Overview:

Step back in time—and into the present—at this month’s AHA! Night as the Museum brings The New Whaler Bookshop to life in the Jacobs Family Gallery. Originally designed to travel, the bookshop will make a short journey from its current location in the Wattles Gallery, where it is featured as part of the Lighting the Way: SouthCoast Women’s Lives, Labors, Loves exhibition.

The New Whaler Bookshop is a reimagined homage to Helen Elizabeth Ellis’s historic bookstore, created by local artists. Inspired by Ellis’s innovative brick-and-mortar shop and her trailblazing traveling bookstore of the 1920s, this pop-up installation weaves together history, literature, and the diverse stories of 21st-century New Bedford.

Program Highlights:

• The New Whaler Bookshop Pop-Up
  Browse a curated selection of books and zines celebrating New Bedford’s maritime heritage, local authors, and themes of exploration, identity, and resilience. Discover works inspired by Helen Elizabeth Ellis’s legacy as a queer New Bedford-based artist, entrepreneur and literature advocate, alongside contemporary voices reflecting New Bedford’s vibrant community.
• Interactive Station: Design Your Own Traveling Bookshop
  Channel your creativity by designing your own 21st-century traveling bookstore. Use illustrations, mixed media, and digital tools to create a personalized mobile bookshop that reflects your vision of community and storytelling.
• Meet & Greet the Artists
  Meet local artists and curators, including Beatrice Alder, and hear about their works that connect to New Bedford’s history, culture, and spirit. Enjoy short casual talks as they share insights into their creative process and how New Bedford inspires their work.
• Community Story Corner (Ongoing)
  Share your New Bedford story! Visitors are invited to write short reflections—past or present—on provided postcards, which will be displayed as part of the installation.

About Helen Elizabeth Ellis:

Helen Elizabeth Ellis (1889–1930) was a visionary bookseller and one of New Bedford’s historic queer figures. She operated the original WhalerBookshop at 106 School Street and later launched a traveling bookstore housed in a 1928 Chevrolet coupe, bringing literature to communities across the region. Her innovative spirit and dedication to storytelling remain an enduring part of New Bedford’s cultural history.

Admission:

This event is free and open to the public as part of New Bedford’s AHA! Night programming.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to step into history and explore the literary and cultural heart of New Bedford!