Creatives Ashore Present Diversity in the New Bedford Community

In a city renowned for its high grossing commercial fishing port, citizens of New Bedford display their diversity through countless artistic mediums nested in historical architecture and colored on building sides.

On the corner of Coggeshall and North Front Streets stands Antonio’s Restaurant, a recurring New Bedford dinner spot that serves authentic Portuguese cuisine. The color-blocked rooster mural on the East side of the building has gained the community’s attention, due to the incorporation and combination of New Bedford and Portuguese culture.

Street artist Tom Bob, of New York City, is responsible for the Antonio’s Rooster. When one begins to dissect what’s within the mural, images of a fishing boat, a bottle of wine, a fork, the state of Massachusetts and symbols of Portugal can be found.

The Portuguese population in New Bedford began developing as Newport, Rhode Island’s whaling industry declined. Portuguese people then migrated to textile mills in New Bedford.

“Tom Bob has started doing some things that are paying him a decent wage, which I’m really happy about, because sometimes artists starve to death,” Tony Martino, owner of Antonio’s Restaurant, said.

Youthful artists under the age of 30 are featured in the New Bedford Art Museum’s exhibition Emerging Figures: Figurative Art by Young Contemporaries. The museum’s assistant curator, Taylor Hickey, aims to highlight young artists in the Massachusetts South Coast region through supporting the voices behind their works.

In partnership with the New Bedford Public Library, the museum’s second current exhibition showcases a collection of Ukiyo-e prints by the Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige. His mass-produced woodblock prints focused on subjects of beautiful, prominent people and picturesque landscapes.

The quantity in which the woodblock medium is printed will show in production. The prints in the museum’s exhibition are in a nearly perfect condition, meaning they were likely some of the first, according to New Bedford Art Museum Executive Director Suzanne de Vegh.

Beneath the museum’s ongoing exhibitions is New Bedford artist Brian Tillett’s mural representing the five spoken languages of the city. Unless visitors have knowledge of its whereabouts, this piece may only be seen on one’s trip to the basement restroom.

Tillett comes from a family of fishermen and is a scalloper himself. Much of his interest in art was sparked by his cousins who practiced graffiti, but his artistic identity is observable on the streets of New Bedford.

On one arm, Tillett is covered with a sleeve of tattoo art. The other holds the material that colors the city walls in famed artists and musicians.

Scalloper Captain Alan Curtis is yet another fisherman who must keep his hands busy ashore. Displayed in New Bedford’s Fishing Heritage Center are some of his boat models.

To understand New Bedford’s history is to understand Frederick Douglass’ residence. He settled in New Bedford as a free man and became part of the abolitionist movement, an effort to end slavery in the U.S. and other parts of the world. After escaping slavery in 1838, he often shared his experiences as a public anti-slavery speaker.

Irish muralist Dan Devenny painted the Labor History Mural on a wall near Douglass’ first New Bedford home. The work depicts his prominent leadership and a pivotal moment in Black history.