Month: February 2021

Cape Ann Museum welcomes Kathleen Cooke Ryan as new Chief Philanthropy Officer

~ Cape Ann Museum

GLOUCESTER, MASS. (February 2021) – The Cape Ann Museum is pleased to welcome Kathleen (Kate) Cooke Ryan as the Museum’s new Chief Philanthropy Officer.

Ryan is a seasoned fundraising professional with deep experience in international program development and relationship management, most recently through her working with constituents around the globe on behalf of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, at Tufts University. Before joining Tufts, Ryan worked for Harvard University, where her leadership positions included Harvard Business School, the Harvard Alumni Association, The Rhodes Trust and Harvard Graduate School of Design. Prior to working for U.S. universities and colleges, Ryan taught English at the Notre Dame Seishin Women’s University in Okayama, Japan.   

Most recently, as senior director of development and alumni relations at Tufts University, Ryan helped shape a team of talented professionals and partnered with senior leadership to achieve consecutive years of record-breaking fundraising results, raising nearly $70 million in pledges and gifts toward Fletcher’s highest priorities and positioning the School to reach its campaign target.

A Cape Ann resident for over 30 years, Ryan and her husband raised their three children on Cape Ann and were introduced to the Cape Ann Museum 25 years ago through their son’s art project, which was featured in a Cape Ann Museum exhibit.

“Cape Ann is a very special place with unsurpassed beauty, especially comforting this past year as we sought peace and solace during uncertain times,” says Ryan. “The community is so fortunate to have such a beautiful Museum to honor and share the many dimensions of Cape Ann’s art, nature, history and culture.”

Ryan has served on several boards and committees on the North Shore and is currently a board member of the Institute for Global Maritime Studies. She earned her master’s degree in international relations from the Fletcher School at Tufts University.    

Oliver Barker, the Museum’s Director, is very pleased to welcome Ryan at a critical time of growth for the institution. “Kate Ryan’s expertise is so important to the Museum’s future success and our commitment to engaging the broader Cape Ann community,” Barker said. “We are expanding our staff, increasing our programming, and have opened a second campus, CAM Green, so this is an exciting time for us to bring on such a gifted fundraiser as part of our senior leadership as we prepare for the Museum’s 150th anniversary in 2025.”

For more information about the Museum, its programs, exhibits, and collections, visit www.capeannmuseum.org.

The Cape Ann Museum, founded in 1875, exists to preserve and celebrate the history and culture of the area and to keep it relevant to today’s audiences. Spanning 44,000 square feet, the Museum is one of the major cultural institutions on Boston’s North Shore welcoming more than 25,000 local, national and international visitors each year to its exhibitions and programs. In addition to fine art, the Museum’s collections include decorative art, textiles, artifacts from the maritime and granite industries, three historic homes, a Library & Archives and a sculpture park in the heart of downtown Gloucester. In 2021, the Museum will officially open the 12,000 square foot Janet & William Ellery James Center at the Cape Ann Museum Green. The campus also includes three historic buildings – the White Ellery House (1710), an adjacent Barn (c. 1740), and the recently acquired Babson-Alling House (c.1740), all located on the site at the intersection of Washington and Poplar Streets in Gloucester.   

The Cape Ann Museum is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, operating hours have been reduced to better protect the safety and well-being of visitors, staff and volunteers. The Museum is currently open Thursday through Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Timed tickets are required for all visitors at this time and can be reserved online at www.camuseum.eventbrite.com. Admission is $12.00 adults, $10.00 Cape Ann residents, seniors and students. Youth (under 18) and Museum members are free. Cape Ann residents can visit for free on the second Saturday of each month. For more information please call (978)283-0455 x110 or visit www.capeannmuseum.org.  

For a detailed media fact sheet please visit www.capeannmuseum.org/press.

MEDIA CONTACTS: Ashley Elias
                                    Teak Media
                                    (213) 400-3402
                                    Ashley@teakmedia.com

Meredith Anderson
meredithanderson@capeannmuseum.org
(978) 283-0455 x115

Collaborative Public Art Projects to Reinvigorate Gloucester in 2021 Thanks to Funding from Essex County Community Foundation

~ backyardgrowersgloucester

Projects include Agri-Culture, led by Gloucester-based food access and urban agriculture nonprofit Backyard Growers

Gloucester, Mass., February 18, 2021 – After a long winter in isolation, the Gloucester community will come to life through new public art projects that seek to promote hope, connection, and diversity. Agri-Culture, headed by nonprofit organization Backyard Growers in collaboration with Gloucester Housing Authority and Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce, is just one of six new collaborative public art and creative placemaking projects being funded by Essex County Community Foundation’s Creative County Initiative (CCI). Launched in 2018 through a partnership with the Barr Foundation, CCI is designed to elevate arts, culture and the creative economy in Essex County. 

