LEAP for Education is offering 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.
Receive school credit and a salary or $500 stipend for 9 hours of work per week for 6 weeks.
Start to build a resume for college and future endeavors – examples of projects include website design at a communications company; working on a Luminartz Labor Day light show event; 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.
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
The Maritime Gloucester 2021 Winter Lecture Series goes virtual every Tuesday this March! This year’s roster focuses on the iconic vessel that defines our heritage and captures our hearts: The Schooner. With discussions of design, glimpses from past harbors, tributes to the fishing fleet and the men that drove it, and current legends that carry on the tradition…this lecture series goes in-depth with five entertaining and informative sessions.
We kick off the series on March 2, 2021 with Maritime Gloucester’s own Justin Demetri presenting Evolution of the Schooner: A Story in Half Hull. Presentation and Q&A to follow.
Get a team together and join the Sawyer Free Library Local History Librarian on Zoom for a fun night of Gloucester Trivia on Thursday, March 11 from 6:30-7:30pm! Sign up at here! Teams can be 1-5 members!
Celebrate Rockport’s rich cultural history as a quarry town while enjoying passionately prepared food, sourced from nearby fields and waters at Feather and Wedge Restaurant and Bar. Offering takeout, dine-in, and delivery options, visit their website www.featherandwedge.com for their hours or to place an order online. Before returning home, stop across the street to La Provence, proud importers of authentic French tablecloths to set your table for an elegant dinner. Visit their website for additional details and an array of other curated French imported products www.laprov.com. Rockport has several local restaurants and retailers to choose from; head out this week to support your favorite! If you are interested in participating in this initiative as a restaurant, retailer, or sponsor, contactSara@capeannchamber.com today!
Join Backyard Growers for the virtual garden workshop “How to Start Seeds Indoors” and learn how to start your own seeds this spring. In this workshop, you’ll learn the benefits of starting seeds indoors, what you need to be successful at starting your own indoor nursery, and how to care for your seedlings from seed to garden. The event includes an interactive Q&A and demonstration.
When: March 11, 7 – 8pm
Where: Zoom
Tickets: FREE for Backyard Garden Program participants. $15 general admission. Ticket sales support Backyard Growers’ school, community, and backyard garden programs. Click here to reserve your spot or purchase a ticket.
Rebecca Robison, Karla Kaneb, Stacey Csaplar and Anastasia Dennehy join staff
GLOUCESTER, MASS. (February 2021) – The Cape Ann Museum is pleased to welcome four new staff members: Rebecca Robison as Executive Assistant, Karla Kaneb as Collections Move Coordinator, Stacey Csaplar as Visitor Services Representative, and Anastasia Dennehy, also in Visitor Services.
Robison brings 15 years of museum administrative experience to her role as Executive Assistant. Prior to joining the Cape Ann Museum, she skillfully managed administrative duties and board relations as the Executive Assistant and Board Liaison to both the Chief Philanthropy Officer and the Director and CEO at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM). Before working at PEM, she was the Project Manager for more than a decade at White Oak Associates, Museum Planners and Analysts.
“The Cape Ann Museum is truly a love letter to the beauty, history and cultural heritage of Cape Ann,” says Robison who is a native of upstate New York and holds a bachelor’s degree from Hofstra University. “The Museum gallery spaces are contemplative and inviting. I appreciate how they encourage the visitor to slow down and engage in these works of art that celebrate the region.”
Kaneb is overseeing the transfer of the museum collections to the new state-of-the-art Janet & William Ellery James Center. Kaneb holds a master’s degree in Museum Studies with a concentration in Collections Management from the Harvard University Extension School.
Kaneb shared that “Professionally, the Cape Ann Museum offers the unique opportunity to work with a significant and diverse collection of art and historical objects within the context of a region that continues to attract and support a noteworthy arts culture to this day. On a more personal level, being part of a museum that is so dedicated to reflecting the spirit of the community that it serves is very fulfilling.”
Csaplar will be welcoming visitors at the front desk in her new position at the Museum. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Sweet Briar College and a master’s in education from Wheelock College. Csaplar is currently a certificate candidate in Museum Studies at Harvard Extension School.
“The antique homes that are part of the Cape Ann Museum collection are close to my heart,” says Csaplar. “They each hold the stories of the people who they sheltered and have only whispered of all the secrets they keep.”
Dennehy recently graduated from SUNY Geneseo and will also join the Museum as a Visitor Services Representative. Prior to joining the Cape Ann Museum, Dennehy worked as a tour guide in Virginia.
“Although I enjoy many pieces in the Museum, my favorite piece in the collection is the sampler stitched by Mary Davis in the Captain Elias Davis House,” says Dennehy. “It is a great example of how the CAM is
not only interested in the overall history of Cape Ann, but also the individual lives of the people who have called Cape Ann home.”
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.
GLOUCESTER, MASS. (February 2021) – The Cape Ann Museum is pleased to welcome Miranda Aisling as the new Education Manager. Her mission is to reconnect art to daily life, a purpose she brings to her new work developing programs for the Museum including a new virtual lecture series this month.
“As a practicing artist and community organizer, I believe that creativity is an innate human skill,” says Aisling. “Some people suppress it, others develop it, but everyone has it. In my new role at the Cape Ann Museum, I’m excited to create avenues to celebrate and amplify the incredible creativity in this community, both past and present.”
Among one of her first initiatives, in response to the continued state-wide limit on large gatherings, is to bring the Museum’s gallery talks online with the CAM Virtual Lecture Series. The first such event was held on January 29.
Up next on Friday, February 26 at 1:00 pm, as part of Black History Month, the Museum will present “African Americans in Essex County” with Dr. Kabria Baumgartner, University of New Hampshire, and Dr. Elizabeth Duclos-Orsello, Salem State University. These two scholars have spent the past two years visiting historic repositories throughout Essex County, including the Cape Ann Museum, to collect, compile, and catalog the rich history of African Americans in this area. Their report, African Americans in Essex County, was funded by the National Park Service and will be released later this spring.
“Miranda has hit the ground running, developing two timely virtual presentations in her first month on the job,” says Oliver Barker, Museum Director. “I look forward to working with Miranda and the rest of our dynamic staff to bring exciting, new programming to the Cape Ann community and beyond as we continue to navigate these historic times.”
Aisling previously built and ran a non-profit called Miranda’s Hearth with the mission of
building community through creativity that is approachable, affordable, and accessible. She also worked as the Director of Visual Arts & Operations at The Umbrella Arts Center in Concord, Mass., and was an educator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She holds a master’s of education degree in community art from Lesley University and a bachelor’s of art degree in painting and pottery from Mary Baldwin University.
The Virtual Lecture Series is free for CAM members; $10 for nonmembers. Registration is open online. For further details or information, please call (978)283-0455 x110 or email info@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.
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.
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. 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!
Cape Ann Community 