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

  • 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?

  • Sailors’ Valentines: Maritime Art from the Heart

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

    Shellwork mosaics, known as sailor’s valentines, consist of colorful shells in intricate arrangements housed in octagonal wooden boxes. Created primarily between 1830 and 1890, their designs incorporate hearts, flowers, and nautical symbols like anchors and compass roses. Sometimes they carry romantic messages written out in tiny shells. Despite their name, sailor’s valentines were not made by sailors at sea. Instead, they were produced for the tourist trade by Barbadian women from locally sourced shells. In the 1800s, Barbados, located at the easternmost part of the Caribbean, was a center of maritime supply and distribution. US ships often stopped at the small island, where sailors purchased keepsakes, like valentines, for loved ones at home. This cottage industry for locally made goods provided crucial economic opportunities for women of a color under British colonial occupation. The Slavery Abolition Act came into effect in Barbados in 1834, and previously enslaved Barbadians needed work. While Barbadian men traveled and labored off island, women provided for their families. Shellwork craft production was a lifeline. The popularity of sailor’s valentines emerged concurrent with the rise of a new scientific discipline – conchology, or the study of shells, the popular pastime of amateur shell collecting, and the […]

  • Boundless: The Book as Art

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

    What is a book? In its simplest form, it is a repository of words, images, information, or ideas but how can a book be reinterpreted or altered and still be a book? Where is “art” in bookmaking? How do design, structure, and materiality relate to the book as art? These questions underlie Boundless: The Book as Art, a major exhibition in the Wattles Family Gallery opening in October 2026. The New Bedford Whaling Museum has over 20,000 books in its collection that range from rare folios, first editions and scrolls to scrapbooks, journals, logbooks, and artist books. Spanning nearly 500 years, these works were printed around the globe and in dozens of languages and cover topics as diverse as shipbuilding, natural history and global exploration to visual arts, poetry and literature. In Boundless, a variety of book formats from the Museum collection are placed in conversation with works from contemporary artists including Andrea Dezsö (b. 1968), Melanie Mowinski (b. 1970), Anneli Skaar (b. 1969), and Tracey Cockrell who transform and rethink the idea and format of the book. When exhibited alongside historic books, these contemporary works—complex and varying in structure and design—create a dialogue around the boundaries of traditional book […]

  • First Friday: The Art of Hip Hop

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

    Experience the artistry, rhythm, and creative force of hip hop culture during this special First Friday evening at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Through music, dance, spoken word, and visual expression, this program celebrates hip hop as a dynamic and evolving art form—one that bridges generations and communities through storytelling, movement, and sound. Featuring live performances curated in partnership with 3rd EyE Unlimited, the evening will highlight local and regional talent, including young adults and emerging artists who embody the spirit of creativity, collaboration, and social connection at the heart of hip hop. Enjoy a night of movement and music with a live DJ, dance showcases, and interactive art demonstrations, all set against the backdrop of New Bedford’s historic waterfront in the Museum’s Harbor View Gallery. A cash bar (must present ID) and light refreshments will be available throughout the evening. Program Schedule: 5:00 PM – Doors open; bar and galleries available for browsing 6:00 PM – DJ set: The soundscape of hip hop 6:30 PM – Dance performance featuring local youth and community artists 7:00 PM – Spoken word and graffiti art showcase (presented digitally) 8:00 PM – Collaborative performance: “The Movement of Expression” 8:30 PM – Closing community […]

  • LIFELONG LEARNING: Short-course in the History of Photography, 1839-1900

    LIFELONG LEARNING: Short-course in the History of Photography, 1839-1900
    New Bedford Whaling Museum 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA, United States

    Co-Led by Naomi Slipp, Douglas and Cynthia Crocker Endowed Chair for the Chief Curator & Director of Museum Learning; Marina Dawn Wells, Assistant Curator of History & Culture This unique virtual course combines six weekly 80-minute sessions of lecture and discussion, with a culminating hands-on workshop at the Museum. Learn what photography is and how it transformed the world directly from experts in the field using the vast resources of the NBWM photography collection as your study materials. Everyone walks around today with a camera in our pocket. But that was not always the case. Our world is saturated with photographic images – from magazine covers and Facebook feeds to Instagram and billboards–but have you ever stopped to wonder how these images work, what they are trying to say to you, or what histories they may connect with? This course introduces life-long learners to the history of photography, from the invention of the medium in 1839 to the birth of Kodak and snapshot photography in 1900. Photographs will be studied as art objects and historical artifacts. Themes include technological innovations; debates between art photography, commercial photography, and documentary photography; government and private patronage; individual or collective endeavors; original and published […]

