Fw: Rockport Legion Band concert July 20, 2025


The Rockport Legion Band will perform the third free concert of our 92nd summer concert series at the Back Beach Bandstand, Beach St, Rockport, MA.

Sunday July 20, 2025, 7:00 to 8:00Let’s Dance!

The best popcorn in Massachusetts is here!  Children are especially welcome.  Folding chairs and blankets are good. 

Logan LaRue, Conductor and Music Director

PieceComposer/Arranger
National AnthemHenry Fillmore
Sir DukeStevie Wonder, arr. Jay Bocook
Hoe DownAaron Copland, arr. John Moss
Shake It OffTaylor Swift, arr. Michael Brown
Uptown FunkMark Ronson et al, arr. Jay Bocook
MoondanceVan Morrison, arr. Shane Porter
CopacabanaBarry Manilow, arr. Richard Saucedo
BoleroMaurice Ravel, arr. Johnnie Vinson
Mamma Mia HighlightsBennie Anderson et al, arr. Roy Phillippe
Symphonic DukeDuke Ellington et al, arr. Tommy Newsom
God Bless AmericaIrving Berlin/ Arr. John Edmondson

Rocky Neck Art Colony presents: Boundless: The Art of the Book – Opening July 17

Location: The Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, 6 Wonson Street, Gloucester, MA
 Exhibition Dates: July 17 – August 24, 2025
 Opening Reception: Sunday, July 20, 5:00–7:00 PM
 Gallery Hours: Thursday 12–7 PM; Friday–Sunday 12–5 PM
 Admission: Free

Gloucester, MA – Rocky Neck Art Colony is pleased to announce the opening of Boundless: The Art of the Book, on view at the Cultural Center at Rocky Neck from July 17 through August 24, 2025.

This dynamic exhibition explores the rich and ever-evolving world of the book as an art form. Featuring artist books, altered books, and book illustration, Boundless showcases imaginative approaches to storytelling, visual poetry, personal narratives, and inventive book structures. Visitors will encounter works that range from the traditional to the avant-garde—books that hang, twist, stand, open like advent calendars, or defy conventional forms altogether.

The exhibition presents an array of techniques including letterpress, etching, monoprint, painting, photography, and mixed media. Through these varied practices, artists interrogate themes of memory, imagination, identity, and the contemporary moment.

An Opening Reception will be held on Sunday, July 20, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. The public is warmly invited to view the work, meet the artists, and enjoy refreshments and lively conversation.

Boundless features contributions from a distinguished group of artists, including local creatives, university faculty, and artists affiliated with book arts communities throughout New England and beyond, including Boston, Philadelphia, New York, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Exhibiting Artists:
 Ren Barnes, Stevens Brosnihan, Rachel Church, Pamela Courtleigh, Haig Demarjian, Mary Dewey, Madge Evers, Lynda Fatalo, Cristina Hajosy, Hannah Jacoby-Brooks, Linda Kauss, Giles Laroche, Kelle Louaillier, Leslie Lyman, Fred Lynch, Claire B. Marcus, Cynthia Marsh, R. Ellis Orrall, Sarah Parella, Rhoda Rosenberg, Lynne Sausele, Mary Beth Smith, Lorna Stevens, Juni Van Dyke, Anna Vojtech, Larry Volk, Karen Watson, Antoinette Winters, Kyung Eun You.

The Rocky Neck Art Colony (RNAC), a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, nurtures excellence in the arts through exhibitions, workshops, residencies and vibrant cultural events for its members and the public. On picturesque Rocky Neck in Gloucester, Massachusetts, RNAC operates three exhibition  spaces, open to the public for free, The Cultural Center at Rocky Neck (6 Wonson Street); The Salted Cod Arthouse (53 Rocky Neck Ave.), a partnership gallery and café; and Cove Gallery (37 Rocky Neck Ave.), open seasonally in the former gallery of local artists Gordon and Judith Goetemann. Check the website, www.rockyneckartcolony.org, for hours, openings and special events. For more information, see the website or call 978-515-7004

Rockport Legion Band concert July 13

The Rockport Legion Band will perform the second free concert of our 92nd summer concert series at the Back Beach Bandstand, Beach St, Rockport, MA.

