Martha’s Vineyard Museum receives Excellence Award for JAWS exhibit

Image via Ray Ewing

The Martha’s Vineyard Museum was honored with an Excellence Award from the New England Museum Association for its summer exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of Jaws.

Titled Jaws at 50: A Deeper Dive, the exhibition attracted more than 25,000 visitors from around the globe, who explored an extensive collection of film props and memorabilia alongside oral history interviews. The turnout made it the most successful exhibition in the museum’s history.

The award recognized the work of curators Anna Barber and Kate Logue, along with research librarian A. Bowdoin (Bow) Van Riper. Each year, the honor is presented to museum professionals who demonstrate creativity and a long-term commitment to public service.

“We are pleased to acknowledge the winners’ accomplishments as examples of leadership and service to the museum field and beyond,” said NEMA’s director of membership Amy Peters Clark. Judges praised the exhibition for reframing a widely known Hollywood blockbuster through the lens of the Island community that played a vital role in the film’s production. Open from May 24 through Sept. 7, the exhibit drew more visitors in three months than any prior exhibition had drawn over an entire year.

The excitement surrounding Jaws filled the museum’s entire top floor, where visitors encountered a fan-made replica of the Orca, Quint’s shark-hunting boat; the original yellow barrels used to exhaust the shark; and the infamous severed head of Ben Gardner, remembered for one of the film’s most startling scenes.

Downstairs, the experience continued with a photo opportunity beside a life-sized replica of Bruce the shark’s head — the notoriously temperamental mechanical creation that challenged director Steven Spielberg during filming.

A smaller version of the exhibition, Jaws at 50: An Island Story, will remain on view in the Beim Gallery through Dec. 31, while the Bruce replica will be permanently installed in the barn outside the museum.

Reflecting on the year, Ms. Barber said she felt fortunate to have been part of such a meaningful milestone.

“It was wonderful to be able to kind of brag a little bit about our home, about the Island, and share stories about who we are,” Ms. Barber said. “Especially because the Island is still so much the Island as it was when it was represented as Amity in that movie.”

“We had so much fun this summer, being able to share the story with all of the members of the community, and particularly the Jaws fans who came from [all] over the world,” Ms. Barber said. “But to have an award from the museum community was something I think that was particularly special.”

Among Ms. Barber’s favorite elements was a gallery celebrating local contributors such as Roy Campbell, who piloted a support boat during the ocean shoots, and Lynn Murphy, whose marine repair expertise helped resolve mechanical problems during filming.

The exhibit also featured oral history interviews conducted by Linsey Lee with Vineyard residents who appeared in the movie, including Craig Kingsbury, who played fisherman Ben Gardner, and Lee Fierro, who portrayed Mrs. Kintner in one of the film’s most powerful moments — the scene in which she confronts Chief Brody (played by Roy Scheider) after her son’s death.

“From the beginning, we wanted to make sure that we were able to share the most important part, which was without the people here on the Island and without the Island, there would be no Jaws,” Ms. Barber said.