The summer season officially begins at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum with the debut of two complementary exhibits featuring past and present Island immigrants, as well as the reopening of the 18th century Cooke House. The opening party will be held at the museum’s Edgartown campus on Friday, June 16, from 5 to 7 pm, offering free admission, food, and drinks to celebrate the season.
Local photographer Mila Lowe partnered with the museum to tell the stories of immigrants from around the world who have left their roots behind and moved to the Island. As an immigrant who first came to Martha’s Vineyard in 2011, Lowe finds their experiences fascinating. Pushing past stereotypes, she uses this exhibit to emphasize similarities in people despite cultural differences. The exhibit, titled “The Local Immigrant Project,” will be hung in the Northeast Gallery of the museum, with pictures and profiles of people from countries such as Serbia, Poland, Japan, the Czech Republic, India, and others. There are also short oral histories recorded by WMVY Radio’s Laurel Redington, accompanying the exhibit.
Pairing well with Lowe’s exhibit, Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School senior Nevin Wallis will complete his yearlong internship with the museum by displaying his own work on Island immigrants in the Spotlight Gallery. Wallis was interested in immigrants from the past, working with century-old pictures found in the Dukes County Courthouse archives to create his exhibit.
The summer opening party takes place rain or shine; visit mvmuseum.org for more information.