Sunday July 13, 2025, 7:00 to 8:00

Childrens Concert: For the Young At Heart

The best popcorn in Massachusetts is here!  Children are especially welcome.  Folding chairs and blankets are good. 

Logan LaRue, Conductor and Music Director

PieceComposer/Arranger
National AnthemHenry Fillmore
Guardians of the Galaxyarr. Michael Brown
Mars, from The PlanetsGustav Holst, arr. William Owens
Soaring with John WilliamsJohn Williams, arr. Robert W. Smith
Star Trek Through the Yearsarr. John Moss
Star Wars, The Force AwakensJohn Williams, arr. Michael Brown
Fanfare from Also Sprach ZarathustraRichard Strauss, arr. Robert Longfield
Come Fly With MeJames van Heusen, arr. Paul Murtha
Fly Me to the MoonBart Howard, arr. Jeff Simmons
Ghost Riders in the SkyStan Jones, arr. Paul Lavender
MoondanceVan Morrison, arr. Shane Porter
UpMichael Giacchino, arr. Michael Brown
God Bless AmericaIrving Berlin/ Arr. John Edmondson

The Salted Cod Gallery Welcomes Judy Robinson-Cox as July Guest Artist

The Salted Cod Gallery is delighted to announce that Judy Robinson-Cox, a celebrated Gloucester-based multimedia artist, will be the featured guest artist for the month of July. Known for her imaginative Lilliputian landscapes and whimsical visual storytelling, Robinson-Cox’s work invites viewers to see the extraordinary in the everyday.

A fixture in the New England arts scene, Robinson-Cox has exhibited extensively throughout the region and beyond, with solo and group shows at institutions such as the Rockport Art Association, Marblehead Arts Association, Griffin Museum of Photography, Johnson & Wales Culinary Arts Museum, and even Neiman Marcus. Her miniature, meticulously crafted environments blur the boundaries between photography, sculpture, and montage—offering humorous, surreal, and poignant glimpses into tiny imagined worlds.

“My art has always been a space to explore the humorous, surreal, and poignant elements of life—often through a very tiny lens,” says Robinson-Cox. “It’s a joy to bring these worlds to new audiences, and I’m thrilled to show this body of work at The Salted Cod.”

Visitors can view Judy Robinson-Cox’s work daily throughout July. The Salted Cod Gallery is open from 11:30 AM to 5:00 PM, located in the heart of Gloucester’s working waterfront. Admission is free and open to the public.


About the Venue: The Salted Cod Arthouse
In 2021, local residents Matthew Moynahan and Thomas Aurelio purchased the historic “Tin Building”—a former fish preparation and paint warehouse—alongside the iconic Rudder Restaurant. Committed to revitalizing Rocky Neck, they reopened the building in 2022 following the thoughtful restoration of its second floor to create additional space for the arts. Today, The Salted Cod Arthouse proudly serves as a creative and cultural hub, offering local art, libations, and essential provisions to sailors, fishermen, artists, visitors, and curious passersby in America’s oldest seaport and working art colony.

Cove Gallery presents: Six Ways of Seeing the World July 10- August 3

Six Ways of Seeing the World July 10-  August 3, 2025

Cove Gallery:  July 10-August 3, 2025

Opening Reception: Thursday, July 10, 5–7 PM
Closing Event & Artist Talks: Thursday, July 31, 5–7 PM

Curated by Gabrielle Rossmer
Featuring: Kathy Archer, Paul Cary Goldberg, Donald Gropman, Sonya Gropman, Gabrielle Rossmer, and Constance Vallis

In a time marked by uncertainty and transformation, six artists come together to explore how art can serve as both personal expression and cultural reflection. Six Ways of Seeing the World, curated by Gabrielle Rossmer, offers a compelling look at how visual art helps us process, respond to, and shape our understanding of the contemporary world.

Through diverse media—painting, photography, sculpture, drawing, and collage—these six artists examine the intersections of inner life and external forces. While their approaches and mediums vary, they share a commitment to introspection, craft, and a meaningful engagement with today’s fractured landscape.

