WATERVILLE, February 2017 — Waterville native Michael Libby will speak at Thomas College on his artistic response to the opiate crisis, addiction, and its impact on families through his personal and creative experience on March 15 at 7 p.m. in the Ayotte Auditorium at Thomas College. This event is free, open to the public and includes a reception afterward.
Libby, 58, was born in Waterville, Maine, the oldest child of Richard and Ann Libby. Over 20 years, he lost three of four siblings to drug and alcohol related deaths: Stephen (Reno), 33; Sarah, 42; and Matthew, 42. Reno died of a heroin overdose on December 18, 1992.
Libby earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in
Painting from the University of Southern Maine (USM) in 1992. He is a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor presently matriculated in a Master of Science degree program for Psychiatric Rehabilitation Counseling at USM’s School of Education. He founded The Sacred and Profane at Battery Steel, Peaks Island, an annual art event approaching its 22nd consecutive year. In 2013, he founded The Open Studio Project in Lewiston, a community-based social justice program. He continues to create, predominantly as a painter.
“On Getting High: Mapping Addiction at Home”, his installation of paintings, tapestry and mixed media, was presented at the Oak Street Gallery in Portland in December.
At Thomas College, Greg Boardman will accompany Libby’s presentation on the Steel Cello.
Greg Boardman is a musical artist based in Lewiston, where he curates a free weekly recital at Trinity Church called the Oasis of Music, runs a free monthly family contra dance, plays in the church band at Trinity and teaches strings in the Lewiston Public Schools, grades 4-8. Boardman has recorded several albums of traditional fiddle music and song as well as his own compositions in the traditional New England style. Other musical projects include a recording of improvisations for cross-tuned viola and crystal bowl, appearances with Michel Libby featuring poetry and steel cello, and a Somali-American band with singer-songwriter and oud player Hadith Bani Adam and percussionist Ness Smith-Davidoff. His latest recording, an LP on vinyl, is a collection of songs and instruments entitled La frontière est morte.