Bellingham resident Errol Mauler and his pets Nuisance, Sam, and Fluff.

The Pet Show

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October 21, 2023 - April 14, 2024

Old City Hall

Errol Mauler, who lived on Wynn Road, had been informed that his house cats could never be trained to do tricks like Sam, his Fox terrier. Undaunted, Errol spent hours teaching Nuisance and Fluff to jump through a hoop, roll over, leap in and out of a box, climb a ladder, and shake hands. In May 1962, the two felines joined Sam to show photographer Jack Carver just how great they were. Errol went on to teach his cat Herbie how to dial a telephone in 1975, an accomplishment that made it into “Ripley’s Believe or Not.” This and other heart-warming images of domestic companions, all from the Whatcom Museum Photo Archives, will appear in a new exhibition, The Pet Show, opening in October on Old City Hall’s first floor.

The Whatcom Museum acknowledges that we gather on the traditional territory of the Lhaq’temish – Lummi People – and the Nuxwsá7aq – Nooksack People – who have lived in the Coast Salish region from time immemorial. The Museum honors our relationship with all of our Coast Salish neighbors and our shared responsibilities to their homeland where we all reside today.

Share, Like, Create 2023 Student Juried Art Show: Moments of Learning and Growth

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October 21, 2023 - April 14, 2024December 1, 2023 - February 25, 2024

Lightcatcher Building

Call Now Open to all Whatcom County middle and high school students

Deadline to Apply: October 30, 2023

Juried by the Whatcom Museum’s Youth Advisory Council

The Whatcom Museum is accepting applications for our first student juried art show. Share, Like, Create is an ongoing project of the Museum’s Youth Advisory Council (YAC) and will feature student submitted art, juried by YAC members. The YAC selected exhibition theme is “Moments of Learning and Growth”, and all Whatcom County middle and high school students are invited to participate.

Juried art shows are an invaluable way for artists to showcase their work to the public and build recognition of their artistic achievements. Our show is open submission, meaning all Whatcom county middle and high school students are welcome to enter. These submissions create a pool of artwork, that the jurors select (or curate) for inclusion in the show. The Museum is pleased to launch this initial student juried art show alongside our professional juried art show Bellingham National. 

Share, Like, Create will open in the Museum’s Lightcatcher Building on December 1, 2023. Due to limited space, the jurying process will decide which pieces are displayed in the gallery, but the Museum will also create a virtual exhibition hosted on the museum website featuring all appropriate submissions addressing the theme.

Submission Guidelines

  • All work should address the prompt of “Moments of Learning and Growth” in some fashion.
  • Physical works (paintings, drawings, prints, etc.) and digital pieces (photos, illustrations, etc.) are both welcome.
    • Physical works should be two-dimensional and no larger than 36″x36″
    • Digital works should be static (no videos) and will be printed by the Museum if chosen for the gallery show. If you have specifications regarding printing of a digital work, please include them in your submission.
  • One submission per artist please.
  • Submissions are due by October 30, 2023.

After all entries are submitted, the Museum’s Youth Advisory Council will use a standardized rubric to judge the works presented anonymously. The highest ranked pieces will be included in the gallery show, with all pieces included in the virtual exhibition. For physical pieces, notification of selection will occur by November 8th. Everyone is invited to the free show opening on Friday December 1, 6 – 9 p.m. in the Museum’s Lightcatcher Building at 250 Flora St.

To submit your artwork, fill out the online form below. Include with your submission an image of the piece appropriate for the judging process. For more information about the exhibition, or if you have questions about the submission process, reach out to the Museum Education department here.

 

The Whatcom Museum acknowledges that we gather on the traditional territory of the Lhaq’temish – Lummi People – and the Nuxwsá7aq – Nooksack People – who have lived in the Coast Salish region from time immemorial. The Museum honors our relationship with all of our Coast Salish neighbors and our shared responsibilities to their homeland where we all reside today.

Light blue background with gold kintsugi type lines along the top with the words "Acts of Healing and Repair" in the center in gold with a circle logo on the left that is a dark teal circle with gold kintsugi lines.

Bellingham National 2023 Juried Art Exhibition and Awards: Acts of Healing and Repair

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October 21, 2023 - April 14, 2024December 1, 2023 - February 25, 2024November 12, 2023 - February 25, 2024

Lightcatcher Building

The Whatcom Museum presents its fourth biennial national art exhibition, opening this fall. Grace Kook-Anderson, the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Curator of Northwest Art at the Portland Art Museum is the guest juror and will be selecting finalists from among 1,000 submitted artworks for a three-month show in Bellingham. Hundreds of visual artists from across the United States – both long-established and up & coming – are vying for a chance at the top prize: a future solo exhibit at the Whatcom Museum, to be announced on November 11. Museum visitors will also have the chance to select an artwork for a People’s Choice Award, to be announced in late February.

The Whatcom Museum acknowledges that we gather on the traditional territory of the Lhaq’temish – Lummi People – and the Nuxwsá7aq – Nooksack People – who have lived in the Coast Salish region from time immemorial. The Museum honors our relationship with all of our Coast Salish neighbors and our shared responsibilities to their homeland where we all reside today.