COSMOS JUL 22 2026 | Jeff Weaver Solo Show, Ruth Mordecai at COSMOS Gallery, Windhover NYC Dance Troupes, and The Addams Family Plays Annisquam!
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Ruth Mordecai, Blessings #4, 2026. Acrylic, oil and collage on paper, 25x20 inches.

 

BLESSINGS
Ruth Mordecai | Collages & Paintings

July 31 - August 30
COSMOS Gallery
20 Pleasant Street | Gloucester, Massachusetts
 

COVERING GREATER CAPE ANN'S WORLD OF
ART | SCIENCE | CULTURE

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20 Pleasant Street
Gloucester, Massachusetts

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July 22, 2026 | No. 155 | Cultural Outlook
 
Dear Cosmos Casuals,
 
We’ll leave the beach choices to your favorite waves, while we cover the other surf in this season of culture & coast….
 
ART AHEAD
One of Gloucester’s most celebrated artists, Jeff Weaver, will play two prominent roles in the forthcoming local art scene. His solo show opens soon at the North Shore Arts Association, reception on August 7, 6-8pm: NSAA. In October, Weaver will serve as judge for Cape Ann Plein Air, one of the premier competitive art events in the region, with selected paintings on display at the gala, October 9: CAPA GALA.
 
Opening next at COSMOS Gallery, BLESSINGS Ruth Mordecai | Collages & Paintings, will feature new and existing artwork, reflecting Ruth Mordecai’s lifelong exploration of spirituality, symbolism, and the human search for peace. Reception, August 1, 4pm: Blessings.
 
Returning to Gladstone in Manchester by the Sea, Diane Charyk Norris brings INTERTIDAL, featuring a collection of monotypes and ink drawings inspired by her close observation of rocky intertidal zones. Opening Reception: Friday, July 24, 5-7pm: Gladstone.

Annisquam Studios next show features Robin Colodzin, Pamela Courtleigh, and Mary Rhinelander, reception on July 30, 4:30pm: Annisquam Studios.
 
HOCKNEY AT MANSHIP UPDATE
Team meetings are ramping up for the world class exhibition, Hockney Reproduction(s), opening at Manship Artists Residency on September 11. For description of show and events, producer Bing McGilvray has written Part 3 of his series: Love Life.
 
DANCE PLETHORA
Perhaps no dance vision is more iconic to this region than Windover’s annual Quarry Dance performed on a quarry as stage & setting. This year’s dance is performed by ALISON COOK BEATTY DANCE group. Company will also perform on the outdoor Windhover stage with a second NYC dance group NATTIE + HOLLIS, August 8: Windhover Tickets. The Liquid Spine dance group will bring an environmentally inspired program to Manship Starfield, beginning with Open Rehearsal + Beach Cleanup rehearsal and cleanup: Full schedule.
 
THESPIAN REALM
Two regional theater groups offer their major annual productions. Lanes Coven Theater Company is performing their creative interpretation of As You Like It on Windhover Outdoor Stage through August 2. For community theater at its best, the Annisquam Village Players are producing the Addams Family Musical this year, August 4-9: Tickets. Directed by Terry Sands and Tracie Ewing, the show is based on The New Yorker magazine, single-panel comic series by Charles Addams.
 
COSMOS Gallery Gloucester
For one more weekend the gallery will feature paintings and drawings by Jeffrey Marshall and Alex Stroup: Drawn to Paint. In addition, our retail collection of vintage catalogues and books offers deep history on the evolution of Milton Avery, Adolph Gottlieb, and Mark Rothko as chronicled through exhibitions and essays. Many exquisitely printed...
 
With Midsummer Daydreams,
 
 

Chris Munkholm
Editor
capeanncosmos@gmail.com

Cape Ann COSMOS publishes alternate Wednesdays at 6am.


