Despite a period of financial uncertainty and a canceled “Save the Mariposa!” fundraiser last year, officials with Oak Bluffs’ Mariposa Museum and World Cultural Center say they are set to return, with a new focus on year-rounders.
In August, leadership at the African American art museum said that they were weighing their options — which included permanently closing — after a key fundraising event was canceled due to only about a dozen tickets selling beforehand. Board members cited a number of difficulties since the museum opened in 2019, including closing during COVID-19 as well as inconsistent grant funding.
But now they say that they plan to not only return this year, but to also offer a slate of events for year-rounders for the first time, starting this month.
“We’ve taken the last several months to regroup,” board member Tracy Gee told The Times. “We are quite confident that we are prepared for the 2025 season.”
She said that the Mariposa plans to start an off-season lineup with a Day of Peace and Friendship event for Island youth on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 20.
Children will be invited to create and exchange friendship bracelets and other crafts in celebration of the holiday, and the museum hopes to see their parents as well.
In February, for Black History Month, Gee is looking forward to a series of African American trivia events, with prizes. In March, the plan is to offer open mic events. “We know the Island has lots of talent,” she said.
The Mariposa’s winter schedule is possible because of support from visitors, a significant anonymous donation, and a grant, said board member Veta Richardson.
“We received a very generous donation from a West Tisbury resident — that was quite a pleasant surprise,” Richardson said.
She also credited the upcoming events to a $10,000 general support grant from the Couch Family Foundation, and to the local Rockland Trust Bank, which owns the museum’s space.
She added that the museum’s last season, which runs every year from June to October, ended up being a strong one. Enthusiasm from visitors this past season, she said, was due to the Mariposa’s showcasing local artists.
“The decisions we made for more of a local path and perspective were really spot-on as to what the community responded to,” Richardson said of the off-season plans.
Exhibits this past year included “Seasons on the Vine,” featuring the art of four generations of Black women with ties to the Vineyard. The exhibit featured works from Paloma Hostin, Martha Mae Jones, and Suesan Stovall, and the 109-year-old Dorothy Burnham.
Richardson looks forward to continuing a local focus in future exhibits. “We believe that the Marisposa is really about community,” she told The Times. “And it’s fostering a sense of community and spotlighting the African American contributions on-Island in particular, and certainly being a big tent in terms of bringing people together.”
