Tune in for a virtual event featuring female fisherpoets from around the country! These fisherpoets will share stories, poems, and music related to their experiences in the fishing industry and community. This event will be led by Moe Bowstern and will feature Tele Aadsen, Meezie Hermansen, Alana Kansaku-Sarmiento, Meghan Gervais, Kate Murphy, Billie Delaney, and Melanie Brown plus others to be announced!
This event will take place on the Fishing Heritage Center’s Facebook page as a Facebook Live event. You can watch by visiting the Center’s Facebook page at 7:00pm EDT on Thursday, April 8th.
Women in the Workplace, Women on Deck is supported by a Bridge Street Scholarship from Mass Humanities. This program is part of the Center’s series about women’s roles in commercial fishing which is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Women’s Fisheries Network, Mass Cultural Council, and the New Bedford, Fairhaven, Dartmouth, Westport, Marion, and Mattapoisett Cultural Councils. The program take place on April’s AHA! Night and is free and open to the public.
Performer Bios (more coming soon!)
Moe Bowstern is the editor since 1996 of Xtra Tuf, a zine that chronicles the experiences and adventures of commercial fisher folk in Alaska and beyond. Moe worked on fishing boats starting in 1986, when as a miserable 18-year-old boat cook she once inadvertently threatened the lives of the crew by serving pasta tossed with shards of glass. She has fished salmon, halibut, herring, tanner crab, cod in Alaska, shad on the Hudson River, shrimp in Miami and mackerel, crab and lobster in the Moray Firth of Scotland. She lives in Portland Oregon, where she writes for the It Did Happen Here historical documentary podcast telling the story of Portland activists who chased fascist skinheads out of town in the late 80s/early 90s.
Melanie Brown fishes for sockeye salmon in the Naknek River District of Bristol Bay with her kids on the set-net site that her Great Grandfather, Paul Chukan, staked out. She winters in Juneau, Alaska and advocates for salmon and wild salmon habitat with her colleagues at SalmonState.
Tele Aadsen is an Alaskan salmon troller who sold her first catch for the price of an ice cream cone in 1984. She fishes the F/V Nerka with partner Joel & cat Halcyon, living ocean-summers in Lingit Aani, Southeast Alaska, & land-winters in the Coast Salish territory of Bellingham, Washington. www.nerkasalmon.
Kat Murphy is a power troller in southeast Alaska. She targets salmon in the summer months and in the off season, direct markets her catch and sells other fish she’s sourced from small boat fishermen in and around Port Townsend, WA through her business, Katfish Salmon Co. When she’s not fishing, selling, and thinking about fish, Kat enjoys mushroom hunting and catching up on sleep.
Join us for a virtual discussion with Robyn Metcalfe, Executive Producer of the film, The Long Coast. Click here to join the Zoom meeting on Friday, April 16th at 7:00pm. Watch the trailer for The Long Coast by clicking here.
We will not be screening the film during the Zoom meeting. You can watch the film on your own by registering here. Register by April 15th to receive access before the discussion on April 16th. Once you receive the link, you will have 48 hours to watch the film.
In a series of lyrical portraits, The Long Coast illuminates the stories of Maine’s seafolk, those whose lives and livelihoods are inextricably connected to the ocean. This atmospheric film shows the beauty, intimacy, and uncertainty that coastal dwellers face in rooting their lives in the ocean, particularly as human actions — from overfishing, to aquaculture, to warming seas — confront Maine and its people with profound change.
Please contact Hannah at programs@fishingheritagecenter.org with any questions.
Dock-u-mentaries are presented by New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center and New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park. Thank you to Zapalac Advisors for funding this event.
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. Takes place at 7pm over ZOOM, https://us02web.zoom.us/
This event is supported by a Bridge Street Scholarship from Mass Humanities. Mothers, Daughters, Wives: Stories from Fishing Families is part of Women’s Work, the Center’s series about women’s roles in commercial fishing which is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Women’s Fisheries Network, Mass Cultural Council, and the New Bedford, Fairhaven, Dartmouth, Westport, Marion, and Mattapoisett Cultural Councils. This even takes place on May’s AHA! Night and is free and open to the public.
