Month: January 2022

Mystic, Conn. (January 27, 2022) – In honor of Black History Month, Mystic Seaport Museum will introduce several programs celebrating important and often under-recognized figures that have changed the course of history. The programs are part of an ongoing initiative at the Museum to incorporate a more diverse range of voices in its programming and exhibits about American maritime history.

All month, visitors to the Museum can hear a talk aboard the whaleship Charles W. Morgan about Lewis Temple. Temple was an African American blacksmith, abolitionist, and inventor born in Virginia around 1800, who found his way to the whaling port of New Bedford. He is best known for the development of the Temple Toggle Iron, an iron harpoon design that featured a pivoting head that would not slip out of the whale. The invention, similar to harpoons used by Native Americans and Inuit to catch fish and seals, revolutionized the whaling industry.

Visitors are further invited to explore an outdoor exhibit, The Sea Connects Us, a series of panels highlighting the achievements of African American and Indigenous people who made significant contributions to U.S. maritime history.

Collaboration with Discovering Amistad

In addition, Mystic Seaport Museum and Discovering Amistad are embarking on a new collaboration with the shared mission of furthering racial justice. The ongoing initiative will promote learning and exposure to contributions made by African Americans in U.S. maritime history.

The two organizations are partnering to offer a new joint program for schools that tells the story of the ship Amistad and how it serves as an example of how citizens and communities, working together, can bring about meaningful change. Students will be able to board the Amistad at the Museum and learn about the vessel, the story of the 1839 Amistad Uprising, and the landmark Supreme Court case that freed the Mende captives who were facing slavery or execution. The program also includes a segment in the Museum’s planetarium that highlights the role celestial navigation played in the story. Using the legacy of the uprising, the program bridges history and the challenges of that time to present-day issues of inequity. This program is a permanent offering by the two organizations.

The Museum is also supporting a Discovering Amistad program to engage middle school students in Connecticut to research and become involved in Black maritime history. Ten schools will be invited to participate in the program, in which students will create an art project on figures from Black maritime history. The top submission from each school will receive a prize including the opportunity to participate in a Discovering Amistad art exhibit and free admission to Mystic Seaport Museum with a special behind-the-scenes tour. Awards will made by April 1.

African Americans in Astronomy

On Wednesday, February 23, the Museum will present a program as part of its AARP Webinar Wednesday: African Americans in Astronomy. Brian Koehler, the supervisor of the Museum’s Treworgy Planetarium, will discuss the groundbreaking achievements by African Americans in the fields of Astronomy and space exploration.  Despite hundreds of years of discrimination and prejudicial treatment, these pioneers achieved remarkable accomplishments that changed and shaped the present understanding of the cosmos. This virtual program is from 7 to 8 p.m. EST and is free for AARP and Mystic Seaport Museum members (non-members may attend for a $15 admission fee). AARP CT is the sponsor of this program. People should visit www.mysticseaport.org/calendar/ to register for this event.

Media Contact

Dan McFaddenDirector of Communications
Mystic Seaport Museum
860.572.5317 (o)
860.333.7155 (m)
dan.mcfadden@mysticseaport.org

About Mystic Seaport Museum

Mystic Seaport Museum is the nation’s leading maritime Museum. Founded in 1929 to gather and preserve the rapidly disappearing artifacts of America’s seafaring past, the Museum has grown to become a national center for research and education with the mission to “inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience.” The Museum’s grounds cover 19 acres on the Mystic River in Mystic, CT, and include a recreated New England coastal village, a working shipyard, formal exhibit halls, and state-of-the-art artifact storage facilities. The Museum is home to more than 500 historic watercraft, including four National Historic Landmark vessels, most notably the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan. For more information, please visit mysticseaport.org and follow the Museum on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

 

 

 

 

Mystic, Conn. (January 19, 2022) – Mystic Seaport announces the appointment of Kevin O’Leary as its Vice President of Business Development & Marketing, effective immediately.

This newly created position reports to the Senior Vice President of Curatorial Affairs and provides direction and oversight to the Museum’s Business Development, Sales, Marketing, Communications, and Digital Content teams in support of the institution’s combined revenue goals. He will lead the identification, development, and implementation of strategic growth initiatives across the Museum and explore, identify, and execute opportunities consistent with those initiatives with a particular emphasis on intellectual property and brand partnerships.

“With his extensive experience in brand management and the development of regional and national marketing campaigns, Kevin O’Leary brings the high degree of insight, leadership, and comprehensive knowledge of building successful brands and business lines that are an important part of the future for our Museum,” said Peter Armstrong, President of Mystic Seaport Museum. “He is the right person to take on the task of maximizing the value of our vast collections and the intellectual property that lies within.”

“I am delighted to join Mystic Seaport Museum, an institution I know from my youth in Southern New England and a storied brand with a long history and deep equity, said Kevin O’Leary. “I look forward to unlocking the potential I see all around the Museum and working with our incredible curatorial and operations teams to broaden our audience and expand commercial opportunities.”