Agri-Culture is a project that will use storytelling, multimedia arts, and a participatory design process to create dynamic spaces in and around the community garden managed by Backyard Growers at Willowood Park, a Gloucester Housing Authority development on Maplewood Avenue in Gloucester.

“We are thrilled to forge this expanded partnership with Gloucester Housing Authority and the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce aimed at connecting and celebrating the voices of diverse communities in Gloucester through public art,” said Lara Lepionka, Executive Director of Backyard Growers. “We are also pleased to be in such good company with LuminArtz, which is leading the other Gloucester-based project funded through CCI in this selective round.”

 “The idea of creating a space where anyone and everyone can access art and culture is paramount to our vision for Essex County,” said CCI Program Director Karen Ristuben. “We were really inspired by these new collaborations, which have not only designed innovative, creative plans to bring people together through art and culture but have also managed to persevere through COVID-19,” added Ristuben. 

“During these difficult times, it is vital that our residents have a sense of hope and transformation, and that our community increase its sense of inclusivity,” said Gloucester Housing Authority Executive Director David Houlden. “Our public art project, Agri-Culture, based in and around the Willowood Community Garden, will bring new energy to the Willowood community using the arts to celebrate diverse cultures and improve healthy food access.”

A second Gloucester project was also funded by CCI called Centuries in the Making, led by LuminArtz. It is a project which brings the iconic fishermen’s and fishermen’s wives’ memorial statues in Gloucester to life through art technology and sound effects. These two new Gloucester-based projects will join an already impressive list of CCI-funded public art projects that have successfully mobilized collaborations of nonprofits, artists, municipalities and local businesses to transform their communities through art. For more information about ECCF’s work in arts and culture, please visit eccf.org/arts-and-culture.

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About Backyard Growers

Backyard Growers is a grassroots organization that connects people and communities through access to healthy food. Founded in 2010, its community programs and award-winning school programs have connected thousands of people to the resources to grow their own food. Learn more about Backyard Growers and its work in schools, public parks, and housing developments at www.backyardgrowers.org.

About ECCF

The mission of Essex County Community Foundation is to inspire philanthropy that strengthens the communities of Essex County. We do this by managing charitable assets, strengthening and supporting nonprofits and engaging in strategic community leadership. Since 1998, ECCF and its family of 250 charitable funds have granted $85 million to nonprofits, schools and students in Essex County and beyond. Our ultimate goal is to have 34 thriving cities and towns in Essex County and to improve the quality of life for the region’s nearly 800,000 residents. Learn more at eccf.org. 

Today begins our new #TourTuesday series, where you’ll get a glimpse inside GMGI’s state-of-the-art research institute each Tuesday for the next few weeks

~ Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute

Today begins our new #TourTuesday series, where you’ll get a glimpse inside GMGI’s state-of-the-art research institute each Tuesday for the next few weeks. Let’s get started!

Some background: Affectionately known amongst staff as ‘417 Main’, the nearly 6,000sq ft space first opened in October of 2018 and is home to all of GMGI’s research and administration staff. The institute was built by @windover_construction and was made possible through a $2.7M grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.

First up, the largest and most centralized lab in the institute, the Molecular Biology Lab. This is where the majority of hands-on laboratory experiments take place, with specialized tasks happening in other, smaller lab areas. (You’ll see those in the coming weeks!) The Molecular Biology Lab supports desk space for GMGI’s research associates and lab technicians, and has designated bench space for up to 16 research staff – all with incredible views of Gloucester’s inner and outer harbor!

Takeout Today: Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce’s Initiative to Support Cape Ann’s Small Businesses

~ Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce

Cape Ann’s small business community has proven how resilient, determined, and creative they truly are. Over the course of the past year, our local businesses have experienced mandated closures and state restrictions and have endured significant challenges to help keep our community safe. Now more than ever, the independently owned businesses that make Cape Ann unique need our help to persevere. We are asking you to show that we are stronger together by supporting your neighbors through take out, delivery, online ordering, or visiting their location to buy something special.