·       Kathleen Gerdon Archer conveys emotional depth and existential searching through paintings of ambiguous, floating figures. Her palette swings from bleak to bright, mirroring the emotional tension between despair and fleeting hope.

·       Paul Cary Goldberg presents black, white, and gray-toned photographs in an installation format for the first time. His long-running exploration of personal and social narrative gains new form, offering a contemplative, immersive experience.

·       Constance Vallis draws from spiritual practice, working in intuitive response to the present moment. Her process-driven artwork reflects a meditative connection to feeling and form.

·       Donald Gropman offers meticulously rendered black-and-white drawings that sharply critique societal absurdities. With wit and precision, his work blends fantasy and commentary.

·       Sonya Gropman transforms urban detritus—found while walking through New York City—into layered, stitched collages. Her work gives new life to discarded materials, turning the overlooked into poignant, abstract reflections of a shifting world.

·       Gabrielle Rossmer, both curator and participant, presents sculpture that ranges from figurative to abstract. Her work examines form, color, and narrative gesture, always grounded in a personal response to the world around her.

Together, these artists demonstrate six unique but interconnected ways of seeing. Their works push the boundaries of their chosen media, reflecting on today’s world with vulnerability, insight, and artistic rigor.

About the Venue
Located in the heart of Gloucester’s historic Rocky Neck Art Colony, the Cove Gallery is a dynamic exhibition space dedicated to showcasing the work of contemporary artists. Surrounded by working studios and a vibrant waterfront community, the gallery provides an inspiring setting for artists and visitors alike, continuing the area’s rich legacy as one of the oldest continuously operating art colonies in the United States.

Admission is free and open to the public.

ART SHOW OPENING AT COSMOS GALLERY

Gallery hours during exhibition:
Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 12 – 5pm and 
By appointment: office@capeanncosmos.com

For the summer attractions, COSMOS Gallery in Gloucester will host two shows featuring the works of collage artists. This medium has no boundaries—it can be two- or three-dimensional; comprised of any texture, surface, or material; created by any number of methods. The unifying talent among the artists: ingenuity. 

The first show, ASSEMBLE I, will open on Friday, June 27 and feature the works of four artists: Brad Greenwood (Los Angeles), Hans Pundt (Gloucester), Matthew Rose (Paris), and Meredith Anderson (Gloucester). Each artist brings a unique approach to the art form. Their aesthetics tend toward the surreal, humorous, beguiling, wry, strange, and erotic. COSMOS Gallery will exhibit a multitude of pieces from each artist, price range $3,000 – $100. 

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

BRAD GREENWOOD
Brad Greenwood received his BA from Ursinus College in 1989 and his degree in painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia in 1996. He has had numerous solo exhibitions, including Eat the Wolf in November 2012 at La MaMa Galleria and Unauthorized Biographies at Mixed Greens Gallery in November 2013. A solo show Partly Fiction featured ten years of works on paper and opened at New York’s Steven Amedee Gallery in May 2019. In 2021, a solo show of his new collages was presented at The Nook Gallery at Counterpoint in Los Angeles. Greenwood has also shown in numerous group exhibitions in New York and Philadelphia and has curated multiple shows for HERE Arts Center in New York.

HANS PUNDT
Hans Pundt is an artist and a retired estate horticulturalist on Cape Ann who has created a portfolio of renowned landscapes and intricate assemblage artworks since the early 1980s. His creative work in nature has been honored by awards from the Passage Flower Show in Salem, the Topsfield Fair, and the Boston Flower Show. Hans’ two- and three-dimensional artistic works were launched from his Granite Hill studio beginning in the late 1990s when he was part of the Local Colors co-op. He went on to exhibit at local businesses, Flat Rocks Gallery, Rocky Neck, the Clark Gallery in Lincoln, MA, the Glenn Urquhart School Gallery, and the Cape Ann Museum outreach project. 