ART  |  COMMUNITY  |  PERFORMANCE  |  MUSIC  |  FILM
HISTORY  |  LITERATURE  |  SCIENCE  |  REVELS  |  CULTURE SCENE
Jeff Weaver, Rose's Travel Lift, charcoal/pastel.
 

Art Exhibitions


JEFF WEAVER: A SOLO EXHIBITION

North Shore Arts Association, Gloucester
August 6 – August 30
Reception: August 7, 6–8 pm
One of the most critically acclaimed painters in the region, Jeff Weaver will have a solo show at the North Shore Arts Association. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Weaver started taking portrait commissions by age fourteen. He studied sculpture with Eleanor Marvin, winning statewide awards in drawing and sculpture. He attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and moved to Gloucester in 1972, where he sketched and painted the waterfront daily. He supported himself through waterfront jobs, boat portrait commissions, and more than 30 murals throughout the city, some still extant. Since returning to fine art in the 1990s, he has focused on depicting Gloucester and now operates a studio/gallery on Rogers Street along the waterfront. Jeff Weaver Solo Show
See also: Jeff Weaver Gallery | Gloucester, MA, Jeff Weaver: Witness to Gloucester | Cape Ann Cosmos
 

BLESSINGS
Ruth Mordecai | Collages & Paintings

COSMOS Gallery, Gloucester
July 31 – August 30
Opening Reception: Saturday, August 1, 4–6 pm
Gallery Talk: Friday, August 14, 5 pm
BLESSINGS Ruth Mordecai | Collages & Paintings, soon opening at COSMOS Gallery, reflects Mordecai’s lifelong exploration of spirituality, symbolism, and the human search for peace. Known for her powerful abstract collages, paintings, and expressive visual language, Mordecai has spent decades addressing universal themes of identity, community, and the sacred. In Blessings, she draws on Jewish symbols and traditions in a deeply personal response to the recent rise in antisemitism, creating work that offers resilience, and hope rather than division. BLESSINGS
     The exhibition features a combination of new and existing artwork. Mordecai's exploration of Jewish imagery began in 1986 when she was commissioned to create the ark for Temple B'nai Abraham in Beverly, Massachusetts. Research for that project introduced symbols that became a lasting part of her artistic vocabulary and continue to inform her work today. "Blessings is ultimately a celebration of heritage, life, and healing," says the artist. "These paintings are prayers."
     Mordecai attended Bennington College, Boston University School of Fine and Applied Arts (BUSFAA) and has taught at the BUSFAA, the deCordova Museum School, and the Harvard University Department of Ceramics. Her artwork is in major public and private collections including the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Israel Museum, the Cape Ann Museum, the Rose Art Museum, and the Wiggin Prints and Drawings Collection of the Boston Public Library. www.RuthMordecai.com‍

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Diane Charyk Norris, Island Sweep, watercolor monotype.
 

Art Exhibitions

 

INTERTIDAL | Diane Charyk Norris

Gladstone, Manchester-by-the-Sea
July 22 – September 19
Opening Reception: Friday, July 24, 5-7 pm
The Gladstone exhibition is a collection of monotypes and ink drawings by Diane Charyk Norris, inspired by her close observation of the ephemeral patterns in the rocky intertidal zones, in the shorelines of Ireland, St. John (USVI), Maine, Cape Cod, and Halibut Point. With long walks along these coasts, she observes and captures the ever-changing energy of the sea.
       Watercolor monotype is a painterly printmaking technique that combines the fluid, expressive qualities of watercolor with the precision of layered plate printing; every monotype is a unique, one-of-a-kind work of art.
     Diane earned degrees in both Painting and Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. After practicing architecture for more than two decades, she returned to painting and continued her studies at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and in independent work with regional artists. Intertidal
 

DRAWN TO PAINT

Jeffrey Marshall & Alex Stroup
COSMOS Gallery, Gloucester
Through July 26
The current exhibition at COSMOS Gallery, Drawn to Paint, explores the role of drawing, both informal and preparatory, in the creative process of painters Jeffrey Marshall and Alex Stroup. Through the installation of paintings paired with their drawn origins, the exhibition creates a dialogue between two approaches to imagery that exist independently and interdependently. Drawn to Paint