  • LIFELONG LEARNING: Short-course in the History of Photography, 1839-1900

    LIFELONG LEARNING: Short-course in the History of Photography, 1839-1900
    New Bedford Whaling Museum 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA, United States

    Co-Led by Naomi Slipp, Douglas and Cynthia Crocker Endowed Chair for the Chief Curator & Director of Museum Learning; Marina Dawn Wells, Assistant Curator of History & Culture This unique virtual course combines six weekly 80-minute sessions of lecture and discussion, with a culminating hands-on workshop at the Museum. Learn what photography is and how it transformed the world directly from experts in the field using the vast resources of the NBWM photography collection as your study materials. Everyone walks around today with a camera in our pocket. But that was not always the case. Our world is saturated with photographic images – from magazine covers and Facebook feeds to Instagram and billboards–but have you ever stopped to wonder how these images work, what they are trying to say to you, or what histories they may connect with? This course introduces life-long learners to the history of photography, from the invention of the medium in 1839 to the birth of Kodak and snapshot photography in 1900. Photographs will be studied as art objects and historical artifacts. Themes include technological innovations; debates between art photography, commercial photography, and documentary photography; government and private patronage; individual or collective endeavors; original and published […]

  • Author Book Talk: Jen Rose Smith

    New Bedford Whaling Museum 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA, United States +1 more

    Thursday, November 19 | 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Free, virtual program; registration required About the Author: Jen Rose Smith is a dAXunhyuu (Eyak, Alaska Native) geographer interested in the intersections of coloniality, race, and indigeneity as read through aesthetic and literary contributions, archival evidences, and experiential embodied knowledges. She is an Assistant Professor of Geography at the University of Washington, and received her Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in Comparative Ethnic Studies, her Master's Degree from the same department, and holds a BA in English Literature and the Environment from the University of Alaska, Southeast. She has published in Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, and The Geographical Journal. Her first book Ice Geographies: The Colonial Politics of Race and Indigeneity in the Arctic was released by Duke University Press in May 2025. About the Book: Ice animates the look and feel of climate change. It is melting faster than ever before, causing social upheaval among northern coastal communities and disrupting a more southern, temperate world as sea levels rise. Economic, academic, and activist stakeholders are increasingly focused on the unsettling potential of ice as they plan for a future shaped by […]

  • New Ecologies: May Babcock

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

    Providence based artist May Babcock (b. 1986) is an eco-centric artist that creates paper works and sculptural forms from natural materials she sources from local environments. Her masterfully crafted works are rooted in place and reflect the texture, color, and sometimes shape of the grasses, sediment, and fiber she collects and manipulates. In her most recent body of work, on view at the New Bedford Whaling Museum in November of 2026, she creates a collection of “new ecologies” constructed from natural sites around southern New England. “I wander rivers and coastlines, observing novel plant communities surviving in distressed lands and waters. Collected fibers and sediment turns into paper pulp, which coats discarded electrical and internet communication wire. I make many small, abstract sculptures of plant forms and water. With no planning or preparation, and in stream of consciousness, I spontaneously compose these smaller elements into wall sculptures, amalgamations. This act of discovery and connecting reflects the growth of novel relationships—New Ecologies emerging out of collapsing systems.” Bio: I’m May Babcock, a papermaking artist using natural materials in New England. I grew up in rural Connecticut surrounded by forests, rivers and ponds, and vegetable and flower gardens. I received scholarships to […]

  • LIFELONG LEARNING: Short-course in the History of Photography, 1839-1900

    LIFELONG LEARNING: Short-course in the History of Photography, 1839-1900
    New Bedford Whaling Museum 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA, United States

