Welcome To AHA!
A message from Chris Howard, President & CEO of First Citizens’ Federal Credit Union
Thank you to First Citizens’ for supporting AHA!
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Part of SouthCoast Spring Arts
Launching on May 7th 2021, SouthCoast Spring Arts is a celebration of the place and presence of the arts in communities across the SouthCoast. Local arts organizations are presenting innovative, creative, affordable, and participatory art and cultural events across the region from Fall River to Wareham.
Events take place from Friday, May 7 through Sunday, May 16.
Click For Full Schedule Of Events
This month our AHA! partners are offering a variety of both virtual and IRL (in-real-life) programs.
Look for the Virtual and IRL icons to help you plan your AHA! activities.
Virtual
IRL
Click For Tips To Help Get The Most Out Of Your Vaha! Experience
AHA! In The Afternoon
Our downtown New Bedford museums, galleries and institutions are open for visitors.
Visit their websites for more info about current hours, programs, exhibits and COVID19 safety protocols.
New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center
Open on AHA! 10am – 4pm
Plus virtual AHA! programming at 7pm (see listing below)
Click For More Info
New Bedford Port Society
including Seamen’s Bethel & Mariner’s Home
Open on AHA! 10am – 4pm
Click For More Info
New Bedford Whaling Museum
Open on AHA! 10am – 4pm with reserved timed admission
Click For More Info
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park
Open on AHA! 10am – 4pm
Click For More Info
Rotch-Jones-Duff House & Garden Museum
Open on AHA! 10am – 4pm
Plus virtual AHA! programming at 5:30pm (see listing below)
Click For More Info
New Bedford Art Museum / Artworks!
Open on AHA! 10am-4pm with reserved timed admission
Plus IRL AHA! programming from 5-7pm (see listing below)
Click For More Info
Please consider shopping or dining in DNB to help support our small biz community.
Follow DNB, Inc. on Facebook /dnbinc or Instagram @dnbinc for updates about downtown dining and retail shopping.
Celebrating your Art, History
& Architecture from home?
Order up some take-out or delivery from one of your favorite downtown eateries and enjoy all the VAHA! programming from the comfort of your couch.
Click For Dining Options
(V)AHA! Programs
Celebrate SouthCoast Spring Arts
at the Drawing Room
11am on Zoom
Registration Required by May 10th
Made to Order Tiles with Wanderlust Ceramics Learn how to design a custom backsplash. Craig Crawford of Wanderlust Ceramics will present visual materials and a demo of the tile making process from original concept to installation.
Bring your ideas and questions!
Click To RSVP For Updates & Reminders Click To Register
5-7pm on the Drawing Room Front Porch
An Evening of Art & Music with Butch McCarthy
Butch will play an acoustic set outside on the front porch and will have a number of his paintings available for purchase. Drop by to hear his music and pick your favorite painting.
Click To RSVP For Updates & Reminders
4pm on Zoom
Author Talk with Graphic Novel Writer Jason Viola
Hosted by the New Bedford Public Library
Comic books are not just fun to read – they can be incredible gateways for learning about the world!
Massachusetts-based graphic novel writer Jason Viola (Science Comics: Polar Bears and Science Comics: The Digestive System) fills his comics with humorous situations, endearing characters, and a lifelong fascination with science.
Join Jason for a behind-the-scenes look at how a comic is made and learn about some of the decisions that go into the construction of a professional comic book page.
Click To RSVP For Updates & Reminders Click To Zoom
Culture & History with the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park
3-4:30pm on Facebook Live
3rd Eye Unlimited Presents
The 5 Pillars of Hip Hop: MC’ing
The first of 6 monthly events (May- October) exploring the 5 pillars of hip hop through performance, visual art, and sharing. Find out more about what the 5 pillars are, the history of these traditions and where their influences originate. This event will include live art, music and dance – and is open to all ages!
Click To RSVP For Updates & Reminders Click To Watch
7pm on Zoom
Sailing to Freedom:
Maritime Dimensions of the Underground Railroad
Join Dr. Timothy D. Walker, Professor of History and Dr Len Travers, Professor Emeritus of History, (both at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth) for an interactive ZOOM about their latest book, “Sailing to Freedom: Maritime Dimensions of the Underground Railroad.” Sailing to Freedom highlights little-known stories and describes the less-understood maritime side of the Underground Railroad, including the impact of African Americans paid and unpaid waterfront labor. The book examines how enslaved people managed escapes from forced servitude along the East Coast, moving from the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland to safe harbor in northern cities such as Philadelphia, New York, New Bedford, and Boston.
Click To Register
4:30-6pm
in the First Unitarian Church NB Garden
We Art New Bedford in the Garden Jump rope, hopscotch, Miss Mary Mack and more.
