Arts & Culture

As the birds prepare to take flight, the NBAM is waving good by in style with free events. September 9th, AHA! night Sandra Hall, artist and illustrator, at 6:00 P.M. will discuss her forthcoming book, The Starting Place.

New Bedford, MA, August 17, 2010—The 2010 Working Waterfront Festival presents a Seafood Throwdown on Sunday, September 26th at 1PM. Chefs Henry Bousquet (Ice Chest) and Mike Melo (M & C Café) will compete to create a winning dish using a surprise seafood ingredient and local produce. Judging their creations will be Paula Marcoux, contributing writer for edibleSouthshore, Bruce Newbury, host of Dining Out and The Tasting Room, and Charis Anderson, food writer for the New Bedford Standard Times.

August 30, 2010 — Dartmouth, MA. The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture and Department of English announce the hire of Prof. Frank X. Gaspar of Antioch University Los Angeles, for Fall Semester 2010. Prof. Gaspar will teach a one-semester creative writing seminar entitled “Writing (and rewriting) Ethnic New England” in the Department of English, under the auspices of the Hélio and Amélia Pedroso/Luso-American Foundation Endowed Chair in Portuguese Studies.

Welcome to AHA! night when downtown New Bedford comes alive with Art, History and Architecture! On September 9thjoin us in celebrating the rich diversity of New Bedford’s cultures through the arts, stories and foods of the many groups who help create the fabric of New Bedford and make it the authentic city that it is.

Westport’s Town Farm provides the perfect setting to bring your family and friends on Saturday, August 21, to experience music inspired by landscapes similar to the Town Farm.

2010 Art Drive - This open studio event this past weekend was a big success — organized by Dartmouth and Westport artists. As you know, each artist is donating a percentage of her/his profits to the Lloyd Center, a gesture described in the event's press releases as, "a way to support an organization dedicated to educating people about their natural local environment, which is an inspiration to many of the artists who work and live in the area".

New Bedford poet Robert Xifaras won first prize in the "Fourth of July Poetry Works” All Star Poetry Contest sponsored by the Bridgewater Cultural Council and the Arts From the Heart of Middleboro. The event was featured at the Bridgewater Arts and Music Festival on the campus of Bridgewater State College on July 4, 2010. The name and the theme of the contest was "What it means to be an American in 2010".

The New Bedford Art Museum (NBAM) is delighted to introduce BAM! Because Art Matters. BAM! Because Adults Need Art more than ever and artists need the opportunity to work with other artists. Be inspired to broaden your techniques in a studio course at the New Bedford Art Museum this fall. Be challenged to interpret your ideas into original art with instructor Joanna Ruggiero, a former RISD instructor, with a BFA from UMass and a MFA from Vermont College. Joanna comes to the NBAM with a love of art, a wealth of talent, and a commitment to NBAM to teach adult education classes. A talent in her own right, Joanna loves sharing her techniques, her critical review and her inspiring approach to teaching art.

New Bedford, MA, August 2, 2010—Welcome aboard as New Bedford, America’s largest commercial fishing port, hosts the 7th Working Waterfront Festival. The FREE event takes place September 25th and 26th on the working piers and waterfront parks of the historic Port of New Bedford. 

More than simply a celebration, the Working Waterfront Festival is a unique opportunity for the public to get a firsthand look at the culture of fishing and for the commercial fishing community to tell its own story. The event presents all that goes into bringing seafood from the ocean to the table in a way that is hands-on, educational and fun.

The second weekend of the 7th Annual South Coast Open Studio Tour happens again on August 21st and 22nd, from 11am to 5pm.  If you missed the opportunity to visit some of South New England's finest artists' studios during the July Tour, this is your chance.

Mr. Van Dusen is a 1977 graduate of Southeastern Massachusetts University (now UMass Dartmouth) who has become internationally known for his work as an artist and illustrator. His articles and paintings have been featured in Bird Watcher's Digest, Birding, and Birder's World magazines and he has illustrated a variety of natural history books and pocket guides in association with the Massachusetts Audubon Society.

It feels like summer. It looks like summer. And on Aug. 12, it will sound like summer.

Join us for Summer Sounds AHA! Night in Downtown New Bedford. Stroll the streets and be serenaded by a sampling of musical styles including jazz, folk, traditional bag piping, Caribbean steel drums, good ol’ rock-n-roll & more.

