Reached late on Saturday, Michael Bourque, president of the Children's Theatre of Maine, said the merger between the nation's oldest children's theater and the Children's Museum of Maine is the best solution for the theater's financial woes.

"It provides a future for the mission of the organization, and strengthens both organizations," said Bourque, who helped navigate the theater through a financial morass that almost saw the theater shutter its operations for good.

The merger became official earlier in December, and Bourque said he is thrilled with the outcome.

"It pleases me, it pleases our board, and the people who have been loyal to the theater for a number of years are pleased, as well," he said.

The new organization will be known as the Children's Museum and Theatre of Maine. The museum took the theater under its wings in 2007, allowing the theater to present plays in the basement of the museum after the theater gave up is rented home on Marginal Way at the end of 2006.

With the merger now official, the museum's executive director, Suzanne Olson, said the organization will consider an expansion of its Free Street building that would provide dedicated space for theater productions.

Lots of interesting art stories cross my desk. Some relate to Maine, including this one about Jerilea Zempel.

As the story articulates, she was displeased with her recent experience crossing the border at Houlton.

The Portland Symphony Orchestra will sell its remaining stock of tickets to "Magic of Christmas" for $25, the orchestra announced Monday.

The orchestra received an anonymous gift, enabling it to drop ticket prices for the approximately 4,000 tickets still available for the remaining eight "Magic" concerts at Merrill Auditorium.

Merrill seats about 1,800 people.

Tickets originally cost between $25 and $55.

The gift was in direct response to the current recession, said Gordon Gayer, president of the orchestra's board of trustees.

"This generous donation allows us to continue our efforts to make 'Magic of Christmas,' and all our concerts, as accessible as possible to our entire community," Gayer said in a statement.

"With this donation, we are able to do that, while still ensuring income that is so critical to the PSO's survival. During this time when people are so concerned about the economy, now everyone has an opportunity to come and experience the gift of great music and holiday cheer."

Tickets to all shows are available through PortTix, the box office at Merrill Auditorium.

Bruce Hangen, who helped launch "Magic of Christmas" 29 years ago, is conducting this year's concerts.

Remaining concert times are 2 and 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday.

For tickets call 842-0800 or visit www.porttix.com.

The Portland Museum of Art on Monday named Margaret Burgess as the new associate curator of modern and European art.

Burgess will oversee the presentation and development of the museum's collection of 19th- and 20th-century European art, including the Joan Whitney Payson Collection, the Scott M. Black Collection and the Albert Otten Collection. Burgess will join the staff in January.

"We are delighted to have Margaret Burgess join the museum's curatorial staff," acting director and chief curator Tom Denenberg said in a press release. "Meg is thoughtful, enthusiastic, and will bring great energy to the museum's European art exhibitions and programs."

Burgess has worked as a research fellow at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and as an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation curatorial fellow at the Cleveland Museum of Art. She has also held positions at Buckingham Palace, London; the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, England; the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy; and the Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.

She has contributed to several exhibitions, books and other publications, including: "Sargent and the Sea" (2009), "Barcelona & Modernity: Picasso, Gaudí, Miró, Dalí" (2006), "Monet in Normandy" (2006), "Cleveland Art" (2003-05), "British Pictures, 1840-1940" (1999) and "Transformations in Cleveland Art, 1796-1946" (1996).

She earned her doctoral in British and American art and art criticism, and her master's in 19th-century French painting from the University of Oxford, England. She has an undergraduate degree in Art History from Stanford University.

Burgess joins the museum's curatorial staff, which includes: Denenberg; Susan Danly, curator of graphics, photography and contemporary art; and Sage Lewis, curatorial coordinator.

Meanwhile, the museum's search for a new executive director continues, with a handful of top candidates targeted for interviews. No timetable has been set for hiring a new executive director.

Several Maine arts groups received funding this week from the National Endowment for the Arts worth a total of $190,500.

They include:

Bates Dance Festival, Lewiston, $20,000: To support artists residencies as part of the 2009 festival. Bates Dance Festival Building a Global Dance Community will include the Bebe Miller Company, Battleworks, Tania Isaac Dance, Kate Weare Company and Camille Brown.

American Folk Festival on the Bangor Waterfront, $30,000: To support the 2009 festival. Successor to the National Folk Festival, the event will present more than 150 traditional musicians, dancers and craftspeople.

Alice James Books, Farmington, $35,000: To support the publication and promotion of books of poetry. The selected poets will also read from their works at venues around the country.

Maine International Film Festival, Waterville, $7,500: To support the Youth Film Program. The curated film series includes screenings for local schools, summer youth programs, and children and families; the Maine Student Film & Video Festival; and special events and workshops.

Abbe Museum, Bar Harbor, $8,000: To support education programming and community outreach activities associated with the exhibition "Twisted Path: Contemporary Native Artists Walking in Two Worlds." The series of programs addresses how artistic expressions by American Indian artists reflect the challenges American Indian face in contemporary American society.

Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, $25,000: To support the touring exhibition "Beyond Love: Robert Indiana and the Star of Hope Lodge," with accompanying catalog. The exhibition will be drawn almost exclusively from the artist's collection at the lodge on Vinalhaven.

Portland Symphony Orchestra, $10,000: To support a concert program featuring the performance of "Sabar: Concerto for Senegalese Drummers and Orchestra" by James DeMars. Directed by music director and musicologist Robert Moody, the season finale concert will be presented in the Merrill Auditorium.

PCA Great Performances, Portland, $15,000: To support the presentation of dance, music and culturally-specific works. Each of the presentations will be accompanied by public events such as discussions, lectures, workshops, master classes and open rehearsals.

Portland Stage Company, $15,000: To support the development and production of "Out of Sterno" by Deborah Zoe Laufer, with accompanying educational activities. Executive and Artistic Director Anita Stewart and Literary Manager/Education Manager Daniel Burson will participate in the final development process of the play.

Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, $15,000: To support a residency program for emerging visual artists. Artists will be provided with a private studio, full room and board, and weekly private and group critiques by a faculty of leading professional artists.

Five Rivers Arts Alliance, Brunswick, $10,000: To support the promotion of arts and cultural activities in Southern Midcoast Maine. The Five Rivers Arts Alliance will work in partnership with the Maine Office of Tourism and cultural organizations such as the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Chocolate Church Arts Center and Maine Fiberarts to promote cultural activities in the region's 12 mid-coast communities.

The list of openings for museum directors in Maine keeps getting longer.

The Ogunquit Museum of American Art announced on Monday that executive director and curator Michael Culver is leaving the museum.

In a letter to the museum staff and docents, Michael Kenslea, president of the board of directors, said, "After 25 years of service to the museum, we will certainly miss Michael. Looking ahead we have new challenges and opportunities and we hope that you will all be part of an exciting future for the museum."

The museum is closed for the season, and will reopen in spring 2009. Culver couldn't be reached on Monday morning for a comment.

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