Mission
To be a cooperative venture dedicated to invigorating the downtown New Bedford cultural scene using the power of the arts and cultural enterprise, creativity and collaboration to forge a new economy.
Accomplishments
A pre-pandemic visitor survey completed by the Center for Policy Analysis at UMass Dartmouth found each month’s themed AHA! Night consistently drew upwards of 2,000 visitors from the city, surrounding towns, Providence, and Cape Cod. The study revealed that every $1 spent by AHA! returned $2.50 to the New Bedford economy, and each dollar invested by the State returned $33.
AHA partners enjoy a collective marketing program that contributes significantly to the New Bedford economy through expenditures at retail stores, eateries and cultural institutions. A 2015 survey revealed that AHA! Night brought 24,000 visitors to downtown, resulting in $887,000 in economic benefit to local businesses, cultural organizations and eateries that year.
Meet the Staff and Steering Committee
Anthi Frangiadis
AHA! Steering Committee Chair
Contact: AHACoordinator@southcoastcf.org
Mandy Fraser
Partner Liaison & Program Coordinator
Contact: AHAPrograms@southcoastcf.org
Vaughndre Henry
Marketing Coordinator
Contact: AHAmarketing@southcoastcf.org
STEERING Committee, 2022
Tracy Barbosa
Artist, Duende Glass Studio
Scott Bishop
Musician, Scapeghost
Lee Blake
President, New Bedford Historical Society
Lindsay Compton
Park Ranger, New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park
Suzanne de Vegh
Executive Director, New Bedford Art Museum/Artworks!
Jane Duff-Gleason
Greywork, LLC
Steven Froias
Artist and Media Specialist
Monica Furtado
Bristol County Savings Bank
Tracy Furtado
Executive Director, Dream Out Loud Center
Jeanne Girard
UMASS Dartmouth, Charlton College of Business
Dena Haden
Director, Co-Creative Center
Stacie Charbonneau Hess
Adjunct Professor, Bristol Community College
Nelson Hockert-Lotz
Owner, Domino’s Pizza
Shanna Howell
Dean, New Bedford Campus, Bristol Community College
Viera Levitt
Gallery Director, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
James Lopes
James J. Lopes, Attorney at-law, Law Office of James J. Lopes
Timothy Morgado
Partners Director of Transportation, Sid Wainer & Son
Eric Paradis
Financial Advisor, Mass. Financial Group, Member, Your Theater Inc., Founder/Chair, New Bedford JazzFest
Beth Perdue
Editor & Communications, Coastline Elderly Services
Dana Rebeiro
Massachusetts Liaison Vineyard Wind, Community Organizer/Filmmaker
Dawn Salerno
Executive Director, Rotch-Jones-Duff House & Garden Museum
Margo Saulnier
Creative Strategist, New Bedford Creative, New Bedford Economic Development Council
Lynn Souza
Director of Fine Arts, NB Public Schools
Mary Taylor
Community Support Partner for both First Citizens and Cape Cod Museum Trail
Patrice Tiedemann
Artistic Director Seaglass Theater Company, Professional Soprano and Flutist
Jennifer Zannoli
Director of Museum Experience and Community Engagement, New Bedford Whaling Museum
History
There were the early years:
New Bedford convened a Regional Community Congress which brought together six sectors of society: business, education, health and human services, arts and culture, the environment, and communities of faith. Working together, the vision of New Bedford as a vital regional hub of commerce and culture was launched, and a new identity was born. The result was the AHA! (Arts, History, Architecture) project and New Bedford’s free Downtown Cultural Night was launched, starting on the second Thursday of July, 1999, Thursday was the chosen evening in honor of the late shopping night offered in New Bedford from 1940’s through the 1960’s with the intention of bringing vibrancy to downtown.
Nearly Two Decades of Cultural Exploration and Adventure
AHA!’s monthly 2nd Thursday events have taken place continuously since July 1999 and with participation from downtown New Bedford’s museums, galleries, arts organizations, merchants, hotels, and restaurants. Each month's event is themed so that distinctive cultural programs can offer a wide range of opportunities for performers, artists, and humanitarians of all disciplines and levels to engage the public. AHA! succeeded in attracting people who might not normally visit downtown New Bedford, visitors from surrounding towns as well as travelers from afar. The last pre-pandemic economic impact report revealed over 24,000 total visitations to AHA! Thursday Nights in 2015, with a total economic impact of $877,000. Funding by the Adams Arts Program from the Mass Cultural Council allowed AHA! to thrive for the 18 years, when the funding opportunity existed. AHA! was the only continuously funded project in the cohort group and as part of that initiative, AHA! undertook a variety of incubator and demonstration projects.
