Maritime souvenirs from Vineyard mariners who sailed in the 19th and early 20th century are the subject of the exhibit A Taste for the Exotic: Mementos from Around the Globe. Whether they were chasing whales or shipping goods, the mariners collected items that documented their oceanic travels.
The exhibit opens on Friday, May 24, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum, 59 School street in Edgartown.
Youngsters can travel back to the days when whalers and sailors engraved images on whale bone as part of the Edgartown Board of Trade’s Pink and Green Weekend. Since it is a Pink and Green Weekend, youngsters will carve their own scrimshaw art out of pink and green soap. The scrimshaw event is offered at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum Library, 59 School street in Edgartown, beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 11. Reservations are required for an accurate count of materials. Cost is $5 per child.
The Martha’s Vineyard Museum is hosting a reception tonight, March 15, for its latest spotlight gallery. These are short-term galleries devoted to rarely seen collections, new acquisitions and curators’ favorites. The latest spotlight was curated by the museum’s Facebook fans and Twitter followers. Over the past few weeks, these friends have voted on their favorite objects in the museum collection. The winners are now on exhibit.
Martha’s Vineyard Museum has received a $293,900 grant to make detailed descriptions of its collections searchable online, museum officials announced this week. The grant is the largest in the museum’s 90 year history, and builds on preservation work that has been supported by Community Preservation grants from five Island towns.
Plein Air is in the air. For the month of October the Martha’s Vineyard Museum and Arts Martha’s Vineyard are teaming up to celebrate creativity done outdoors. During the month various museum properties will be open for Island artists for a series of plein air sessions.
A new building has been added to the Vineyard Haven skyline. Well, actually it isn’t new—it’s been there since 1895, but a recent clearing of trees has exposed the 10,000 square-foot former marine hospital to the Lagoon Pond, to cars entering Vineyard Haven via Beach Road and to boats leaving the harbor.