Coming to New Bedford on June 12, 2025
Being Seen: Celebrating Pride in the SouthCoast
A community-driven public art statement expressing unity throughout the region
You can still be part of the project! Learn more on our Call for Art page here.
Over an 18-month+ period, DATMA will produce and present “Being Seen: Celebrating SouthCoast Pride,” a temporary public art installation, exhibition, and educational initiative honoring the LGBTQ+ community. Launching to the public on June 12, 2025, as part of New Bedford’s Pride Block Party, this project will tour 4 SouthCoast MA municipalities by its close in November 2026.
Using upcycled textiles, the design will be produced under the direction and mentoring of NY-based textile artist / LGBTQ+ activist Liz Collins who has served the project as the Visiting Creative Director. This collectively-created, public art installation includes collaboration with the SouthCoast MA LGBTQ+ Network, the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA), and about 100 SouthCoast residents and organizations who have either donated materials or created a panel for the public art installation.
An accompanying indoor gallery exhibition will provide deeper significance to the public art component while also connecting our region with this important movement. The exhibit will include a community salon-style art installation of LGBTQ+ artists from a Call-For-Art organized by Kate Frazer Rego and Gallery X, accompanied by a history of the Pride Movement with a focus on the legacy of local figures such as David B. Boyce (1949-2014). Boyce was not only a long-time resident of New Bedford but also portrayed in an important, renowned sculpture by artist George Segal, “The Gay Liberation Monument.” Additional local figures will include local residents directly involved with advocating for Massachusetts’s Marriage Equality Act that paved the way for rest of the nation.
The artwork and indoor exhibition will be first displayed in June 2025 on the facade of New Bedford City Hall, then travel to prominent locations across the SouthCoast, including:
- June 2025 — City Hall, New Bedford & Gallery X
- September 2025 — UMass Dartmouth CVPA
- February 2026 — Marion Art Center
- June 2026 — Fall River, MA
Artist & designer Liz Collins kicked off the Being Seen project at UMass Dartmouth CVPA last winter, inspiring students and advising on design.
Volunteers Steve, Elaine, and Danna cut sails for the collaborative project — huge thanks to CBC and Sperry Sails for their generous donations!
Textile artist Jonathan Michaud visited CVPA’s new Art & Design Studio, sharing his work and meeting students involved in Being Seen.
Liz Collins (NYC) is a multi-media artist who works fluidly between art and design, with emphasis and expertise in textile media. Liz has received numerous awards and accolades for their work, including Knitting Nation (2005-2016) a performance and site-specific installation project created as a response to working in the fashion and textile industries. Collins staged 15 different iterations of Knitting Nation at various locations around the world, each “Phase” involving groups of student participants. Liz has been serving as the Visiting Creative Director for “Being Seen.” Explore more of her artwork here.
Additional guest artists have been and will be invited to participate in the programming for Being Seen including, Jonathan Michaud (NYC), George Summers Jr. (Boston), and Kate Frazer Rego (New Bedford) who is organizing an open call to LGBTQ+ artists to be on view with DATMA’s indoor exhibition. Stay tuned to DATMA’s event calendar for upcoming lectures and workshop opportunities.
Being Seen is being made possible by:
The Being Seen project is proudly supported by New Bedford, Massachusett’s Office of Tourism, EXPLORE NEW BEDFORD, a critical department for the arts & culture community. The artwork is also supported by the New Bedford Economic Development Council’s New Bedford Creative grant program called, Wicked Cool Places. Thank you to our generous supporters who believe in investing in the arts.