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Interconnected - at Cove Gallery

Art Exhibitions

 

INTERCONNECTED

Cove Gallery, Rocky Neck Ave, Gloucester
July 23 – August 23
Opening Reception: July 23, 4-7 pm
The Cove Gallery features work by Jen Pinck, Nicole Bannerman, Barbe Ennis, Kelle Louaillier, and Jennifer Brown. Interconnected celebrates the ecosystems of mutuality that sustain our lives. The show was curated by Nic Bannerman, and features works on canvas and paper alongside ceramic and mixed-media sculptures. Interconnected
 

RESONANCE: A CONTEMPORARY RESPONSE

The New England Experimental Art Group
Matz Gallery, Sawyer Free Library, Gloucester
Through August 31
The New England Experimental Art Group opens Resonance: A Contemporary Response, a juried exhibition conceived as a companion to the Cape Ann Museum's Avery, Gottlieb, Rothko: By the Sea. Resonance explores how the ideas, emotions, and visual language of these influential artists continue to inspire contemporary creative practice. Nella Lush, founder of the group, remarks: “Resonance celebrates that creative exchange, inviting artists to engage with the work of Avery, Gottlieb, and Rothko while discovering something new about their own artistic voice.” Resonance
 

SIX DECADES
Retrospective of Works of L. Fahn R.

Galleries at Lynn Arts
25 Exchange Street, Lynn, MA
July 20 – August 10
Opening Reception: July 22, 6–8 pm
Curated by her daughters, SIX DECADES celebrates the remarkable artistic journey of Leslie Fahn Rosenberg, bringing together a diverse body of work created over more than sixty years. Spanning landscapes, portraits, floral studies, and urban scenes, the exhibition reveals an artist whose vision was continually shaped by the people, places, and experiences that defined her life. In her studio in Lynn, where she worked for more than twenty-five years she was surrounded by the city's industrial character and vibrant artistic community, influencing her body of work. L. Fahn R.

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Paul Cary Goldberg next to Broadsheets numbers 1 & 2.

 

Art & Discourse in the Community

 

O GLOUCESTER! MY GLOUCESTER!

Public Art Project by Paul Cary Goldberg
The second Broadsheet in Paul Cary Goldberg's Public Art Project titled, O Gloucester! My Gloucester! has now been installed on seven outdoor walls across the city. Each of these unique broadsheets is designed by Paul incorporating his photographs and poetry. He hopes this work will help people take the time to be engaged by and be inspired to incorporate art into their daily routines.
     The locations are: Short and Main Restaurant, Brass Monkey Poet’s Wall, 33 Commercial Street, Neptune’s Harvest at The Fort, Main Street across from Joe’s Fish Prints, Gloucester Stage Company East Main Street, Northside of COSMOS Gallery on Middle Street. Broadsheet number 3 is scheduled for an August installation. Paul Cary Goldberg
 

Online Lecture

FRIENDSHIP BY THE SEA: AVERY, GOTTLIEB, AND ROTHKO

Presented by Smithsonian Associates
Led by Eliza Rathbone and Oliver Barker
July 27,  6:30–8:00 pm
Registration required
Milton Avery, Adolph Gottlieb, and Mark Rothko’s shared summers in Gloucester, Massachusetts, in the 1930s and 1940s had a lasting impact on the work of these three pivotal 20th-century American artists. Eliza Rathbone, chief curator emerita of The Phillips Collection, talks with Cape Ann Museum director Oliver Barker about the development of this groundbreaking show, Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea (on view at the Cape Ann Museum through September 27, 2026). Highlighting key works by each, Rathbone discusses the impact of Gloucester’s coastal landscape on the three artists and shares behind-the-scenes details about the exhibition, illuminating the men’s friendship and its influence on each artist’s evolution. Registration required: Smithsonian Associates. 

