Marion Wilson’s Floating Gallery, where art meets nature

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Lagoon Pond Floating Gallery in Vineyard Haven is the Island’s first (and only) art gallery and cultural space on water. Public programming on the boat includes art exhibitions, artist and environmentalist conversations, film screenings, ecology programs, and art pop-up markets.

Lagoon Pond artist and owner Marion Wilson is known for upcycling mobile structures and constructing collaborative experiences. Wilson regularly collaborates with botanists, architects, and urban communities. She purchased the vessel from retired boatbuilder Rick Brown in 2021, and has since repurposed the structure into a mobile art studio. The gallery is a lens and a platform for the complex ecosystem that exists where land meets ocean. One of the goals of the gallery is to help preserve the Lagoon coastline through both scientific and artistic interventions. Wilson has created several cultural events linking art and nature, beginning with an exhibit titled, “… of a feather …”

The exhibit features the work of artists Karson Heagle, Sheida Soleimani, Melissa Friedling, Marion Wilson, Tattfoo Tan, and MF Clay. Each of the artists addresses themes of queer identity, extinction, reproduction, spirituality, and activism. In the selection of paintings, drawings, and film, birds are guides and intimates for these artists. Across medium and mode, the artists and artworks in the exhibition invite curiosity, concern, and accountability for feather and flesh.

The theme of the show couldn’t be more relevant, since a variety of bird species are a constant presence at 100 Lagoon Pond. While I was touring the gallery, Wilson pointed out a planter on the boat deck in which a mother duck had laid her eggs. Tucked among the flowers, she kept the eggs warm and cozy while Wilson and I chatted.

Wilson has always had a strong affinity for science, art, and collaboration. While working as an associate professor at Syracuse University, she created a curriculum called “New Directions in Social Sculpture.” The syllabus was based on her belief that urban spaces can be revitalized through the arts.

“I asked my students to pay attention to the way industry impacts nature,” Wilson said. She also began teaching her students to draw using a microscope, after being influenced by author and botanist Robin Kimmerer, who wrote “Braiding Sweetgrass,” a book about indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and botany.

The idea for the Floating Gallery came to Wilson while exploring the Island. “We moved here from Manhattan in 2020, during the pandemic. Though I don’t have a long history with the Vineyard, my partner has been coming here his entire life. I fell in love with it. I began the Floating Gallery in a similar way I’d done past public projects — by getting to know my surroundings. I walked all through Oak Bluffs and Edgartown and around my neighborhood in Vineyard Haven. The boat was on my route — three minutes from my house. I must have passed it 30 times,” Wilson shared.

Noticing a For Sale sign in the boat’s window, Wilson grew curious. “I snuck over the icy ramp and dock, and looked inside. It was a wood shop that I later learned belonged to Rick Brown,” Wilson said. At the time, Wilson and her partner were exploring the idea of building a studio space, but hadn’t quite decided on what that might look like. “I wound up chatting with Rick, and he suggested that I borrow the boat to see if I liked it,” Wilson said. “There was no one there except me and the birds. I loved it, and decided to buy it.”

Due to water-quality concerns, a ban on houseboats went into effect on the Island in May 2023. Two vessels were grandfathered in, however, including Wilson’s Lagoon Pond Floating Gallery. Getting the houseboat up to speed took a decent amount of elbow grease, and apropos of Wilson’s love of collaborating, some help from friends as well. “Former architecture students of mine from Syracuse University came and built me two rolling walls. There was literally no wall space, so the two, 4- by 8-foot rolling walls were perfect.”

Wilson also painted the boat from red to blue. “I knew it needed a paint job, and Rick told me I should scrape the bottom and repaint it every few years. So I pulled it out of the water — which wasn’t an easy task — checked for leaks, and painted the bottom along with the rest of the boat,” Wilson says. “It’s still pretty campy, which I like. As a matter of fact, I had a pop-up show on Memorial Day, and about 50 people came over the weekend. Everyone was like, ‘Wow, this is the best place to work!’ I knew then that the boat was ripe for community building.”

At the time Wilson was repurposing the vessel, she was also asking herself what kind of contribution she could make to the Island. “The Vineyard is such a special place. I wanted to create a platform to bring people together through art. We need to be more sensitive about taking from the places we visit or live in. If we really care about the place, we need to pay attention to the things that year-rounders are dealing with, and find ways to contribute to the community,” Wilson said.

The group exhibit “… of a feather …” runs through Sept. 10, and there are several other events happening throughout the summer and early fall as well. On Friday, August 4, from 4 to 7 pm, the Floating Gallery will be part of First Fridays, and will showcase “… of a feather …” with a special pop-up premiere viewing of drawings of remote islands by Nicholas Grassi. 

100 Lagoon Pond Floating Gallery is located on Lagoon Pond Road in Vineyard Haven. To learn more about Marion Wilson, visit her website at marionwilson.com, and follow her on Instagram: @100lagoonpond. If you have questions, reach out to marionwilsonart@gmail.com.