DATMA joins the Marion Art Center as they host the third installation of Being Seen: Celebrating Pride in the SouthCoast. Being Seen is a monumental community tapestry created by over 100 SouthCoast residents from Fall River to Wareham. Over an 18-month period, this work travels throughout the region, concluding in November 2026. The indoor exhibition expands on the public art installation with additional context, honoring the LGBTQIA+ community through stories, archival materials, and recognition of local advocates. The exhibition features the legacy of figures such as David B. Boyce (1949–2014), memorialized in George Segal’s renowned sculpture The Gay Liberation Monument, as well as SouthCoast residents whose advocacy for Massachusetts’s Marriage Equality Act helped shape national progress.
Call for Art: Answering Our Ancestors – The MAC announces an open call for art & ephemera that honors the joy, hopes, struggles, lives, and stories of the LGBTQIA+ community. Artists and members of the community are invited to submit work that answers the questions: How do we honor the queer ancestors who came before us to pave our path? When the world turns toward darkness, how do we let our joy shine? We are also seeking historical LGBTQIA+ ephemera and memorabilia specific to the SouthCoast region. Do you have any posters, pins, bar coasters, clothing, photographs, and artifacts that celebrate the stories and joy of the Queer community?
The MAC will host the traveling indoor exhibition supporting Being Seen: Celebrating South Coast Pride from February 13 through March 13, with an opening celebration on Saturday, February 14, 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the MAC, 80 Pleasant St. Marion. Artists may submit up to two pieces each; 2D and 3D are welcome. Video work will also be considered, but artists must provide their own AV equipment. Artists may choose to have their work travel to future exhibition sites in collaboration with DATMA’s Being Seen project. More information at marionartcenter.org.
MAC Movies will be screening Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt on Wednesday, February 11 at 7:00 pm at the MAC – 80 Pleasant St, Marion. The cost is $5 per person, Recommended for ages 13 and up. A tremendous, handmade monument to lives lost to AIDS, the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt demonstrated that grief and activism together could forge a powerful symbol of resilience. Winner of the Academy Award for best documentary feature, this moving film – buoyed by an original all-vocal score by Bobby McFerrin – explores the human stories obscured by statistics, examining the cross section of identities affected by HIV/AIDS, as well as efforts to combat the stigma, misinformation, and political obstruction that deepened the crisis.
For more information and to book tickets: marionartcenter.org/events