Library exhibition celebrates experiences of Cape Verdean residents

A small crowd converged on Dartmouth’s North Branch Library on Thursday evening, Sept. 15 to view and celebrate the opening of the Our Town /Nha Vida exhibition, which will be on display through Sept. 24.

The project was designed to give Dartmouth residents a chance to honor the stories of their relatives, friends and neighbors and to gain insight into a community they may have known little about, according to project co-investigators, Sonia Pacheco and Memory Holloway of UMass Dartmouth.

The exhibition is based on oral histories of local Cape Verdeans.

It documents their lived experiences as residents of Dartmouth, showcasing their stories, photographs, documents, and voices.

“It highlights how much the Cape Verdean community has contributed to Dartmouth,” Pacheco said. “And it makes people think about how cultural and racial identities impact community belonging.”

The exhibition continues through Saturday, Sept. 24 at the North Branch Library, 211 Cross Road in Dartmouth.

The branch is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. It is closed on Fridays and Sundays.