The New Bedford Art Museum is pleased to announce an evening with Dr. Alan Poole, the Editor of Birds of North American Online, Thursday, July 29, 2010. A reception at 6:00 P.M. will be followed at 7:00 P.M. by Dr. Poole’s lecture, Audubon as Inspiration. The event is part of the continuing educational programming for the NBAM’s exhibition Taking Flight: The Birds of John James Audubon from the Collection of the New Bedford Free Public Library. The cost is $20 per person.

It takes a lot of determination to stage an event as large as the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament. Particularly when you consider that the organizing committee is a small group of volunteers, this year numbering just nineteen men, who have spent the better part of a year carving out plans for the annual four day event that kicks off this year on July 29. But there’s a good reason why these men, their families, their colleagues from the Club Madeirense S. S. Sacramento and upwards of 200,000 people gather every summer for one glorious weekend of celebration. Call it tradition or call it cultural heritage but be sure to call the festa as it is known in Portuguese unique in the most grand of ways.

The public is cordially invited to the Annual Meeting of the Dartmouth Heritage Preservation Trust on Thursday, July 29, 2009, 5:00 P.M. at the historic Wamsutta Club (James Arnold/William J. Rotch Mansion) 427 County Street, New Bedford, Massachusetts. Refreshments will be served following the brief business meeting and special guest lecture. Michael P. Dyer, Maritime Curator, the New Bedford Whaling Museum is the guest speaker.

On July 27th at 8 pm, the UMass Dartmouth Summer Program in Portuguese will be hosting Brazilian singer Valdisa Moura and her band as part of its summer cultural activities calendar.

The New Bedford Art Museum is pleased to announce the Garden Party On the Bay on Friday evening, July 23, 2010 hosted by Phoebe and Chip Perry at their Marion home. From 6:00 – 9:00 P.M. guests will enjoy live jazz, strolling on the lawn, sailboat gazing, an open bar and hors d’oeuvres. All proceeds support the educational programs and exhibitions of the New Bedford Art Museum allowing it to continue its mission of engaging the public in experiencing, understanding and appreciating art.

July 23 through August 1, 2010 at 1740 Main Road, Westport Point, MA 02791
Open M–F from 11 am to 4 pm and weekends from 11 am to 5 pm.

The eagerly anticipated WAG Summer Show is FREE and open to the public. The Show features artworks by WAG and other local artists, plus handcrafts by local artisans. Crafts include hand-crafted jewelry, woodcrafts, pottery, hand-blown glass jewelry and vases, crocheted items, scarves, art prints and more! All arts & crafts are for sale.

Don’t miss our famous “Raffle Wall” and your chance to win a piece by your favorite artist! Ready-for-framing 5” x 7” artworks by WAG artists will be raffled. Chances are one for $2.00, three for $5.00, and eight for $10.00. The drawing will be held Sunday, August 1, 2010 at 4:30 pm.

Kids take the stage during AHA! Night, July 8th from 6:00 – 8:00 at the New Bedford Art Museum. Surrounded by John James Audubon‘s life size birds from the Condor to the Ivory Billed Woodpecker and Roseate Spoonbill, master educators and artists Jason Eckhardt, Ron Johansen and Dr. Alan Powers will teach kids and interested adults to take flight through the arts of sketching, carving and bird song.

Call for Artists / Please post or forward to your artist friends!
Help Gallery X celebrate it’s 20th Birthday with our biggest show ever!!!
Public Hanging XXI
Aug. 4—Sept. 11. 2010
Open community art show. Public can submit up to 3 pieces of art (Paintings, sculpture, photography, ceramics, fabrics, etc.) at $10 per piece for inclusion in the show. Submit your work to Gallery X during the week of July 28-Aug. 1st.during regular hours. Visiting artists may contribute up to three pieces for a nominal fee of $10 per piece (Make checks payable to Gallery X). Members of the Gallery can enter their work without a fee. Do be certain that your work is prepared to be displayed. The Hanging itself will take place on the evening of Monday the 2nd of August, All work should be ready to hang with wire or proper hanging attachments. Any work mailed should include paid return postage. 2D work should be no larger than 4 ft. square. Gallery X is not responsible for work damaged in Gallery during and after commencement of exhibition…
Also in conjunction with the August Swain School activities at the Star Store and Crowell’s there will be many Alumni in exhibition and there will be special tags to highlight their work and what years they attended Swain.

Drop-off dates: July 28—Aug. 1, during Gallery hours.
Reception Sat. Aug 7, 7-10pm

Gallery X
169 William ST.
New Bedford, MA 03740
www.galleryx.org
508 992-2675
Gallery hours - Wed.-Fri. 11am-5pm, Sat. & Sun. 11am-3pm

Curators for exhibit, Charles Hauck, Don Wilkinson and John Nieman

So get busy! We would like to include as many local artists as possible….

