National Lighthouse Day is Friday, August 7. Photo, above: Visitors to Harbor Light. Bob Tellier.

What's Up at the

Custom House

August 2, 2026

#StandUpForScience #Museums4Science

The Custom House Maritime Museum is open

Thursday and Friday 1-5 PM,

Sat. from 10AM-5 PM, and Sun. from 1-5 PM.

Remember: red text indicates a clickable hot link!

A Blue Whale crashes onto an elite beach. Its carcass a downed-jet avatar. Marine biologists take samples, remove its eye, carve a cavity. The Blue Whale’s scale, shredding and terrestrial position, challenge understanding, drawing onlookers, dislocated in space and time.

I loop North America, capturing human interactions with whale remains searching for a still point in cavities, necro-transformations, and patterns which defy our narratives

with nature. Instinct leads me to Baja’s volcanic landscape.

There, a crash-test L1011 basks beside the Mexicali highway. Air Whale. On a remote ridge, whale skeletons assembled by a long dead fisherman, appear ready for flight, taxiing overland.

Las Islas Encantadas breach and dive. A Dead Man, The Saint, and the Little Orphan Boy appear to zoom larger the longer the distance. These islands are the whales’ landscape. Their images shift positions on the sea, conflicting with physical logic.

In Santos, the photographs form a web of interconnected moments. On a remote Baja beach, coyotes alert the lens to a stranded Beaked Whale. A trawler levitates into the night sky, denying the constraints of time. Stars streak the sea, evoking an immersed net. In displaced images, the eye confronts a paradoxical landscape: movement in stillness.

--Johanna Case-Hofmeister

On view through November 1, 2026

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SANTOS

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Johanna Case-Hofmeister is a photographer and transdisciplinary artist scholar based in Northern New Mexico. Working at the intersection of art, science, and community-based research, Case-Hofmeister collaborates on convergence research initiatives in

the Arctic alongside scientific researchers and circumpolar coastal communities. Their work has also been published in Cell Reports Sustainability. They hold an MFA from Yale University and a BFA from SUNY Purchase. Their work has been exhibited at the

Aperture Foundation, Duende Gallery, and the Bolinas Museum.

This exhibition features a selection of images from Santos. This project, which spans the desolate volcanic coastline of the Baja Sea of Cortez and the city of Mexicali, began in 2023 and was completed in 2024.

this Saturday, August 8, 11 AM

Sound & Rhythm workshop

Ages 11-14

Join South African producer and musician Sam Nizmela for a high-energy, one-hour rhythm adventure where ordinary household objects become extraordinary instruments. Armed with pots, pans, and plenty of imagination, participants will discover how rhythm can be found almost anywhere.

Through clapping, snapping, drumming, and playful musical challenges, kids will create layered beats, explore the rhythms of South Africa and beyond, and learn how simple sounds can come together to make something unforgettable. No musical experience is needed—just curiosity, a willingness to experiment, and a readiness to make joyful noise.

Let's get it started! Limited to ten participants, ages 11 to 14.

$5, sponsored by NLMS, Advance registration is required.

Sign up today at: https://events.humanitix.com/sound-and-rhythm

This Week at the Custom House

In case you missed it, here's a link -- at right -- to 18 minutes of July 11's Celebrate New London fireworks taken 0n our NL HarborCam.

I don't often have the opportunity to attend Open Mic at the Museum, but I made it last week. Amazing talent! --with an impressive variety of performances, from a staged reading of a new play to music of every kind & combination. Come for the entertainment, stay for the friendly warm camaraderie.

I'll be back for the next Open Mic on August 30.

Sam Nizmela performed three pieces at Open Mic, bringing a South African vibe to the mix. Next Saturday, we're trying something new: a Sound & Rhythm workshop for children ages 11–14, led by Sam. Several people commented this week that they wished the workshop were open to adults as well! If you have a child in that age group, it's a wonderful opportunity.

