Cape Ann Museum

Gloucester Zine Fest presented by Sawyer Free Library this Saturday, April 27 from 11am-3pm

~ Sawyer Free Library

A day of artistic expression and community fun!

Free and fun for all ages taking place at 20 and 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester!

Gloucester Zine Fest presented by the Sawyer Free Library is taking place this Saturday, April 27, from 11 am to 3 pm at both 20 and 21 Main Street in Gloucester, MA. The festival, in celebration of the Library’s new zine collection, zine- making, and zine culture, promises a day filled with artistic expression, community engagement, and fun for all ages. It is free and open to everyone to attend and enjoy with free giveaways for the first 200 attendees. 

Attendees can look forward to a vibrant and engaging lineup of hands-on activities and workshops for all ages, including inspiring speakers and live music with a special performance by Gloucester Student Band, with the highlight being the Zine Marketplace at 20 Main Street. Participants of all ages can also unleash their creativity by crafting their own zine with local community partners Cape Ann Art Haven and Cape Ann Museum. And what’s a festival without some delicious treats? Attendees can indulge in some Holy Cow Ice Cream while immersing themselves in the world of zines. 

See the full schedule below or visit SawyerFreeLibrary.org.

The Sawyer Free Library would like to thank 20 Main Street, LLC, for the generous use of their space.

If you’re asking, “what’s a zine?” that’s ok. Zines are small-batch, DIY publications that provide a powerful platform of expression for underrepresented perspectives and voices. 

Gloucester Zine Fest is free and open to all. Learn more at sawyerfreelibrary.org

SAWYER FREE LIBRARY TO PRESENT “GLOUCESTER ZINE FEST”

~ Sawyer Free Library

Saturday, April 27th from 11:00am to 3:00pm: Cape Ann’s first-ever festival dedicated to self-published works is free to all

The SAWYER FREE LIBRARY is excited to announce the inaugural GLOUCESTER ZINE FEST, taking place on Saturday, April 27, from 11 am to 3 pm at both 20 and 21 Main Street in Gloucester, MA. The festival, in celebration of the Library’s new zine collection, zine-making, and zine culture, promises a day filled with artistic expression, community engagement, and fun for all ages. It is free and open to everyone to attend and enjoy with free giveaways for the first 200 attendees. 

Short for fanzine or magazine, zines are small-batch, hand-made publications that come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and formats. As DIY self-published works, they are a medium for self-expression that is generally not represented in mainstream culture.

Gloucester Zine Fest attendees can look forward to a vibrant and engaging lineup of hands-on activities and workshops for all ages, including inspiring speakers and live music, with the highlight being the Zine Marketplace at 20 Main Street. Here is where zinester-vendors will be trading and selling their work, serving as a great opportunity for people to meet the artists and learn what zines are all about. Participants of all ages can also unleash their creativity by crafting their own zine with local community partners Cape Ann Art Haven and Cape Ann Museum and enjoy aperformance by the Gloucester Student Band. And what’s a festival without some delicious treats? Attendees can indulge in some Holy Cow Ice Cream while immersing themselves in the world of zines.

The Sawyer Free Library’s mission is to cultivate connections across our community, power imaginations, inspire learning and provide a free, welcoming space for all. Zine-making provides the opportunity to nourish creativity and discover perspectives from diverse voices. Zines are often a platform for people in marginalized or less-empowered communities to share their knowledge and experiences. 

The Sawyer Free has been diligently curating a collection of zines that are now available for checkout. This collection aims to provide access to a wide range of zines, showcasing a variety of styles and perspectives. Additionally, the Library welcomes zine donations from people who wish to contribute to this growing collection.  

To learn more about Gloucester Zine Fest, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5500.

What: Gloucester Zine Fest

When: Saturday, April 27, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm

Where: Sawyer Free Library at 21 Main Street and Event Space at 20 Main Street, Gloucester, MA

http://www.SawyerFreeLibrary.org

Equity in the Archives: How History is Told

~ Sawyer Free Library

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12 at 11:00 a.m. at Cape Ann Museum

On Tuesday, December 12 at 11:00a.m. Cape Ann Museum will be presenting a panel discussion, Equity in the Archives: How History is Told with Julie Travers, Local History Librarian at the Sawyer Free Library; Miranda Aisling, CAM Head of Education & Engagement; and Trenton Carls, CAM Head Librarian & Archivist  

Presented in conjunction with Above the Fold: The Photographers of the “Gloucester Daily Times,” 1973-2005, this panel discussion explores how archives, timelines, and historical language have been newly examined and intentionally expanded during the Gloucester 400+ Anniversary in 2023, which marks 400 years since English settlement. 

