New Bedford Students’ Inspired Art Exhibit at Whaling Museum

NEW BEDFORD (WBSM) — SouthCoast residents will soon experience pieces of New Bedford history through a different creative lens.

Students of Our Sisters' School have partnered with the New Bedford Whaling Museum to create an exhibit that connects history to original artwork.

Since the beginning of 2024, OSS' sixth grade integrated humanities and arts unit, "New Bedford in the 1800s," has been studying materials at the Whaling Museum.

The foundation of their research is: What was life like in the 1800s, and how does art connect to our world and beyond?

As they study materials at the museum, they are immersed in the whaling community and the seaport's history.

The student-led exhibition opens on Saturday, March 30 and will run at the Whaling Museum for three weeks until April 29.

What Is New Bedford in the 1800's?

The Whaling Museum has become the students' interactive classroom. This is the ninth year the museum has partnered with the community to create this exhibit.

Sixth grade students at OSS have been learning how to draw research from exhibits, practice visual thinking strategies, and read primary sources all while considering the power of imagination.

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It will allow visitors to compare and contrast their contemporary experience on the SouthCoast with the different pieces of artwork.

The Whaling Museum website notes that the exhibition is a culmination of student research using primary sources to deepen OSS's arts, literacy, and social studies curriculum. It will reflect just that as students showcase their work, bringing historic stories to life.

In addition to their research at the Whaling Museum, the students have visited the Rotch-Jones-Duff House & Garden Museum and the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center as off-campus experiential classrooms.