Organizers of the annual Moby Dick reading marathon in New Bedford say they set a new attendance record this past weekend. Nearly 2,500 people traveled to the Whaling Museum to participate, arriving from 37 states and countries as far away as Australia, Brazil, and Sweden, according to Amanda McMullen, the museum’s president and CEO. “It’s […]
whaling museum
Posted inArts And Culture, Local, South Coast Bureau
New Bedford reveals design for Herman Melville statue
New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell wants his city to do more to promote its connection to one of the great American novels. Mitchell unveiled the design for an eight-foot bronze statue of Moby Dick author Herman Melville at a press conference on Friday morning. The statue portrays Melville in a heroic pose with his mouth […]
Posted inArts And Culture, Local, South Coast Bureau
Remembering the wreck of New Bedford’s last great whaleship
Contrary to the motto on its municipal seal, New Bedford was no longer the city that lit the world by the 1920s. America’s lamps mostly ran on electricity and kerosene. Whale byproducts still had some commercial uses: the oil served as a base for various face creams and machine lubricants, ambergris was a fixative in […]
Posted inArts And Culture, Artscape, South Coast Bureau
Not your grandfather’s scrimshaw: Duke Riley engraves pollution scenes on ocean plastic
The New Bedford Whaling Museum’s scrimshaw collection, which includes hundreds of whalebone clocks, pie crimpers, musical instruments, canes and umbrellas, is advertised as the largest of its kind in the world. Naomi Slipp, the museum’s chief curator, said these items weren’t considered fine art when the museum’s founders began collecting them from locals in 1903, […]
Posted inArticle, Arts And Culture
New Bedford museum taking extra precautions as Mass. begins Phase 3 reopening
Massachusetts has moved into the third phase of reopening on Monday, allowing gyms, movie theaters, and museums to resume some operations. The New Bedford Whaling Museum will be opening this week with a new look, but they’re taking it slow.
Posted inArtscape, Episode
Whaling Museum offers ‘museum from home’ with resources for parents, youth and more
The New Bedford Whaling Museum has repurposed its website to provide a ‘museum from home’ experience. But there’s far more than what you would see if you could visit the museum right now.
