Summer is here on Nantucket, and the NHA has sprung out of the starting blocks like a world-class sprinter.  We are so excited about our major summer exhibition, "Sometimes think of me": Notable Nantucket Women through the Centuries, which opens to the public on July 2 and will be a showstopper! It is a terrific addition to our "Year of the Nantucket Woman." 

We will be periodically opening our historic property Greater Light for those who would like to see the restoration as a "work in progress." It brings us enormous satisfaction to be preserving this iconic residence, and we are very grateful to all those who have continued to support our efforts. If you would like a tour, please call Julie Kever at 508-228-1894, ext. 0. We intend to do several tours a week. 

Our involvement in the Nantucket Wine Festival was a strong success. You will recall that we benefit from the special Wine Festival Dinner and Wine Auction on Saturday night, and we were very fortunate to make our goal at the auction - thanks to the generosity of many donors and bidders! 

See you in the galleries and at the many NHA events planned throughout the summer! 

Fair winds,

 

Bill Tramposch
Executive Director

  
 
"Sometimes think of me": Notable Nantucket Women through the Centuries focuses on the colorful lives and histories of outstanding women from four centuries of Nantucket history. Such fascinating individuals as Wampanoag maiden Wonoma, whaling wife and journal keeper Eliza Brock, whaling wife and journal illustrator Susan Veeder, scientist Maria Mitchell, abolitionist Mary Ellen Pleasant, and several contemporary Nantucket women will be presented in lively detail using the NHA's rich collections of artifacts, logbooks, and manuscript material. 

The exhibition features thirty-four individuals whose lives are the subjects of "embroidered narratives" by Nantucket needlework artist Susan Boardman. In the great tradition of historic Nantucket schoolgirl samplers, as well as the legacy of whaling illustrations in logbooks and journals, Boardman's embroidered narratives have grown to encompass a history-in-brief of the women of Nantucket from the earliest Native American period to contemporary times. Her work covers the lives of some of the most exemplary Nantucket women whose spirit of independence, resourcefulness, and ambition, often in the face of their husbands' long absences at sea, have made them much admired in American history. 

An important feature of the exhibition is the accompanying book-length catalog, written by island historian and NHA Research Fellow Betsy Tyler. The catalog fills a major gap in the Nantucket literature as an accessible, thoroughly researched history of a broad range of outstanding island women, past and present. This beautiful soft-cover book is available for $35 from the Museum Shop, or it may be purchased online at http://www.nha.org/shop/index.html or by calling 508-228-5785. 

"Sometimes think of me" will be on display during museum hours through November 8. 

 

The board of trustees invites all NHA members to Gosnell Hall, in the Whaling Museum, 13 Broad Street, for the 116th Annual Meeting and election of trustees. The guest speaker will be James Vaughan, Vice President, Stewardship of Historic Sites, at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, who will be discussing "Saving the Irreplaceable: Caring for Historic Properties in Perpetuity."

 

Join us as Mystic Seaport's Don Sineti works his musical magic while using traditional instruments to share sailors' songs and chanteys that chronicle life on the high seas. Don has quite the following, so arrive early to secure your seat! Whaling Museum, 13 Broad Street. 

Free for NHA members, $10 general public

 

Join chanteyman and award-winning illustrator Don Sineti as he uses art and music to teach children of all ages about whales. 

Free for NHA members, or with museum admission, $8 children.

 

Eaton Vance Investment Counsel invites you to attend "Navigating Today's Financial Headwinds: Taxes & Volatility," a presentation by Skip Willauer, CFA, CFP, Vice President, Eaton Vance Investment Counsel, on Thursday, July 8, 6-8 p.m., at the Whaling Museum, 13 Broad Street. Cocktails, raw bar, and hors d'oeuvres will be served at 6 p.m., followed by the program promptly at 6:45 p.m.

 

 
The Nantucket Historical Association, the Theatre Workshop of Nantucket, the African Meeting House, and the Nantucket Atheneum are pleased to present award-winning actor Andr� De Shields in his recently created solo performance of Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: from Douglass to Deliverance, a Kim Vasquez / Gray Lady Entertainment production inspired by Frederick Douglass, the great American abolitionist.  

We invite you to join us at the Opening Night Gala & Performance - including a Q&A with Andr�, champagne, and hors d'oeuvres -  at 6 p.m., Monday, July 12, at the NHA Whaling Museum, 13 Broad Street. Tickets are $150 and $100. 

On Tuesday, July 13, at 4 p.m. in the Nantucket Atheneum Garden, the public is invited to a free Q&A with Andr�. Later that evening, at 6:30 p.m  in the NHA's Whaling Museum, Andr� will give another performance. Tickets are $25. Tickets to all paid events are available at the TWN box office, www.theatreworkshop.com, and by calling 508-228-4305. 

De Shields is the recipient of the 2009 National Black Theatre Festival Living Legend Award, and the 2007 Village Voice OBIE Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance. In a career that has spanned over forty years, he is best known for his show-stopping performances in the original Broadway productions of four legendary musicals: The Full Monty, Play On!, Ain't Misbehavin', and The Wiz.

 
Philip Hoare, the 2009 BBC Samuel Johnson Prize-winning author, will discuss his book The Whale, which explores the powerful hold that whales have on our imagination.

Whaling Museum, 13 Broad Street. Free for NHA members or with museum admission. 

In this BBC film, Philip Hoare embarks on a four-year adventure in search of the whale. 

Whaling Museum, 13 Broad Street, Free for NHA members, $10 public.

lookout (n) : The act of observing or keeping watch. A high place or structure commanding a wide view, used for observation.

Enjoy three magical evenings atop the Whaling Museum: Mondays, July 19 and 26 and August 2. The NHA requests the pleasure of your company on the rooftop observation deck for light fare, a DJ, and drinks at dusk with a never-ending view. 6 - 8 p.m. $100 per person for all three evenings, or $45 for one night "up on the roof."

Please contact Julie Kever at jlkever@nha.org or 508-228-1894, ext. 0, for more information. 

 

Celebrate the tradition of family reunions and learn about some of the many families that call Nantucket home. Activities include: family trees; scavenger hunt; family photos; mini-family interviews/oral histories between children and their parents and grandparents, e-story telling-including the book Family Reunion by Mary Quattlebaum http://www.maryquattlebaum.com/HTML/familyreunion.htm

Whaling Museum, 13 Broad Street, Noon - 4 p.m. 

 

Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Museums is a partnership with more than 600 museums across America that are offering free admission to all active-duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day 2010. The NHA is pleased to extend this program through December 31, 2010.

Free admission is available to active-duty military and their immediate family members (military ID holder and five immediate family members), including active-duty Reserve and active-duty National Guard.

 

The exhibition Visions of Her: Portrait Photography by Nantucket Youth opened to a full house on May 28 and will be on display through November 8. The exhibition features modern portraits of Nantucket women taken by teens from the Nantucket Boys & Girls Club and Nantucket High School. The photographs showcase the essence of women that the young photographers admire as well as the island itself.  Bonus film interviews offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the creative spirit of the project.