New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center lands prestigious NEH Grant

New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center has been awarded a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to redevelop the Center’s permanent exhibit.

More Than a Job: Work and Community in New Bedford’s Commercial Fishing Industry will build on the Center’s inaugural exhibit, From Boat to Table, which introduced visitors to all aspects of the fishing industry. The new exhibit will continue to provide the visitor with an introduction to the workings of the fishing industry while also exploring themes of labor history, immigration, and the changing nature of work and community. Digital storytelling will be incorporated throughout to present the lives, skills and experiences of fishermen, shoreside workers, their families, and the larger community. The revamped exhibit is slated to open in Winter of 2021.

The $200,000 grant from NEH provides much of the funding needed to carry out the project.

“We are thrilled and honored to be receiving this grant, which will enable us to produce an exhibit worthy of the fishing industry story,” said Executive Director Laura Orleans. “The exhibit plans are the result of more than one hundred interviews with members of the fishing community as well as input from a team of humanities scholars.”