HOCKNEY REPRODUCTION(S)

A Celebration of the Life and Art of David Hockney (1937–2026)‍

Manship Artists Residency
Gloucester Massachusetts 
September 11 – October 18, 2026

The exhibition, produced by Bing McGilvray, is an outgrowth of his long friendship with David Hockney which accumulated rare memorabilia as well as his unique insights into the artist’s oeuvre. The following essay is Part 3 in Bing’s series of reminiscences.

Part 3: Love Life

By Bing McGilvray

ARS LONGA, VITA BREVIS

“Now cracks a noble heart. Good night sweet prince,
and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”
‍ ‍— Wm. Shakespeare. Hamlet.

On the morning of June 12, barely awake, sitting with my coffee, I opened my emails as I always do. The first one began: “The celebrated British artist David Hockney, one of the most important figures in contemporary art in both the 20th and 21st centuries, passed away peacefully at home on 11 June 2026, one month short of his 89th birthday.” It was the official press release from David Hockney Inc., a detailed obituary obviously prepared well ahead of time, sent out at midnight. 

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Quarry Dance

 

Performance

 

QUARRY DANCE 2026

Windhover Performing Arts Center & Lanesville private quarry
August 7, 1:30–3:30 pm
August 8, 10:30 am –12:30 pm
August 9, 1:30 –3:30 pm
Times include shuttle service to and from Windhover
Quarry Dance is Windhover’s signature summer project, the vision of Windhover’s founder, the late Ina Hahn. Her vision marries the art of modern dance with the pristine landscapes of the quarries on Cape Ann. Utilizing the natural amphitheaters of these quarries opens up a world where art and nature can co-mingle.
     This year’s Quarry Dance will be performed by New York City-based Alison Cook Beatty Dance Company at a private quarry in Lanesville. A shuttle will transport guests from the Windhover parking lot to the performance and back again. No parking is available at the performance site. Shuttle service from Windhover runs from 1:30-1:50pm on Friday and Sunday and 10:30-10:50am on Saturday. Quarry Dance admission (including shuttle service) is FREE. No advance RSVP required. Donations are most welcome. In the event of rain, Quarry Dance is subject to cancellation. Please check Windhover website for updates. Quarry Dance 
 

LIMON DANCE COMPANY

Windhover Outdoor Stage, Rockport
Performances at: August 14 & 15, 7 pm
Open Rehearsal: August 15, 2 pm
Celebrating its 80th Season, the Limón Dance Company has been at the vanguard of dance since its inception in 1946. José Limón has a special place in American culture for a social awareness that transcended distinct groups to address how we all search for commonality. With this ethos, the company continues to commission works by critically acclaimed and emerging international voices 50 years after Limón’s passing. His works continue to influence the evolution of the art form with their arresting visual clarity, theatricality, and rhythmic and musical life. Tickets

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Liquid Spine

 

Performance

 

LIQUID SPINE

Manship Artists Residency, Gloucester

Open Rehearsal + Beach Cleanup

July 29, 6–8:15 pm
Following their dance rehearsal, you are invited to follow them to a local beach where we will engage in a beach cleanup. Open Rehearsal + Beach Cleanup

Artist Jam

July 31, 7–8:30 pm
An open, collaborative gathering where artists of all forms come together to create, connect, and inspire one another. This artist jam invites dancers, musicians, poets, painters, writers, and creatives of every kind into a shared space of exploration and play. Artist Jam

BYCATCH Performance

August 1, Performances at: 11 am, 7 pm
BYCATCH is a multidisciplinary community event that combines dance, an artists’ jam, and a beach cleanup to explore the ecology of our coastal waters. Created by choreographer, and Great Marsh Artist Katie Pustizzi and the dance collective Liquid Spine, the performance uses movement and reclaimed fishing gear to tell the stories of marine animals affected by pollution, ghost gear, and industrial bottom trawling.  Bycatch Performance
 

