City Hall Exhibit Showcases Women’s Role in Commercial Fishing

New Bedford, Massachusetts – The Women’s Work: At Sea, On Shore, At Home, In the Community, an exhibit by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, is now on display at New Bedford City Hall. The exhibit shines a light on the many roles that women play in commercial fishing communities.

Through photographs and oral histories, the exhibit profiles nearly fifty women from fishing communities in Massachusetts, Maine, and Rhode Island, and amplifies the voices and experiences of women who work in what is often perceived to be a male-dominated world. The exhibit features the photography of Markham Starr, and Phil Mello, and draws on oral history interviews conducted over the past 15 years.

Visitors will meet women who work on deck as fishermen and scientists, who labor onshore as welders and electricians, who own businesses and boats, and who advocate on behalf of the fishing industry.

The exhibit will be on display at 133 William Street through Spring 2023. It can be viewed on the second floor from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The display was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Women’s Fisheries Network, the Mass Cultural Council, and the Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Marion, Mattapoisett, New Bedford, and Westport Cultural Councils.