Six artists. Ten days. Tons of Stone.

The new dates for the Hallowell Granite Symposium are September 11-19, 2021.

The Hallowell Granite Symposium is a joint project of the city of Hallowell’s Arts and Cultural Committee, Vision Hallowell and the Maine Stone Workers Guild that will bring the art of stone carving back to Hallowell to educate and engage our citizenry, and reintroduce granite sculpture to our public spaces as permanent public art that reflects back on Hallowell’s history for current and future generations. Other key partners include Stevens Commons, Historic Hallowell Committee, and the Vaughan Woods & Historic Homestead.

September 2021 at Stevens Commons

The Hallowell Granite Symposium is bringing together diverse groups: artisans, historians, city officials and committees, to commemorate Maine’s bicentennial by connecting to Hallowell’s unique past. The event will feature an illustrated timeline of the history of the city depicting the introduction, expansion and ultimate decline of the granite industry to be displayed in a special history booth at the symposium along with tools and other artifacts from the granite industry. One well known example of historic

Sculpture by Mark Herrington

Hallowell granite workers’ skill is the “National Monument to the Forefathers”, a large scale sculpture located in Plymouth, Massachusetts. “Faith”, the central female figure is 36 feet tall and took a full year to carve in the Hallowell granite yards in the 1880s. One can imagine Hallowell citizens visiting regularly to watch Faith emerge from a massive block of granite. The Hallowell Granite Symposium will offer an echo of that experience to citizens today, providing the public with opportunities to have fun, interact with artists, learn about the art of stone carving and its role in shaping Maine’s first 200 years and the city of Hallowell.

About Maine Stone Workers Guild

The mission of the Maine Stone Workers Guild is to recognize and encourage excellence in stonework and to educate the community to the value of its members and resources.
The Maine Stone Workers Guild promotes the services and products of its membership and supports the growth of quality stonework and stoneworkers. For more information visit
http://mainestoneworkersguild.org/ .

Maine200

Hallowell Granite Symposium is supported by a generous grant from Maine’s Bicentennial Commission. For more information visit https://www.maine200.org/.

You can donate here directly to our Vision Hallowell Paypal account to help purchase the beautiful sculptures, Bloom and Flowing Through for our town.

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Local sculptor Jon Doody demonstrates tools for carving granite on site at Stevens Commons last May. Photo by Deb Fahy

Our Artists

10 Days of carving you won’t want to miss.