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OPEN DAILY 9:30 to 5

Reflecting on Maine’s Maritime Heritage: Photos and Prints

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

Meet Charles Norris, a local artist and printmaker, as he walks us through his many visual inspirations when recording his own impressions of the Maine coast and its vessels. Norris's long family and professional history in Bath, Popham, other local communities imbues his work with a unique sense of place and heritage. Learn how illustrated maritime books, historical charts, and maritime artifacts influence the artist's approach to design and composition. This lecture is FREE; preregistration is required. Generously sponsored by

Free

Perspectives on Carroll Thayer Berry

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

Carroll Thayer Berry's prints captured the movement and culture of Maine's shipyards and people in the mid-20th century using a distinctive style of dynamic line and geometry. Join Penobscot Marine Museum's Richard Saltonstall, Jr. Curator of Maritime History, Cipperly Good, as she shares interesting perspectives on this prolific Maine printmaker, garnered from PMM's extensive collection of Berry's photographs and prints. As Good speaks remotely from PMM, lecture participants will also have an opportunity to get an up-close view of Maine Maritime Museum's Berry prints. This lecture is FREE, but preregistration is required. Generously sponsored by

Free

Marine Debris : Effects on Seabird Island Habitats

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

Dr. Donald Lyons of National Audubon Seabird Institute, presents on the effects of marine debris on Seabird Island Habitats. Maine Islands support many species of breeding seabirds, including several species listed as endangered, threatened, and of special concern. The islands accumulate marine debris throughout the year, but especially during seasonal storms and high tides when debris, including derelict lobster traps, washes ashore. This derelict gear poses threats to the breeding birds who use the islands for nesting. With the support of a Community-based Marine Debris Removal Grant, the Seabird Restoration Program of the National Audubon Society is working on several Maine islands to remove marine debris and study the accumulation of debris on the islands. In partnership with the Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation and local lobster fishermen, they will also aim to reduce the rate of accumulation through at-sea removal of derelict fishing gear. This project took place on Stratton Island, Bluff Island, Jenny Island, Pond Island National Wildlife Refuge, Matinicus Rock, and Eastern Egg Rock Island.

Free

Thinking About Climate Change: History and Policy

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

The Arctic and Gulf of Maine are widely recognized as "canaries in the coal mine" for signaling the impact of global warming. Dealing with climate change will take a mix of actions. How can individuals make a difference for a global problem? John Zittel has been working to understand the variety of measures that are possible to address the climate challenge. This unique workshop will foster discussion on how to recognize the problem, identify national and global action, and empower participants to learn how to take local action such as reducing emissions, capturing carbon dioxide, and navigating market and policy options at our disposal. Participants will be empowered to learn and brainstorm ways to initiate local long and short-term solutions. This is a free workshop

Free

Mapping the Maine Coast at Mid-Century

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

In this richly illustrated lecture, Libby Bischof, Executive Director of the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education and Professor of History at the University of Southern Maine, explores the role of 20th century women mapmakers in portraying the Maine Coast on maps made for residents and tourists alike, with an emphasis on pictorial maps made by Ruth Rhoads Lepper, Mildred C. Green, Katherine Dudley, and others. These colorful and highly detailed maps combine deep historical research with artistic and cartographic skill, and we'll compare examples from Maine with maps produced throughout New England. Midcoast Maine Map: Ruth Rhoads Lepper, Mid-Coast Maine, 1979. From the Collection of the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education, Univeristy of Southern Maine.

Virtual Event: Preserving Passamaquoddy Traditions

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

Join Donald Soctomah, author, Passamaquoddy tribal historian, and storyteller, as he introduces ancestral birch bark traditions preserved in traditional canoe building and ongoing efforts in tribal stewardship of the land and waters. Mr. Soctomah's commitment to teaching native culture has led to an impressive collection of work including publications on histories of the Passamaquoddy tribe, children's books, compilations of tribal music, and historical films. This lecture is FREE, but preregistration is required. Registrants will receive a Zoom link via email. Generously sponsored by

Free

Art of the Sea Gallery Talk

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

Join James Swinden, president of the Irvine Museum, for a gallery talk and exploration of the new exhibit Arthur Beaumont: Art of the Sea. Free with admission

Maine and the Economics of Enslavement

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

Historian Seth Goldstein will discuss Maine’s complex relationship with Atlantic World African enslavement. Through a deep dive into what was known as “The West Indies Trade,” Seth will explain how various commodities like lumber and salt cod, produced in Maine, were shipped to the slave plantations of the Caribbean. In return Mainers consumed large quantities of sugar, molasses, rum, and exotic fruits produced by enslaved Africans. Portland, Maine’s largest port and fish export center, was the nexus of this exchange. This event is FREE, but preregistration is required.