ALISON COOK BEATTY DANCE | NATTIE + HOLLIS

Windhover Outdoor Stage, Rockport
August 8, 7 pm
This special double bill performance of New York City-based dance artists celebrates the breadth of ways in which legacy informs contemporary dance. Founded in 2012, Alison Cook Beatty Dance is a classically-based modern dance company exploring the universal human condition through movement grounded in American modern dance.
     Nattie Trogdon and Hollis Bartlett are performers, choreographers, educators, and creative partners whose collaborative work spans dance, film, and research-based practices that challenge conventional ideas of performance and personhood. Their work has been presented at leading New York venues and festivals, including LMCC’s River to River Festival, Gibney, Movement Research at Judson Church, and the 92nd Street Y. Tickets

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As You Like It

 

Performance

 

AS YOU LIKE IT

Lanes Coven Theater Company
Windhover Outdoor Stage, Rockport
July 10 – August 2
Pre-show Welcome Night: Friday, July 10, 6 pm, performance 7 pm
For their summer production, Lanes Coven Theater Co. will present As You Like It by William Shakespeare, adapted & directed by M. Graham Smith. Enjoy this inventive adaptation as the troupe conjures Shakespeare’s “Forest of Arden” on the Windhover grounds and celebrates the restorative harmony of nature. As You Like It is Shakespeare at his most playful, experimental, and profound. Young people escape the autocratic dystopia of the city court to find a better way of life in the forest, and to find love! You’ll see gender norms unraveling, characters living in exile with their chosen family, and love in all its messy, confusing, and downright silly forms. Tickets
 

THE ADDAMS FAMILY MUSICAL

Annisquam Village Players
Annisquam Village Hall, Gloucester
August 4–9
Directed by Terry Sands and Tracie Ewing, the show is based on The New Yorker magazine, single-panel comic series by Charles Addams, which ran in the magazine from 1938 to his death in 1988. The show takes place in the Addams’ crumbling old Central Park mansion, alive with dark shadows and generations of dearly departed ancestors who simply won’t depart. When teenage daughter, Wednesday, invites her new boyfriend and his painfully “normal” parents to dinner, what could possibly go wrong? Quite a bit.
     As the boyfriend’s tidy, conventional family steps into the Addams’ gloriously morbid world, tensions rise faster than a ghost through the ceiling. Personality clashes spark chaos, dinner threatens disaster, and the evening takes a shocking turn when it becomes known that the young couple are engaged to be married. Cue the mayhem. Tickets
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The Headlands

Music

 

Music on Meetinghouse Green
THE HEADLANDS

Gloucester Meetinghouse
July 24, 6 pm
With their exciting three-part vocals that put their stamp on whichever musical genre they choose, HEADLANDS has been playing at clubs, restaurants, outdoor festivals and private events since 2017. Whether an acoustic trio or a full-blown rock band with percussion, fiddle and horns, you can expect a  HEADLANDS concert with thrilling harmonies, tight arrangements, and humor! The Headlands
 

ROCKPORT LEGION BAND

Back Beach Bandstand, Rockport
July 26, 7 pm: Pops by the Sea
August 2, 7 pm: Folk Footprints
Enjoy these free outdoor concerts, led by Logan Larue, Conductor and Music Director. They are said to have the best popcorn in Massachusetts! Folding chairs and blankets are welcome.