MATTHEW ROSE
Matthew Rose graduated from Brown University (1981) with a degree in Semiotics/Linguistics. Influenced by Americans Ray Johnson, Jasper Johns, Joseph Cornell and a handful of French surrealists, he has created a rich life as a visual artist, author (both as journalist and novelist), and traveler/curator. Rose has become renowned for his collage work and prefers paper—“its texture, how it absorbs or not paint, how it rots.” Many of the materials Rose uses come from his walks of the Paris streets. “There is a sensibility here [in Paris…] an openness. It’s easy for me to work here. The street gives me a lot of stuff.” Most any day of the week, Rose can be found in his studio near Montparnasse, manipulating paper, wood, canvas, but has been seen trekking the world, with projects and shows taking him to Israel, Sri Lanka, USA, and Mexico. 

MEREDITH ANDERSON
Artmaking and creativity have always been vital components of Meredith’s life—embedded in her DNA and in the turpentine-scented home in Rockport, MA where she was raised. After completing art studies at Hunter College and working as an art mover, in 2000 she returned to Cape Ann with husband and son, and built a local reputation in graphic design and jewelry creation. Today she freely explores material and form, moving between painting, sculpture, and assemblage. Her work comes from an essential and intuitive place and forms the interpretation of her world. 

Upcoming events at the  Rocky Neck Cultural Center

Present Time: Readings from the T.S. Eliot House Poets
Featuring Kristin Prevallet, Hoa Nguyen, Erika Meitner, and Maria Sledmere

Date: Thursday, June 19, 2025
Time: 5:00 – 6:30 PM
Location: Rocky Neck Cultural Center, 6 Wonson Street, Gloucester, MA
Admission: Free, RSVP is appreciated 
RSVP Contact: tseliotfestival@gmail.com

Join us for a powerful evening of contemporary poetry as four distinguished poets from the T.S. Eliot House Residency Program gather to share their work. Present Time offers a rare opportunity to experience the voices shaping the landscape of modern poetry—each poet bringing a distinctive vision and lyrical force to the stage.

This event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited; RSVPs are appreciated.

Featured Poets:

Hoa Nguyen
Author of several acclaimed poetry collections, including As Long As Trees LastRed Juice: Poems 1998–2008, and Violet Energy Ingots—a finalist for the 2017 Griffin Poetry Prize. Her sixth book, A Thousand Times You Lose Your Treasure, was shortlisted for the National Book Award, Kingsley Tufts Award, and the Governor General’s Literary Award. Nguyen currently teaches at Toronto Metropolitan University and mentors’ writers at Guelph University and the University of Toronto.

Maria Sledmere
A poet and scholar based in Glasgow, Scotland, Sledmere is director of SPAM Press and Senior Lecturer in English & Creative Writing at the University of Strathclyde. Her many publications include Languishing, cute (with Ian Macartney, 2025), Midsummer Song (2024), Cinders (2024), and An Aura of Plasma Around the Sun (2023). Her work explores ecopoetic, dream logic, and experimental lyricism.

Erika Meitner
The award-winning author of six poetry collections, Meitner’s Holy Moly Carry Me won the 2018 National Jewish Book Award and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her most recent work, Useful Junk (2022), examines intimacy, embodiment, and digital life. She is a professor of English at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and her next collection, Assembled Audience, is forthcoming from Milkweed Editions in 2026.

K (Kristin) Prevallet
A poet, essayist, and scholar based in Gloucester, MA, and the current Residency Administrator of the T.S. Eliot House. Prevallet has published seven collections, including A Varied and Tender Multiplicity: A Materia Medica of Plants, Poems, and Spells (Station Hill Press). Her work has appeared in The New RepublicHarvard ReviewBoston Review, and Peripheries.

The Shape of Abstraction: Tracing a Visual Revolution

Presented by Adria Arch

Wednesday, June 25, 7 pm

The Cultural Center at Rocky Neck

6 Wonson Street, Gloucester, MA 01930

Offered in conjunction with The Shape of Things, on view at The Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, June 5 – July 13, 2025

The Shape of Abstraction is an image-based discussion about the language of abstraction: how Western art history came to embrace abstraction, and how it manifests itself today in contemporary art. Boston artist and educator, Adria Arch, will discuss early practitioners including Hilma Af Klint, Kandinsky and O’Keeffe, through the abstract expressionists like Pollock and Krasner, and to contemporary artists who enliven today’s conversations with their own take on this style of artmaking.