Prior to joining the Museum, O’Leary was the Director of Business Development for Guru Media Solutions, a Certified B-Corp, full-service marketing agency in California and Vermont specializing in purpose-driven, conscious and sustainable brands and NGOs. He was responsible for prospecting, closing, and onboarding new business opportunities consistent with some or all of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. He has held numerous leadership roles in agencies focused on brand marketing, design, and digital strategy and content development. O’Leary also brings extensive experience in hospitality and real estate sales and marketing, and the music industry. He is the past director of marketing for the Vermont Mozart Festival, a volunteer position, and began his professional career many years ago in Seattle, WA, working for Sub Pop Records.

Media Contact

Dan McFadden
Director of Communications
Mystic Seaport Museum
860.572.5317 (o)
860.333.7155 (m)
dan.mcfadden@mysticseaport.org

About Mystic Seaport Museum

Mystic Seaport Museum is the nation’s leading maritime Museum. Founded in 1929 to gather and preserve the rapidly disappearing artifacts of America’s seafaring past, the Museum has grown to become a national center for research and education with the mission to “inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience.” The Museum’s grounds cover 19 acres on the Mystic River in Mystic, CT, and include a recreated New England coastal village, a working shipyard, formal exhibit halls, and state-of-the-art artifact storage facilities. The Museum is home to more than 500 historic watercraft, including four National Historic Landmark vessels, most notably the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan. For more information, please visit mysticseaport.org and follow the Museum on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

 

 

Mystic, Conn. (January 13, 2022) – Connecticut Humanities, the statewide, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), has awarded Mystic Seaport Museum $519,999 in three separate grants.

The first is an award of $500,000 for a CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant. Administered in partnership with the Connecticut State Department of Economic Development/Connecticut Office of the Arts, with funds from the Connecticut State Legislature, the operating grants assist organizations as they recover from the pandemic and maintain and grow their ability to serve their community and the public. The Museum will use the funds in part to improve accessibility and wayfinding on the grounds, enhance online content and access for remote learning, and support the expansion and merging of its educational offerings under the umbrella of the soon-to-launch Center for Experiential Education (CEE). The CEE represents a commitment by the Museum to serve youth in a more holistic and comprehensive manner by engaging young people at critical junctures of their lives through experiential maritime education.

The second award is a $10,000 grant from the Sustaining Humanities through the American Rescue Plan (SHARP) Capacity Grants, funded by the NEH and the federal American Rescue Plan (ARP). The Museum will use the funds to support diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI) training across all departments. The firm Lord Cultural Resources — a global practice leader in bringing DEAI principles to the museum field — has been engaged to guide this work.

The final award of $9,999 is a Capacity Building Grant to cover Lord’s external information gathering and reporting in order to help the Museum better understand and engage with a more diverse public.

“As we continue to recover from the economic impact of the pandemic we are working hard towards positioning the Museum as a more sustainable and culturally relevant institution to as broad an audience as possible,” said Peter Armstrong, president of Mystic Seaport Museum. “This generous support from Connecticut Humanities will help the Museum, working in partnership with other community organizations, to emphasize the diversity of the maritime story to a much wider public.”

The Museum was one of 624 organizations in Connecticut that received CT Cultural Fund support totaling $16M from CT Humanities. The operating grants are part of $30.7M of support allocated to arts, humanities, and cultural nonprofits through CTH over the next two years by the CT General Assembly and approved by Governor Ned Lamont. Funds were provided through the Connecticut State Department of Economic and Community Development and its Connecticut Office of the Arts.

Mystic Seaport Museum was one of 69 organizations in Connecticut that was awarded ARP funding totaling $640,192 from CT Humanities. CTH SHARP Capacity Grants provide organizations funding for projects including building their information technology infrastructure, making their collections more accessible, conducting strategic planning, and undertaking inclusivity, diversity, equity, and access work.

Media Contact

Dan McFadden
Director of Communications
Mystic Seaport Museum
860.572.5317 (o)
860.333.7155 (m)
dan.mcfadden@mysticseaport.org

About Mystic Seaport Museum

Mystic Seaport Museum is the nation’s leading maritime Museum. Founded in 1929 to gather and preserve the rapidly disappearing artifacts of America’s seafaring past, the Museum has grown to become a national center for research and education with the mission to “inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience.” The Museum’s grounds cover 19 acres on the Mystic River in Mystic, CT, and include a recreated New England coastal village, a working shipyard, formal exhibit halls, and state-of-the-art artifact storage facilities. The Museum is home to more than 500 historic watercraft, including four National Historic Landmark vessels, most notably the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan. For more information, please visit mysticseaport.org and follow the Museum on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

About Connecticut Humanities

CT Humanities (CTH) is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. CTH connects people to the humanities through grants, partnerships, and collaborative programs. CTH projects, administration, and program development are supported by state and federal matching funds, community foundations, and gifts from private sources. Learn more by visiting cthumanities.org.

About Connecticut Office of the Arts

The Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) is the state agency charged with fostering the health of Connecticut’s creative economy. Part of the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development, the COA is funded by the State of Connecticut as well as the National Endowment for the Arts.