Music on Meetinghouse Green
RHIANNON HURST & FRIENDS

Gloucester Meetinghouse
July 31, 6 pm
Rhiannon Kaela Hurst is a Rockport native and an award-winning jazz vocalist who has appeared on national and international stages, earning recognition as a 2021 National YoungArts Jazz Voice Winner and performing at the 2023 International Guinness Jazz Festival in Ireland. A 2025 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and the Brooks Music and Fenwick Scholar, she studied jazz voice at the New England Conservatory and has just graduated with her Master’s in Jazz Vocal Performance from New England Conservatory. She is excited to be back and will be joined by Matthew Walsh on Bass and Saxophone, Emmett Price IV on drums, and Niko Malinowski on guitar. Tickets

CAPTAIN JACK & THE STRANGERS

The Cut, Gloucester
August 1, 8 pm, Doors 7 pm
Comprised of six musicians from Gloucester, with over 30 years’ experience, the band is fronted by 27-year-old piano phenom, Jack Favazza, who brings a youthful exuberance to this classic American songbook. With a longstanding passion for the music of Billy Joel, the band formed in late 2022, after founding members had seen a performance of Billy at the legendary Fenway Park in Boston, during the summer of that same year.
     This group now plays a wide catalogue of music from America's own Piano Man, Billy Joel, spanning his entire musical career from the 70's, 80's, and 90's. Playing both well-known hits, alongside of B-side fan favorites, there are songs to appease any audience member. Tickets
 

ROBERT ELLIS ORRALL

The Cut, Gloucester
August 7, 6 pm, Doors 5 pm
Experience a night of stories and songs from renowned songwriter and producer Robert Ellis Orrall. He and his original band from the 80’s will be playing songs he wrote for and with Taylor Swift, Reba McEntire, Lindsay Lohan, Michael McDonald and hundreds of other timeless artists.
     When RCA Records signed North Shore native Robert Ellis Orrall in 1980 he had his dream band: Kook Lawry on guitar, Don Walden on bass and David Stefanelli on the drums. 46 years later they are back on the road and in the studio. The band’s critically acclaimed albums, "Fixation", "Contain Yourself", and "Special Pain" were recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales with producer Roger Bechirian (Elvis Costello, Squeeze), and supported with tours opening for U2, The Kinks, Psychedelic Furs and countless others. And their Top 40 smash hit with Carlene Carter “I Couldn’t Say No” still stands as an 80’s classic.
    The band is touring from now to forever, playing songs from all of their albums and albums to come.. The old cliche “Let’s get the band back together” has come to life with these four best friends playing their best music. Tickets
Martha Anger
As your realtor, I am your partner, your advisor, and your connection to a wealth of resources and information that will guide you along your way. And, I will always endeavor to make the most important investment of a lifetime the most rewarding as well. marthakristinanger

 

 

Film

 

I SHOT ANDY WARHOL

Brattle Theater, Cambridge
August 7, 6:30 & 9 pm
New 4K Restoration
Starring: Anna Thomson, Jared Harris, Lili Taylor, Lothaire Bluteau, Martha Plimpton
The feature debut of Mary Harron (American Psycho) was one of the most controversial independent films of the 1990s. I SHOT ANDY WARHOL stars an electric Lili Taylor as Valerie Solanas, a militant feminist whose attempted murder of Andy Warhol brought instant fame to her radically anti-male SCUM Manifesto. Dropping out of grad school in the mid-sixties, the brilliant yet volatile Solanas survived in New York City as a destitute artist, sex worker, and panhandler, soon striking up a friendship with Warhol superstar Candy Darling that brought her briefly into the orbit of the world’s premier pop artist. With vivid, hallucinatory attention to historical detail, Harron captures the explosive cross-pollination of New York’s political and artistic countercultures as well as the creativity, snobbery, and decadence at the heart of the legendary Factory. Anchored by pitch-perfect performances—and featuring a blistering score by John Cale—I SHOT ANDY WARHOL is an incisive portrait of a rebel without an outlet and the soon-to-be-lost generation she came to define. – Janus Films Brattle Theater
 

History & Literature

 