This visually rich presentation will trace abstraction’s radical departure from representational traditions, examining how artists began to express emotional, spiritual, and intellectual concepts through non-objective forms, colors, and compositions. Arch will highlight pivotal moments when artists broke from convention to develop a new visual language that prioritized formal elements over literal depiction.

Special attention will be given to pioneering women abstractionists whose contributions were often overlooked in traditional art historical narratives. The lecture concludes with an exploration of how contemporary artists continue to push the boundaries of abstraction, incorporating new technologies, cultural influences, and conceptual frameworks that revitalize this enduring artistic approach.

About the speaker

Adria Arch is a Boston-based sculptor, painter, and installation artist who has been awarded residencies at Vermont Studio Center, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Sanskriti Foundation in Delhi, and in Auvillar, France. Her work is included in many private and public collections including the DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Danforth Art, and the Fitchburg Art Museum, as well as Fidelity Corporation, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. In 2019 her work was featured at the Fitchburg Art Museum, and in 2020 at the Cahoon Museum of American Art.  Most recently, Arch was commissioned by Google to create a permanent room-sized installation.  Arch has shown at the Boston Sculptors Gallery, Brattleboro Art Museum in Vermont and the Danforth Museum in Framingham, MA. This year, she will present solo exhibitions at Lake George Arts Project and at San Luis Obispo Art Museum in California. Arch has taught at Montserrat College of Art, Endicott College and Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She has lectured at the Danforth Museum, the Weston Arts and Innovation Center Women in Installation series, and the Boston Sculptors Gallery.

About Rocky Neck Art Colony

The Rocky Neck Art Colony (RNAC), a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, nurtures excellence in the arts through exhibitions, workshops, residencies and vibrant cultural events for its members and the public. On picturesque Rocky Neck in Gloucester, Massachusetts, RNAC operates three exhibition spaces, open to the public for free, The Cultural Center at Rocky Neck (6 Wonson Street); The Salted Cod Arthouse (53 Rocky Neck Ave.), a partnership gallery and café; and Cove Gallery (37 Rocky Neck Ave.), open seasonally in the former gallery of local artists Gordon and Judith Goetemann. Check the website, www.rockyneckartcolony.org, for hours, openings and special events. For more information, see the website or call 978-515-7004.

Rocky Neck Art Colony presents local author Dan Duffy’s Reading and Book Signing

Local Author Dan Duffy Uncovers 50-Year-Old Family Mystery in Powerful New Memoir, In Search of Brother Rich.  Hosted at the Cultural Center at Rocky Neck on Thursday, June 12 from 7-8:30pm.  The Reading and Book Signing is FREE and OPEN to the public, donations to Rocky Neck Art Colony are appreciated.

Part memoir, part true-crime investigation, one man’s lifelong search for his missing brother takes readers deep into the mystery, memory, and meaning of family.

After five decades of searching, local author Dan Duffy has released In Search of Brother Rich, a gripping and deeply personal nonfiction account of his quest to solve the decades-old mystery surrounding his older brother’s disappearance.

In December 1970, Rich Duffy, a Vietnam War veteran seeking peace and healing, vanished near the banks of the Rio Grande River after moving to a commune in Corrales, New Mexico. He was never seen again.

What followed was a fifty-year journey—equal parts detective work, soul-searching, and devotion. In his new book, Duffy shares, for the first time, the painstaking investigation he undertook to uncover what happened to his brother. From retracing Rich’s final steps to finding and interviewing members of his communal family, In Search of Brother Rich reveals both the unraveling of a mystery and the resilience of a brother’s love.

In Search of Brother Rich is the truest thing I’ve ever written,” says Duffy. “It’s my attempt to honor my brother, to give voice to his story, and maybe—just maybe—help others who are still searching for something lost.”

With vivid storytelling, emotional depth, and a relentless commitment to uncovering the truth, In Search of Brother Rich is a story for anyone who has ever longed for answers, lost someone too soon, or held onto hope against the odds.

