Second Annual Cape Ann Museum COVID Memorial

Reserve Tickets

Downtown Campus, 27 Pleasant St, Gloucester, MA

This program is free and open to the public, reservations are required.

Live-streamed on Facebook and Vimeo.

On March 10, 2020, the coronavirus pandemic forced the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to shut down and declare a state of emergency. To commemorate the community’s profound loss one year on, the Cape Ann Museum, in partnership with the City of Gloucester and LuminArtz, created a temporary art installation in March 2021 to pay tribute to those who died from the deadly virus—including, at the time, at least 45 people in Gloucester, 61 people from Cape Ann, and more than 2,200 people from Essex County. 

Now, a year later, the Cape Ann Museum and the City of Gloucester return for the Second Annual Cape Ann Museum COVID Memorial. The COVID-19 Pandemic has become a historic marker that will define a generation. Join the Museum, local artists, faith leaders, and city officials to mark this anniversary together and pay our respects to all the lives that have been lost and stories that have been irrevocably changed over the past two years.

During the evening, Mayor Verga and members of the Associated Clergy of Cape Ann will reflect on the impact that the COVID-10 Pandemic has had on Cape Ann. Vanessa Michalak, a local artist and nurse, will present paintings and stories from her series The Nurse Project. Each large-scale painting is an individualized monument to the nursing profession. Trenton Carls, CAM’s Librarian & Archivist, will discuss the importance of marking this moment from a historical perspective.

Participants will be invited to light a paper lantern in honor of one of the many people whose lives have been irrevocably changed since March 10, 2020.

We remember the following individuals whose names have been shared with us as well as many others who have died as a result of COVID-19:

Frances V. Aptt, Albert Bernier, Dale A. Boston, Joseph Brancaleone, Mildred W. Byrne, Shayne David Canning, Grace Marie Cantwell Chapman, Jennie G. Ciolino, Martha Cominelli, Donald H. Cook, William D. Crosby, Susan Dick Culbertson, Ann Dever, John Driscoll, John Estampador, Frank P. Favalora, Antonino Favazza, Ira Gorman, William D. Greeke, Marcia L. Greenbaum, Richard Iovanne, Rosalie Laiachino, Alma F. Lucido, James R. Lyons, Rosaria Maniaci, Frances McCarthy, Grace Lillian Meyer, Erik Murphy, Tina Obdens, Lawrence G. Oliver Jr., Mark Osborne, Anthony Parisi, Dorothy Pelletier, John M. Randazza, Earl “Skipper” Richard, Steven Richard, Norma Silva, Joseph Slaney, Stephen G. Squillace, Nadia Araman Stevenson, Gary K. Wolfrom, Filippo Zappa