SALEM GETS DRESSED

Peabody Essex Museum
Fashion & Design Gallery
August 1, 2026 – January 2, 2028
Explore works that honor Salem's quadricentennial and reflect the city's rich history through the lenses of community, commerce and self-fashioning. Drawn from PEM's nationally significant collection, this presentation in PEM's Fashion & Design gallery features pieces associated with New England figures and families, illustrating a sense of pride in a city defined by an intense and varied history, a profound maritime heritage and vibrant communities and culture. Through more than 40 garments and ensembles dating from the early 1700s to the present — including costumes, uniforms, wedding attire, and enduring everyday wear — the installation traces how generations of residents have expressed identity, status and belonging through what they made and wore.
     As Salem transformed from a thriving port to a retail hub and, later, a center for cultural tourism, fashion reflected and helped define its changing identity. Garments on view reveal Quaker traditions, connections to abolitionist histories, the influence of local businesses along Essex Street and the lived experiences of families who built their lives here. Together, they highlight Salem's long-standing diversity and the ways clothing can carry memories across generations. Salem Gets Dressed
 

THOMAS JEFFERSON & THE BEGINNINGS OF DEMOCRACY IN ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND

With Richard Rosenfeld
Presented by Gloucester Writers Center
Venue: Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, Gloucester
July 23, 7–8pm
Historian, author, and Rocky Neck resident Richard Rosenfeld, whose book American Aurora: A Democratic-Republican Returns was named “Best History Book” by the Los Angeles Times in 1997, challenges a centuries-old understanding of where Anglo-American democracy began. Starting with Thomas Jefferson’s 1776 proposal for the Great Seal of the United States—which honored the Saxon leaders Hengist and Horsa as founders of England’s democratic traditions—Rosenfeld argues that Jefferson and generations of historians got the story wrong. This thought-provoking lecture offers a fresh perspective on the origins of democratic government and previews a presentation Rosenfeld will deliver at University of Cambridge this fall. Registration
 

ANN CHARTERS EXPLORES

Presented by the Writers Center
Venue: Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, Gloucester
July 30, 7pm
Ann Charters continues her scholarly investigation on some of the major poets in Gloucester’s history including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, T. S. Elliot, and Charles Olson. Ann is Professor Emerita of American Literature at the University of Connecticut at Storrs and well known for her Jack Kerouac and Beat Generation scholarship. She began collecting books written by Beat writers when she was a graduate student at Columbia University (M.A. 1960; Ph.D. 1965).
     She has written a literary study of Charles Olson and biographies of black entertainer Bert Williams and (with her husband Samuel Charters, a musicologist) the Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky. In 2024, Gloucester Writers Center published her book T.S. Eliot And Charles Olson: Young Tom And Charlie, Two American Poets At Home In Gloucester, which can be purchased at Cape Ann Museum. Gloucester Writers Center
 

Revels

 

GARRISON KEILLOR TONIGHT

The Cabot, Beverly
August 7, 7pm
Garrison Keillor created “A Prairie Home Companion” for forty years, with fiction and comedy invented for a town called Lake Wobegon where all the children are above average—even though he himself grew up evangelical in a small separatist flock where all the children expected the imminent end of the world.
Garrison Keillor became a Sunday night ritual:

“His shows can, for a couple of hours, transform an audience of even so – called coastal elites into a small – town community with an intimacy only radio and its podcast descendants can achieve” – Chris Barton, LA Times 

“[Keillor is] an expert at making you feel at home with his low – key, familiar style. Comfortable is his specialty.” – Betsie Freeman, Omaha – World Herald
 
The beloved chronicler remains busy in retirement, having written a memoir and a book of limericks and now at work on a Lake Wobegon musical and screenplay. He continues to recycle posts from the  “The Writer's Almanac” sent out daily to Internet subscribers (free).  Tickets


NIGHT OF STARS CONCERT

Fish City Studios, 39 Main St., Gloucester
July 24, 7 pm, Doors 6:30 pm
Presented by Quinn Dunbar & Mark Henderson
An eclectic concert featuring: The Intelligence Community (ambient set), Nick Ortolani & Ryan Fairbanks, and ​mMoron featuring Steve Lacey. ​Suggested Donation: $15. RSVP
Thank you to the sponsors of Cape Ann COSMOS Art, Science & Entertainment Media.  And their indirect support of the Greater Cape Ann Cultural Community.
Become a COSMOS Sponsor and supporter of the Greater Cape Ann Cultural Community. Find out more.