Johanna Case-Hofmeister's Santos (Spirits) opened yesterday at the Custom House. It's a poetic meditation on whale bones, crashed planes, a solitary island, and much more. Santos will be on view through November 1.

Alex Dias was back Saturday -- and brought this new cartouche along. Alex is the director at the Pomham Rocks Lighthouse in Riverside, RI. The lighthouse now serves as a museum, with exhibits highlighting Pomham Rocks and the four other Providence River lighthouses that are no longer standing, including the former Bullocks Point Lighthouse. Turns out Race Rock, Bullocks Point, and Stratford Shoals Lights were all constructed with the same lantern room design. To produce a tangible element to represent Bullocks Point at his museum, Alex borrowed the bottom half of a cartouche that had fallen off at Race Rock from us, and the top half of a Stratford Shoals cartouche salvaged by our friend Nick Korstad. Using those two pieces, he reconstructed a complete design. We may use his model to cast replacement cartouches for the missing ones on the Race Rock lantern room roof. Each casting is expected to cost approximately $500.

Cost is certainly a major part of lighthouse preservation, but so are the passion, generosity, and collaboration shared among lighthouse stewards. It's a wonderful community, and these historic lights continue to bring joy to the communities they serve.

Happy National Lighthouse Day—it's this Friday, August 7!

--Susan

On a sad note, we'll miss Tim Jackson, who helped NLMS and other area nonprofits with construction dilemmas, and who recently passed.

Photos, above: Andy Champagne shared two photos from last week: Delaware's tall ship, the Kalmar Nyckel, passing Race Rock; and Pequot and Ledge Lights and some magnificent clouds on Saturday.

Photos, above, from left: Felix Orlando continues to tame the courtyard while Ben Ellcome & friend of NL Community Boatworks move out a boat constructed at Celebrate NL; Suzy Bode delivers our 'Thank you Bill' cake; volunteer Raffi Manley helps assemble the Santos show.

Saturdays, Sundays, & by appointment year-round a popular destination for more than two centuries.



Visit Inside NL Harbor 

Pequot Light

Visit Long Island Sound's oldest and tallest lighthouse. Photos: Joe Gareis & Bob Tellier.

Take a tour inside Harbor Light to see the 4th order Fresnel lens in use at the light since 1857. Climb 116 steps into the lantern room and enjoy stunning views across Long Island Sound.

Tours accommodate up to five people and last about 40 minutes. Sign up today.

To book a custom tour, just send us an email.

New London & Groton residents may purchase $5 tickets, thanks to a grant from Veolia - the New London Water Authority!

Explore inside Ledge Lighthouse

The boat leaves from the City Pier in downtown New London, just behind (across the tracks) the NL railroad station. It's a 90-minute round trip including 60 minutes actually inside the lighthouse. Photo, above: Ledge seen from UCONN, Groton. David Tamulevich.

Tours leave at the following times:

• Sunday, August 2, 12:30pm - 2pm
• Saturday, August 8, 5pm 
• Sunday, August 16, 12 noon
• Thursday, August 20, 4pm
• Friday, August 21, 5:30pm
• Saturday, August 29, 11am
• Sunday, August 30, 12 noon

with more dates to come.

Trips are 90-minutes long: 15 minutes out, one hour on the light, and 15 minutes back. Tickets are limited, so reserve your seats HERE today.

New London & Groton residents may purchase $5 tickets, thanks to a grant from Veolia - the New London Water Authority!

Photo, below: construction on the USCG museum in the smoke as seen on the NL HarborCam.

Tuesday, August 18, 1:30 pm

JIBBOOM CLUB #1

One of our favorite speakers is back in August -- CT Port Authority Director Mike O'Connor. Mike will bring us up-to-date on State Pier and other matters relating to our ports.

Jibboom is not a ‘club’, but a friendly gathering, with a maritime speaker & treats.



Please come and bring a friend.

It’s free -- generously sponsored by Rose & Joe Maco.