Each week we will feature one restaurant and one retailer for the community to rally behind. We implore you, our Cape Ann neighbors and friends, to help keep our businesses strong now so that we all can continue to do business with them in brighter days ahead. This week we invite you to visit Laneside Pub and Brewery at Cape Ann Lanes and shop at Toodeloos! for a family night!

Cape Ann Strong, Stronger Together!

If you would like to participate in the campaign as a featured restaurant, retailer or community sponsor, please contact Sara Bowen at  sara@capeannchamber.com  

Antarctica: Lessons from the Bottom of the World presented by the Sawyer Free Library on Saturday, 2/20 at 2pm

~ Sawyer Free Library

Join environmental attorney, diver and photographer Michael Carvalho, for a Live Zoom presentation about his arctic exhibition to Antarctica in 2018, “Antarctica: Lessons From the Bottom of the World,” on Saturday, February 20 from 2 to 4:00 p.m. Registration is required in order to receive the Zoom link. Register here. 

Illustrated by his breathtaking photography he will discuss the developments in Antarctica, the rising sea levels and its impact locally. According to experts, temperatures in the Antarctic region are rising due to “heat-trapping gas pollution,” which has serious global consequences. Gloucester, like all coastal regions, is vulnerable to increasingly extreme weather.

Since obtaining his open water scuba certification in 1978 in Rockport, Carvalho has completed more than 2,500 dives on six continents.

Carvalho is the former chairman of the board of directors for the National Council for Science and the Environment. In 2019, he represented the United Nations Environment Program for North America as a delegate at the UNEA-4 Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. He is currently a member of the board of directors for Salem Sound Coastwatch and a trustee with the Manchester-Essex Conservation Trust.

This free virtual lecture presented by the Sawyer Free Library to foster civic engagement and discussion on issues facing the community. For more information, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org.

School Vacation Week Fun with the Sawyer Free Library: Winter Hibernation presented by Hands on Nature

~ Sawyer Free Library

How do your favorite animals spend the winter? On Thursday, February 18 at 10:00 a.m., children and families will have fun finding out during an interactive virtual program presented by Hands on Nature. Learn all about hibernation, how animals look for shelter and the amazing adaptations they have for surviving through the harshest temperatures in New England.

This is a virtual event hosted by the Sawyer Free Library. Please register online for the Zoom link which will be sent by Children’s Services. Click here to register. Space is limited.

After the program, families can continue the fun by making a cozy hibernation den for a favorite small stuff animal using materials from around the home including a small paper bag, glue, scissors, crayons and cotton balls or dried leaves. 

LEAP for Education 2021 FREE Summer Internship Program – Apply now!

~ GloucesterU


LEAP for Education is running a FREE 2021 Summer Internship Program for Gloucester Youth and Young Adults, and those from surrounding towns!

Work virtually on a project with a mentor/company where you will gain important workplace skills

Start to build a resume for college and future endeavors – examples of projects include website design at a communications company; marketing projects with a Vice President of marketing or local businesses; teen council/community representative for local nonprofits, positions at the Sawyer Free Library, teller positions at BankGloucester, internships at Halyard apartments, and many more

Receive school credit and a salary or $500 stipend

Attend regularly scheduled Zoom workplace skills workshops on topics such as job interviewing, job hunting, and resume writing

For more information, to set up an interview to discuss your interests, or to register, please email JoAnn Leavitt, Program Coordinator, at jleavitt@leap4ed.org

Application link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScygnpeAOkf8HvrsxkhEtu6l-GLcBXU_kDM2c_4k5UMBf-m_w/viewform

Youth and Young Adults: MAKE GREAT USE OF YOUR TIME THIS SUMMER! APPLY NOW!

A View from a Different Lens: Sawyer Free Library to host a presentation on Race Amity on Thursday, Feb 25 at 7pm

~ Sawyer Free Library

Race Amity: advancing the discourse on race through friendship.

On Thursday, February 25 from 7:00-8:30pm, the Sawyer Free Library will be hosting a Zoom presentation of WGBH’s powerful documentary series “American Stories: Race Amity and The Other Tradition.”  This presentation will include a brief introduction to the film by Dr. William H. Smith (creator, executive producer, and writer of the series), a reading from the book “Race Amity: A Primer on America’s Other Tradition,” a viewing of the film “Race Amity: America’s Other Tradition,” a commentary by Dr. Smith, and a Q&A Session. Register here!

By sharing healing, inspirational stories of the power of race amity, the documentary explores the moral counterweights to the tradition of racism in America and how we can move together towards unity and love. Created by WHS Media Productions LLC, the film discusses the “better in us” perspective needed in the current climate of disunity across racial, religious, and political lines.