Culture Scene & Seen...
Photos of recent events around the North Shore of Boston.
July 17, 2026, Hammond Castle Museum SEASIDE SOIRÉE Brought magic, conviviality, and strong community support for the enduring future of this great landmark The Soiree is certain to become an annual tradition. The event was impeccably executed, and the auction bidding excited.
Guests at the Castle enjoyed food stations, libations, living statues, music, ocean views and a rosy summer sunset. Between the silent auction indoors in the Great Hall and the lively auction under the test with auctioneer Bruce Tarr - the community support was generous!
The evening scene after festivities ended, with the glow of the illuminated Castle and the sound of the lapping Atlantic; Gail McCarthy and Caleb McMurphy in the midst.
July 9, 2026, Opening reception for Resonance, Matz Gallery, Sawyer Free Library. The New England Experimental Art Group opens Resonance: A Contemporary Response, a juried exhibition conceived as a companion to the Cape Ann Museum's Avery, Gottlieb, Rothko: By the Sea. It was a particularly exciting event, with the unveiling of the inspired artwork and matching with the three artists showing at Cape Ann Museum. Image: Steve Lush with his painting. Avery?
Resonance opening reception filled the Matz Gallery with art and artists. Upper left clockwise: Ginger Myhaver and Brian Pellinen, President of Montserrat College of Art; Kristine Fisher; Donna Caselden; and Judy Schmid, Michele Boshar, and Cheryl Dyment. 
Artist Sinikka Nogelo with her piece, matching color palette.
Upper left clockwise: Nella Lush, leader of EG group and who conceived the Resonance concept; Oliver Barker, Director of Cape Ann Museum; and Kat Masella.
July 16 2026, Side Street Gallery JOE POIRIER RETROSPECTIVE, evening featuring the work of Joe Poirier (1950 – 2022), an accomplished landscape painter. Photo credit: Bing McGilvray
COSMOS No. 155
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Image: A conversational scene from the Resonance opening reception.
NOTE TO ORGANIZATIONS
 
To submit cultural events, news, openings or other related topics for COSMOS consideration: capeanncosmos@gmail.com. Newsletter content is selected for editorial criteria, COSMOS readers' interests, conformity to our select categories, and regional boundaries.
The Cape Ann COSMOS Vision celebrates and honors our regional community of artists, writers, scientists, dancers, filmmakers, aficionados, newcomers, theaters, galleries, museums, and patrons.  Their contribution to life on Cape Ann creates the second wonderful source of beauty in this spectacular region of the world. 

As a digital platform, the COSMOS website, newsletter, and social media publishes content  for the Nine Muses:  Art, Dance, Film, History, Literature, Music, Revels, Science, Theater
 
Contributors
Christiane Munkholm, Publisher & Editor in Chief
Meredith Anderson, Director of Design & Technology
Paul Erickson, Science Editor
Catherine M. King, Copy Editor
Bing McGilvray, Feature Writer & Illustrator 
Jerry Ackerman, Advisor
Joy Buell, Correspondent

Publisher
Munkholm Media LLC
Copyright © 2019-2026, Munkholm Media LLC.  
Cape Ann COSMOS is a Trademark of Munkholm Media LLC. 
All rights reserved.

Mailing address: PO Box 1447, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA 01944
Office: 20 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA 01930
www.capeanncosmos.com

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NOTE TO READERS
WE DOUBLE CHECK OUR EVENT LISTING DETAILS
BUT HAVE MISSED DATES AND CHANGES.  TRUST, BUT PLEASE VERIFY.

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