1968: The Year That Rocked Washington
Through May 16, 2021; Old City Hall
The year was 1968. Change was in the air. Everywhere. From Saigon to Seattle, Paris to Pasco. On college campuses, the campaign trail and evergreen peaks, Washingtonians were spurred to action. Legacy Washington looks back at 1968 and its impact on Washington state through the stories of some remarkable people who lived through it. On […]
Anatomy of a Collection: Recent Acquisitions and Promised Gifts
Sept. 19, 2020 - March 21, 2021; Lightcatcher building
Curated by Amy Chaloupka, Curator of Art To mark ten years since the Lightcatcher building’s construction, the Whatcom Museum celebrates the works of art welcomed into the permanent collection during this time. We also acknowledge the long-standing relationships with area artists and patrons who have helped to shape and expand the collection through gifts of […]
Conversations Between Collections: The Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Whatcom Museum
February 1, 2020 - March 7, 2021; Lightcatcher building
The Whatcom Museum is pleased to kick off a five-year exhibition partnership with the Smithsonian American Art Museum, as we present three masterworks from one of the nation’s most treasured collections of American art. Made possible through the support of Art Bridges and the Terra Foundation for American Art, two exhibitions titled Conversations Between Collections highlight […]
Story Dome Project
Conversations Between Collections aims to get people thinking about their connection to place through art. We’re interested in hearing personal stories and have launched a digital storytelling initiative called the Story Dome project, made possible through generous support from Art Bridges.
We invite you to record a short story about meaningful places or experiences, and to reflect on how they have inspired or shaped you.
Click below to participate!
Geometry and Color: Sonia Delaunay and Bellingham Public School Students
Virtual Exhibit; Ongoing
As part of their distance learning materials, local students were asked to make artwork in the style of influential, Paris-based artists Robert and Sonia Delaunay. While the Delaunays’ works have been displayed in exhibitions at museums around the world, it turns out that Sonia Delaunay’s work can be found closer to home. The Whatcom Museum […]
Vintage Vaudevillians
September 19, 2020 - February 7, 2021; Old City Hall
Curated by Jeff Jewell, Historian and Archivist
Vintage Vaudevillians is a photographic exhibition that highlights a dozen vaudeville acts that performed in Bellingham in the early 20th century. Originally used to promote the acts, these publicity photos were saved by James Warwick, stage manager at downtown theaters during vaudeville’s heyday.
James “Jim” Warwick had a 54-year career in Bellingham theaters, starting as a stagehand at the Lighthouse Theatre in 1897. He was stage manager at both Beck’s Opera House and The Grand during the heyday of vaudeville in the early 20th century when Bellingham was on the competing Pantages and Sullivan-Considine circuits. Warwick worked directly with performers, catering to their needs and whims, and had a longstanding reputation as a dependable, gracious host.
Vaudevillians, once scheduled by a venue, commonly forwarded photographs of themselves to the theater for use in advance publicity. After their week-long gig, the promotional portraits were returned to the act or, more typically, thrown away. But Warwick kept them as souvenirs of the personalities and performances he witnessed on the Bellingham stage.
With the rise of motion pictures and subsequent disappearance of vaudeville, Warwick worked as a film projectionist for more than 30 years at the American Theater on Cornwall Avenue. After his death in 1967, his daughter Mary donated his collection — more than 750 photographs from the vaudeville era — to the Whatcom Museum.
People of the Sea and Cedar: A Journey Through the Tribal Cultures and History of the Northwest Coast
Ongoing, Lightcatcher People of the Sea and Cedar, in the second floor gallery of the Lightcatcher building, shares the history and art of the Northwest Coast people, blending both historical and contemporary perspectives. This exhibit features artifacts from the Museum’s collection, such as Coast Salish artwork and carvings, woven blankets, hand-made tools, cedar hats, clothing, […]
The Whatcom Museum has been making connections with linguistics and Native speakers throughout the Pacific Northwest to expand the Native language component of People of the Sea and Cedar. We will continue to develop our Lummi language translations and recordings together with Lummi Nation instructor Smak i’ya’, Matt Warbus, tribal elders, and Lummi Nation students. We look forward to sharing more.
John M. Edson Hall of Birds
Opened March 16, 2017; Ongoing; Old City Hall This exhibit in Old City Hall provides a glimpse into the local history and culture of the Victorian Era, when taxidermy flourished and mounted animals often decorated interior spaces. For the Museum, this collection of birds is also important to the building’s history. If it hadn’t been […]
partners
Join volunteers from the North Cascades Audubon Society in the John M. Edson Hall of Birds on the fourth Sundays of each month. Drop-in between 1:30-3:30pm to learn more about birds of the Pacific Northwest, as well as about migration, conservation, birds in peril, and the importance of studying bird specimens today.
History Exhibits at Old City Hall
Ongoing; Old City Hall The Museum’s 1892 Old City Hall building features a variety of exhibits that tell the stories of the building’s architecture, the city’s early days, logging history, and waterfront industry. Green Gold: Logging the Pacific Northwest Relive the history of logging in our corner of the Pacific Northwest through photographs, artifacts, and […]
