Once upon a time there was a factory in Norway, Maine. Erected in 1906 to craft snowshoes from bent wood and rawhide, it was soon referred to as "the snowshoe capital of the world". Admiral Peary, the first man to reach the North Pole, trudged across arctic barrens with these strapped to his feet.

The factory closed in the 1980's leaving chipmunks and pigeons in command. Fifty some years later, 3 artistic friends finagled their way into buying the 15,000 sq. ft building. Our brave trio had a vision: space for art, art for community, community forever. To say it needed work is an understatement. The building needed a new building. They got to work repairing the cracked foundation, replacing broken windows. Word spread, dedicated volunteers appeared, the pigeon population leveled out.

The friends began shooting videos of artists as well as hosting pop-up exhibitions in apartments and redemption centers scattered across the state. The shows featured unknowns, little-knowns and a few fairly well-known artists. Despite leaking roofs and repeated power outages they trudged on, just like Admiral Peary. Things will always go wrong. How you deal with an onslaught of obstacles makes all the difference. Their snow-balling feral enthusiasm won the day. Designated a 501c3 nonprofit, Lights Out was born to serve Maine artists with tools and imagination, keeping Maine the art friendliest state in America.