New Bedford Seaport Cultural District

The Seaport Cultural District stands out for its wicked cool places and events, including AHA! (Art, History, Architecture), New Bedford’s free downtown Cultural Night with over 60 venue partners; DATMA, presenting contemporary public art with the convergence of design, art, and technology; Gallery X, the city’s pioneer art cooperative; New Bedford Art Museum/Artworks! showcasing exhibitions of local and national talent plus arts education for all ages; New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center celebrating the history and culture of New Bedford’s commercial fishing industry; New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, the heart of the historical heritage of the city, featuring the Corson Makerspace and an artist-in-residence program; New Bedford Whaling Museum, the touchstone to the region’s past informing a sustainable future, home to the world’s largest library of whaling documents, collection of scrimshaw, Japanese whaling art, Dutch Old Master marine paintings; New Bedford Historical Society celebrating the history and legacy of African Americans, Cape Verdeans, Native Americans, and other people of color at the Nathan and Polly Johnson House and Abolition Row Park; and Zeiterion Performing Arts Center, presenting nationally and internationally acclaimed performing artists, and home to New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, New Bedford Festival Theatre, New Bedford Ballet, and Southcoast Children’s Theatre. Each summer, the annual Seaport Art Walk features temporary sculpture and murals along New Bedford’s working waterfront.