2020 Financial Statement Summary
Full 2020 Financial Statement
A Message from the Board President
June 2021
As Nantucket opens back up, we see our old friends and acquaintances. They ask, “Hi, how are you?” and we tend to reply, “Good” or “Fine,” not really giving the question much thought. When people greet me, however, my response is, “Fantastic!” Usually this leads to a quizzical look, and they ask, “So how is it going at the NHA?” Again, I reply, “Fantastic—have you been to the Whaling Museum?”
How could this be?
During my first year as president of the NHA, the association has faced myriad challenges. But there have also been many things to be proud of. I am optimistic for where the NHA is and where it is going for two reasons. The first is the great programming and exhibitions offered this year at the Whaling Museum and Hadwen House. The second is the talented staff of the NHA.
As for the staff, they obviously made the exhibitions at the Whaling Museum and Hadwen House possible. They also kept things running throughout the pandemic. But the most exciting aspects of the staff comes out when you talk with them. Spend some time with Mary Emery Lacoursiere and learn about the latest decorative arts workshops she is running. Or perhaps you will see Stacey Stuart and she will let you know how Nantucket by Design has changed from a fully virtual event to a mostly in person celebration. And then there is Jeremy Slavits who can provide you with all the details about the skills and craftsmanship required to install an exhibit. And you might be lucky enough to bump into Amelia Holmes and Phoebe Boticelli Pohl and you can learn about what is happening at the Research Library and in our collections center. And they might suggest you find Ed Rudd and have him regal you with the new HVAC installation at the collections center.
At the Whaling Museum you can view the exciting updates to the exhibits that have occurred over the last 18 months. These include the recently opened special exhibition Anne Ramsdell Congdon’s Nantucket Renaissance, masterfully guest curated by Anne Knutson. This exhibit of paintings is filled with vibrant color and light, and if the paintings fail to give your day a positive bump, here’s a fact about the artist Anne Congdon that is sure to give you hope—after raising a family and running a successful antiques business for decades, she restarted her career at age 52 and became one of the leading painters on Nantucket.
At Hadwen House, the NHA’s recent affiliation with the Nantucket Lightship Basket Museum is on full display, with a new exhibition, Weaving Nantucket’s Past into Its Future, that presents baskets from the combined collections of the NHA and the NLBM. Expertly curated by basket weaver Kathleen Myers, this significant presentation was put together this spring by dedicated members of both organizations working tirelessly together.
So I encourage you to visit our latest exhibitions and stop and talk to our staff. Thank them for all they do. And ask them about what they are working on or their favorite parts of the NHA. You, too, will love the answers, and the next time someone asks “How are you doing?” you can reply, “Fantastic—have you been to the Whaling Museum?”
Chip Carver
