As part of the Nantucket Historical Association’s 2025 featured exhibition, Behind the Seams: Clothing and Textiles on Nantucket, they have invited Nantucket community members to contribute a panel to a conceptual quilt. A celebratory display of the works of art will be revealed at the NHA’s Community Day, planned for August.
“There is a long-standing history of community quilt-making that our exhibition touches on and that we have examples of in our collection,” explained Niles Parker, NHA Gosnell Executive Director. “So we are excited to spearhead the creation of a piece of work that can be in this same spirit and showcase the story of the Nantucket community today.”
Details on how to participate in the Community Quilt project, can be found on nha.org/community-quilt-project—but don’t delay: panels are due by July 1.
Behind the Seams: Clothing and Textiles on Nantucket is on display in the Nantucket Whaling Museum on Broad Street, with more than 150 objects from the NHA’s costume and textile collections that tell stories of making, meaning, and island identity from across Nantucket history.
“So many aspects of island history can be explored through textiles and clothing,” said Michael Harrison, NHA Chief Curator and Obed Macy Research Chair. “The NHA is excited to present visitors with a rare look at some of the most intriguing objects in our collection—the clothing and textiles that people created and used on Nantucket in the past.”
On view through November 2, Behind the Seams features clothing, accessories, household textiles, and tools for sewing and textile production from the NHA’s 2,000-piece costume and textile collections. Rarely seen objects, assembled from more than two centuries of clothing and textiles on Nantucket, demonstrate the skill and artistry of island makers and reveal the stories that clothing and textiles can tell.
Exhibition themes explore textile production and trade—from raw materials to finished garments—as well as the relationships, communities, identities, and values revealed by textile objects created and used by Nantucketers. Clothing brands that reflect the summer resort and products from the island’s robust craft revival movement extend the themes of making and meaning into the twentieth century. Behind the Seams highlights the persistence of sustainable practices, demonstrating how islanders have cared for and valued clothing and textiles. Together, the themes of making, meaning, and sustainability reflect Nantucket’s history as a seaport, its shift from a whaling economy to a summer resort, and the legacy of the island’s talented textile practitioners.
The NHA is offer an exciting slate of gallery activities and public programs, special events, and workshops to support the exhibition. This Wednesday, July 2, artist and activist Diana Weymar will give a free talk at Greater Light, 8 Howard Street on Interwoven Stories. On July 7, the NHA Decorative Arts program will offer a workshop in Shibori, a Japanese dyeing technique with indigo. Every Monday afternoon in July, a Decorative Arts Needlepoint Sampler class will be held.
In the Discovery Center, hands-on family programming includes a Family Tactile Talk Monday through Thursday at 10:15 am, followed by a craft participants make and take home.
For details and registration in these and the many other special programs offered by the Nantucket Historical Association, visit the What’s On section at nha.org. Additional Community Quilt panel contributions and displays will continue into the fall at NHA programs and events and conclude with an exhibition finale celebration in October that will include an auction of the Community Quilt panels. To plan your visit and learn more about museum hours, visit NHA.org.
