While the art of tattooing human skin dates back over 5,000 years, its rich history in maritime culture can be traced more definitively. The earliest reference of the word “tattoo” in western civilization comes from the writings of British captain James Cook aboard HM Bark Endeavor in 1769. While in Tahiti, he noted “both sexes […]
Our state is home to a unique and inspiring institution, the Tomaquag Indigenous Museum in Exeter. The museum is led by executive director Lorén M. Spears, an artist and author with a background in education. Spears is an enrolled Narragansett Tribal Nation citizen. Tomaquag is the only museum in Rhode Island entirely dedicated to telling […]
Behind every abandoned building is a story. Within its walls forgotten voices whisper endless conversations, once-important papers yellow in the sun that sneaks through cracked windows, old time cards sit in their holders, covered in the smudged fingerprints of their old owners. Rhode Island is full of these vacant, lively, buildings. For someone who builds […]
Read the full interview with Darlene Lacey below. Darlene Lacey started The Candy Wrapper Museum in 1975, when she was just a teenager. She says, “I had the idea to collect candy wrappers, but I wanted to do it with a purpose. I always loved roadside attractions and the way that ordinary things could become […]