Saturday, August 10, 2024 from 1:00 – 4:00 pm
CAM Green, 13 Poplar Street, Gloucester, MA
Free and open to all, registration required
Parking is at O’Maley Middle School, a shuttle will be provided to CAM Green.
On-site parking is reserved for those with accessibility needs. 

Join the Cape Ann Museum for an Opening Ceremony to celebrate the opening of Vessels of Slavery: Forget Me Not, the culmination of a two-year public history project coordinated by the Cape Ann Museum. The installation creates opportunities for all members of the Cape Ann community to learn about the lives of people enslaved in this region and to process the local impact of the institution of slavery. 

The outdoor installation on view this summer at the CAM Green is the culmination of four week-long residencies by artists IlaSahai Prouty, Christle Rawlins-Jackson, and Susi Ryan between March 2023 – May 2024. During their visits to Cape Ann, the artists stayed at the Manship Artists Residency while researching the history of slavery in the CAM Library & Archives, visiting several local institutions, offering opportunities for engaged community dialog, and designing an interactive, outdoor installation for the Cape Ann Museum Green based in the stories they found. 

The opening ceremony will include an opening blessing from Dr. Tony Van Der Meer, music and dancing from the Akwaaba Ensemble, and free food from Butter Ur Biscuit.

Vessels of Slavery: Forget Me Not is coordinated and funded by the Cape Ann Museum with support from the MassHumanities Expanding Massachusetts Stories Grant and the Essex Heritage Partnership Grant. The residency stays at Manship Artists Residency are funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Prometheus Circle of the Manship Artists Residency, the Revered Anne Deneen, and the Bruce J Anderson Foundation.