5-7pm in Custom House Park
& Wings Court
CarterMOBILE
Join the New Bedford Art Museum’s artMOBILE for the “CarterMOBILE”! NBAM Art Educators will be at Custom House Square/Wings Court with a few of their exhibition partners from the New Bedford Historical Society, New Bedford Free Public Library, New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, and UMass Dartmouth CVPA. Stop by to celebrate NBAM’s newest exhibition, UnCommon Threads: The Works of Ruth E. Carter. There will be fun creative activities, free art supply kits, and more.
New Exhibit & Stories by Fishing Families with NB Fishing Heritage Center
5-7pm at the Center
New Exhibit! More than a Job: Work and Community
in New Bedford’s Fishing IndustryThe exhibit explores the industry in New Bedford beginning in the 1900s by considering sustainability, labor unions, diversity, family, community and the “American dream.” It illustrates what the industry does and represents through the voices and stories of those in it. Experience the sound of the fog horn, a mayday call, or a vessel’s engine. View model vessels and various artifacts fishermen have pulled up in their nets, including a mastodon tooth and a Russian belt buckle. Plus decades-old footage spliced with present-day film, which in combination show what has and has not changed in the industry.
7pm on Zoom
Mothers, Wives, and Daughters: Stories from Fishing Families
Tune in for a virtual event featuring women from fishing families. These women will share their stories about the unique dynamics within fishing families and the role women have played in supporting those who work the sea.
Click To RSVP For Updates & Reminders
Click To Zoom
5-8pm at Gallery X
Opening Reception for Nothing Ordinary: Senior Thesis Projects from UMass Dartmouth CVPA Photography Senior Class of 2021
Artists: Ethan Lassey, Shannon Lynch, David Moriarty, Gina Pantalone, Jenna Pierce, Tiffani Pothier, Kane Reese, Noah Tavares
5-7pm at Alison Wells Art Gallery
We Art NB: Art & Music with Alison Wells Saxophonist “Manny” Escobar will be bringing his eclectic blend of straight-ahead jazz, soul, and contemporary classics with a live performance outside the gallery. Inside, enjoy original paintings, new giclee prints, artist note cards and guest artists. *Due to Covid-19 restrictions masks will be required.”
5pm on Facebook
VAHA! Mini Concert
Hosted by Scott Bishop
A special pre-recorded concert featuring a band with South Coast connections and a vital downtown New Bedford institution.
‘Powerhouse Americana’ is how featured band Jake Hunsinger and the Rock Bottom Band refer to their sound, and a quick listen shows how apt description that description is. Based out of Providence, RI, Jake and the band provide dynamic performances with rollicking musical arrangements and tight hillbilly vocal harmonies over good country songs.
Jake Hunsinger online:
Website
Spotify
Facebook
Instagram
Jake and the Rock Bottom Band will perform at the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, a must-see attraction for visitors to the city. The performance will happen inside of the Center’s most recent exhibit, More than a Job: Work and Community in New Bedford’s Fishing Industry. More than a Job provides visitors with an introduction to the workings of the fishing industry and explores themes including labor history, immigration, sustainability, and the changing nature of work and community. The exhibit features a replica working deck, scallop dredge, galley table, bunks, historic and contemporary images and footage, and more than sixty audio clips sharing the many voices of the fishing community.
The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center online:
Website
Facebook
Youtube
Click To RSVP For Updates & Reminders
Click To Watch
5-8pm at the Co-Creative Center
Opening Reception for Micro Macro:
A Solo exhibition by Kat Knutsen A series of paintings and multi disciplinary works.
This is a masked event, limit of 4 people inside the gallery at a time/with an outdoor reception.
Click To RSVP For Updates & Reminders
Swing By The South End
5-8pm at the Kilburn Mill
Kim Barry Paintings & Valorie Sheehan Sculptures at the Judith Klein Art Gallery 127 W. Rodney French Blvd
Use main entrance
2nd floor Suit 2-87
Visitors limited to 2-3 people at one time, masks must be worn.
Killburn Open House Stop by from 5-8pm to visit over 30 artist studios, galleries and other creative businesses. Shop for fine arts, crafts and more. 127 W. Rodney French Blvd
Enter at Door #4
The Artisan Center is on the 2nd floor
Mask wearing & social distancing required.
5:30pm on Zoom
Registration Required
History Happy Hour with the Rotch-Jones-Duff Museum The 2021 season of H3 invites a local personality to talk about their favorite object in the RJD Museum. This H3 will be presented by Jesse Holstein, Concert Master at the NBSO. As a complement to their talk, Museum staff adds historical context about the same object. Rounding out happy hour, Jonathan Pogash, The Cocktail Guru, does a demonstration of mixology magic. Join him to mix (and taste) a cocktail from the comfort of your kitchen. Click To RSVP For Updates & Reminders Click To Register
6pm on Facebook
New Bedford Public Schools Virtual Art Show 2021
Enjoy a video highlighting artwork students have created throughout the year from schools across the district. After watching the video, go to the Fine Arts Department on the New Bedford Public Schools website to check out slideshows of even more NBPS artwork.
