SEED-O-MATIC is an analog vending machine that dispenses seeds and the soil needed to grow them. A playful take on the fast food found in most vending machines, SEED-O-MATIC stocks snacks that require a few months to grow. The machine will be located outside of the Museum on the Colby campus and filled with varieties of lettuce, kale, and herbs supplied locally by Fedco Seeds. This interactive installation raises questions about agricultural biodiversity, seed saving, and access to fresh food in the twenty-first century.

Presented by Waterville Creates! in partnership with the Colby Museum, I Am Not a Stranger: Portraits by Séan Alonzo Harris will include approximately fifty new studio photographs of Waterville residents. The portraits will appear at Common Street Arts, the Colby Museum, the Waterville Public Library, Railroad Square Cinema, and the Waterville Opera House, as well as additional institutions and local businesses. The exhibition will be accompanied by a free brochure and foldout poster containing images, a city map marking the project’s exhibition sites, and excerpts from participant interviews. This major new work by Harris, an accomplished photographer who is new to Waterville but has lived and worked in Maine for over twenty years, aims to represent the people of Waterville, build bridges across difference, and create a platform for storytelling and community reflection rooted in our shared space.