New Bedford, MA—March 17, 2010—The New England Business Bulletin, a product of SouthCoast Media Group, is proud to announce the second annual Top Young Professionals Under 40 Awards Program.

The 7th Annual South Coast Open Studio Tour is taking place over two summer weekends this year, on July 17th and 18th and August 21st and 22nd, from 11am to 5pm. SCA is a non-profit (pending) organization of artists from the south coast regions of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

START YOUR ART ENGINES, this year’s theme, adds a unique spin to the highly attended summer open studio tours. Member artists will utilize a wide variety of technique, media, process and subject matter, all relating to Engines, to interpret this year’s “touring” theme. See their unique and thoughtful interpretations as you enjoy this year's Tour.

On Saturday, June 26, the New Bedford Preservation Society will present its 7th Annual Historical Cemetery Tour. The tour will feature Oak Grove Cemetery in New Bedford, where historic portrayals in period costume will take place at the gravesites of New Bedford notables along the tour route.

Always a popular event, this year’s tour will focus on the older, south section of Oak Grove, where many of the city’s oldest, distinguished families are buried. Cemeteries have been called outdoor museums, windows to the culture of the past. They not only serve as a resting place for the departed, they tell us much about the times in which they lived. Tour guides will highlight some of the elaborate memorials and explain the symbolism represented by the sculpture and decorative designs on the headstones.

Join us for the June AHA! Night & explore New Bedford’s rich history and outstanding architecture. Local experts lead tours on cobblestone streets, docks and lesser known byways. June 10th is also the Day of Portugal’s annual celebration and the festivities stretch across Downtown!

The portrait has been an art form since ancient times. It has been used to record the likeness, personality, and mood of the sitter. In western art the most famous portrait may be the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. Yet portraiture can be traced to those made in the Vilhonneur grotto in France thought to be 27,000 years old.

Portraits were made to document and to save the likeness of historic figures such as kings, queens, emperors, and gods. Artists have also depicted scenes from everyday life showing families, other artists, writers, inventors, etc. Often these works include personal belongings that tell the viewer more about the subject.

The New Bedford Art Museum is pleased to announce the opening of Birds of the Enlightenment: Predecessors and Contemporaries of J.J. Audubon curated by Tom Puryear on Saturday, June 5, 2010 from 4:30 – 6:30 P.M.

Birds of the Enlightenment is a compliment to Taking Flight: The Birds of John James Audubon from the Collection of the New Bedford Free Public Library.

It opens concurrently with Vault Series: Portraits curated by Joan Backes. All three exhibitions run through September 11, 2010.

The Westport Art Group offers this Tour only once every 3 years, so don’t miss it. Sign up now! “Artist in the Garden” is taking place in Westport Harbor this year, a beautiful part of Westport. We are hoping for a fabulous June day, perfect for delightful vistas and gardens in Westport Harbor. There will be 20 different artists painting plein air, and participating artists may include Dora Atwater Milliken, Meredith Cornell, Heide Hallemeier, Kris Donovan, Dennis Broadbent, Sarah Desjardins and many other talented WAG artists.

The Westport Art Group , 1740 Main Road, Westport Point, is pleased to offer Summer Camp for Kids. There will be two sessions with the theme of “Reduce-Reuse-Remarkable”, A Summer Camp for Young Artists. The first session is Monday–Friday, August 9–13 from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM and the second separate session is Monday–Friday, August 16–20 at the same time. The camp is for students ages 7–12.

The Audubon Preservation Partnership comprised of The New Bedford Free Public Library & The New Bedford Art Museum is delighted to announce the opening of Taking Flight! The Birds of John James Audubon from the Collection of the New Bedford Free Public Library on Saturday, June 5, 2010 from 4:30 to 6:30 at the Art Museum. The opening reception is preceded by a talk and screening of the Nova documentary, Haunted Cry of a Long Gone Bird with special guest and director, Richard Wheeler. The screening is scheduled for 3:00 P.M. in the Lecture Hall of the New Bedford Free Public Library. The opening and Mr. Wheeler’s presentation are free and open to the public.

WHALE, the Waterfront Historic Area LeaguE, invites its members and the general public to help clean up the site of the John Howland Jr. House on 38 South Sixth Street in New Bedford this Saturday, May 15 from 9AM to 12 Noon.