As Cape Ann Museum prepares to close its doors at the downtown campus for a major overhaul, plans are set for more than a year of free exhibits and programs at CAM Green.
The Pleasant Street campus will be open through Sunday. The first exhibit at the CAM Green, off Washington Street near Grant Circle, will begin next Friday and is show dedicated to renowned progressive artist Umberto Romano (1905-1982), who opened the Romano School of Art in East Gloucester in 1938.
The CAM Green, on Poplar Street, opened in the summer of 2020, and will now provide a headquarters for the museum’s year-round programming, which will have expanded hours and timed-entry to allow for parking on site.
The museum’s downtown renovation project is just one element of the CAM-150 Campaign, a campaign created for the occasion of the institution’s 150 anniversary in 2025. Founded in 1875 as the Cape Ann Scientific and Literary Association, its mission has always been to preserve and celebrate the history and culture of the region.
Museum Director Oliver Barker talked about the benefit of having expanded the museum beyond its downtown home base.
“Throughout the pandemic and now as we renovate the downtown campus, CAM Green has been a sanctuary, a respite, and a vibrant location for our programming, exhibitions, and a venue for outdoor public art such as the contemporary art wetu celebrating Indigenous history on Cape Ann,” he said.
“There is a flexibility and vitality to the CAM Green campus which pulls together a large green open space, three historic buildings and a contemporary gallery as part of the Janet & William Ellery James Center.”
The 12,000-square-foot James Center also opened in the summer of 2020.
For nearly 150 years, the Cape Ann Museum has created opportunities for people to explore, build community, be challenged, and inspired through discovery and learning, Barker said.
“The museum is excited to continue this commitment and engage the community at CAM Green,” he said.
Throughout this period of the downtown closure, the museum will use its CAM Green campus for its signature community offerings and events such as Gloucester’s So Salty (Jan. 25-Jan. 26, 2025); an outdoor Cape Ann student exhibition (April 12 to June 29, 2025); Gloucester Juneteeth Festival (June 14, 2025); Indigenous Heritage Day (July 19, 2025); and Brazilian Independence Celebrations (Aug. 24, 2025).
The downtown museum will reopen in 2026.
Gail McCarthy may be contacted at 978-675-2706, or gmccarthy@northofboston.com.