Join us for a virtual discussion with Shareen Davis and Angela Sanfillipo, the women profiled in the film, A Fish Story. Learn about the history of women as fishing industry advocates and what has changed in the 20 years since the film was made.
We will not be screening the film during the Zoom meeting. You can watch the film ahead of time on Youtube by using this link, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5K4xMjFWK8
About the film: A Fish Story is the tale of two women who lead their communities in a battle for control of the ocean. Angela Sanfilippo of Gloucester, Massachusetts, and Shareen Davis of Chatham, Massachusetts were born into fishing families and married men who continue to make a living from the sea. Fishing defines who they are and has sustained their communities for generations. But their way of life is threatened when a powerful coalition of national environmental groups file a lawsuit that could put hundreds of fishermen out of business. Three hundred years of fishing tradition and the health of the ocean hangs in the balance.
In the 1970s, enormous international fishing fleets decimated the waters off New England leaving local fishermen struggling to survive in the wake of this environmental disaster. Decades later, New England fishermen and environmentalist remain locked in an intense battle over the current health and future management of the ocean. And with the success of a broad sweeping lawsuit filed in 2000, environmentalists are demanding radical new conservation measures that could spell disaster for New England fishermen and their communities. Angela and Shareen find themselves at the center of this political storm as they struggle to save both fish and fishermen. Delving into the behind-the-scenes world of politicians, environmentalists, journalists, and fishermen, A Fish Story confronts the hard choices faced when human needs and those of the environment collide.
Please contact Hannah at programs@fishingheritagecenter.org with any questions.
Dock-u-mentaries are presented by New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center and New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park. This event is supported by a Bridge Street Scholarship from Mass Humanities. Virtual Dock-u-mentaries Discussion: A Fish Story is part of Women’s Work, the Center’s series about women’s roles in commercial fishing which is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Women’s Fisheries Network, Mass Cultural Council, and the New Bedford, Fairhaven, Dartmouth, Westport, Marion, and Mattapoisett Cultural Councils.
Stop by in-person to see our new exhibit, More than a Job: Work and Community in New Bedford’s Fishing Community. This exhibit features lots of hands-on and kid-friendly interactive, so bring the whole family! Free and open to the public for AHA! Night.
The Fishing Heritage Center is pleased to partner with DATMA for Harvesters of the Deep, a public art installation highlighting women in the seafood industry.
From June 17th – October 17th, DATMA will bring works of outstanding photographers from select locations around the world, the exhibit will feature insightful, life-sized portraits celebrating women working in the fishing industry. Featured photographers include: Phil Mello presenting photographs of New Bedford fisherwomen; Hyung S. Kim’s photographs of Korean shellfish divers (aka Haenyeo) and Craig Easton’s photographs of English smokehouse workers (aka “The Herring Lasses”).
Custom designed kiosks, including documentary will be strategically positioned along outdoor public walkways in downtown New Bedford and along the waterfront and participate in the annual New Bedford Seaport Art Walk.
Save the date! This summer, we are celebrating the Center’s five-year anniversary and the official grand opening of More than a Job with an event on June 26th! Watch demonstrations of model boat making and other industry skills. Enjoy live music featuring the Rum Soaked Crooks. Plus make and take activities for the kids. The celebration is free and open to the public. A speaking program at noon will feature remarks by elected officials including Congressman Bill Keating, Representative Antonio Cabral, and a keynote address by Brian Boyles, Executive Director of Mass Humanities. Click here for a full schedule of events.
This event will also feature a free vaccine clinic for the COVID-19 vaccine in partnership with Fishing Partnership and Greater New Bedford Community Health Center. Vaccine offered: Johnson & Johnson for adults; Pfizer for kids 12-17. Free $20 Dunkin Donuts cards to first time vaccinators both for child AND adult!
Funding for More than a Job: Work and Community in New Bedford’s Fishing Industry is provided by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and significant support from Bristol County Savings Bank. Major in-kind support for this exhibit was provided by Fairhaven Shipyard and Blue Fleet Welding.