The Pandamic and AHA!
AHA! Night was the last public event before the City of New Bedford locked down in March of 2020. By the 2nd Thursday of April, AHA! had pivoted to a virtual format and VAHA! (Virtual Art, History, and Architecture) was launched with our signature logo wearing a mask. Throughout 2020 and into 2021, VAHA provided a heartbeat for the arts community, with on-line content created by our partners and available to visitors 24/7 from the safety of their homes. The new format offered new opportunities to work with partners outside the downtown walking footprint, and we explored sites, themes, and speakers not normally available to our audience.
The Future for AHA!
September 2021 saw AHA!’s return to the streets of downtown: a very welcome sign for the city and visitors alike. AHA! Night’s outdoor format provides a measure of confidence for audiences, and our community partners are opening their doors while following common sense safety protocols. Emerging from the pandemic by rebuilding the AHA! audience and partner participation is underway. With 25-years of success to guide us, AHA is developing a strategic plan for the next 25-years. Valuable lessons learned during the pandemic about communications, platforms and content will be retained and integrated into future AHA! programming. Together with our community partners, we’re shaping the future and using our shared experience with adversity as an opportunity to define a new and vital future for arts and culture in the City of New Bedford.
History
There were the early years: 1997 – 2001
New Bedford convened a Regional Community Congress which brought together six sectors of society: business, education, health and human services, arts and culture, the environment, and communities of faith. Working together, the vision of New Bedford as a vital regional hub of commerce and culture was launched, and a new identity was born.
The result was the AHA! (Arts, History, Architecture) project and New Bedford’s free Downtown Cultural Night was launched, starting on the second Thursday of July, 1999, Thursday was the chosen evening in honor of the late shopping night offered in New Bedford from 1940’s through the 1960’s with the intention of bringing vibrancy to downtown.
Nearly Two Decades of Cultural Exploration and Adventure: 2001 – 2018
AHA!’s monthly 2nd Thursday events have taken place continuously since July 1999 and with participation from downtown New Bedford’s museums, galleries, arts organizations, merchants, hotels, and restaurants. Each month’s event is themed so that distinctive cultural programs can offer a wide range of opportunities for performers, artists, and humanitarians of all disciplines and levels to engage the public.
AHA! succeeded in attracting people who might not normally visit downtown New Bedford, visitors from surrounding towns as well as travelers from afar. The last pre-pandemic economic impact report revealed over 24,000 total visitations to AHA! Thursday Nights in 2015, with a total economic impact of $877,000.
Funding by the Adams Arts Program from the Mass Cultural Council allowed AHA! to thrive for the 18 years, when the funding opportunity existed. AHA! was the only continuously funded project in the cohort group and as part of that initiative, AHA! undertook a variety of incubator and demonstration projects. (Show graphics and posters.)
The Pandamic and AHA!: 2019 – 2022
AHA! Night was the last public event before the City of New Bedford locked down in March of 2020. By the 2nd Thursday of April, AHA! had pivoted to a virtual format and VAHA! (Virtual Art, History, and Architecture) was launched with our signature logo wearing a mask.
Throughout 2020 and into 2021, VAHA provided a heartbeat for the arts community, with on-line content created by our partners and available to visitors 24/7 from the safety of their homes. The new format offered new opportunities to work with partners outside the downtown walking footprint, and we explored sites, themes, and speakers not normally available to our audience.
The Future for AHA!
September 2021 saw AHA!’s return to the streets of downtown: a very welcome sign for the city and visitors alike. AHA! Night’s outdoor format provides a measure of confidence for audiences, and our community partners are opening their doors while following common sense safety protocols.
Emerging from the pandemic by rebuilding the AHA! audience and partner participation is underway. With 25-years of success to guide us, AHA is developing a strategic plan for the next 25-years. Valuable lessons learned during the pandemic about communications, platforms and content will be retained and integrated into future AHA! programming. Together with our community partners, we’re shaping the future and using our shared experience with adversity as an opportunity to define a new and vital future for arts and culture in the City of New Bedford.
