, the Rising Tides Campaign will transform the Tides Institute & Museum of Art (TIMA) into a vastly more substantial wide ranging regional cross-border cultural institution. TIMA will become a much stronger cultural anchor and catalyst for the eastern coast of Maine long into the future. We will become a more expanded, more robust and more established new kind of cultural institution that the region has never had before. With a focus on art, but also integrating history, historic preservation, architecture, community and regional revitalization, TIMA will even more reflect the cultures of our region (U.S., Canada and the Passamaquoddy) as well as its connections to the broader world. We will remain as interested in fostering new work as well preserving and interpreting older work, but at a heightened level. This transformation represents a rare opportunity of a century which if missed might not occur again for a very long time. Building on 20 years of experience and solid track record since TIMA’s founding with its broad, innovative and strategic efforts, TIMA will become an even more significant sustaining force to impact and strengthen our region and its cultural and economic well-being.
THE 6 GOALS OF THE CAMPAIGN ARE:
1. Give new life to an architectural heritage;
2. Restore a lost cultural legacy;
3. Strengthen U.S./Canada cultural ties;
4. Engage new audiences;
5. Expand artist opportunities; and
6. Develop a downtown creative triangle
The restoration and redevelopment of the historic 1887 Masonic Building is a key piece of the campaign to transform TIMA. It will provide the appropriate spaces to allow TIMA to tell and preserve the story of the cultural legacy of this region for the first time through its remarkable collections. TIMA’s collections represent the largest and most significant cultural collections along the eastern coast of Maine. From historical to contemporary, from the 18th century to today, the collections have a particular focus on art, broadly conceived, but also have strong interests with architecture and history. The collections focus on the U.S./Canada northeast coast with connections to the broader world. More about these collections can be found here: Tides Collections.
TIMA’s vision for the Masonic Building is to develop multi-use spaces brimming with activity including the area local foods restaurant/cafe on the ground floor along with a museum entrance, lobby and climate controlled exhibition cabinet displays, an expanded climate controlled exhibition space on the second floor to better share TIMA’s remarkable and diverse cultural collections that reflect the area’s rich cultural legacy and works from elsewhere in the world, and to develop expanded climate controlled collection storage space in the rear attached warehouse of the building to house TIMA’s irreplaceable collections alongside working cubicles. The redeveloped Masonic Building will join two other nearby TIMA downtown buildings (StudioWorks with studios for TIMA’s national and international artist-in-residence program and a revamped TIMA Headquarters building) to form a synergetic Creative Triangle.
Machado-Silvetti architects of Boston, Massachusetts was have been selected in early 2022 to develop plans for a transformed Masonic Building. Two short video walkthroughs of their plans can be seen below.
Currently, redevelopment efforts of the Masonic Building are focused on completing the stablization of the building through the rebuilding and restoration of the upper front second and third floor damaged brick masonry wall and installing a missing replica copper cornice on the front of the building between the first and second floors. Work on this final stabilization piece began in November 2021 and is expected to be completed by the spring of 2023.
A recent major grant award will help with additional redevelopment steps for the Masonic Building over the next several years. These additional steps include a required fire suppressant sprinkler system, new kitchen, new heating system, new elevator, new windows and new climate controlled exhibition and collection spaces. TIMA is required to match the recent grant award with over $1 million in private funds. The full completion of the redevelopment of the Masonic Building will require additional funding as well.
Follow this link to view the floor plans for the Masonic Building’s redevelopment: Floor Plans
Follow this link for the history and rescue of the Masonic Building: History & Rescue