This week, Jared Bowen, GBH’s executive arts editor, joined Aaron Schachter on Morning Edition to round up local museums’ mask policies, and recommend some safe, cool ways to enjoy art this week.
The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem requires visitors to wear masks, along with the major museums in Boston, including the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) and the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA).
Local theaters are also re-considering mask and vaccination policies as the season opens. The Boch Center in Boston will require all employees to be vaccinated starting mid-September, and the Emerson Colonial Theater also requires that employees be fully vaccinated.
Then, Jared reviews “In American Waters” at the Peabody Essex and hears actor Gabriel Byrne discuss his new memoir “Walking with Ghosts.”
“In American Waters,” on view at the Peabody Essex Museum through October 3
A new exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum examines America’s relationship with the sea. “In American Waters” features centuries of paintings of ships, portraits and the oceans from shore to sea, expanding the scope of maritime art beyond historical conventions. From the classic marine paintings of Fitz Henry Lane to contemporary coastlines as seen by Cherokee artist Kay WalkingStick, the exhibition examines the wide variety of feelings we have about the ocean, as well as its undeniable impact on American society.
“I think people will sequester marine painting in terms of a narrative in a way that doesn't do it very much good, because it tells a story that's historical,” says Daniel Finamore, the museum’s curator of Maritime Art. “What I want for people to walk through is… to connect at a deeper level than a history book would.”
“Walking with Ghosts: A Memoir,” by Gabriel Byrne, in bookstores now
Veteran Irish actor Gabriel Byrne has published a new memoir of his journey from childhood to a full-blown Hollywood career. In the book, Byrne describes his formative years growing up on the outskirts of Dublin, taking a winding career path, including a stint as a plumber, that ultimately delivered him to the stage. Byrne’s 40-year career includes a Golden Globe Award for his role as psychologist Paul Weston on “In Treatment” and three Tony Award nominations for his roles in Eugene O’Neill Broadway plays. But, as he confesses in the memoir, it’s been a trajectory dogged by doubt.
“I think most performers, whether they're actors or singers or artists of any hue, they do suffer incredible anxiety,” admits Byrne in his interview with Jared. “Doubt and fear, those things are your bedfellows. You have to make peace with them.”
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