Vestibules: Stories of Water, Memory and Resilience
Step into the layered stories of New Bedford’s past, present, and future at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
Join CVPA's Anna Dempsey and Katy Rodden Walker as well as storyteller/hip-hop artist Tem Blessed, and photographer Andrew Kepinski, for an evening of creative activities in which they will introduce the blue economy-sponsored eco-art resilience project Vestibules: Stories of Water, Memory, and Resilience.
Vestibules is an immersive, interactive evening that blends live performance, historical interpretation, portraiture, and community storytelling. Moving throughout the museum, participants encounter costumed historical figures, contemporary artists, and fellow community members as they explore how New Bedford’s maritime, photographic and ecological histories continue to shape our understanding of place, culture, and environmental responsibility today.
Rooted in the city’s 19th-century whaling era—and reaching further back to earlier histories—this event invites visitors to reflect on how people have understood, depended on, and fought to protect the natural world across generations. Through storytelling, creative expression, and dialogue, Vestibules connects historic voices with present-day conversations about climate resilience, environmental justice, and cultural memories.
The content gathered during the evening—portraits, oral histories, poetry, and visual responses—will help shape Vestibules, a forthcoming public eco-art installation, rain garden, and community gathering space at Brooklawn Park.
The New Bedford Whaling Museum
: 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford MA 02740
Anna Mary Dempsey
adempsey@umassd.edu