Click To RSVP For Updates & Reminders
Click To Watch
Celebrate Preservation Month
with the NB Preservation Society
6pm at the James Arnold Mansion,
427 County Street
Historic Walking Tour: The Architecture of Nat Smith
Nat Smith (1866-1943) was one of New Bedford’s most important and prolific native born architects. His building designs include most of the varieties of Colonial Revival style that were popular during his lifetime. Masks required.
Any Time
Downtown New Bedford – The Definitive Tour Take a walking tour of historic downtown New Bedford with your guide Bruce Barnes. Visit some of the definitive downtown landmarks including the New Bedford Free Public Library, City Hall and many of the most important and beautiful commercial buildings including banks and department stores.Click To Watch
Historic Property of the Week:
an in-depth look at a historic property in the city.New Bedford Historical Vignettes:
An in-depth look at a historically significant event, place or space.
This month’s historical vignette features the Railroad Depots of New Bedford’s Past.Click To View
6pm on Zoom
Registration Required
In Pursuit of History:
A Conversation About a Great Americana Collection
A Virtual Local History Guild Lecture
presented by the New Bedford Whaling Museum
JH. Richard Dietrich Jr. (1938-2007) spent a lifetime collecting colonial American art and artifacts, and founded the Dietrich American Foundation in 1963 with a mission to collect, research, and document historically important examples of American decorative and fine arts, primarily of the eighteenth century.
During the next Local History Guild, Dietrich’s son H. Richard Dietrich III and Deborah M. Rebuke, coeditors of a new book about the collector and the collection, will join Whaling Museum Curator of Maritime History Michael Dyer for a conversation about Dietrich’s passions, the formation of the collection, and how it enhances current understandings of colonial history and material culture. Click To RSVP For Updates & Reminders Click To Register
7:30pm on Facebook Live
NBSO Behind the Scenes: A special rehearsal with New Bedford Symphony Orchestra musicians Andrew Sorg (trumpet), Robert Hoveland (trombone),
and James Monaghan (bass trombone)
The NBSO is partnering with the South Coast Almanac for SouthCoast Spring Arts on Sunday, May 16. The South Coast Almanac will host a walking book club around downtown New Bedford and an NBSO brass trio will provide music at one of the stops. In preparation for this fun event, the NBSO is sharing the trio’s first rehearsal to show the process of bringing musicians together to perform a new piece of music.
The book club will feature the New York Times bestselling biography On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam
C. J. Walker by A’Lelia Bundles, which in 2020 was adapted into
the Netflix mini-series Self Made. The brass trio will perform and
talk about a few pieces from the mini-series. Click To RSVP For Updates & RemindersClick To Watch
Animation & Fashion Intallations
at UMD CVPA Star Store
7:30-9pm
Animation and Video Art: Projected!
Participating Artists: Professor Mark Millstein and his Spring 2021 Projection Art class; Mako Burke, Mike Correia, Michael DeSouza, William Ferrari, Armani Marquez-Chaves, Jacob Muñoz, Darley Ortiz-Garcia, Gina Pantalone, Sarah Seguin and James Tooker
A variety of art and design looping video produced for large projection onto the Union Square office building in Downtown New Bedford across from the Star Store on Purchase Street. The work was created this semester for a new course in projection mapping offered to CVPA students.
Any Time
Art as Fashion/Fashion as Art
UMass Dartmouth Students alongside established textiles artists and designers will display their wearable art pieces n the Star Store Campus windows on Union Street. The collective theme for “Art as Fashion / Fashion as Art” is Art that is Wearable, as well as the art developed during the creative process, featuring the finished fashion, illustrations, photography, and creative exploration.
The current fashion movement encouraging people to express themselves through their clothing has broadened our idea of what conventional or maybe unconventional fashion can be. These artists have created unique, one-of-a-kind pieces that walk the thin line of what is fashion and what is art.
Organized by UMass Dartmouth Fashion Design in collaboration with South Coast Surface Design (SoCoSD).
Any Time
A Million Dreams: A Video by the SouthCoast Children’s Chorus Enjoy the latest video by the SouthCoast Children’s Chorus, that is as much about resilience as about making beautiful music. A Million Dreams from the motion picture the Greatest Showman is performed by 19 amazing young singers ages 7-18 from Southeastern Massachusetts under the direction of Dr. Tianxu Zhou. If you are from the area try to recognize all nine South Coast locations that inspired these singers to DREAM BIG DREAMS for the world they’re gonna make. Click To Watch
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