ONE WITH THE WHALE is a thrilling yet heartwarming story of one family’s struggle to rebuild their shattered identities and find a way to live with Ancient Indigenous values in the fast-paced, cruel modern world.

Back by popular demand, Aoife Clancy and Eddie Dillion will return to the music with Celtic and Americana music.

“Stories Lead us Home” is a series of short films presented in conversation with the Wider World and Scrimshaw exhibition, on view at the Whaling Museum from June 14 to November 11, 2024.

Katherine Vaz will discuss her novel ABOVE THE SALT, a labor of love over fifteen years in the making, a fictional account drawing upon the true story of the Madeiran refugees who were adopted by Illinois in the era of the Civil War.

The Whaling Museum is excited to bring the 27th Annual Manhattan Short Film Festival to New Bedford again. Join more than 100,000 film lovers across 400 venues and six continents to simultaneously screen and vote on The Final Ten to select the Best Film and Best Actor awards.

Courtney M. Leonard (Shinnecock, b.1980) is a multi-media installation artist, ceramicist, and filmmaker, who has contributed to the Offshore Art movement. Leonard’s current work embodies the multiple definitions of “breach”, an exploration and documentation of historical ties to water, whale and material sustainability.

The lecture will focus on the descendants of Portuguese on the East Coast of Sri Lanka, called “Portuguese Burghers” in Sri Lanka, who have lived in mixed communities near forts at Batticaloa and Trincomalee since the early 1600s. We will hear field recordings of performances of music and folk verse in creole Portuguese with illustrations of the community.

Celebrate National Authors’ Day at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. A day packed full of literary delights, in appreciation of the authors that spent countless hours writing our favorite books!

Keep Talking (Niugaa Yugaa), directed by Karen Lynn Weinberg, follows four Alaska Native women fighting to save Kodiak Alutiiq, an endangered language now spoken by less than 40 remaining fluent Native Elders.

A silent film screening accompanied by live music! “Down to the Sea in Ships” is a 1922 American romantic drama, directed by Elmer Clifton. In this silent film, whalers go harpooning, leaving a Quaker maiden behind in 19th-century New Bedford, MA. Musical score will be performed live by pianist Jennifer A. Maxwell.

The Spindle Rock River Rats’ repertoire is an eclectic blend of music genres, that includes bluegrass, gospel, sea shanties, old-time fiddle tunes, folk and blues.

SAVE THE DATES! One of the world’s best known live readings of Herman Melville’s iconic American novel Moby-Dick takes place every January at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The Moby-Dick Marathon draws readers and enthusiasts from around the globe to the Museum’s campus and to viewing online.