Julie Travers, Local History Librarian at the Sawyer Free Library and Miranda Aisling, CAM Head of Education are both members of the Gloucester 400+ Diversity & Equity committee. They will share the efforts that went into drafting the Gloucester 400+ DEIA Framework which has been used by organizations across the region to expand their storytelling during the anniversary year. This framework was used by Travers to help guide the creation of the Gloucester Timeline, a massive undertaking from the Sawyer Free Library in association with the Cape Ann Museum, and by Aisling in the development of the CAM Native Initiative.  

They are joined by Trenton Carls, CAM Head Librarian & Archivist who will share the impact of the 2021 acquisition of an estimated 1 million photographs from the Gloucester Daily Times collection to the CAM Library & Archives. The photographs provide a wide lens on the Gloucester community from 1973-2005, bringing photographs into the Museum’s collections that highlight the breadth of the Cape Ann community during those years. 

The event will take place at Cape Ann Museum located at 27 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA.  It is Free for Museum members, $10 for non-members. Click HERE to register. It will also be Livestreamed on Vimeo and Facebook.

For more information about Sawyer Free Library’s digital archives, local history resources, and services, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org.

Congressman Moulton Nominates Sawyer Free Library and Cape Ann Museum for Prestigious National Medal of Museum and Library Services

~ Sawyer Free Library

Salem, Mass. – In honor of the Gloucester 400, Congressman Seth Moulton is proud to nominate two Gloucester cultural institutions, the Sawyer Free Library and the Cape Ann Museum, for the prestigious 2024 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. This award, presented annually by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), is the nation’s highest honor for institutions that make significant and exceptional contributions to their communities. 

“As we celebrate the Gloucester 400, I’m thrilled to be able to nominate two of the city’s impactful and inspiring institutions for this national honor. Both the Sawyer Free Library and the Cape Ann Museum inform, educate, engage, and connect our community every day in immeasurable ways. This recognition is very well-deserved,” said Congressman Moulton. 

“Above all, this nomination is a validation of Sawyer Free Library staff, who make a deep impact on our community every day,” said Sawyer Free Library Director Jenny Benedict. “In recent years, our Library has responded to the unprecedented challenges of our time by fostering belonging and leading by example with our holistic approach to sustainability. To be recognized nationally for our achievement through this nomination is an absolute honor.”

 “We are incredibly honored to receive this nomination from Congressman Moulton,” said Cape Ann Museum Director Oliver Barker. “We are proud to be able to contribute and be a part of such a vibrant and special community like Cape Ann.”

Approximately fifteen libraries and fifteen museums will be selected as finalists by IMLS. From these finalists, a minimum of three museums and three libraries will then be selected to receive National Medals. Medal recipients will be announced in Spring 2024. 


More information about the National Medal for Museum and Library Services can be found HERE.

Book Launch Celebration for ‘Sea Gull and the Sea Captain’ at the Sawyer Free Library and Cape Ann Museum

~ Sawyer Free Library

From New York Times, bestselling author and National Book Award Nominee Sy Montgomery comes the sweet, brightly illustrated true story of a seagull and a sea captain who became friends over the course of four summers. 

To celebrate the release of THE SEAGULL AND THE SEA CAPTAIN, the Sawyer Free Library, Cape Ann Museum, and The Book Store of Gloucester are hosting a celebration on Saturday, June 4, from 1:00 – 3:00 pm. The afternoon will feature the book’s author Sy Montgomery, illustrator Amy Schimler-Safford, and special guest Gloucester’s own, Schooner Lannon Captain Heath Ellis, who was the true-life inspiration for the story! 


Heath, the president of Schooner Sails, made headlines in 2019 when he made friends with a seagull who would visit him on his sailboat! Author Sy Montgomery heard this news and was inspired to write a picture book which became THE SEAGULL AND THE SEA CAPTAIN.


This Saturday, June 4, at 1:00 pm, Author Sy Montgomery will do a reading and a book signing at the Sawyer Free Library, located at 2 Dale Avenue. Copies of the book will be available for sale. After the reading, participants are invited to the Cape Ann Museum at 2:00 pm for a ‘The Seagull and the Sea Captain’ -themed kids art activity. It promises to be a fun-filled afternoon for everyone! 

