The Museum’s 2012 One-Day Contemporary Art Series at the White-Ellery House wraps up the season with Ana Alakija’s installation entitled Interconnections (Brazil/Africa, Portugal/New England).

The historic property will be open that day as part of 17th Century Saturdays, an Escapes North program and is free and open to the public.The White-Ellery House is located at 245 Washington Street in Gloucester at the Route 128 Grant Circle Rotary.

Ana Alakija is a Brazilian-born journalist and Community Media specialist who now lives in Gloucester. Her installation at the White-Ellery House will explore the heritage of her family which has roots in Nigeria. Special note will be made of the important contributions families of Brazilian and Portuguese decent have made and continue to make to the greater Cape Ann community. Ana’s installation will draw upon photographs, artifacts and documents from her own collection to paint a broader picture of the interconnections between Brazil and Africa – Portugal and New England.

The White-Ellery House is one of a handful of surviving First Period buildings in Massachusetts that retains a substantial portion of its original interior fabric. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Sites because of its design, materials, and workmanship, and its plank frame construction. The house was built in 1710 for the Reverend John White, Gloucester’s first settled minister, on the original Town Green. It exhibits an elegance and refinement commensurate with White’s esteemed position in the community. The second owner of the house was James Stevens, who kept it as a tavern until 1740, at which time it was sold to the Ellery family. In 1947, when plans were unveiled showing Route 128 traversing the Town Green, the house was taken by the City of Gloucester by eminent domain, turned over to the Cape Ann Historical Association, and moved safely out of the path of the highway.