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Posted On: July 30th 2026, 09:00 pm
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Something burning a hole in your heart?
We’re proud to announce that at the 2026 Norway Maine Arts Festival on Saturday September 12th, artist, activist, and experience broker Adriane Herman will conduct her 7th Emotional Value Auction from 10am to 4pm on the historic Main Street of Norway, ME.
The Emotional Value Auction is a participatory artwork and non-monetized auction created and facilitated by Maine artist Adriane Herman. It is an exercise in mutually empathetic transactions between people without the ordeal of capital. Participants are invited to unburden themselves of deeply sentimental possessions that have become equally difficult to hold and to part with, whether they are haunted by passions tender or harsh.
At the Auction, attendees witness uniquely raw expressions of vulnerability through the stories behind each submitted item. They are then invited to “bid” on any item with their words and sentiments alone, sharing why they wish to engage in this exchange and what the item would mean to them. The item’s owner receives these bids and chooses whom they wish to entrust their possession based on whose words move them the most. Herman serves as a compassionate proxy throughout the exchange, releasing the owner of their item’s weight and passing it on to someone who will cherish it as the next steward in its story.
This occasion for emphatic release models accepting generosity without shame or expectation. It is an opportunity to bare ourselves to each other, to challenge, console, and participate. The Emotional Value Auction is a moment in which one story can end, another begins, and many others continue, transformed through care and the meaningful bonds we forge together through publicly shared vulnerability.
If there is something you are ready to let go of, email an image and description of the item, along with your reason for parting with it, to [email protected]. Once invited, you’ll receive instructions for dropping off your submission at Lights Out Gallery in Norway, ME by Saturday August 29th.
Join us at the 2026 Norway Maine Arts Festival to witness the power of witnessing!
We’re proud to announce that at the 2026 Norway Maine Arts Festival on Saturday September 12th, artist, activist, and experience broker Adriane Herman will conduct her 7th Emotional Value Auction from 10am to 4pm on the historic Main Street of Norway, ME.
The Emotional Value Auction is a participatory artwork and non-monetized auction created and facilitated by Maine artist Adriane Herman. It is an exercise in mutually empathetic transactions between people without the ordeal of capital. Participants are invited to unburden themselves of deeply sentimental possessions that have become equally difficult to hold and to part with, whether they are haunted by passions tender or harsh.
At the Auction, attendees witness uniquely raw expressions of vulnerability through the stories behind each submitted item. They are then invited to “bid” on any item with their words and sentiments alone, sharing why they wish to engage in this exchange and what the item would mean to them. The item’s owner receives these bids and chooses whom they wish to entrust their possession based on whose words move them the most. Herman serves as a compassionate proxy throughout the exchange, releasing the owner of their item’s weight and passing it on to someone who will cherish it as the next steward in its story.
This occasion for emphatic release models accepting generosity without shame or expectation. It is an opportunity to bare ourselves to each other, to challenge, console, and participate. The Emotional Value Auction is a moment in which one story can end, another begins, and many others continue, transformed through care and the meaningful bonds we forge together through publicly shared vulnerability.
If there is something you are ready to let go of, email an image and description of the item, along with your reason for parting with it, to [email protected]. Once invited, you’ll receive instructions for dropping off your submission at Lights Out Gallery in Norway, ME by Saturday August 29th.
Join us at the 2026 Norway Maine Arts Festival to witness the power of witnessing!
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