PRESS RELEASE: Martha’s Vineyard Museum Receives 2025 New England Museum Association Award of Excellence for Jaws at 50: A Deeper Dive

Press release: DECEMBER 2025

Martha’s Vineyard Museum Receives 2025 New England Museum Association Award of Excellence for Jaws at 50: A Deeper Dive

[VINEYARD HAVEN, MA] – DECEMBER, 2025 – The New England Museum Association (NEMA) has awarded team members at Martha’s Vineyard Museum with a 2025 Excellence Award in recognition of the exhibition Jaws at 50: A Deeper Dive. The award honors Curator of Exhibitions Anna Barber, Associate Curator of Exhibitions Kate Logue, and Research Librarian A. Bowdoin “Bow” Van Riper, who researched, developed, and installed the exhibition.

The accolade comes through NEMA’s annual Excellence Awards program, which recognizes museum professionals—both behind the scenes and on the front lines—whose work demonstrates creativity, leadership, and a sustained commitment to serving the public. “These awards demonstrate the passion and dedication that museum professionals bring to their work,” said NEMA’s Director of Membership, Amy Peters Clark. “We are pleased to acknowledge the winners’ accomplishments as examples of leadership and service to the museum field, and beyond.” Marking the 50th anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster Jaws, the exhibition reframed one of the most influential films in American cinema as a deeply local story rooted on Martha’s Vineyard. Rather than retelling the familiar saga of Hollywood innovation, Barber, Logue, and Van Riper centered on the Island itself—its landscapes, its communities, and the Vineyarders whose labor, creativity, and cameo appearances shaped the film.

“Jaws at 50 was fundamentally about place,” said Chief Curator Bonnie Stacy. “The exhibition illuminated the Vineyard’s role not just as a backdrop, but as a character in its own right. Anna, Kate, and Bow created an experience that resonated equally with film buffs, longtime Islanders, and first-time visitors.”

The exhibit explored filming locations, behind-the-scenes stories, Island culture in the 1970s, and lesser-known details about the production. Barber provided overall leadership, forging relationships with lenders and community partners while overseeing research, design, and installation. Logue brought technical mastery to the exhibition’s physical and interactive design, and Van Riper contributed his expertise as a film historian—and as the only staff member who appeared as an extra in Jaws—adding scholarly context to the exhibition and its public programs. Since opening on May 24, 2025, and running through September 7, 2025, Jaws at 50: A Deeper Dive transformed the entire top floor of the Museum—including the Grain Family, Hollinshead, Cox, and Fleischner galleries. The exhibition set new attendance records for the Museum, drawing more than 25,000 visitors in a single season, the highest in our history.

With the success of this exhibition, the Museum has since created Jaws at 50: An Island Story, an exhibition that is running into 2026. “We are honored to receive this recognition from NEMA,” said Barber. “This exhibition was a true Museum-wide effort and a celebration of the Island’s unique place in film history.”

About Martha’s Vineyard Museum:
The Martha’s Vineyard Museum inspires all people to discover, explore, and strengthen their
connections to the Island and its diverse heritage. Through exhibitions, programs, and a vast
collection of artifacts, photographs, and oral histories, the Museum preserves and shares the
stories of Martha’s Vineyard—past and present. Located in Vineyard Haven, the Museum offers
year-round opportunities for learning and engagement for visitors of all ages. For more
information, visit mvmuseum.org.

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