We Came to Fish, We Came to Work: Stories of Immigration is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Creative Commonwealth Initiative, and the Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Mattapoisett, and New Bedford Cultural Councils.
Join us Wednesday, July 7th from 6:00pm-8:00pm for “Chanteys and Maritime Songs – Bring Your Voices and Bring Your Friends,” a chantey workshop and singalong lead by The Johnson Girls at the Fishing Heritage Center. Open to the public with a “pass-the-hat” voluntary contribution.
Formed in 1997, The Johnson Girls are the leading all-woman maritime song group in the world. Sea chanteys and songs, as the first real “world music”, captured their imagination. Just as sailors who were heavily influenced by the songs they heard while traveling the world over, each of the Johnson Girls brings a special style to the ensemble. Their extensive repertoire of both traditional and contemporary material includes sea chanteys and work songs of other traditions, African-American, Canadian, Caribbean, Irish, French, Italian as well as songs from the inland waterways and fisheries. Widely acclaimed for their powerhouse performances of rousing work songs, sensitive renderings of haunting ballads and laments, and hair-raising harmonies, The Johnson Girls dazzle audiences wherever they perform. Learn more at thejohnsongirls.com
This program is part of “Women’s Work” programming which is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Women’s Fisheries Network, Mass Cultural Council, and the New Bedford, Fairhaven, Dartmouth, Westport, Marion, and Mattapoisett Cultural Councils.
Join us for a performance by the Johnson Girls. The performance will take place outside at the garden of the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, 33 William Street in downtown New Bedford. Free and open to the public. Bring your own chair!
Unvaccinated individuals are required to wear a mask and social distance on federal property.
RAIN LOCATION: In the event of rain, the concert will be held inside at the Fishing Heritage Center, 38 Bethel Street.
Formed in 1997, The Johnson Girls are the leading all-woman maritime song group in the world. Sea chanteys and songs, as the first real “world music”, captured their imagination. Just as sailors who were heavily influenced by the songs they heard while traveling the world over, each of the Johnson Girls brings a special style to the ensemble. Their extensive repertoire of both traditional and contemporary material includes sea chanteys and work songs of other traditions, African-American, Canadian, Caribbean, Irish, French, Italian as well as songs from the inland waterways and fisheries. Widely acclaimed for their powerhouse performances of rousing work songs, sensitive renderings of haunting ballads and laments, and hair-raising harmonies, The Johnson Girls dazzle audiences wherever they perform.
This concert is part of “Women’s Work” programming which is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Women’s Fisheries Network, Mass Cultural Council, and the New Bedford, Fairhaven, Dartmouth, Westport, Marion, and Mattapoisett Cultural Councils. Thank you to New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park for hosting this event.
Join us for an evening of silent, short films accompanied by live music by Jeff Angeley! Films include Shanghied, directed and starring Charlie Chaplin, and The Boat, directed and starring Buster Keaton. This screening will take place at New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center located at 38 Bethel Street in downtown New Bedford. Free and open to the public!
Shanghied (1915)- Intent on scuttling his ship, a financially-pressed shipowner conspires with the vessel’s captain to collect the insurance money, unbeknownst to him that his daughter and her beau, Charlie, are aboard. Will they get away with it so easily?
The Boat (1921)- Buster and his family go on a voyage on his homemade boat that proves to be one disaster after another!
Jeff Angeley is a multi-instrumentalist, music instructor, and event organizer based in New Bedford. He has 20 years of teaching experience and an even longer track record of putting together high quality acoustic music performances. Angeley has a particular passion for traditional music and its ability to bring communities together. His fiddle, banjo, mandolin, guitar, & upright bass performances, as well as his singing and dance calling continue to bring greater exposure to traditional American performing art forms. In the last few years he founded “Old Time Fiddle Session & Community Gathering,” a group which hosts large quarterly events, traditional music and dance workshops, and free monthly community jams and gatherings. Using his abilities as an instructor, combined with his passion for social music and deep experience as a performer, he has built and continues to foster a thriving community of traditional musicians in the Greater New Bedford area.
Dock-U-Mentaries is a co-production of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center. All programs are open to the public and presented free of charge.
