Local Spotlight: Larry Weyand

Canadian-born textile artist Larry Weyand is wrapping up a decade in Newfoundland to take on a new position as Art of Biddeford’s first program director.

“Given that I have such a connection to Biddeford, it just felt really right to come back and take care of the community that I feel so connected to,” Weyand, who uses they/she pronouns, said.

Biddeford’s history as a textile leader directly impacts Weyand’s work as an artist. Though the last mill closed in 2009, the structures remain, and some have been redeveloped. The intertwining of their personal history and the history of the city itself artistically inspires Weyand. They said it just feels natural to rug hook, quilt and weave around these beautiful buildings.

Art of Biddeford is a project of Heart of Biddeford, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the economic development and quality of life in downtown Biddeford.

“I love that Larry is a practicing artist, a teaching artist,” said Heart of Biddeford’s Executive Director Delilah Poupore.

For the past seven years, Weyand taught visual arts at Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada. After their contract ran out, they accepted their current position at Art of Biddeford, a program designed to connect the community through art. As they prepared to make their big move to Maine, Weyand talked with Saco Bay News about their connection to Biddeford and the arts.

Weyand’s mother was a college professor, and her  career granted her time off in the warmer months. During these months, the whole family would visit Maine, but it wasn’t a vacation for everyone. Weyand’s father would go from working odd jobs in Canada to fixing boats on the Saco River.

Even though they grew up in Montreal, Weyand is recognized as a local on the streets of Biddeford.

“It’s so funny because I’ll be walking down the street and people will be like, are you part of the Weyand family,” she said.

The family established themselves in Biddeford generations ago.

“My dad worked at Rumery’s Boat Yard for decades,” said Weyand. Their great-great-grandmother Estelle Morris Tatterson was a local journalist, teacher and activist. Tatterson wrote a weekly column published in The Biddeford Journal from 1926 to1933.

When Weyand interviewed at Art of Biddeford, they were asked what kind of exhibition they would do to showcase the history of the city, its mills and workers.

“Funny you ask,” said Weyand. Nine years ago, they executed their first solo art show in the United States, and it fit that exact criterion.

On display at the former Engine gallery in downtown Biddeford in 2017, Weyand’s multimedia installation “Biddeford-Montreal” invited locals and visitors to cozy-up with their art. Attendees were able to sit in upcycled furniture, take-in dioramas and listen to stories from millworkers collected during sit-down interviews. Weyand paired those conversations with anecdotes from Montreal, illustrating their French heritage and the long Franco-American connection in Biddeford.

Engine’s gallery on Main Street closed in 2023, and Weyand said there is a need and want for physical gallery space in downtown Biddeford. Filling this gap is a long-term goal for Weyand.

As for short-term goals, Weyand’s priority is to create paid opportunities for artists. “That's really important to me because that creates a really sustainable arts economy that isn't based on this pay-to-play model where you actually have to pay in order to get exposure,” Weyand said. Making sure artists selected for the Fringe Festival will receive an honorarium, or fee to exhibit their work is one way Weyand is already helping artists get paid. 

Once Biddeford has a more sustainable economy for artists, it will help the local economy at large stay healthy, according to Weyand. And they hope momentum and community backing will lead to opening the doors of a physical gallery space.

Weyand takes the pulse of the Biddeford art scene by connecting and communicating one-on-one with artists and others. “I'm very caffeinated,” they said, “I have been going out for coffee with lots of people.”

Weyand claims the people she’s meeting with are saying they want more arts, events, talks and professional development. Weyand wants to fill the void and bring Biddeford arts to the next level. The progress made over just a few weeks presented itself while Weyand updated the Art Walk map.

Weyand ran out of space on the Art Walk map, because participation nearly doubled since last year.

“We had to do two different sides to the map in May. We had a whole side dedicated to studios inside the mills this time, which was huge, as we don't normally get mill participation,” said Weyand, “A win for me for sure.”

Because they can be hard to navigate, the mills traditionally get overlooked, and Weyand wants to change that. Over the next few Art Walks, they will be focused on featuring artists in the mills.

“Artists don’t just exist on Main Street,” said Weyand.

This August, a portion of Washington Street will shut down to host Fringe Fest, a free arts festival coordinated by Weyand. The theme this year is Cabinet of Curiosities. They encourage artists and businesses to sign up for Art of Biddeford’s newsletter, which lists opportunities for engagement.

The listing closest to Weyand’s heart is funded by the Biddeford Youth Arts Scholarship Fund. Two mothers teamed up with Heart of Biddeford to fundraise for children who want to take art classes. Children are paired with local art studios, dance studios and after-school programs. Last year, every child who applied received a scholarship to the program they wanted.

“I'm just so stoked to be able to go back and just be a textile artist in a textile town,” said Weyand.

To learn more about Friday’s Art Walk, click here.

Amanda Carter is a Community Reporting Fellow receiving training through the Journalism New England Career Lab to do civic reporting that provides people in towns across New England with the information they need to be engaged in their community.