October 25, 2023
Memorial and Archive

3-Year Commemoration Exhibit

Created through a collaboration with the Advanced Structures and Composites Center at the University of Maine Orono, these striking 3D-printed pumpkins will serve as a centerpiece of Maine MILL’s exhibition marking the third anniversary of the Lewiston shootings. Beautiful and poignant, the pumpkins symbolize remembrance, resilience, and community healing. Their innovative design reflects both the power of technology and the enduring human need to come together in moments of grief, reflection, and hope.

Background Information about Maine MILL’s Memorial Work

As our local history and culture museum, we believe it is important to preserve the community’s response to the tragic mass shooting that occurred in Lewiston on October 25, 2023. We are leading the cultural response to help memorialize the victims and honor the community, as we all seek to help people heal and become stronger together.

We worked with the City of Lewiston, the Lewiston-Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, and artist Tanja Hollander to collect memorial items (such as candles, Lewiston Strong signage, posters, hearts, love letters to family and friends) that were left outside of the shooting sites, Just-in-Time Recreation and Schemengee’s Bar and Grille, as well as on Lisbon Street and around the city. Maine MILL has documented and archived all of these objects, which are now housed in the museum’s collection. We continue to receive and archive memorial objects.

The museum has since created a memorial room within its new museum and is committed to having rotating objects on display within that room. Maine MILL is also taking oral histories of those that were directly impacted and of our community leaders. The one-year commemoration exhibit was created by local artists Tanja Hollander and Miia Zellner using all 261 plastic flower sleeves saved from the sites. The work was on view October 16, 2024 – September 13, 2025. The two-year commemoration exhibit, entitled “Familiar Faces” was conceived by artist Ian Trask using the bowling balls and pool balls saved from the sites. 

Photos courtesy of Tanja Hollander, Russ Dillingham, and Bret Woodard.