Dawn Nelson All in the Same Boat Now
At Future Labs in North Adams
By: Future - Oct 22, 2025
Dawn Nelson
All in the Same Boat Now
November 7-29, 2025
Future Lab(s) Gallery
43 Eagle Street, North Adams, MA 01247
Gallery Hours: Saturdays and Sundays, 1-5 pm,
or by appointment. (dawn.leslie.nelson@gmail.com)
Opening: Friday, November 7, 1-5 pm
Artist Talk: Sunday, November 3, 2-3 pm
Closing: Saturday, November 29, 6-8 pm
For more information go to www.futurelabsgallery.com
Artist’s Statement
This exhibition contains stories on video and artwork inspired by ancestors created and told by myself, and my family, friends, and neighbors.
We all come with our personal stories. I began exploring my own story in my artwork through a 2024 project entitled The Little Red House.
My work with The Little Red House project inspired me to expand my vision to the stories of others, understanding that our stories, in combination, make us who we are as people.
In All in the Same Boat Now, 18 of my family members, friends, and neighbors, share parts of their personal stories on video, with 5 screens displaying these videos throughout the gallery.
I have begun researching the boats that carried many of our ancestors from their birthlands to where they are now, and drawings of some of these boats will integrate with the videos to take a broader look at out cumulative human experiences. Other artist’s will be sharing work related to our travels and stories as well.
And finally, visitors to the exhibition will be invited to share where they came from by pinning a ribbon, and a short description, of their own places of origin on a work map that will be part of the exhibit.
Brief Bio
Dawn Nelson is a North Adams visual artist who lives and works in the Eclipse Mill
She is originally from the Midwest; born outside of Chicago, and growing up between Arlington Hts., IL, and Fontana, Wisconsin.
After receiving a B.F.A. in studio art from Illinois Wesleyan University, Dawn moved to the Boston area, where she made her home in Jamaica Plain. She did graduate work at Lesley University, where she received an MEd in Expressive Therapies/Art Therapy.
After working in human services for 10 years, she became an Art Teacher. For 30 years, Dawn was the Middle School Art Teacher in the public schools in Weston, Massachusetts.
Always community minded, Dawn worked on sets for 3 plays a year in the Weston schools for 17 years, was a member of the middle school fine arts committee for decade, and was one of a small group of artists who stated Jamaica Plain Open Studios three decades ago.
In 2008, Dawn purchased a studio at the Eclipse Mill in North Adams. For 15 years, she commuted to North Adams for weekends and school breaks. Then, after retirement in 2013, she transitioned to full time living in North Adams.
In North Adams, Dawn is an artist member of Future Lab(s) Gallery, also shows at the Eclipse Mill Gallery, has participated in First Friday’s planning and the Eagle Street Alive initiative, as well as currently sitting on the City of North Adams Mass MoCA Commission.
And all the way through her life, Dawn has just kept making Art!
Poster for the exhibition
Dawn Nelson. Noah’s Ark. 2025. Mixed Media on Paper.
Dawn Nelson. Mariel Boatlift. 2025. Mixed Media On Paper.