For more information, visit SawyerFreeLibrary.org or call 978-325-5500. 

Book Launch on Saturday, June 4 at Sawyer Free Library

Floral Arrangements Paired with Artwork, on Display at Cape Ann Museum

~ madelinegamlen

Cape Ann Blossoms brings together 20 floral designers to create arrangements that are paired with artworks, on view Sat. May 14 & Sun. May 15, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To celebrate the beginning of spring, 20 North Shore and Cape Ann floral designers will create eye-catching, beautiful arrangements that will be paired with art works around Cape Ann Museum as part of the popular Cape Ann Blossoms event on Saturday, May 14 and Sunday, May 15 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Cape Ann Blossoms will open with a ticketed Gala preview party on Friday, May 13 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The party will include hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, and a chance to have the first view of the inspired floral compositions located throughout the Museum. Tickets are available online at capeannblossomspreviewparty.eventbrite.com. Free guided tours will be offered on Saturday, May 14 and Sunday, May 15 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with Museum admission. Space is limited and is first-come, first-served.

The show also dovetails with Judi Rotenberg’s exhibition at the Museum, featuring large-scale paintings, many of them colorful, grand floral designs. Among the artists in the Museum collection who will be paired with local floral designers are: Walker Hancock, Virginia Lee Burton, Umberto Romano, John Sloan, Frank Stella, Fitz Henry Lane, and others.

Among the designers and garden clubs participating will be: All Purpose Flowers, Audrey’s Flower Shop, Backyard Growers, Cape Ann Garden Club, Celia’s Flower Studio, Danvers Garden Club, Generous Gardeners, Glass Onion Floral Design, Ipswich Garden Club, Maia Mattson, Manchester Garden Club, Melon Rose, Meredith McCarthy Floral Design and Event Styling, Rockport Garden Club, Sage Floral Studio, Two Finches, and Vidalia’s, Leslie Pope & Mary Ethel Stuck, and Rumphius Flowers.

Tickets for the Cape Ann Museum can be purchased here: https://www.capeannmuseum.org/visit/hours-and-admission/

Vibrant contemporary work by Judi Rotenberg, well-known Cape Ann painter and gallery owner

~ madelinegamlen

Large-scape paintings on view: April 30 to July 3, 2022

In time for spring, the Cape Ann Museum will proudly host an exhibit of the vibrant, large scale works of Judi Rotenberg. Life-long Rockport summer resident and highly-respected gallery owner, Rotenberg has spent 40 years creating vivid, colorful floral still life paintings that capture the fragility and strength of life. Her works will be on view from April 30 to July 3 at the Museum at 27 Pleasant St., in Gloucester.

Working primarily in acrylic, Rotenberg’s recent paintings are unabashedly beautiful, alive with color and motion.  Each composition is vibrant and fresh and represents a new challenge for her. Her canvases are rich in detail, from the foreground and the table on which a vase and bouquet sit, through the center of the canvas with its explosion of blossoms, to the top of the composition where she often includes the view across her studio or out over Rockport Harbor.     

The tradition of women artists working on Cape Ann is a strong one and through her work Rotenberg has earned a place among the most accomplished of them.  Although long overshadowed by their male counterparts, women have consistently made important contributions in the field and continue to today. Many women painters have focused on still lifes, perhaps most notably Nell Blaine, but none have endowed their work with the color and power that Rotenberg has.

In connection with this special exhibition, the Cape Ann Museum is pleased to be presenting an encore of its 2019 program, Cape Ann Blossoms, May 14 and 15. Gallery talks are also planned and information on them can be found at www.capeannmuseum.org.

Tickets for the Cape Ann Museum can be purchased here: https://www.capeannmuseum.org/visit/hours-and-admission/

Sculpting Self: Student Sculptures Paired with Works by Walker Hancock

~ madelinegamlen

A unique Cape Ann Museum exhibit: Youths learned about renowned sculptor and created own renditions, on view April 16 to June 12, 2022

Sculpting Self is an inventive program that had eighth graders learning about the renowned work of Cape Ann sculptor Walker Hancock (1901-1998) while creating their own sculptures for an exhibit that will pair the student and master works together. They will be on view at the Museum, 27 Pleasant St., in Gloucester from April 16 to June 12, 2022.

The program was inspired by Hancock’s Basketball Series. Over 15 years from 1961 to 1977, the sculptor made sculptures inspired by watching the Gloucester High School varsity basketball team practice.

