New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center Hosts Fall Art, Films and Exhibits

After a very successful summer featuring its Scallopalooza night and Seafood Soirée major fundraiser, the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is continuing its run of interesting programs related to commercial fishing.

Director of Programs Joe Ritter joined Townsquare Sunday to run down a list of programs for October and November at the center, located at 38 Bethel Street. The schedule includes artwork, fishing-related films and exhibits.

Scallop Art Installation Debuts at AHA! Night

Ritter said the artwork will be unveiled at AHA! Night on Thursday, October 9 and is free to the public.

"Artist Mike Medeiros will be stopping by the center at 6 p.m. to discuss his new art installation, 'Crystals of Guanine,'" he said. "The piece celebrates the history of New Bedford's maritime heritage, and the important impact the scallop fishery has had on the Port of New Bedford."

Ritter said Medeiros worked on a bay scallop seeding barge off the coast of Sconticut Neck in Fairhaven, and that experience has inspired his work.

"He's going to be showing how he actually created several of the scallop motifs on his artwork, and allowing members of the audience to press their own clay scallops in a mold that he created," Ritter said.

Dock-u-mentary Film Series Returns This Fall

The Fishing Heritage Center continues its "Dock-u-mentary" film series this fall. On October 17, The Pearl of the Atlantic will be shown at the National Park Visitors Center on William Street. It's a film made in the 1960s by the seafood industry to better market New Bedford and scallops.

"Believe it or not, in the '50s and '60s (it) struggled to find a market for scallops," Ritter said. "Obviously, it's a lot different today."

Two short films will be shown on November 21, with the two filmmakers on hand for a Q&A session afterward. One film is called Diving for Scallops, the story of a Maine man who catches scallops by diving for them, rather than using a boat. The second film is titled Keepers, about lighthouse keepers along the coast of Maine.

Bendiksen Family Exhibit Honors Fishing Legacy

Lastly, the FHC's "Hauling Back" exhibit in October will feature the Bendiksen family and its contributions to the fishing community. Reidar Bendiksen arrived in New Bedford at the age of 16 and spent the next 30 years fishing. He now owns and operates a fishing gear construction business. His wife Kirsten was one of the creators of the Working Waterfront Festival, and is a supporter of the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center.

The Bendiksen Family exhibit will open on October 9.

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