The New Bedford Whaling Museum has organized a day-long symposium exploring the global carving traditions from across the Pacific Rim that were influenced by, sat in conversation with, and had an influence on “Yankee” whaling scrimshaw.  The Wider World and Scrimshaw will be offered in-person or online on Tuesday, March 28, from 10:00-5:00 pm EST.

Sienna Weldon (M.A., ‘23), along with Jennifer Wagelie, Academic Liaison at the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, will present during the second panel on The Pacific Islands and Oceania. Scholars will consider the maritime material culture housed at the Whaling Museum’s Indigenous collections from Oceania, the Pacific Northwest, the Global Arctic, as well as their collection of scrimshaw, the largest in the world. The symposium is an opportunity to reframe the Museum’s approach to these two collection areas through a global lens, and consider what responsibilities museums carry to the communities and histories represented in their collections.

Registration is required for onsite and online attendance.