During the 2021-2022 school year, Cape Ann Museum Education Manager Miranda Aisling visited three area schools with classes of eighth graders twice to talk about Hancock’s work and to teach the students how to create their own wire armature and then cover it in clay. Each student was asked to portray themselves doing their favorite activity from reading to dancing to listening to music to playing video games. The sculptures capture the interest of eighth graders from Manchester-Essex Middle School, Rockport Middle School, and Gloucester’s O’Maley Middle School.

Beginning in 2020-2021, the Museum sought to bring together community members across Cape Ann for its annual Community Art Exhibition. The unique initiative provides an opportunity to celebrate student artwork alongside the Museum’s collection, creating a juxtaposition of emerging and established artists’ works. Last year, the exhibition was Quilted Together, featuring more than 637 self-portraits drawn by area residents of all ages during the pandemic.

In connection with Sculpting Self, the Cape Ann Museum will be free for families during April Vacation Week and will give a Free Family Tour on the Sculptors of Cape Ann on Saturday, May 28. The exhibition opening will take place on Saturday, April 23 from 3:00 – 5:00 pm. Meg Black, PhD will be presenting CAMTalks: Behind Walker Hancock’s sculptures, The Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane on Saturday, May 21.

Tickets for the Cape Ann Museum exhibits can be purchased here: https://www.capeannmuseum.org/visit/hours-and-admission/

Cape Ann Museum and the Sawyer Free Library present an Afternoon of Painting and Poetry this Saturday!

~ Sawyer Free Library

Join the Cape Ann Museum and the Sawyer Free Library this Saturday, April 2nd for an afternoon of painting and poetry.

At 1:00 pm, Patrick Doud will give a presentation at the Cape Ann Museum at its Downtown Campus, located at 27 Pleasant Street, in conjunction with Cape Ann Modern on the paintings of Thorpe Feidt.

Created over more than half a century to date, Thorpe Feidt’s vast, unified body of work is discussed by poet and novelist Patrick Doud. Drawing on multivalent influences including poetry, jazz, fiction and alchemical intuition/lore, Feidt’s praxis results in numinously powerful paintings in which oppositional forces birth new energies. 

Then at 2:30 pm, head to Sawyer Free Library, located at 2 Dale Avenue, for an afternoon of readings by local poets Nadine Boughton, the author of the recently self-published book “In the Lap of the Night,” Jay Featherstone, the author of “Glass,” and Jim Dunn to celebrate the start of National Poetry Month.

For more information, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5500.

Cape Ann Museum launches “Virtual Vault” lecture series and more stay-at-home activities during temporary closure

~ laurenren

Cape Ann Museum Logo

Virtual programming from the Museum’s exhibition lectures, educational programs, and archives offers at-home opportunities during closing for COVID-19

Cape Ann Museum Video Vault

GLOUCESTER, MASS. (May 20, 2020) – Although the Cape Ann Museum is closed temporarily during the pandemic to protect staff and visitors, there are many rich opportunities to experience the Museum virtually with a new initiative called CAM Video Vault, which features 60 lectures, programs, and archival material dating back to 1992.

The wide range of offerings include exhibition and program lectures by curators, artists, community leaders, educators, and others. Featuring discussions about past museum exhibitions, well-known artists with Cape Ann roots, natural environments and habitats around Cape Ann, as well as the region’s maritime history all 60 programs are accessible via the Museum’s website.

To help at-home educators and parents looking for a variety of online resources for their children, the Museum is also adding educational content from its robust programs, using art and the region’s history as the basis for art-making activities, reading adventures, and virtual tours and experiences. From the Museum archives and library, there is also now online content called “Stories from the Stacks.”

For more information about the exhibition and related programming, please visit the Museum’s website www.capeannmuseum.org.

The Cape Ann Museum has been in existence since the 1870s, working 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 June 2021, the Museum will open a new 12,000-square-foot collection storage and public exhibition space in Gloucester as part of its Cape Ann Museum Green campus. The campus includes three historic buildings – the White Ellery House (1710), an adjacent Barn (c. 1740), and the recently acquired Babson-Alling House (c.1740) which are located on the site at the intersection of Washington and Poplar Streets in Gloucester.  Visit capeannmuseum.org for details.

The Cape Ann Museum is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester. While temporarily closed due the COVID-19 pandemic, regular hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. 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 x10. Additional information can be found online at www.capeannmuseum.org.

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