Ahab’s Head: American Vengeance opens December 13 at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The new installation is by Boston artist and sculptor Heidi Whitman. It is an immersive look at obsession, power, and the American whaling story. Whitman is known for intricate “mental maps” that explore emotion, memory, and place. She applies that style to […]
See the faces of 19th-century America in a new special exhibition opening Jan. 16, 2026. "Look Pleasant, Please: Early Portrait Photography in New Bedford," explores portrait photography in a growing and diverse coastal city. Images highlight the changing relationship between photographer and sitter in a complex urban economy. Featured works include one of the last […]
Secret Mall Apartment tells the true story of eight Rhode Island artists who secretly built and lived in a 750-square-foot apartment inside Providence Place Mall for four years. Directed by […]
Author Eric Jay Dolin will discuss his book "Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution" on Thursday, March 26, from noon to 1 p.m. at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Admission is free. Dolin is the author of 17 books, including Leviathan: "The History of Whaling in America," "A Furious Sky: The Five-Hundred-Year History […]
Homeschool families are invited to Homeschool Day on Tuesday, March 31, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Activities focus on art, history, science, and culture. Discounted admission is $10 for students ages 4 to 18 and $12 for adults. Children under 3 are free. General admission includes the Kid’s […]
The next First Friday at the Whaling Museum is on April 3 with a live performance by Providence-based band Texas Street Revival. Doors open at 5 p.m. The program begins at 6 p.m. and runs about 90 minutes. Tickets are $12.50 for members and $25 for the general public. The band blends blues, funk, and […]
AHA! Night: Project Planet, Explore Our Ecosystem, is on Thursday, April 9, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Whaling Museum. Enjoy free admission and full gallery access from 4 to 5 p.m. during AHA! Night. Visitors can pick up a scavenger hunt card and search for hidden whales throughout the museum. Programs from 4 […]
Our Sisters’ School will host “When Data Tells a Story: Art, Climate, and the Future We Shape” at the New Bedford Whaling Museum on Thursday, April 9, at 5 p.m. during AHA! Night. The free program highlights a partnership that brings together students, scientists, fishermen, and artists to explore ocean science and climate change through […]
This free virtual program is on Friday, April 17, from noon to 1 p.m., at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Prior registration is required. Art historian Erin Pauwels will talk about her new book, "Napoleon Sarony's Living Pictures: The Celebrity Photograph in Gilded Age New York." Pauwels teaches at Tyler School of Art at Temple […]
April School Vacation Week: Our Shared Planet runs April 20–24, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Each day features themed activities, crafts, and story times focused on the ocean and environment. Guests can tour the entire museum, including the sand table, whale skeletons, Kid’s Corner, the Lagoda, and more. Daily […]
Join artist Heidi Whitman for an in-gallery talk on Sunday, April 26, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Museum admission applies. She will discuss her installation, “Ahab’s Head: American Vengeance,” on view through May 3, 2026. The work draws on Moby-Dick and reflects about themes of obsession, dread, and violence. […]
The New Bedford Whaling Museum will host a lifelong learning course on the history of photography from 1839 to 1900. The program includes six weekly 80-minute virtual sessions starting March 9. It ends with an in-person workshop and curator-led tour on April 27 at the museum. Schedule: March 9 — Photography’s origins, 1839 March 16 […]
A free virtual program with historian Marla R. Miller takes place Thursday, April 30, from noon to 1 p.m. Registration is required. Miller is a distinguished professor of history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her work focuses on women’s labor before industrialization. The Needle’s Eye won a national award. "Betsy Ross and the Making […]
On Friday, May 1, the museum hosts First Friday, staying open late from 5 to 8 p.m., with Boo City performing in the Harbor View Gallery at 6 p.m. Admission is $25. Providence-based Boo City has a genre-blending and refreshingly original sound. Their music moves between country blues, indie rock, reggae, retro soul, and folk, […]
A screening of the short film "The Petal Pusher" is scheduled for Tuesday, May 12, at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $25. The 15-minute film looks at New York City’s Penn Station through the story of "The Petal Pusher," a longtime flower shop once known to generations of commuters. Directed by David Abel and Mark Chesak, […]
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