Presence Magazine | Robert Paul Properties

NEW BEDFORD’S Creative and Community Renaissance New Bedford, Massachusetts – Something’s happening in New Bedford on Thursday evenings: lines outside galleries, families strolling past street musicians, young professionals grabbing dinner before heading to a studio opening. The former whaling capital is in the middle of a creative renaissance that’s reshaping both its economy and daily life. Once the world’s richest whaling port—Herman Melville set sail from here in the opening of Moby-Dick—New Bedford’s handsome brick warehouses and harborfront still reflect that maritime legacy. When whaling and the textile industries declined, the city had to chart a new course. Today, creativity and innovation are shaping what comes next. Local leaders started talking about the arts as economic development back in the early 1990s. That vision is now visible throughout the city. The Seaport Cultural District buzzes with activity, where artist studios and cafés have replaced whaling ships in former factories. Downtown New Bedford, much of which is included in the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, offers a 19th-century backdrop for a thoroughly modern creative scene. Visitors can tour the New Bedford Whaling Museum by day, then step across the street into a contemporary gallery opening or catch live music in a converted mill space. Artists, entrepreneurs, and professionals seeking creative opportunities are finding them here without the noise or price tag of a big city. New Bedford is no longer flying under the radar. Creative Spaces in Historic Mills Tucked into the North End’s Nashawena Mill District, Hatch Street Studios is easy to miss from the outside—just another old brick building from New Bedford’s textile past. Step inside and you’ll find painters setting up canvases, fiber artists working looms, furniture makers cutting wood in light-filled studios. The space is raw in places, but full of life and purpose. Each artist has dedicated space, but the atmosphere is collaborative and supportive. Tall windows provide steady natural light making the workspaces bright and comfortable for long creative sessions. 80 ROBERTPAUL.com 2025 - 2026 PRESENCE A sunlit studio at Hatch Street Studios offers a glimpse into the creative process, where finished works and works-in-progress share the same space.

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