The book is now available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook formats through Amazon: https://a.co/d/ggZ9cAZ

About the Author
Dan Duffy and his wife Helene have been innkeepers at The Beech Tree B&B for the past fourteen years. He is a docent at the Cape Ann Museum and a member of the Sandy Bay Yacht Club. He has spent much of his life investigating the mystery surrounding his brother’s disappearance. In Search of Brother Rich is his second memoir; he published his first book, Brother, Brother, in 2016.

About the Rocky Neck Art Colony
Located in Gloucester, Massachusetts, the Rocky Neck Art Colony is one of the oldest continuously operating art colonies in the United States. A vital part of the Cape Ann cultural community, RNAC fosters creativity and connection through exhibitions, programming, and artist residencies. As a nonprofit organization, RNAC is committed to supporting emerging and established artists while preserving the rich artistic heritage of the region.

Salted Cod Gallery Welcomes Guest Artist Coco Berkman for June

Salted Cod Gallery is pleased to present Coco Berkman’s striking linoleum prints on view as guest artist throughout the month of June. A celebrated printmaker with a distinct voice and a deep commitment to process, Berkman brings a rich collection of works that transform everyday struggles into profound visual statements. Each piece begins as a much-revised drawing—drawn, redrawn, torn, taped, and refined until it feels true. That drawing is then transferred to a linoleum block, carved with fine tools, and finished with layers of ink and color.

Salted Cod Gallery invites the public to experience Coco Berkman’s work throughout June, each one the culmination of careful, intuitive labor.

Salted Cod Art House features Rocky Neck Art Colony juried members.  Be sure to stop by, as each day, one of the 24 artists are there to meet and greet.

June Guest Artist: Coco Berkman

Dates: June 1 – June 30

Location: Salted Cod Gallery, Gloucester, MA

53 Rocky Neck Avenue • Gloucester, MA 01930

Open Wed-Fri, 3pm-10pm; Sat & Sun, 11:30am-10pm

info@saltedcodgallery.com

Website:  www.saltedcodarthouse.com  

”Squam Light”Celebrating Annisquam Photographers

Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 to 4:00 photographs by Annisquam photographers will be on display and for sale in the Village Hall studio, 34 Leonard Street.  

Proceeds go to the care and maintenance of the Village Hall campus. 

Photos were selected by judges, local professional photographers Michael Malyzcko and Walter Bibikow.

To see examples visit annisquamstudios.com

URBAN CONTOURS; Donna Caselden art at the Cosmos Gallery

A collection of my cityscape paintings will be featured in an upcoming solo exhibition at the COSMOS Gallery in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The exhibition, URBAN CONTOURS, will open on Friday, May 23rd and run though Sunday, June 8th. The show will feature 18 of my contemporary cityscape paintings, including 3 new works never shown to the public before. 

The COSMOS Gallery opened this year and is an outgrowth of Cape Ann COSMOS digital media dedicated to the cultural community north of Boston. The gallery will show artwork of all genres, for artists in the region and sometimes beyond. www.capeanncosmos.com/cosmos-gallery The gallery has convenient parking and is amid the city’s best restaurants and shopping.

STEPHEN BATES TO PRESENT UNIQUE FUSION OF ART AND MUSIC

The Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, 6 Wonson Street, Gloucester, MA 01930 – June 1 at 2:00PM

Date: Sunday, June 1

Time: 2:00PM-3:30PM
Admission: Free and open to the public (donations to RNAC is encouraged)

Gloucester, MA — Rocky Neck Art Colony is pleased to present a special performance by artist and musician Stephen Bates on 

Sunday, June 1 at 2:00 PM. This multidisciplinary event will feature Bates’ original paintings alongside live musical compositions, performed by the artist himself on clarinet, flute, and bass clarinet.

Bates has created four evocative paintings for this performance—three inspired by powerful stories from the Old Testament, and a fourth interpreting William Blake’s visionary poem The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Each artwork is accompanied by an original piece of music composed by Bates, exploring the emotional and thematic depth of the subjects.

With a distinguished career as a clarinetist in the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra for 36 years (1973–2009), Bates has long pursued a parallel passion for the visual arts. Since moving to Manchester, he has taught silk painting in Gloucester for over a decade, continuing to explore the interplay between music and visual expression.