“This grand Race Amity Project is a timely work that speaks to our hearts and souls! I am blessed to fully support it.” – Rev. Dr. Cornel West, Professor Harvard Divinity School, Social Commentator   

This virtual event is FREE and open to the public. Advanced registration is required to access the Zoom link. Please register on the Library Calendar at sawyerfreelibrary.org.  

Dr. William H. Smith is the founding executive director of the National Center for Race Amity. He is the creator, executive producer, and writer of the series, “American Stories: Race Amity and The Other Tradition” and the producer and co-writer of the award winning Invisible Soldiers: Unheard Voices.  

Cape Ann Museum hosts virtual lecture series on African Americans in Essex County

~ Cape Ann Museum

Monthly lecture series allows attendees to celebrate cultural history of Cape Ann

Friday, February 26 at 1:00 p.m.

GLOUCESTER, MASS. (Feb. 2021) – To honor and celebrate Black History Month, the Cape Ann Museum welcomes Dr. Kabria Baumgartner and Dr. Elizabeth Duclos-Orsello to discuss their research and report on the history of African Americans in Essex County as part of the Museum’s new virtual lecture series on Friday, Feb. 26 at 1 p.m.

Dr. Baumgartner, Associate Professor of American Studies and Faculty Fellow for Equity and Inclusion of the University of New Hampshire, and Dr. Duclos-Orsello, Chair and Professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies and Coordinator of American Studies at Salem State University, will discuss their research for a new report, African Americans in Essex County, which was funded by the National Park Service and will be released later this spring.

The two have spent the past two years visiting historic repositories throughout Essex County, including the Cape Ann Museum, to collect, compile, and catalog the history of African Americans in this area.

“Exploring the deep and complex history of African Americans in Essex County is incredibly enriching,” said Dr. Baumgartner. “What becomes apparent is that African Americans have contributed to the economic development as well as the cultural and intellectual wealth of Essex County, which is a federally recognized national heritage area.”

“The African Americans in Essex County Project is the first study to provide a thorough accounting of the archival collections and materials at area repositories related to the African American experience, dating back to the seventeenth century. By compiling these materials, we have opened some new possibilities to share fascinating “hidden” stories, to identify and connect complex themes, and to collaborate with cultural institutions and community members in order to understand the dynamic history of African Americans in this region,” she said.

During the virtual discussion, participants will hear directly from Dr. Baumgartner and Dr. Duclos-Orsello about what they have learned, the impetus behind the project, and their recommendations for how local residents and institutions can celebrate and support African American History in Essex County.

WHEN and WHERE: Friday, February 26, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. EST. Register online at https://www.capeannmuseum.org/events/african-americans-essex-county/ or call 978-283-0455 x10 or email to info@capeannmuseum.org. Free for CAM members; $10 for non-members. 

Next scheduled lecture in the series will be on Friday, March 19 at 4:00 pm: How Copley Painted Women, presented by Dr. Erica Hirshler, Croll Senior Curator of American Paintings, MFA Boston and Jane Kamensky, Trumbull Professor of American History, Harvard University.

Outdoor walking tours offer socially-distanced way to learn about artists Edward Hopper and Fitz Henry Lane in Gloucester and the evolution of religious and spiritual life on Cape Ann

~ Cape Ann Museum

GLOUCESTER, MASS. (February 2021) – During the month of February, the Cape Ann Museum will offer three outdoor walking tours in downtown Gloucester. During a time of continued concerns around the spread of COVID-19, the 1½-hour tours offer participants a safe and engaging way to learn about the rich history of Cape Ann. Each tour is led by a knowledgeable Museum docent who will guide participants along a route through the city focusing on the chosen topic.

Cape Ann’s storied light, its natural beauty, and its rich cultural history had a significant impact on the many American artists who worked or lived on Cape Ann. On the Hopper and Lane tours, participants will visit places and observe the same views of the harbor, beaches, homes and churches that each artist translated into remarkable works of art. The “Evolution of Spiritual Communities” tour covers sites related to the religious and spiritual life of European settlers on Cape Ann over its 400-year history.

Full descriptions of each tour and required online registration information can be found at capeannmuseum.org/events.

Tours are held rain or shine. All participants must wear face masks, and dogs are not allowed on the walks. Cost is $10 for CAM members and $20 for non-members, and it includes Museum admission. Advance online registration is required. Space is limited.

For more information about the Museum, its programs, exhibits, and collections, visit www.capeannmuseum.org.