The Lanesville Community Center and Gloucester Cultural Initiative hosted an open forum and potluck on Sunday, April 30, 2023 feauring the Manship Archives. During the event, Lanesville residents shared new discoveries about the history of their community and its colorful members.
With the help of Manship Archivist Peggy Calkins and archival volunteer CJ Vachon, Manship Artists Residency Executive Director Rebecca Reynolds created and shared a slide show of “Secrets from the Manship Archives” to the companionable gathering of some 40 Lanesvillans. Also in attendance were the Ward Councilor and City Council President Val Gilman, and fellow council member Frank Magiotti, who is running to be the new councilor for Ward Four.
The images and background stories provided a brief introduction to the types of material one can find in The Manship Archives. The documents range from historic photos of the neighborhood and of everyday life, like birthday party gatherings and summer fun, to correspondence and invoices for the rental of a Manship quarry by scientists testing equipment destined for the moon, to demands on the City of Gloucester for payment on water that was taken from Canney’s Quarry to offset a drought in the 1960s. Reynolds’ presentation and those of the other participants will be available online soon. Until then, we invite you to check out the slide show here.
Researchers from around the world have come to visit the Manship Archives and learn from its rich treasures. Artist Will Pappenheimer created an AR (Augmented Reality) piece with dancer and choreographer Sarah Slifer Swift, and curators from the Metropolitan Museum and the United Nations, as well as a conservator from the Smithsonian Institution have found source materials in the Manship Archives. The Manship Archives is open to the public by appointment. Manship Artists Residency gratefully acknowledges Americold for donating the use of storage space for the Manship Archives in their secure facility in downtown Gloucester.