In this interactive presentation, Bates invites the audience to reflect on and discuss the underlying themes of each artwork after hearing its corresponding musical piece. The stories depicted include Eve’s acceptance of the forbidden fruitGod’s promise to Noahthe worship of the golden calf, and a bold artistic and musical response to Blake’s Marriage of Heaven and Hell.

This event promises to be a rich, thought-provoking experience where music, art, and dialogue converge. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with Stephen Bates’ unique vision at the intersection of creativity and conversation.

For more information, visit www.rockyneckartcolony.org

ATTENTION EMERGING ARTISTS: CALL FOR ART!

North Shore Arts Association’s 3rd annual 
Emerging Artists Open Show is now open for submissions! 

This open call exhibition is the perfect opportunity for students, art enthusiasts, and/or artists earlier in their career to exhibit at two historic Gloucester locations: the North Shore Arts Association and the Sargent House Museum. The Sargent House Museum, originally the home of Judith Sargent Murray, it is now home to a small collection of works by famed painter and relative, John Singer Sargent. Running from July 11 – September 27, 2025, this unique exhibit will be spaced between these two renowned locations on Cape Ann, on display simultaneously for three months.

Artwork must be submitted on Smarter Entry by 11:59PM on June 6, 2025, to be considered for admittance and awards. Artists may submit up to 3 works of art.

Please refer to our Emerging Artists Event Page for the submission guidelines and any additional information.

Cape Ann Artisans Announce 2025 Comeback Tour

It’s Just Around the Corner!

Fourteen Cape Ann Artisans are busy preparing their work and studios to welcome residents of Cape Ann and visitors from everywhere this coming June 7-8.    At the end of 2024, the Artisans juried in five new members who jumped on board to join the veterans of the group.   

There’s quite a bit that goes into preparing and getting the word out.  The newly jelled Artisans have diligently posted blogs and created videos to give the public a peek into their studios and creative inspiration.   The new group video has been posted under the “About” page on the Cape Ann Artisans website.   Individual videos are under each Artisans page on the website.  

The 2025 Cape Ann Artisan tour Brochure is also now available.   It’s now a 4-fold pamphlet opening up to a map of the tour.   The brochures can be found at the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce and other key visitor locations throughout Gloucester, Rockport, and Essex.  They will also be available at the 95 North Visitor Center operated by the North of Boston CVB, as well as at inns, hotels, and CAA partners such as the Cape Ann Savings Bank and Institution for Savings lobby areas.   It is also downloadable from the CAA website.

Among the new twists, more artisans will be doing demonstrations of their techniques during the tour.  To help plan your day, here is the list of artists doing demonstrations:

11AM:  Pam Stratton – Pulling Glass Threads

12: PM – Danette English – Wheel Throwing

1:00 PM – John Abisamra – Printing (photos)

2:00 PM – Cindy Efinger – Garden Sculpture

3:00 PM – Melody Phaneuf – Enlarging a Plein Air Study 

Throughout the day – Sara Wright at the Loom

Among the other fun opportunities is to participate in the Grocery Gift Card Promotion.  It’s simple, just sign up on our email list to be entered into a drawing for one of five $20 WholeFoods gift cards.  You can also earn more tickets when you buy art at the studios (with a 10 ticket maximum).

The Artisans tour is among the oldest studio event in the US.  It was founded in 1980 by men and women from the Gloucester/Rockport arts communities who were interested in connecting with each other to share professional and creative perspectives, and in blurring and challenging the line between art and craft.  The full list of Artisans and the new tour route are shown below.  New members are marked with an asterisk.

