Seaport Art Walk

New Bedford’s annual Seaport Art Walk was founded in 2013 by artist Jessica Bregoli, and was the city’s first large format outdoor public art installation. Each summer, sculpture and murals are strategically placed along New Bedford’s working waterfront and Seaport Cultural District.

2020 Seaport Art Walk
To honor the anniversary of the 19th Amendment and the unfinished legacy of the women’s suffrage movement, Seaport Art Walk is proud to announce that this year’s theme celebrates women and is inspired by “Lighting the Way: Historic Women of the SouthCoast,” a project of New Bedford Whaling Museum.

Exploring the historical impact of women who have shaped their SouthCoast communities and beyond, you can read profiles of these extraordinary women here: historicwomensouthcoast.org.

This year’s artists and artworks will be installed in July 2020 and on exhibit through October. The artists selected by an esteemed panel of jurors include the following:

Jessica Bregoli, “Maria Mitchell’s Waves”: Maria Mitchell was a pioneer for both ocean navigation and feminism. She became the first woman elected Fellow of the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences in 1848. She grew up in Nantucket and was navigating by the stars on whaling ships by the age of 14. She discovered a comet in 1857, which was named after her. She was hired as a full-time teacher at Vassar College and during this time she promoted equal pay for equal work when she realized her male counterparts were getting paid more for the same work.

Bruce Bailey, “Homage to Florence Eastman, Army Nurse”: The only woman to enlist in World War I from Mattapoisett, Florence Eastman (1894-1918) became the Head Army Nurse of the Isolation Hospital at Camp Mills, Mineola, Long Island, with 20 nurses and over 100 orderlies under her supervision. In 1918, she died at age 24 of the Spanish Influenza, contracted while devotedly treating infected soldiers. She was the only Mattapoisett volunteer that did not return from military duty during World War I.”

Ramiro Damaro-Comas, “Lighting the Way Mural”: A selection of 50 women’s portraits will be illustrated all together as a community of leaders. In between some of the groups, there will be phrases like “Lighting the Way”, “Historic
Women” and few others to honor the significance of their achievements.

Grace Lang, “Votes for Women”: My illustrated mural will celebrate the centennial of Women’s Suffrage in the United States and feature artwork from my recently published children’s book, March On!, which highlights the 1915 Women’s March and encourages young children to band together and stand up against injustice. (All proceeds from book sales will be donated to Fair Fight, an organization working to ensure a fair and free election in November 2020.)

Seaport Art Walk 2020 is a collaboration with New Bedford Whaling Museum, and in partnership with New Bedford Creative, the City of New Bedford’s Tourism Department, New Bedford Harbor Development Commission, UMASS Dartmouth’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA), and Bristol Community College (BCC) Visual and Performing Arts Department. This program is supported in part by a grant from the New Bedford Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency, as well as the City of New Bedford’s Arts, Culture and Tourism Fund.