Welcome to Hogfish

Hogfish is committed to inclusivity and accessibility. If you are interested in attending one of our events and cannot afford it or have accessibility needs, please contact us and we will be happy to assist you.
All are welcome at all of our events.

Between the Sea & ME

A grief ritual for modern humans

Sunday, April 6th
12-4pm

The Wells Reserve at Laudholm
Wells, ME

This event, and the sliding scale ticket pricing to make it accessible to our community (tickets start at $10), is made possible by a generous grant from the Onion Foundation as well as our partner and host site, the beautiful Wells Reserve at Laudholm.

ABOUT

There is a lot of grief working its way through the world at large right now as well as right here in our own local community - grief as well as anger, fear, anxiety, exhaustion, and numbness, to name a few other feelings.

Division in our discourse mirrors division in our news sources, in our own minds and bodies, in our families and friendships, and in our experience of the very land that supports all of us.

So we do something new that is actually very old - we call for a grief ritual to help our community process what it is experiencing and re-connect to what is important and life-giving. We come together so we can reconnect with each other. We reconnect with our breath and our bodies, with our emotions. We reconnect with our voices by journaling and sharing, by singing and dancing. And we reconnect to the land we are blessed to call home with a final ritual on the beach at beautiful Wells Reserve.

This event will include:

• the chance for you to share a place that is important to you through a photo or story

• poetry and song

• an invocation to the unseen world through spoken word and drumming

• time to grieve and have that grieving witnessed and held

• grounding somatic movement practices to help us find deep support as we unwind and soften the bracing in our bodies

• the creation of a beautiful shrine

• micro-rituals of guided writing practices that include an opportunity to share and witness in small groups

• A closing shamanic ritual on the beach by the ocean

• dancing together to let our feelings move through us and back into the world

Robin Wall Kimmerer writes, “If grief can be a doorway to love, then let us all weep for the world we are breaking apart so we can love it back to wholeness again.’"

WHO IS THIS EVENT FOR?

• People who are deeply concerned for the current state of the world and what can be done in our community

• People who are experiencing feelings of loneliness and disconnect from community

• People who are experiencing feelings of disconnect from the land and all the support the physical world has to offer

• People who are experiencing feelings of sadness, grief, anger, anxiety, fear, numbness, pain, or overall disconnect

• People who are looking for ways to process their feelings

• People who are looking to build community with others who share similar feelings

• People who work in ecology and/or well-being and would like support in their work and the interconnections between ecology and well-being

WHAT DO WE HOPE YOU WILL TAKE AWAY FROM THIS EXPERIENCE?

• Awareness of the power and importance of gathering as a community to witness and express deep feelings

• Respect and gratitude for grief and other deep feelings and the important role they plays in our lives

• Approaches for navigating and comfort with processing grief and other deep feelings individually and as a community

• Recognition that we are not alone in bearing these feelings

Facilitators

ABOUT HOGFISH

The climate is changing. Temperatures and tensions are rising in our environment, our communities, and ourselves. Industrialization and the digital world have lifted billions out of poverty, and yet, with the rise of wealth has also come the rise of inequality, toxic carbon levels, fraught public discourse, and sedentary lifestyles. Hogfish is inspired by heroes, sung and unsung, working to restore wellness to global, social, and personal realms.

Hogfish believes that applying the principles of regenerative agriculture to the arts provides a unique opportunity to holistically restore every layer of the human experience. We are on a quest to build an artistic sanctuary and body of work to restore a healthier dynamic balance between our planet, the stories we tell, and the way we live.

ABOUT THE VENUE

The Wells Reserve at Laudholm is dedicated to understanding, protecting, and restoring coastal ecosystems through research, stewardship, environmental learning, and community outreach. As a public-private partnership between the federally-supported Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Maine nonprofit Laudholm Trust, together, we promote science, education, and conservation around the Gulf of Maine, maintain restored historic buildings, and steward protected wildlife habitats. The reserve is open every day from 7amto sunset for outdoor recreation, with seven miles of trails and many public programs. Learn more at wellsreserve.org.

Portland, ME
A New Kind of Regenerative Artist Residency

A unique, holistic
Regenerative Artist Residency

We are creating a holistic retreat for performing artists to connect with themselves, their community, and the land to regenerate their creative fire and change the world. We seek to empower and commission the next generation of diverse artistic voices across disciplines to tell stories that regenerate creative and physical health to their bodies, their communities, and their planet.

All Hogfish artists-in-REsidence receive performance opportunities, education, travel, housing, and a Stipend.

There is no fee to apply and no age limit. We actively seek performers of all disciplines (acting, singing, dance, instrumental), styles, ages, body shapes and abilities, gender & sexuality expressions, and ethnic backgrounds.

Find out more.

Partners & Season Sponsors

Great people
& organizations

We are honored to be making art for, with, and among an incredible community of people and organizations. Thank you to our major partners & sponsors for the summer 2025 regenerative arts residency and season!