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Biddeford, Maine

SWAGƵ Campus Center exhibits oceanic paintings by Maine artist Krisanne Baker

Painting of plankton by Krisanne Baker
Krisanne Baker. "Reef Guardians: Black Tipped Reef Sharks with Critically Endangered Elkhorn Coral."
40 x 62 inches. Oil and phosphorescent pigments on canvas.

An exhibition of artwork by is on display at the SWAGƵ’s Biddeford Campus Center now through May 7. The exhibit, “A Sci-Art Homage to Ocean Preservation,” showcases a series of works depicting phytoplankton and other marine life with the intent of advocating for cleaner oceans.

Baker is currently an art and ecology educator at Medomak Valley High School. A lifelong advocate for the planet’s oceans, she holds a Master of Fine Arts in ecological arts from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design.

A national and international exhibitor and speaker, Baker is the recipient of many awards, including the Japan Memorial Fund Fulbright, a 2019 International Bow Seat Innovative Ocean Educator Award, a Women’s Caucus for the Arts United Nations Ocean Advocacy Award, and fellowships in Italy to Texas and the Isles of Shoals.

Baker’s work concerns water quality, availability, and rights, both locally and globally, and she aims to inspire ocean stewardship. Her research, teaching, and studio practice intertwine as water advocacy, and she is often overheard saying, “Water is life.” To that end, her students learn compassion and social justice for those who have no voice, and that water gives life to both humans and the creatures who inhabit it.

Many of Baker’s paintings of plankton are imbued with phosphorescent pigments to convey the natural bioluminescence of each living organism, giving the paintings a luminous glow in the dark. This practice, she said, follows with her fascination of research on plankton, coral reefs, the ecology of aquatic bodies, and what she describes as “the ocean connections to our human beginnings.”

“These planktonic gems feed the planet and give us the breath of life,” Baker remarked. “Our future depends on their wondrous light in a protected ocean.”

Baker's work is represented by Elizabeth Moss Galleries of Falmouth and Portland, Maine.

“A Sci-Art Homage to Ocean Preservation” is free and open to the public. Masks are optional indoors for visitors to SWAGƵ’s campuses. The Campus Center is located at 11 Hills Beach Road, Biddeford, Maine. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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The SWAGƵ is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.