  1. Jacqueline Ganim – DeFalco: Sea Glass Wearable Art, Garden Stones & Sculpture
  2. Nina Goodick – Functional Pottery*
  3. John Abisamra – Photography
  4. Tina Frassica – Quilting*
  5. Katrina Abbott – Pottery and Textiles*
  6. Danette English – Ceramics
  7. David Archibald – Plum Cove Pottery, porcelain and stoneware
  8. Sara Wright – Handwoven and Knit Accessories
  9. Pam Stratton – Mosaics, Mixed Media, Eco Printed silk scarves, Jewelry, Sculpture
  10. Rob Diebboll – Oil and Watercolor Painting
  11. Kathryn Roberts – Watercolor Painting*
  12. Sinikka Nogelo – Contemporary Painting & Experimental Arts
  13. Cindy Efinger – Mosaic and Sculpture*
  14. Melody Phaneuf – Oil Painting

_________________________________________________________  

What:  The 42nd Annual Cape Ann Artisans Open Studios

Where:  Gloucester and Rockport, MA

When:  Spring Tour: Sat & Sun, June 7-8   Fall Tour: Sat & Sun, October 11-12 10AM-5PM

Summer Mini-Tour August – date to be announced on our website.

For General Information contact info@capeannartisans.com or leave a message with Pam Stratton, 508-284-0086.   For Media inquiries, contact Jacqueline Ganim-DeFalco, 978-283-8333.

Film: A Little Human Spark (2024)

Premiere Location: Cape Ann Community Cinema is located at 37 Whistlestop Mall, Rockport
Date: SAT 5/10/25
Screening Times: (3) separate at 6:30pm, 7:30pm, and 8:30pm 
Purchase Tickets: Please email billdwyerband@gmail.com to arrange ticket purchases!

TRAILER: https://youtu.be/EAfXYDOIE-Y?si=mShl6Dv9OBrHzNP3 
WEBSITE: wonsonrockproductions.com 

Screenshot

SHORT FILM DESCRIPTION:  “A Little Human Spark” is a short film (13mins & 10secs) that was shot in Gloucester in late 2024 with a local Cape Ann cast! It recently won an IndieFEST.com Award of Recognition (2025) & has official film fest selections in NYC & Massachusetts. 

SHORT PLOT SUMMARY: Dream Voice Solutions (DVS), a vocal coach and singer-songwriter content placement company is getting driven out of the business after 25 years by artificial intelligence. The tangled web unravels in grand, karmic fashion. 

ROCKY NECK ART COLONY PRESENTS “ENERGY OF COLOR” 

Cove Gallery, 37 Rocky Neck Avenue, Gloucester, MA.  May 15 – June 8, 2025 

Opening Reception:  Friday, May 16 from 5-7PM
Dates: May 15 – -June 8, 2025
Hours: Sun.-Mon. 12-5PM; Thurs., Fri. and Sat. 12-7PM
Admission: Free and open to the public

The Rocky Neck Art Colony is thrilled to announce “Energy of Color,” an immersive and vibrant new exhibition at the historic Cove Gallery, located at 37 Rocky Neck Avenue in the heart of Gloucester’s Rocky Neck Cultural District.

This dazzling show features the work of North Shore artists who draw inspiration from the striking hues and natural beauty of Cape Ann and beyond. Whether rooted in the shimmering coastal light or influenced by far-flung travels, each piece in this exhibition offers a unique interpretation of color’s emotional and expressive power.

“Energy of Color” explores the profound relationship between artists and their environments. The distinct palettes of land, sea, and sky influence both conscious and instinctive artistic choices. The result is a body of work that pulses with life, emotion, and a deep sense of place.

“Color is more than a visual experience—it’s memory, mood, and moment,” says painter and curator Nic Bannerman“This show invites viewers to feel the world as we do—through the lens of color.”

Visitors will experience a dynamic range of media, including painting, ceramics, and photography, all unified by their passionate engagement with color as a storytelling force.

Exhibiting Artists:    

·       Nic Bannerman (Painter, Curator)

  • Danette English (Ceramic Artist)
  • Pia Juhl Nadel (Painter)
  • Martin Sorger (Painter)
  • Jonathan Wilson (Photographer)

The Rocky Neck Art Colony also gratefully acknowledges the generous donation of space by Mark Goetemann, honoring the legacy of his late parents, Gordon, and Judith Goetemann—beloved artists and lifelong champions of creative excellence. Their former home and gallery continue to nurture art and community in the spirit of their vision.

Join us at Cove Gallery to celebrate the brilliant interplay of nature, history, and human expression—where the energy of color comes vividly to life.

For more information, visit www.rockyneckartcolony.org