Mariposa Museum in dire straits

The sights and sounds of summer are unavoidable right now in downtown Oak Bluffs — sales of junk food and Vineyard merch are in full swing, tourists argue over what to do at night, and any flashy car gets a third look in case a celebrity is driving.

So it would be understandable if you missed any one of the many advertisements in store windows or on corkboards last week. But a “Save the Mariposa!” flier carries an urgent call to action.

“Martha’s Vineyard’s only African-American museum is in danger of closing!” it reads. “Buy a ticket to the fundraiser to help keep the doors open!”

The ticket would have been for a chat between Emmy-awardwinning producer and author Kwame Alexander and Emmy- and Peabody-awardwinning journalist and civil rights activist Charlayne Hunter-Gault, scheduled for the Strand Theatre on August 11.

But the event was canceled due to only about a dozen tickets selling beforehand.

The missed opportunity only puts even more weight on a key sixth year for the nonprofit, which operates as a museum, gallery, and community space.

“It’s a dire situation,” said Catherine Gomes, the Mariposa’s daily operator and event coordinator.

The Oak Bluffs chapter of the Mariposa Museum and World Cultural Center, open since 2019, explores American history and the African diaspora through art, storytelling, and scholarship.

Previous exhibits have shown Senegalese photographer Omar Victor Diop’s portraits of costumed subjects, and “Stitching Time,” a collection of quilts by incarcerated artists.

“We welcome educators from all over the world,” Gomes said of the museum. “We give them teachings to bring back to the mainland, whether it be art, tapestry, or embroidery.”

The Mariposa also provides workshops for Vineyard youth. “When the internet’s bad, kids definitely have a place here,” added Gomes. “It’s a community space.”

But the location has faced significant obstacles due to pandemic-related closures and inconsistent grant funding.

“We were hit with the COVID pandemic, which caused … us to close down. For almost three full years, the Mariposa was shuttered,” said Veta Richardson, a member of the museum’s board. “People would walk by looking at all the beautiful things contained within the space, but the space was closed.”

Richardson also noted that the Mariposa accumulated debts during its COVID closure.

With a lack of funding, she said, after the museum’s current June–October season, the board will have to decide whether to reopen next summer. “We will be sitting down and assessing how much we need to raise this season to reopen next season,” she said.

The recent canceled fundraiser was just the latest attempt to keep the lights on. “We’ve tried different ways to keep [ourselves] open,” Gomes said. “We’ve done admissions for $10, and done many things as far as making sure clients are in on time, so we can keep the space open and keep the program going.”

And although the museum has multiple potential streams of income, including leasing its space, and applying for grants, Gomes says that donations are the most important financially.

Despite financial challenges, Richardson is optimistic, highlighting the impact of the Mariposa’s new, community-focused curation: “This summer, unlike prior summers, we took much more of a community-facing and focused effort with our initiatives. All our exhibits, three this summer — the most ever — all have ties or connections who are associated with the Island,” she said.

“We remain very hopeful,” she said. “This summer after exhibits, the guestbook is filled with people who want to be engaged. I think the focus on community really made a difference. From all the people who said they want to stay informed, we will be able to raise independent fundraising to allow us to be much less grant-dependent.”

She added that the museum is looking forward to making the most of its connections by offering yearly memberships, which could be a major fundraising source:. “What we plan to do this fall is launch a campaign for sustainable membership. If we can get consistent people who love the Island focus of Mariposa to be annual members, we [can] provide a secure base of funding to make the grant funding we receive gravy,” she said.

Given the museum’s uncertain future, Gomes hopes that the rest of the season is more lucrative, noting that August is always the busiest month.

“Hopefully we’ll be thinking of other ways to do fundraising,” Gomes said. “I’m willing to work with anyone who wants to help out, any nonprofits on-Island.”

The Mariposa is located at 57 Circuit Ave. in Oak Bluffs. The museum accepts donations at kindest.com/supporting-mariposa-in-oak-bluffs.