INCUBATING THE SEEDS

Armen began his project in Bath, Maine, which is about 35 miles north of Portland, but it proved not to be the community he needed for The 100 Carry Project. "I was definitely looking for a place to incubate these seeds, and Bath was quite difficult. It seemed like people were not ready for this kind of work - to embrace this kind of work. They were interested, but it was too - it was pushing their edges too far. And so I packed up and I was going to head out to California actually to try again." However, after Armen had a well-received performance at Open HeART Space, his intuition told him Portland might just be the place. "I found that the community has been very welcoming, and I’ve received more help and support than I ever have before. And what I like about Portland is that it is a city...but it’s not as big and infamous or famous or dense as Boston or New York, so there is a lot of room for this kind of stuff to grow and a lot of room for Portland to put itself on the map for that reason." He feels that the time is right for a project of this nature saying people in Portland's neighborhoods, particularly on Munjoy Hill in the East End, are interested in collaborative creativity. Of the dozens of shops on The Hill, the influence of art is evident through the galleries, locally made clothing and furniture boutiques, and coffee and music cafes in just this one part of town. Armen feels this is why Portland can impact and sustain The 100 Carry Project. "These projects are kind of sparking all of these people into action and things are coming together in a very wonderful way, so I feel really good about my choice."