Free

James Stilphen: Art in the City of Ships

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

Join Chris Timm, interim executive director, for an exploration of the art of James Stilphen, art director and technical illustrator at Bath Iron Works, whose work created a rich world populated by Maine's maritime past, present, and future. This event is FREE, but preregistration is required.

Free

Workshop: Researching Genealogical History

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

Join local historian Barbara Desmarais for a story and a genealogy workshop. She’ll tell the true tale of the Heustons, a prominent Black family of Bath/Brunswick, Maine by sharing field and archival research she used to qualify Heuston Burying Ground as a national “Underground Railroad: Network to Freedom” site. In the hands-on workshop, she’ll use documents from her own ancestral mysteries to introduce participants to the techniques and common mistakes of genealogical research.

The Life and Art of Arthur Beaumont: Lecture by Geoffrey Beaumont

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

Geoffrey Beaumont, son of featured artist Arthur Beaumont and author of the Art of the Sea exhibit catalog, will share a personal view of his father’s life and work that produced watercolors and pen and ink drawings of naval and maritime life and action on the seas. Beaumont's works are currently on display at Maine Maritime Museum in the exhibit, "Arthur Beaumont: Art of the Sea."

Donation

Behind the Scenes of Cotton Town with Africana Studies at Bowdoin College

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

Associate Professor of Africana Studies and English, Tess Chakkalakal, will discuss her collaboration with the Maine Maritime Museum in teaching the Introduction to Africana Studies in which students, for the first time in the history of the course, curated an exhibit at the Museum on the subject of ships and slavery. Professor Chakkalakal will provide insight on class conversations connecting African American literature, multiplicity of perspectives, and the challenges of exhibiting these narratives in a gallery. This event is FREE, but preregistration is required.

Free

Schooner AJ Meerwald: Restoring a Historic Oyster Schooner

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

Come learn the history and restoration efforts behind the Schooner AJ Meerwald, a wooden oyster schooner being restored in Lincolnville, ME! Schooner AJ Meerwald, New Jersey's Official Tall Ship The 1928 Schooner AJ Meerwald is spending this winter and spring in Belfast undergoing a restoration under Clark & Eisele. During the talk, hear about the history of the AJ Meerwald with Connie McCart, co-author of The AJ Meerwald and New Jersey's Oyster Industry, to learn about the Meerwald and Phillips families and find out why the Delaware Bay's Maurice River Cove was the "Oyster Capital of the World".

Donation

The Malaga Ship Story: A Performance by Antonio Rocha, Storyteller

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

The Malaga Ship story is a tour de force performance by award-winning, and world-renowned storyteller Antonio Rocha. Using his entire body and voice, Antonio sings, dances, narrates, and mimes his way through this poetically toned historical tale.

The Malaga was a 183 ton brig that was built in Brunswick, Maine by Joseph Badger in 1832.

It did not take many years for the ship to find itself bought and sold into the slave trade, which was already illegal across the Atlantic since 1808. However, African captives were in high demand because the plantation owners knew the end of slavery was nearing, and they needed the convenient trade to continue in order for them to secure their fortune.

Maine being a powerhouse in shipbuilding produced several ships that ended up in the trade. Malaga was one of them.

African American Maritime History in Maine

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

A native of Portland and at least the eighth generation of his family to be born in Cumberland County, Bob Greene is a retired journalist and genealogist who has researched the Black history of his native state for years. He helped with the seminal work, “Maine’s Visible Black History, The First Chronicle of its People,” which was co-authored by H.H. Price and Gerald E. Talbot. Greene will expand our understanding of Maine’s maritime heritage to include Black contributions and histories that were always present but often overlooked. This event is FREE, but preregistration is required.

Free

Virtual Lecture: Maine Seafaring Families and the Atlantic Slave Trade

Kate McMahon, a leading scholar in New England’s complicity in the Atlantic Slave Trade, will share her latest research that implicates Maine ship captains, shipbuilding families, and the direct and indirect ways Maine’s shipbuilding industry perpetuated an American economy built on stolen labor.

