New Bedford Whaling Museum

Address
18 Johnny Cake Hill
New Bedford, MA 02740 United States Get Directions
Phone (508) 997-0046
Events at this venue
Today

  • Morabeza: Cape Verdean Community in the South Coast at New Bedford Whaling Museum

    New Bedford Whaling Museum 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA, United States

    The temporary exhibition Morabeza: Cape Verdean Community in the South Coast is hosted in the San Francisco galleries, adjoining the permanent gallery devoted to Cape Verdean culture that opened in 2011. It features personal stories, oral histories, music, photographs, and belongings from individuals and community organizations to tell the story of the Cape Verdean diaspora across the region, spanning the South Coast, Rhode Island, and Cape Cod.

  • Forging Independence | Building a Nation

    New Bedford Whaling Museum 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA, United States

    In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, NBWM will open a new suite of conjoined galleries in that explore stories of independence, struggle, and citizenship in the region during the late colonial and early Republican period (1760-1830). Forging Independence | Building a Nation introduces connections between historical events and pressing issues of today, asking visitors to consider what ideas are embodied in the terms and ideas of Independence and Nationhood. Words like patriotism, freedom, taxation, citizenship, liberty, equality, justice, tolerance, and independence serve as keystones within the installation to encourage thoughtful engagement with concepts that transcend the past and directly connect with our present. Associations forged between objects, concepts, and individuals broach insightful civic-minded questions about what it means to be “American.” What did colonial citizens think America should or would be, and how do we today continue to ask those questions and shape that outcome today?

  • Ahab’s Head: American Vengeance

    New Bedford Whaling Museum 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA, United States

    In Ahab’s Head: American Vengeance, a new installation work created for the New Bedford Whaling Museum, Whitman seeks to capture Ahab’s madness and the ominous feeling of dread and inevitable violence that pervades the novel. In this work, Whitman encourages visitors to reflect on how these themes are also mirrored in American society. Hanging sculptural forms made from rope and fabric cast shadows on wall-drawn charts depicting fictitious whaling voyages. Two giant assemblages, one inspired by Ahab and Moby-Dick and the other of the destruction of the ship, the Pequod. Together with a newly created soundscape and weaponry from the Museum collection, Ahab’s Head will place visitors at the center of Ahab’s obsession and offer a meditation on violence in the world of Moby-Dick and beyond.

  • Moby-Dick Marathon

    New Bedford Whaling Museum 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA, United States

    Embark on an unforgettable literary voyage at the New Bedford Whaling Museum! Join us in celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Moby-Dick Marathon, the Museum’s world-renowned tribute to Herman Melville’s epic tale of obsession, adventure, and the sea. Each January, readers and Melville enthusiasts from around the globe gather in New Bedford—the very port where Melville himself once set sail—to take part in a 25-hour, cover-to-cover reading of Moby-Dick. This extraordinary event transforms the Museum into a stage for literature, history, and community. Visitors can immerse themselves in Melville-inspired programs, including thought-provoking conversations with scholars, dramatic performances, hands-on activities for all ages, and behind-the-scenes experiences that bring Melville’s world vividly to life. The Marathon commemorates Melville’s 1841 departure aboard the whaleship Acushnet—the journey that would inspire one of America’s greatest novels. Thirty years on, the celebration continues to grow, uniting generations of readers, performers, and maritime enthusiasts in a shared quest for the elusive white whale.

    Free

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Photo Credit: Josh Souza