    Co-Led by Naomi Slipp, Douglas and Cynthia Crocker Endowed Chair for the Chief Curator & Director of Museum Learning; Marina Dawn Wells, Assistant Curator of History & Culture This unique virtual course combines six weekly 80-minute sessions of lecture and discussion, with a culminating hands-on workshop at the Museum. Learn what photography is and how it transformed the world directly from experts in the field using the vast resources of the NBWM photography collection as your study materials. Everyone walks around today with a camera in our pocket. But that was not always the case. Our world is saturated with photographic images – from magazine covers and Facebook feeds to Instagram and billboards–but have you ever stopped to wonder how these images work, what they are trying to say to you, or what histories they may connect with? This course introduces life-long learners to the history of photography, from the invention of the medium in 1839 to the birth of Kodak and snapshot photography in 1900. Photographs will be studied as art objects and historical artifacts. Themes include technological innovations; debates between art photography, commercial photography, and documentary photography; government and private patronage; individual or collective endeavors; original and published […]

  • LIFELONG LEARNING: Short-course in the History of Photography, 1839-1900

    LIFELONG LEARNING: Short-course in the History of Photography, 1839-1900
    New Bedford Whaling Museum 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA, United States

    Co-Led by Naomi Slipp, Douglas and Cynthia Crocker Endowed Chair for the Chief Curator & Director of Museum Learning; Marina Dawn Wells, Assistant Curator of History & Culture This unique virtual course combines six weekly 80-minute sessions of lecture and discussion, with a culminating hands-on workshop at the Museum. Learn what photography is and how it transformed the world directly from experts in the field using the vast resources of the NBWM photography collection as your study materials. Everyone walks around today with a camera in our pocket. But that was not always the case. Our world is saturated with photographic images – from magazine covers and Facebook feeds to Instagram and billboards–but have you ever stopped to wonder how these images work, what they are trying to say to you, or what histories they may connect with? This course introduces life-long learners to the history of photography, from the invention of the medium in 1839 to the birth of Kodak and snapshot photography in 1900. Photographs will be studied as art objects and historical artifacts. Themes include technological innovations; debates between art photography, commercial photography, and documentary photography; government and private patronage; individual or collective endeavors; original and published […]

  • Art Talks! May Babcock

    New Bedford Whaling Museum 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA, United States +1 more

    Wednesday, December 2, 12:00-1:00pm Free, virtual program; registration required Online series featuring conversations with artists working on projects with or at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. About the artist: I’m May Babcock, a papermaking artist using natural materials in New England. I grew up in rural Connecticut surrounded by forests, rivers and ponds, vegetable and flower gardens. I received scholarships to attend the University of Connecticut for a BFA in painting and printmaking and went to Louisiana State University for my MFA and to learn papermaking. As a biracial artist of Taiwanese-Chinese descent I never felt like I belonged. Exploring specific sites is a search for belonging, plant fibers, and connection with place. Babcock’s series New Ecologies, with works constructed from sites around New England will be on view at the New Bedford Whaling Museum beginning in November of 2026.

  • First Friday: Sharks Come Cruisin’ with the Whale Guitar

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

    Friday, December 4, 2026 | 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM Closing out the Museum’s 2026 First Fridays series, the Harbor View Gallery fills with voices, strings, and sea songs as The Whale Guitar takes center stage alongside Sharks Come Cruisin’. This evening features ocean-inspired music, participatory performance, and a celebration of maritime sound and community. Based in Providence, RI, Sharks Come Cruisin’ plays an energetic mix of sea shanties and maritime music, bringing audiences together through shared song and celebration. First Fridays offer an evening experience at the Museum with extended gallery hours, a cash bar, light bites, and access to all Museum galleries throughout the night. Program Schedule 5:00–5:30 PM | Gallery Access & Arrival Explore the Museum’s galleries, or enjoy light refreshments in the Harbor View Gallery and learn about The Whale Guitar Project before the evening’s performances begin. 5:30–6:30 PM | Ocean Mic: Instrument of Change Curated by Jennifer Long, Ocean Mic highlights 4–6 guitarists performing on The Whale Guitar, an “Instrument of Change” made from reclaimed materials. 6:30–8:00 PM | Sing-Along Sea Shanties with Sharks Come Cruisin’ The evening builds into a lively, participatory showcase led by Sharks Come Cruisin’, featuring traditional and contemporary sea shanties. […]