Free

Zach Horn Artist Talk

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

Learn about the creation of _Looking for Winslow Homer_ in this free artist talk.

Andrea Doria: A Famous Sea Disaster and a Survivor’s Story

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

Julia Hansen survived the famous shipwreck of the transatlantic passenger vessel, Andrea Doria, in 1956. In addition to sharing the history of this passenger vessel, Julia will recount her personal story of being rescued at sea as a young girl and provide insights to the bygone era of Atlantic passenger travel. 

Lecture: Investigating Authenticity, South Asian Export Art

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

This talk examines the flexible definition (and boundaries) of "India" throughout the centuries, as well as the complexities associated with authenticity. This relates both to the long legacy of forgeries and fakes produced in South Asia, as well as the problems inherent in Western collectors' ambitions to acquire authentic portrayals of the region and its peoples. These issues all beg the question of how best to categorize objects that, from their origin and by their nature, belie simple classification.

Coal and Ice: Shoshannah White Artist Talk

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

Join Shoshannah White, featured artist in the Uncharted: Maine Artists, Maine Waters exhibition series, as she delves into her inspirations and creative process behind her Strata photograms.

Lecture: Photographing the Scenic Coast of Maine with Benjamin Williamson

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

Bath resident and professional photographer Benjamin Williamson will share a variety of images, mostly local scenes, and the stories behind them. A lifelong fascination with weather and nature combined with a keen interest in man-made landscapes and human stories have resulted in a catalog of images that capture Maine at its most beautiful, sometimes terribly so. His photos have graced the covers and pages of many issues of Down East Magazine, where he was the photo editor and staff photographer for the last 6 years.

Free Admission Education Program: Whales

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

During your visit, drop by the museum history building for a 15-mniute lesson with one of our museum educators! Appropriate for the whole family. In this program, visitors will be learning basic anatomy and adaptations of the whales that we see in the Gulf of Maine. They will also learn why the Gulf of Maine draws whales to feed every summer, and how they are connected in the Gulf of Maine food web.  

Free Admission Education Program: Salt Marshes

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

During your visit, drop by the museum history building for a 15-mniute lesson with one of our museum educators! Appropriate for the whole family. In this program, visitors will be interacting with a model as they learn about the benefits of salt marshes as well as impacts of human activity and pollution on different water ecosystems.  

Cashes Ledge: Maine’s Lost World

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

February 23, 6:00 p.m. | This lecture will provide deep insight into Dr. Steneck’s extensive research on Cashes Ledge in the Gulf of Maine, which, when he observed it, was as close to Maine’s pristine ecosystem prior to European arrival as one could find. Learn how Cashes Ledge, a nutrient-rich ecosystem 80 miles off the Maine coast, has survived when many other marine ecosystems suffer the effects of warming waters and human activity.

*POSTPONED* Artist Talk from the Gulf of Maine EcoArts Creative Team

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

March 2, 6:00 p.m. | The creative team behind the Gulf of Maine EcoArts and the designers of the SeaChange exhibit will introduce their artistic inspirations and collaborative process using the arts to advocate for ocean conservation. Take a behind-the-scenes look at how this immersive exhibit was created and the impact the artists hope it achieves. 

Environmental Advocacy and the Arts: Telling the Gulf of Maine’s Story

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

March 23, 6:00 p.m. | Join us for Environmental Advocacy and the Arts: Telling the Gulf of Maine’s Story, featuring the creative team behind SeaChange: Darkness and Light in the Gulf of Maine, as well as experts in their fields to discussion the important and emerging relationship between environmental advocacy and the arts.

Youth in Environmental Justice/Shaping Conservation Policy

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

May 25, 6:00 p.m. | Join us for a panel discussion featuring youth activists and policy makers discussing the important role youth activism plays in shaping the future of our environment.

SeaChange: Researching Climate Change in the Gulf of Maine

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

July 27, 6:00 p.m. | Join Deborah Bronk, President and CEO of Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Science as she surveys the state of cutting edge research on marine ecosystems and climate change.

Mental Health for Changing Coastal Communities

Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St, Bath, ME, United States

August 24, 6:00 p.m. | In this free panel discussion, we will learn about the importance of mental health care, especially individuals in coastal communities who are directly dealing with the impacts of climate change.

Maine Maritime Museum